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.
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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 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.
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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 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.
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.
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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.
588: "St Patrick Blue"
Interesting Things with JC #588: “St Patrick Blue” - The earliest depictions of St. Patrick show him dressed in blue garments rather than green, and when George III established the Order of St. Patrick for the Kingdom of Ireland, its official color was azure blue, known as "St. Patrick's Blue."
587: “St Patrick and the Shamrock”
Interesting Things with JC #587: “St Patrick and the Shamrock” - Saint Patrick is said to have used the three-leaf shamrock to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity, but did he?
586: “St Patrick got rid of the Snakes”
Interesting Things with JC #586: “St Patrick got rid of the Snakes” - One of the legends surrounding St. Patrick is that he stood atop an Irish hillside and expelled all snakes from Ireland, causing all serpents to slither away into the sea.
585: "Saint Patrick"
Interesting Things with JC #585: "Saint Patrick" - Discover the fascinating life of Saint Patrick, the man behind the legend. From captive to missionary, his journey is one of hardship, faith, and triumph.
560: "Great Balls of Fire"
Interesting Things with JC #560: "Great Balls of Fire" - Have you ever heard of ball lightning? This mysterious phenomenon is still not fully understood by scientists.
531: "Bananas Glow Blue Under Black Light"
Interesting Things with JC #531: "Bananas Glow Blue Under Black Light" - Ripening bananas reveal secrets of cell death under UV light.
275: "The First Colour Photograph"
Interesting Things with JC #275: "The First Colour Photograph” - On May 17th 1861 Scottish physicist James Maxwell revealed the first colour photograph at King's College in London. The photo is actually a composite of three black and white pictures, each taken through a red, green and blue filter. The images were overlayed through projection of three similarly filtered lenses, which resulted in display of a colour photograph.
268: "Neuschwanstein Castle”
Interesting Things with JC #268: "Neuschwanstein Castle” - Schloss Neuschwanstein means "New Swan Castle", it's a long standing wonder and landmark on a rugged hill, rising majestically above the village of Hohenschwangau in the Southwest Bavaria of Germany. Neuschwanstein Castle was built in the 19th century by the desires of Ludwig II of Bavaria. The Castle is tremendous, at approximately 6,039square meters / 65,000 square feet, and is said to have inspired Sleeping Beauty's castle in Disneyland!
192 - Interesting Things: Color Perception
It's the surface of an object that reflects some colors and absorbs all the others. We perceive only the reflected colors. Perceived color depends on how an object absorbs and reflects wavelengths. Human beings can only see a small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, from about 400 nm to 700 nm, but it’s enough to allow us to see millions of colors!
175 Interesting Things - Lobster Blood Is Blue
Lobsters have blue blood. Due to the presence of copper in the Hymocyanins, they give the color of the lobster blood bluish color. Invertebrates, like snails and spiders, also have blue blood due to hemocyanin. Did you know lobster blood is critical in emerging medical research?