Wow in the World

"I don't know what you've been told, but we're in a golden age / So many discoveries are jumpin' off the page." That's the snappy beginning to the theme song of Wow in the World, the only podcast aimed at children that doesn't make me want to drive my car off a cliff when listening together on family road trips.

The show, which stars NPR's Guy Raz and SiriusXM's Mindy Thomas as neighbors, takes kids on a series of outlandish adventures to teach them about the latest science in animal behavior, psychology, math, astronomy, and more. Imagine an old-school radio play style with the quirkiness turned up to 11.

Part of the show's charm is that Guy and Mindy actually drop scholarly citations midstream and are exaggeratedly careful not to overstate their findings. Which means these 20-minute tidbits of kidtastic infotainment actually feature more responsible science journalism than most of what you'll find in mainstream news sources for adults.