“Wow in the World” is a new podcast from NPR that brings interesting science and technology topics to families. Hosted by Guy Raz and Mindy Thomas, this weekly show is between 20-25 minutes long, making it the perfect listening entertainment for carpools, short road trips, and family hangouts in the kitchen. Designed to appeal to adults and kids, the topics so far range from space vacations to hermit crab wrestling. With its quick pace, fascinating subjects, and (somewhat goofy) jokes, “Wow in the World” is a fun way to integrate STEM into the busy lives of families. You can listen and subscribe here.
I love listening to the TED Radio Hour on NPR. Each hour has a theme, and includes excerpts from excellent TED Talks that revolve around that topic. The speakers are interviewed by the host of the show, Guy Raz, and give some great background insight into the TED Talks. One of my favorite shows that I heard this summer was the one on “Disruptive Leadership.”
Now, I’m going to admit that, when I listen to these shows I don’t usually have on my “teacher filter.” This means that I am so engrossed in the message that I don’t notice if there are any details that might be inappropriate for the classroom. So, I would definitely recommend you listen to these yourself before playing them for your students. Or, you can view the transcript that is included with each one.
Drew Dudley, who I mentioned before on this blog in my post about Lollipop Moments, is one of the leaders featured on this particular show. He has an excellent message about the way we often impact people without realizing it.
One of my favorite stories, though, is the one from General Stanley McChrystal in which he talks about the way leaders deal with failure.
Excerpt from transcript of Guy Raz speaking with General McChrystal. Click here to listen to the interview with General Stanley McChrystal on NPR’s TED Talk Radio Hour
Also featured in this episode are: Sheryl Sandberg, Bunker Roy, and Seth Godin. All of them are worth a listen, and will make you consider leadership in many different ways!
If you never had a chance to listen to “This I Believe” on NPR, then you have been missing out. Although the series does not air any longer, you can still access many of the recordings, and there are books available as well. The best way to describe these personal essays is this paragraph from ThisIBelieve.org: “This I Believe is based on a 1950s radio program of the same name, hosted by acclaimed journalist Edward R. Murrow. Each day, Americans gathered by their radios to hear compelling essays from the likes of Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Robinson, Helen Keller, and Harry Truman as well as corporate leaders, cab drivers, scientists, and secretaries—anyone able to distill into a few minutes the guiding principles by which they lived. These essayists’ words brought comfort and inspiration to a country worried about the Cold War, McCarthyism, and racial division.”
You can find recent recordings from the show here. The appropriateness of the recordings for school depends on the age-level of the children. I have used pieces of the “This I Believe” high school curriculum originally provided through NPR with my 5th grade GT students.
The other day I bookmarked an intriguing Tweet from Drew Frank (@ugafrank) about a “This I Believe” video created by a student for a class. I finally had the chance to view it last night, and I was blown away by the message and creativity. The student’s name is Kasey Tamamoto, and her video is definitely appropriate for all age levels. As soon as I viewed it, I knew it would be the subject of today’s post. There seem to be quite a few of these videos on YouTube. I haven’t watched them yet, but I bet there are some other exceptional examples as well.
