Greece leads the parade and the host country is the last to join the parade, every Olympics. In the last two Olympics, a new contingent joined the Olympics' teams. This contingent was the penultimate to join the parade (ahead of the host country). The participants hailed from across the world and were united by a cause and a flag. Who are these participants? What cause unites them? Why do we continue to have this contingent? Co-hosts: Anindya (9 yrs) and Agastya (11 yrs) figure out who these par...
Aug 01, 2024•18 min•Season 2Ep. 98
For the first time, a 4-year old dog called Beacon joins the official staff team of the US Gymnastics. He will play an important role in maintaining the health and well-being of the players. Can you guess how? The co-hosts Anindya (9-yr old) and Agastya (11 yr old) pit their heads and crack this mystery. To find details about our writing course for kids to become published authors, please click here
Jul 25, 2024•15 min•Season 2Ep. 97
To find details about our writing course for kids to become published authors, please click here SpaceX has won a bid from NASA for one of the most challenging tasks it has ever undertaken. The whole world will be watching the skies in 2031 as SpaceX attempts to destroy and take apart the ISS. Built over more than a decade and a half, the ISS will near the end of its useful life by 2030 and may begin to disintegrate if left in space for longer than that. SpaceX will begin a careful process of br...
Jul 19, 2024•15 min
This month, we reviewed the Harry Potter book series along with a group of primary and middle schoolers. This review is part 6 of a 6 part series. In this episode, we ask our reviewers how different are the movies from the books. To join our book review club, please click here. Book review led by Manisha Maheshwari. Young book reviewers who joined us were Prakriti (10 yr), Dhruv (10 yr old), Darsh (10 yr old), Aditi (12 yr old), Viyaa (10 yr old), Rishi (10 yr old), Rusheel (10 yr old), Hrudya...
Jul 12, 2024•13 min•Season 2Ep. 95
This month, we reviewed the Harry Potter book series along with a group of primary and middle schoolers. This review is part 5 of a 6 part series. In this episode, we ask our reviewers what would happen if an owl came their way and dropped them an acceptance letter? To join our book review club, please click here. Book review led by Manisha Maheshwari. Young book reviewers who joined us were Prakriti (10 yr), Dhruv (10 yr old), Darsh (10 yr old), Aditi (12 yr old), Viyaa (10 yr old), Rishi (10...
Jul 12, 2024•6 min•Season 2Ep. 94
This month, we reviewed the Harry Potter book series along with a group of primary and middle schoolers. This review is part 4 of a 6 part series. In this episode, we ask our reviewers how different is the magical world from the real world we live in. To join our book review club, please click here. Book review led by Manisha Maheshwari. Young book reviewers who joined us were Prakriti (10 yr), Dhruv (10 yr old), Darsh (10 yr old), Aditi (12 yr old), Viyaa (10 yr old), Rishi (10 yr old), Rushe...
Jul 12, 2024•5 min•Season 2Ep. 93
This month, we reviewed the Harry Potter book series along with a group of primary and middle schoolers. This review is part 3 of a 6 part series. In this episode, we ask our reviewers who they would rather chat with - Hagrid or Dumbledore? For the uninitiated, Hagrid is a half-giant and half-human. He is also the Gamekeeper at Hogwarts. He is the one who reveals to Harry that he is a wizard. Dumbledore is the Headmaster at Hogwarts. He is also in many ways - a friend, philosopher and guide to H...
Jul 12, 2024•8 min•Season 2Ep. 93
This month, we reviewed the Harry Potter book series along with a group of primary and middle schoolers. This review is part 2 of a 6 part series. In this episode, we ask our reviewers what they would see if they stood in front of the Mirror of Erised. For the uninitiated, The Mirror of Erised is a a magical mirror that shows the " deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts ." The word Erised is nothing but "desire" spelled backwards , as if reflected in the mirror. To join our book review cl...
Jul 12, 2024•6 min•Season 2Ep. 91
This month, we reviewed the Harry Potter book series along with a group of primary and middle schoolers. This review is part 1 of a 6 part series. In this episode, we ask our reviewers which house they would like to be sorted into, at Hogwarts. For the uninitiated, the Hogwarts School was founded by four brilliant witches and wizards in the 10th century. Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin made up this quartet. Each of them created a house in their names a...
Jul 12, 2024•10 min•Season 2Ep. 90
Nowhere else in Asia do we have recorded history of a line of Muslim women who governed a kingdom. The four Begums of Bhopal ruled for over 100 years. Their reign was marked by peace, good health and great education facilities. This quartet of queens owe their existence to the charisma and keen intelligence of the very first Begum - Qudsia Begum. On her husband's sudden death, a teenager Qudsia managed to marshal support from all corners, so she could ascend the throne and govern the kingdom. He...
