A Short Story Podcast Series
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Episodes run 30 seconds to 8 minutes.
Send us your episode ideas, we’ll work the topics into future recordings, and credit you.
Homeschooling parents, teachers, and lifelong learners get priority.
Many episodes include free curriculum materials aligned to global standards.
Legal Disclaimer
All episodes of Interesting Things with JC are provided free of charge for educational purposes under fair use, with the exception of Episode #509. The series, including its associated curriculum and materials, may not be copied, resold, redistributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written agreement and consent from JimConnors LLC. Unauthorized commercial use, reproduction, or distribution is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved © JimConnors LLC.
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The podcast is currently in common carriage on the Podcast Radio Network.
In London, you can listen to the Podcast Radio Network over the air on DAB+ and access its variety of podcasts and audio content directly through your DAB+ radio.
In the USA, you can listen to Interesting Things with JC on Podcast Radio US in these cities:
Detroit – WCSX 94.7 HD2
Tampa – 1010 WJBR-AM
Charlotte – 94.7 FM and WSOC-HD3
Fort Myers / Naples – 96.5 FM, 101.5 FM, 105.1 FM, and WXKB-HD2
You can also stream it nationwide at PodcastRadioUS.com
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Kick off class with a quick boost. Play an episode of Interesting Things with JC to get your students interested right off the bat. The short stories are easy to follow, and the free curriculum gives you everything you need to turn that spark into a full lesson with questions, activities, and real learning.
Each episode includes a modular micro-lesson designed to support a 30 to 45 minute class. Curriculum content appears at the bottom of the episode page in easy-to-use expandable sections.
Each lesson includes:
Lesson overview (title, grade level, subject area, learning objectives)
Key vocabulary with phonetic spelling and plain-language definitions
Core story content based on the Precise Storytelling Framework
Full podcast transcript
Student worksheet with comprehension and writing prompts
Teacher guide with pacing, strategies, and discussion tools
Quiz and assessment rubric
Standards alignment across multiple global frameworks
We are currently piloting lesson alignment to:
Approved Standards – High-Level ListNGSS – Next Generation Science Standards
CCSS – Common Core State Standards (ELA and Math)
C3 Framework – College, Career & Civic Life (Social Studies)
ISTE Standards – Technology and Digital Literacy
NCAS – National Core Arts Standards
CTE Career Clusters – U.S. Career & Technical Education
ACRL Framework – Higher Ed Information Literacy
Bloom’s Taxonomy – Cognitive Learning Objectives
UDL – Universal Design for Learning (Accessibility Support)
International Academic Equivalents (Content-Only)
UK National Curriculum – Key Stages 3–5 (England)
AQA / OCR / Edexcel – UK Exam Board Specifications
IB (International Baccalaureate) – PYP, MYP, DP (academic subjects only)
Cambridge International – IGCSE, AS/A-Level (non-political content areas)
All lessons are open educational resources (OER) and designed with homeschool flexibility in mind.
Disclaimer:Interesting Things with JC and its companion curriculum are provided for educational purposes under fair use. They are free to access and share for teaching and learning, but not for resale or commercial distribution.
Examples: Browse any episode from #1235 to the present.
Format Update: Starting with Episode #1307, each MP3 page in the RSS includes open text at the bottom for easier access.
Feedback: Curriculum users, your input helps improve layout and usability. Your feedback is welcomed.
Older Episodes: If you find one without curriculum, drop me a line. I’ll prioritize building it out. The goal is for every episode to have full resources.
1474: "Do Hard Things"
Interesting Things with JC #1474: "Do Hard Things" – When you face one tough task, the mind shifts from threat to control. Hard work shrinks imagined problems and restores the world to its real size.
1473: "Can a Thought Move Faster than Light?"
Interesting Things with JC #1473: "Can a Thought Move Faster than Light?" – When nerve signals crawl at human speeds yet decisions feel instant, the mystery isn’t distance but design.
1472: "Rumi and Poetry"
Interesting Things with JC #1472: "Rumi and Poetry" – Rumi’s days ran the same for years until a stranger showed up and challenged everything he thought he understood. Then the man disappeared, and the fallout pushed Rumi into writing that still grips readers centuries later.
1471: "The Importance of Alpha and Gamma Brainwaves"
Interesting Things with JC #1471: "The Importance of Alpha and Gamma Brainwaves" – There’s a moment when your brain shifts gears, and it changes everything from how you calm down to how you solve a problem. Most people never notice it happening, but it’s running the whole show.
