Communication Nation: Mother Tongues

This time on The Children's Hour podcast for kids we learn about the extraordinary life of Jim Henson, the legendary puppeteer who created Sesame Street, the Muppets, and many movies, TV shows, and songs. Jim Henson's biographer Brian Jay Jones joins the Kids Crew in an exploration of the creative genius of a guy who just wanted to be remembered as a true artist. Learn even more in our learning guide.

Bear with us this time on The Children's Hour as we learn about bears. Meet the legendary Dr. Lynn Rogers from the North American Bear Center. Find out how these gentle giants fit into our ecology, where and how they live, and how Dr. Rogers overcame his fear of bears. It's a bears podcast for kids, with a companion learning guide and activities.

Join The Children's Hour as we say goodbye to summer with the summertime best releases in 2026. Get ready to hang up your towel and grab your lunchbox, but first we have a dance party in this musical special.

Learn with our kids science podcast about exoplanets on The Children’s Hour. The Kids Crew talk with an exoplanetologist, Dr. Diana Dragomir. We discover what an exoplanet is, and how astronomers find them in a vast sea of stars. Find out if they have found aliens, and how you can help in the search.

Learn about fossils in a Kids Crew field trip to a secret fossil quarry in the mountains outside of Albuquerque, as well as in a chat with New Mexico Natural History Museum educator Mike Sanchez. Will we become fossilized too? Fossils teach us about the Ice Age and climate change at the La Brea Tar pits in the heart of Los Angeles. This episode comes with a Learn-Along guide and is mixed with great music.

Join The Children's Hour Kids Crew in a field trip to the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, the largest in the world! Learn what makes something "Folk Art" in conversations with artists from dozens of countries. The podcast learning guide and activities for use in classrooms can be found at ChildrensHour.org/folk-art

Together we can do anything, and this time on The Children's Hour we explore teamwork, improv, and how playing games brings builds community. The Kids Crew gets a workshop in improvisation as a team building exercise. Then, we learn about games kids have played for thousands of years which helped create and sustain strong communities. Learn with us!

We speak with our bodies, and some people speak only with their bodies. Communication Nation Episode 3: Other Voices, Other Sounds explores nonverbal communication, sign language, deaf culture, and assistive technology. Comes with a learning guide. Learn with us!

Communication Nation Episode 2: Mother Tongues focuses on the incredible diversity of language around us, from appreciation of the way names sound, to the restoration of endangered languages. Learn with us on The Children's Hour!

Communication Nation Episode One: Speaking the Truth - Media Literacy & Misinformation is the first of a four part radio series exploring communication to better understand one another. We can only have effective communication when we can trust our sources. We learn about media literacy and misinformation from Eisha Buch at Common Sense Media.