Jul 10, 2024•26 min•Season 2Ep. 89
Rudramadevi, a warrior queen from South India made an astonishing ascent to the throne, thanks to her royal lineage. Nevertheless she faced much patriarchy and her rule was challenged from all quarters - both from inside and outside. During her rule, the Kakatiya kingdom was attacked from the North, West and the South repeatedly. She managed to thwart all invasion attempts. She strengthened the defense forces by adding to the height and thickness of the Warrangal fort. The Kohinoor diamond was m...
Jul 04, 2024•16 min•Season 2Ep. 88
Tribhuvana Mahadevi was a queen who ruled one of the mightiest empires in ancient India - also called Kalinga. Today, this kingdom spreads across the eastern state of Orissa in India. Her reign featured in books written in 10th century AD in Persia. She was called a Rayini (a queen) whose rule eclipsed the reigns of her contemporary neighbours (kings in India). Her name is hardly found in any history textbooks today, but her fame had spread far and wide across Asia and Europe amongst her contemp...
Jun 28, 2024•24 min•Season 2Ep. 87
At its height, the Mughal empire was the richest in the world. Akbar's son Jahangir ascended the throne after his death. Jahangir was addicted to opium and alcohol, amongst other things. His wife Nur Jahan won his confidence. She was a remarkable woman who managed to keep her husband away from many of his vices. Thanks to her courage and intelligence, she won the loyalty of the nobles in the court and thus wielded much power in the kingdom. She was the only Mughal empress who issued coins in her...
Jun 21, 2024•20 min•Season 2Ep. 86
The Portugese called her 'Raina de Pimenta' or 'The Pepper Queen'. Born to a commoner, married to a king, she ascended the throne after the untimely death of her husband. She not only defended herself against patriarchy, but also against a barrage of enemy armies. She is best known for being the only queen who defied Aurangzeb, took over the might of his army and successfully got him to sign a peace treaty. Child Co-hosts: Kiaansh (6th grader, Mumbai) and Sathwik (7th grader, Kolkata) Reference ...
Jun 14, 2024•39 min•Season 2Ep. 85
Newspaper headlines often make loud claims about fitness, health and diet. How much of this is backed by research? Have the facts been verified? This episode is part of our Fake or Real podcast series, where we take a popular newspaper headline and check if its authenticity has been established, This episode is about a headline that appeared earlier on Hindustan Times - 'Sendha namak aka pink salt is healthier than iodized powdered white salt'. Listen to the episode to find out if this is for re...
May 31, 2024•15 min
A recent YouGov poll shows that a large share of people believe that younger siblings are funnier than their older counterparts. Is this fake or real? Does this story have a sound scientific basis? Guests: Shanaya Shah (4th grader) and her parent Arpita Shah from Mumbai To donate and keep this podcast channel ad-free for children, click here Recommended podcast episodes (a) Why are people in Finland the happiest (b) Interesting innovations from Indian schoolkids (c) Brain boosts better while wri...
May 23, 2024•18 min
This episode has been compiled and presented by three of the participants in a Podcasting Course conducted by Cronica Media,Story on Wildlife Conservation: How Istanbul has tried to solve the problems of reccycling, garbage cluttering and stray dog starvation. Presented by Smyan Shetty (4th grader from Mumbai)Story on Art: How Nature has been given a place of prominence by Spotify by designating nature as an artist. Presented by Shriya (5th grader from Bengaluru)Story on Space: How new resear...
May 20, 2024•26 min
World Athletics has announced something exciting for all athletes participating / competing in the 2024 Olympics edition (to be held in Paris). After many decades of keeping true to the spirit of Olympics as outlined by Pierre de Coubertin (participating is more important than winning), some people on the Olympics committee are concerned if the new move will dilute this spirit. Listen to the full episode to find out more about this new exciting announcement.Co-hosts: Smyan (5th grader, Mumbai...
May 13, 2024•24 min
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell is considered a children's classic. Although the author did not write this book intended for a young audience, it has become a go-to read for many primary schoolers and middle schoolers. A group of children (<10 yrs old) read this book, completed some book review worksheets and finally got together to share their views on the book with each other. Guests: Nayra, Prakriti, Smyan, Rishi, Pravit, Rusheel, Saatvik and AdvikQuestions they answer in this episodeA...
May 10, 2024•33 min
30 years ago in Nepal, Yagya Kumar Pradhan woke up to the news that two holy masks from the community's temple had been stolen. Yagya filed police complaints, but got no closer to the masks. He gave up all hope of ever seeing the masks again. One of his family members reached out to a group 'Lost Arts of Nepal' who track stolen artifacts with the help of amateur art detectives from around the world, using social media and other sleuthing techniques. As luck would have it, Yagya's masks were t...
