Apple Aligns With Kids’ Nonprofit To Curate Family-Friendly Podcast Collections

Apple is looking to bolster its kid-friendly podcast offerings through a new partnership with nonprofit Common Sense Media, which works to promote safe technology and media for children.

Together, Apple and Common Sense will curate podcast collections that will appear both in the Apple Podcasts app and on the web — with the collections being temporarily featured on the main homepage carousel and indefinitely within the Browse tab. The curations will feature series produced by Tinkercast, American Public Media, WNYC Studios, Rebel Girls, and Nickelodeon, The Verge reports, with Common Sense furnishing specific age recommendations for each series.

At launch, podcasts will fall into four designated categories:

narrative storytelling, shows recommended by kids, mysteries and dramas, and Common Sense’s all-time picks. New collections will be rolled out monthly in accordance with timely themes, such as Women’s History Month.

The Verge notes that podcasts have become an increasingly important medium for children, particularly amid the coronavirus pandemic, as parents are looking for new ways to keep their kids entertained without an overabundance of screentime.

While Common Sense has previously published content on its own website with respect to family-friendly podcast recommendations, this marks its largest foray into the audio space yet with a platform partner.