Show Notes
This week’s Story Seeds collaboration brings together 12 year old Irthan and the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Jason Reynolds (poet, storyteller, National Book Award finalist, Newbery Honoree, and New York Times best-selling author.) Jason's latest work is Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, a Remix of the National Book Award-winning book by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi. As National Ambassador, he recently started the Grab the Mic platform which empowers young people to share their own personal stories. Jason sat down with 12 year old Irthan at Brooklyn Public Library to grow this story idea: A worm becomes human at the stroke of midnight. Kind of like werewolves, but the opposite. Why a worm? Because worms are the least popular. Barely anybody talks about worms. A worm would be interesting and it would put them on an equal status with all the other bugs. Join our host Betsy Bird as she introduces you to Jason and Irthan and sets the scene for an episode where: Irthan shows Jason his YouTube videos of him playing the drums They talk about Spongebob, Minecraft, and music that inspires them They hash out some important details about Irthan's story seed They connect over their common observations as young Black men in America today Jason chronicles his writing process and reflects on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy and Irthan's story seed as a metaphor for social justice The episode concludes with this week’s storytime (25:15) where Jason reads the story, "Hoo and Wut," that he grew from Irthan’s story seed. This episode is also available on YouTube. Subscribe here. Additional Information Books mentioned in this episode: Ghost by Jason Reynolds. Stamped: Racism, Anti-Racism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning by Jason Reynolds and Dr. Ibram X. Kendi. Musicians mentioned in this episode: R David R, Jack White, Bob Marley Media mentioned in the episode: Write. Right. Rite. video series by Jason Reynolds for The Library of Congress. Minecraft. Spongebob Squarepants. Calls to Action Bonus Episode: Check back next Thursday to hear Betsy's bonus interview with Jason. You’ll get to hear about his approach to writing and he also shares his tips. Kids: Call The Story Seeds Hotline at 646-389-5153, email us at [email protected], or visit our website to submit your story ideas. You can also join The Story Seeds Society, our kids listeners club. Grownups: Visit www.storyseedspodcast.com for subscription links, to sign up for our newsletter, and to download our printable activity e-zines for your kids (or the kid in you!) Our zines offer opportunities to read, write, and get creative alongside listening to each episode . You can also follow us on Instagram @storyseedspod, on Twitter @litsafarimedia, and on Facebook @literarysafari. Get our Imagination Lab: Experiments in Creativity activity book! It pairs perfectly with the podcast and features tons of episode-inspired prompts and projects! Order your copy here! Support Us Visit our recently launched glow.fm page where you can support The Story Seeds Podcast on a recurring or one-time basis. Your donation - large or small - will help us create more episodes of the show and give us the ability to provide opportunities for more kids from around the world to participate in Story Seeds. Show credits The Story Seeds Podcast is Literary Safari production, created and executive produced by Sandhya Nankani. This episode was produced and written by Anjali Sakhrani with Kayla Fedeson. Scoring, mixing, and sound design by Ania Grzesik and Matt Boynton of Ultraviolet Audio. Field audio recorded by James Boo. Hosted by Betsy Bird. Music by Andrew VanWyngarden, Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter/musician and co-founder of MGMT. The music at the start of Irthan and Jason's conversation is titled Brass Song and was composed by Irthan himself! Visit us at www.storyseedspodcast.com
More from The Story Seeds Podcast
Since 1996, The Webby Awards have honored the best of the Internet, so it is kind of a big deal that our small and independently produced podcast is nominated for one this year! The episode we are nominated for is Episode 11: "A Nose that Knows" which brought together nine-year old leukemia survivor Jocelyn and Katherine Applegate, the Newbery Award-winning author of The One and Only Ivan, to grow a real-life inspired story about a super dog named Sally who helps a girl with cancer feel better. This episode is not only about the power of imagination, but also about resilience and friendship! We're thrilled it's been recognized by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.
