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A Short Story Podcast Series

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- Episodes vary in duration from 30 seconds to 8 minutes.
- All episodes are royalty free in their entirety—except for #509.
- If you have an idea for an episode, please reach out to our team and we’ll happily schedule the topic for a future recording.
- Priority is given to homeschooling parents, teachers, educators, and lifelong learning professionals.
- Select episodes now include free curriculum materials at the bottom of the episode page, designed to support open education initiatives, teachers, classrooms, and homeschool use. These materials are aligned to multiple educational standards globally.
- 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 over the air in various cities: in Detroit on 93.5 FM and WCSX-94.7 HD2, in Tampa on 1010 WHFS-AM, in Charlotte on 94.7 FM and WSOC-HD3, and in Ft. Myers/Naples on 96.5 FM, 101.5 FM, 105.1 FM, and WXKB-HD2.
Curriculum Summary for Educators, Homeschoolers, and Lifelong Learners
Interesting Things with JC now features free curriculum materials to go with select episodes, created for teachers, homeschool families, and curious learners of all ages.
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 List
- NGSS – 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.
- To review examples, check out any episode from #1235 to today, just scroll down.
- Beginning with Episode #1307 we’re shifting to an open text format at the bottom of every MP3 page in the RSS. This should allow greater ease of access.
- If you are using the curriculum your feedback is greatly appreciated, that’s how iterations like this continue to drive changes in the layout, and useability.
- If you intend to feature the series on your podcast or use it in your broadcast feed as interstitial content, please tag us on social media and/or send us an email.

JC 6/27/25 JC 6/27/25

1327: "The Impossible Coin Flip"

Interesting Things with JC #1327: "The Impossible Coin Flip" – You’re blindfolded, facing 100 coins. Ten are heads-up. Your task? Split them into two piles with equal heads...without knowing which is which. A puzzle that tests logic, not luck.

JC 6/25/25 JC 6/25/25

1326: "Before the Crown - A Tribute to the Career of Michael Jackson"

Interesting Things with JC #1326: "Before the Crown - A Tribute to the Career of Michael Jackson" – Before he wore the glove, before he moonwalked Michael Jackson studied silence, precision, and control. The crown wasn’t claimed. It was earned.

JC 6/22/25 JC 6/22/25

1322: "Chevy Corvette C2"

Interesting Things with JC #1322: "Chevy Corvette C2" – It wasn’t just a car, it was America’s muscular rebuttal to European speed. When the Sting Ray hit, the road culture roared.

JC 6/20/25 JC 6/20/25

1320: "Why Do People Install Wall Plugs Upside Down?"

Interesting Things with JC #1320: "Why Do People Install Wall Plugs Upside Down?" – The outlet on your wall might be upside down, or exactly how it should be. From 1960s regulations to hospital safety tweaks, this small detail sparks a surprisingly charged debate.

JC 6/18/25 JC 6/18/25

1318: "Spring Water"

Interesting Things with JC #1318: "Spring Water" - Before plastic, pipes, or purification, there was only the spring. From Paleolithic migrations to bottled luxury, this episode traces water’s oldest story rising untouched from the earth.

JC 6/14/25 JC 6/14/25

1314: "Could a Hidden Parasite Make You a Mosquito Target?"

Interesting Things with JC #1314: "Could a Hidden Parasite Make You a Mosquito Target?" – You feel fine. No symptoms. But to a mosquito, you suddenly smell irresistible. Could a silent parasite be changing your scent, and turning you into the perfect host?

JC 6/13/25 JC 6/13/25

1313: "Brian Wilson"

Interesting Things with JC #1313: "Brian Wilson" – He heard the world in one ear and imagined the rest. From Pet Sounds to silence, this is a life built on fragile brilliance and lasting sound.

JC 6/12/25 JC 6/12/25

1312: "Sly Stone"

Interesting Things with JC #1312: "Sly Stone" – He vanished from fame and lived in silence. Not because he was forgotten...but because he couldn’t bear being seen. A prophet of funk who chose exile over encore.

JC 6/8/25 JC 6/8/25

1308: "Hyperion"

Interesting Things with JC #1308: "Hyperion" – Deep in a fog-drenched forest, a 379-foot redwood reaches the edge of biology’s limits. But getting close could destroy it forever.

JC 5/25/25 JC 5/25/25

1294: "5/25/25"

Interesting Things with JC #1294: "5/25/25" – It’s a once-in-a-century number stack, where day, month, and year align. Not a palindrome, not a mirror, but something deeper. A date that won’t come again.

JC 5/20/25 JC 5/20/25

1289: "Linoleum"

Interesting Things with JC #1289: "Linoleum" – It wasn’t plastic, it wasn’t trendy, and it was never meant to be beautiful, yet it quietly defined an era. What happens when something lasts too long to be noticed?

JC 5/15/25 JC 5/15/25

1284: "Strawberries and Garlic are Companion Plants"

Interesting Things with JC #1284: "Strawberries and Garlic are Companion Plants" – They grow in silence, side by side, one sweet, one sharp. But together, strawberries and garlic create something nature alone couldn’t plan.

JC 5/13/25 JC 5/13/25

1282: "May 13, 1981 – The Attempted Assassination of Pope John Paul II"

Interesting Things with JC #1282: "May 13, 1981 – The Attempted Assassination of Pope John Paul II" – A gentle gesture saved his life. A bullet reshaped a continent. In the heart of the Cold War, one unarmed man became too dangerous to ignore.

JC 5/11/25 JC 5/11/25

1280: "The Sword in the Stone of Saint Galgano"

Interesting Things with JC #1280: "The Sword in the Stone of Saint Galgano" – A knight lays down his weapon, not in battle, but in surrender. Eight centuries later, the blade still stands. What if the greatest strength is choosing to let go?

JC 5/10/25 JC 5/10/25

1279: "The World’s Smallest Army"

Interesting Things with JC #1279: "The World’s Smallest Army" – They wear Renaissance colors, they carry halberds, but behind the pageantry is something real, a small, sworn force that once saved a Pope, and still might.

JC 4/29/25 JC 4/29/25

1268: "Murder on the High Seas – The Case of the Mignonette"

Interesting Things with JC #1268: "Murder on the High Seas – The Case of the Mignonette" – When survival demanded a terrible choice, four men faced a decision that would echo through legal history. How far can desperation bend the rules of life and death?

JC 4/28/25 JC 4/28/25

1267: "What is a Chicken Jockey?"

Interesting Things with JC #1267: "What is a Chicken Jockey?" – How a tiny, chaotic creature in Minecraft sparked a slang explosion, proving that kids still rule language evolution.

JC 4/20/25 JC 4/20/25

1258: "The History of Peeps!"

Interesting Things with JC #1258: "The History of Peeps!" – They’re soft, sweet, and seemingly simple, but beneath the sugar lies a story of postwar innovation, seasonal tradition, and quiet cultural dominance.

JC 4/7/25 JC 4/7/25

1245: "A Simple Riddle 11"

Interesting Things with JC #1245: "A Simple Riddle 11" – It sounds obvious. It isn’t. This one-line riddle hides its real trick behind what you think you already know. Can you catch what others miss?

JC 4/6/25 JC 4/6/25

1244: "Operation Midnight Climax: The CIA's Covert Safehouses"

Interesting Things with JC #1244: "Operation Midnight Climax: The CIA's Covert Safehouses" – Behind a one-way mirror, the CIA drugged Americans in secret safehouses, searching for a new kind of control. The truth leaked decades later, but not before the bourbon was poured.