May 03, 2024•15 min
The UK recently passed a bill - as its way of telling people to not come to its country, especially if they are coming by dangerous boats. The UK doesn't want people from poor countries who are fleeing wars and conflicts to end up inside its boundaries. What does this bill contain? Why are people in so many countries watching this bill with bated breath? Will this become the norm for other European countries? Will they also turn their backs to illegal migrants?Co-host: Shambhavi (14-yr old fr...
Apr 29, 2024•17 min
A Scandinavian country, deep into the Arctic, is home to one of the happiest peoples in the world. What factors help them stay happier than people in many other developed countries (such as the US / western Europe / Japan)? Why are the children in Finland happier than their peers elsewhere?Listen to this conversation with a primary, a middle and a high schooler, to unravel the rest of the story.Co-hosts: Nayra (from Mumbai), Ayan and Dakshta (from Delhi)Do you like to read stories? Read our n...
Apr 19, 2024•23 min
In the most recent earthquake in Taiwan, lives were lost and property destroyed. A group of dogs (called search and rescue dogs) came to the attention of many people through their valiant efforts at rescuing people caught under the rubble. This is a story of one such dog called Roger - who was earlier labelled a failure by the country's sniffing dogs group. How he was able to put to use his abundance of energy coupled with his intelligence forms the rest of his life-story.Search and rescue do...
Apr 15, 2024•12 min
A teenager from Gujarat came up with a novel solution to provide access to learning content on devices. Rather than rely on the goodwill of NGOs to provide devices and internet, Karthik Joshi, a 12th grader suggested a way by which students could 'pay' for this, without actually having to pay using money, but resources that are easily available to them. Another teenager from Tamil Nadu (Madhumita) has designed a 2-wheeler that can help the deaf drive on Indian roads, more safely. These are tw...
Apr 11, 2024•15 min
This episode captures the history of Bengaluru from over a 1000 years ago. Small settlements created fertile pastures in an otherwise arid region. The ingenuity they used to build a series of lakes and tanks is to be much admired. This is all the more evident in the backdrop of how we squandered centuries of efforts and destroyed all of it in less than 50 years. The story of Bengaluru is narrated in three partsPart 1: How the settlements were formed from 1000 - 1500 ADPart 2: Formation of mod...
Apr 09, 2024•16 min
Ever read - the Elves and the Shoemaker? This story is a lot like that, except, in this case, they aren't making shoes. Someone has been turning up every night in the shed of a 75-year old photographer who lives in the UK. This photographer used to leave his work shed in a state of chaos at the end of each day. But the next morning, he would find them spick and span. The contents strewn around would be collected and neatly kept inside a box. Curious to find out who this friendly elf was, he i...
Apr 04, 2024•14 min
The Pench tiger reserve in India has received a special certification. It is the first of its kind for a wildlife park in India to received this, although wildlife parks / national parks in other parts of the world have received this certification. This is related to the skies above Pench. What are we talking about? Listen to the full episode to find out more.Co-Host: Rishi Chaudhuri, 10-yr old from Mumbai, IndiaTo support our show, please click hereDo you like to read stories? Read our newsl...
Apr 01, 2024•16 min
A group of 8-15 year olds joined us in reviewing the book 'Wonder' by R.J.Palacio. This is a powerfully narrated story about a 10-year old whose face looks nothing like what most people have. The book goes onto narrate the traumatic experiences he has in school, the friends he makes and how many children emerge from this story - stronger and braver. It is a story that resonates with many children as they see discrimination and 'inside jokes' almost on a daily basis in school....
Mar 29, 2024•33 min
There are sailors who boldly sail into the Southern Ocean and brave the winds and the waves. They do it all by themselves. This is part of a race called the Golden Globe Race (GGR), which tests the mettle of the best of sailors. In its most recent edition, Kirsten Neuschafer from South Africa became the first woman to win (or even complete) the race. Closely behind her was Abhilash Tomy (a former naval officer from India). Abhilash was also the first Indian to complete the race. The persisten...
Mar 25, 2024•20 min
This is an #EqualPayDay story. Tennis is one of the few major sports where men and women get equal pay. For that, we have nine women tennis players from the 1970s to thank for.What did Billie Jean King and eight of her friends do, in 1970? This is the story of how they went ahead and set up their own tournament Virginia Slims Circuit in defiance of the Grand Slam (& other big league) organisers. They demanded equal pay. In 1973, the US Open buckled under pressure and gave in. The rest is ...
Mar 19, 2024•15 min