Listen along as host Betsy Bird and Newbery Award-winning Katherine Applegate have a fun and heartwarming conversation about what it was like working with 9 year old Jocelyn in a special presentation of The Story Seeds Podcast which raises awareness of childhood cancer. In the interview, Betsy and Katherine: Talk about what it was like working with Jocelyn and learning about her cancer journey [04:19] Discuss how Jane Goodall and Greta Thunberg inspired Katherine’s new eco-fable Willodeen [12:37] Get witty and silly in a fun rapid fire q&a! [17:01] This episode is also available on YouTube. Subscribe here. Additional Information Books mentioned in this episode: the Animorphs series by Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant. Willodeen, the Endling series, and The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. Calls to Action Visit www.storyseedspodcast.com to download a companion printable activity kit for this episode. You can also order a copy of our NYTimes Wirecutter-approved Imagination Lab activity book! Follow us on Instagram @storyseedspod, on Twitter @litsafarimedia, and on Facebook @literarysafari. Show credits The Story Seeds Podcast is Literary Safari production, created and executive produced by Sandhya Nankani. This episode was produced by her and Anjali Sakhrani. Scoring, mixing, and sound design by Ultraviolet Audio. Hosted by Betsy Bird. Music by Andrew VanWyngarden, Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter/musician and co-founder of MGMT. This episode is sponsored by Macmillan Children's Publishing. Special thanks to Joseph Tisdall for post-production support.
This special Story Seeds collaboration brings together nine-year old Jocelyn and Newbery Award-winning Katherine Applegate, author of The One and Only Ivan and Willodeen. Katherine helps Jocelyn grow this story idea: My story seed is about a super service dog (based off of my own dog Sally) who helps kids with cancer feel better. Join our host Betsy Bird as she guides you through this collaboration full of hope and resilience. Featured segments include: Katherine and Jocelyn's meeting over video chat where they get to know each other, meet each other's dogs, and brainstorm how to grow Jocelyn's story idea (6:44) Real-time voice memo recordings where Katherine chronicles her writing process for Jocelyn (19:50) An immersive storytime where Katherine narrates the full-fledged tale — "Two Brave Girls, One with Four Paws"—she grew from Jocelyn's story seed (23:56) This episode is also available on YouTube. Subscribe here. Additional Information Books mentioned in this episode: The Odyssey, The Mahabarata, Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DeCamillo, the Dogman series by Dave Pilkey, and The Only and Only Ivan and Willodeen by Katherine Applegate. Media and Games mentioned in the episode: How to Train Your Dragon, Welcome to the Jungle by Guns N’ Roses, Animal Upon Animal, and Don't Stop Believing by Journey Calls to Action Bonus Episode: Check back next Thursday to hear Betsy's bonus interview with Katherine. It’s a fun one and also includes a rapid-fire Q&A with the Newbery Award-winning author herself. Visit www.storyseedspodcast.com to download a companion printable activity kit for this episode. You can also order a copy of our NYTimes Wirecutter-approved Imagination Lab activity book! Follow us on Instagram @storyseedspod, on Twitter @litsafarimedia, and on Facebook @literarysafari. Show credits The Story Seeds Podcast is Literary Safari production, created and executive produced by Sandhya Nankani. This episode was produced and written by her and Anjali Sakhrani. Scoring, mixing, and sound design by Ania Grzesik of Ultraviolet Audio. Hosted by Betsy Bird. Music by Andrew VanWyngarden, Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter/musician and co-founder of MGMT. This episode is sponsored by Macmillan Children's Publishing. Special thanks to Joseph Tisdall for post-production support.
Priyanka and Riya are best friends. Morgan and Mercedes are daughter and mother. They are just four of the voices you will hear in this montage of eight short interviews created by kids ages 8-15 during the inaugural Story Seeds On Air Summer 2021 Podcasting Camp where aspiring podcasters learned from expert guests and each other the art and technical skills they need to amplify their voices and broadcast their ideas into community conversations big and small. In these interviews, campers from around the United States ask intimate questions of people they know very well, and in the process capture moments of curiosity, lifelong passions, and new perspectives on the familiar while creating memorable oral histories. Queens, New York neighbors and best friends Riya, age 9, and Priyanka, age 12 ask each other questions about their favorite things. Seattle-based Anna, age 8, interviews her mother, Merideth, about her love of podcasts and the podcast platform, Storitopia, that she is brewing. New Jersey-based Ella, age 15, interviews her mother, Jennifer, about her memories of learning to cook and hairspray cooking mishaps! Philadelphia-based Ahan, age 13, interviews his mother Madhusmita, about her stories from her career as a dancer in the 500 year old Sattriya dance tradition from Assam (India). Harlem, New York-based Shalini, age 10, interviews her mother Swati, a writer, educator, and artist, about her interests and her passion for podcasting New Jersey-based Amrita, age 12, interviews her mother, Sandhya (creator of The Story Seeds Podcast), about the music she loved to listen to when she was her age and the role music plays in her life Alaska-based Morgan, age 10, interviews her mother, Mercedes about the moment in her childhood that she realized her passion was writing and how she puts that passion into practice in her life and work