1470: "Forbidden City, Beijing"
Interesting Things with JC #1470: "Forbidden City, Beijing" – A palace built in fourteen years with quake-flexing timber, golden bricks that rang underfoot, and a cosmic axis meant to bind an emperor to the stars. Step inside and you find a city engineered to survive fire, war, and anyone who dared to cross its gates.
1469: "Subjectivity and Judging"
Interesting Things with JC #1469: "Subjectivity and Judging" – From courtroom rulings to puppet shows, we’re not as rational as we think. What shapes our gut reactions, and can we ever judge fairly?
1468: "The Hobbit of Flores"
Interesting Things with JC #1468: "The Hobbit of Flores" – A skull the size of two hands rewrites what endurance looks like. On an island no one could reach without crossing open sea, a small human lineage held on far longer than it should have, and left questions modern science still can’t answer.
1467: "History of the Electricians Wire Stretcher"
Interesting Things with JC #1467: "History of the Electricians Wire Stretcher" – A lost Roman tool. A Da Vinci sketch. A telegraph miracle. Across centuries, one device keeps reappearing... when wires come up short.
1466: "What is a Veteran?"
Interesting Things with JC #1466: "What is a Veteran?" – From ancient Rome to today’s armed forces, the word “veteran” has carried centuries of honor. What does it really mean to serve, to return, and to keep faith long after the battle ends?
1465: "250 Years of the Marine Corps"
Interesting Things with JC #1465: "250 Years of the Marine Corps" – Forged in a tavern, tested in war. From Tripoli to Iwo Jima to Kabul, the U.S. Marines built 250 years of elite grit where precision meets chaos.
1464: "NCO vs Officer"
Interesting Things with JC #1464: "NCO vs Officer" – Two ranks, one mission. Officers chart the course; NCOs make it real. Where strategy meets grit and in the United States Marine Corps regardless of rank, every Marine is a Rifleman first.
1463: "The Red Ball Express"
Interesting Things with JC #1463: "The Red Ball Express" – In 1944, thousands of trucks raced across France to fuel an army on the move. Most were driven by Black soldiers who never got the glory, but kept victory alive.
1462: "Cream City Brick"
Interesting Things with JC #1462: "Cream City Brick" – Milwaukee didn’t get its look from a catalog, it got it from the land. Bricks made from ancient seafloor clay gave the city its warm hue, its strength, and its soul.
1461: "Inside the Black Hole We Call Home"
Interesting Things with JC #1461: "Inside the Black Hole We Call Home" – What if our universe isn’t floating in space… but folded inside it? A radical cosmology flips collapse into creation, and changes where we think we live.
1460: "Katharine Story: The Designer Who Trusted Her Eye Over Tradition"
Interesting Things with JC #1460: "Katharine Story: The Designer Who Trusted Her Eye Over Tradition" – She shaped her world by feel, not formula. From Camden to Laguna, Katharine's instinct carved a career that tradition would never have greenlit.
1459: "The Woman Who Danced Between Two Worlds"
Interesting Things with JC #1459: "The Woman Who Danced Between Two Worlds" – She didn’t ask to belong. She proved she did. King Lan Chew stepped into history not by force, but by grace and grit. A Chinese-American woman who danced her way through barriers, on her own terms.
1458: "How a Wardrobe Malfunction Invented the Modern Bra"
Interesting Things with JC #1458: "How a Wardrobe Malfunction Invented the Modern Bra" – A ruined dress, two handkerchiefs, and a flash of frustration led to one of fashion’s most quietly radical inventions. What started in a mirror reshaped the world.
1457: "The 1492 Ensisheim Meteor"
Interesting Things with JC #1457: "The 1492 Ensisheim Meteor" – In 1492, a thunderous roar split the skies over Ensisheim, and a blazing stone crashed to Earth. Villagers saw a sign from God. Centuries later, science revealed something far older...a fragment of creation itself.
1456: "The Invention of the Time Zone"
Interesting Things with JC #1456: "The Invention of the Time Zone" – Before the trains, every town kept its own noon. Then one day in 1883, a single telegraph signal reset an entire continent. The moment time itself was standardized, and trust was synchronized.
1455: "The Houdini Séance"
Interesting Things with JC #1455: "The Houdini Séance" – Every Halloween, a candle flickers for a man who escaped everything…except death. Houdini swore he’d return from the grave. What happens when the world keeps listening?