Why I built this
When my son Tristan was around 3½, my husband and I began looking for new ways to spark his imagination and keep him from screens for as long as possible. The holidays were coming up, and we gifted him a Toniebox, which he became obsessed with instantly. He carried it with him everywhere and it became near-constant background noise as he played quietly on his own, rode in cars, or sat at the dinner table. Beyond just keeping him busy, we began to notice he started telling us detailed stories and invented more complex worlds as he played. We loved the Toniebox (and still do), but buying new Tonies all the time got expensive fast.
My husband and I are podcast people, and we began to wonder whether this was a thing for kids. It turned out to be a very big thing. We found hundreds of genuinely great shows, and over the past three years we’ve explored a lot of them together.
But a few problems kept coming up. There was no easy way to tell whether a show was actually right for Tristan’s age. There was the daily mystery of what to play next (usually after he’d re-listened to a favorite three, four, or five times through). And because we were playing everything from our own apps, the “up next” after a kids’ show was anyone’s guess.
Nothing makes you move faster than a true-crime episode cheerfully starting up for your six-year-old the second his story ends.
That’s the whole reason Once Upon a Pod exists.
So I set out to build the thing I’d been wishing existed. Something for my son that turned into something I wanted every family to have. Somewhere I could send other parents and know they were in good hands, with every show vetted, age-labeled, and actually worth a kid’s time. With screens everywhere these days, I wanted a corner of the internet where kids could just listen and let their imaginations run, whether they’re playing on their own, buckled into a car seat, or winding down at bedtime.
I’m building this one myself, and I’d love for it to grow into something families shape together. So tell me what your kids love. Send recommendations, feedback, or just say hi. I read it all.
And in the meantime — browse the site anytime and you’ll find plenty to love. But the app is where it really comes to life. I built it just for kids, so there’s no chance of a true-crime ambush, and it gets to know yours (their age, what they’re into, when it’s time to settle down for the night) to hand you the next great show before anyone asks “what do we play now?” That’s the part I’m most excited about, and I’d love for you to try it.
Katrina
