Culture Kids is a 3x Webby Award-winning nonprofit organization that creates immersive audio adventures, helping families explore the world and connect with people, places, and stories in meaningful ways.
Hosted by a mom and her son, each episode begins aboard a magical Culture Train, where families travel the world together right from home.
From bustling cities to quiet villages, we explore cultures through holidays, food, traditions, animals, and the everyday lives of people everywhere, all through a lens that feels relatable, curious, and grounded in real family experiences.
Each journey is brought to life with real voices, in partnership with cultural organizations, museums, and communities around the world, so every story feels authentic and full of discovery.
As one of our 6-year-old listeners shared, our show “creates love around the world.”
So pack your imaginary passports and grab your bags, because it’s time to hop on the Culture Train and become globe-trotting explorers right where you are!
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Stories of America | Windmills, Kringles & Bald Eagles: A Santa Ynez Valley Adventure (Part 1!)
Friday, November 6, 2026 • Duration 22:49
Hop aboard the Culture Train for a trip to the Santa Ynez Valley, a sunny stretch of California between the mountains and the sea. In Solvang, a little town founded by Danish families in 1911, we ride a horse-drawn trolley past giant windmills with our friend Danielle from Visit the Santa Ynez Valley. Then we discover the story behind the golden kringle sign and taste kransekage, a Danish treat served at weddings. After that, we head out to Alisal Ranch for a hayride through the rolling hills, where we spot wild deer, oak trees full of acorns, and a bald eagle family that has lived on the ranch since 2009.
Plan your own Santa Ynez Valley adventure!
Visit the Santa Ynez Valley: visitsyv.com
Instagram: @visitsyv
Places from this episode
Solvang: solvangusa.com
Solvang Trolley & Carriage Co.: solvangtrolley.com
The Solvang Bakery: solvangbakery.com
Alisal Ranch Haywagon Ride & Breakfast: alisalranch.com
Vega Vineyard & Farm: vegavineyardandfarm.com
OstrichLand USA: ostrichlandusa.com
Highline Adventures (zipline and Skynet Playground): highlineadventures.com
Thank youToday’s adventure was made possible by Visit the Santa Ynez Valley. A huge thank you to our guest Danielle Laudon Ruse, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Visit the Santa Ynez Valley, and to Highline Adventures, Alisal Ranch, and The Solvang Bakery for welcoming our Culture Train!
And a special shoutout to Zack Hall and Georgia Starodub of DVA Advertising & PR, who put this whole adventure together so thoughtfully. From the very first plan, they made sure every stop was made with families in mind, and we’re so grateful!
Support Culture KidsCulture Kids is a nonprofit, and families like yours keep our Culture Train running. Please support us at culturekidsmedia.com/support, and the easiest way to help is to tell just one family about Culture Kids today.
Follow along on Instagram: @culturekidsproductions
CreditsHosts: Kristen, Asher, and Arden KimGuest: Danielle Laudon Ruse, Visit the Santa Ynez ValleyAudio Engineer: Robin LaiAcademic Consultant: Elisha LiNonprofit Consultant: Emil Kang, Jessica RyanProduced By: Culture Kids Productions X Visit Santa Ynez ValleySound Design: Kristen KimSound FX & Music: Envato Elements, Suno AI
Stories of America: The Surprising History of Candy Corn!
Friday, October 23, 2026 • Duration 18:20
Did you know candy corn was once called “Chicken Feed”? This Halloween, hop aboard the Culture Train for a sweet journey through American history! Kristen and Asher travel back in time to a Pennsylvania farm in the 1880s to discover why so much of America’s corn was grown for animals, not dinner plates. Then they visit a bustling Cincinnati candy shop around 1900, where kids bought candy corn by the penny.
Along the way, families learn about guising, the old Irish and Scottish tradition that helped inspire trick-or-treating. They’ll also discover how a German immigrant family, the Goelitz family, helped make candy corn one of America’s most famous Halloween treats, and how their company grew into the candy maker we know today as Jelly Belly.
Learn more about candy corn and Jelly Belly
Jelly Belly has made candy corn since about 1898, longer than any other candy company. Read more about its history at news.jellybelly.com/candy-corn-by-the-makers-of-jelly-belly, or visit jellybelly.com.
Please help us continue our adventures!
Culture Kids is a nonprofit, and every adventure is made possible by families like yours. If you’d like to help us keep creating free stories that carry cultures and histories from one generation to the next, please consider a tax-deductible gift at culturekidsmedia.com/support. Thank you for being part of our Culture Kids family!
Credits
Hosted by Kristen Kim and Asher
Produced by Culture Kids Productions
Sound FX: Envato Elements
Sound Design: Kristen Kim
Audio Engineer: Robin Lai
Spooky Forest Adventure Part 2: Are Bats and Snakes Really Scary? | Halloween History for Kids
Friday, October 9, 2026 • Duration 14:39
Are bats and snakes really as spooky as they seem? Hop back aboard the magical Culture Train with Kristen, Asher, and Arden as we return to our Spooky Forest Adventure for Halloween!
We start with a peek into Halloween history, tracing it back thousands of years to Samhain, an ancient Celtic harvest festival in Ireland with bonfires, costumes, and masks. Then we head into the moonlit forest, where we meet two of the most famous Halloween creatures of all.
First come the bats! Families will learn that out of more than 1,400 bat species, only three drink blood, and most bats eat insects or fruit and even help pollinate flowers. We discover why bats became a symbol of good fortune in Chinese art and how fruit bats hold a special place in Tongan tradition.
Next, a snake slithers across our path! We explore how snakes have carried very different meanings across cultures, from the cobra goddess Wadjet who protected Egyptian pharaohs to the Greek healer Asclepius, whose snake-wrapped staff is still a symbol of medicine today.
This Halloween episode for kids shows how learning about something unfamiliar can turn fear into curiosity, and how every culture sees the world in its own beautiful way.
Culture Kids is a 3x Webby Award-winning immersive audio adventure for families, exploring world cultures, history, and science together. If you love the show, please leave us a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify so more families can find us.
Support our mission: https://www.culturekidsmedia.com/support/Website: https://culturekidsproductions.orgInstagram: @culturekidsproductionsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@culturekidspodcast
Hosts: Kristen, Arden and Asher Kim
Producer & Sound Designer: Kristen Kim
Sound FX License: Envato Elements & Epidemic Sounds
Audio Engineer: Robin Lai
Academic Consultant: Elisha Li
Nonprofit Consultant: Emil Kang, Jesseca Ryan
All Aboard Hōkūleʻa! Finding Our Way Across the Pacific by Stars, Waves, and Birds
Thursday, September 24, 2026 • Duration 23:32
In this episode, the Culture Train sails to Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi, to meet Mark from the Polynesian Voyaging Society and step aboard Hōkūleʻa, a traditional double-hulled voyaging canoe. Kids learn how the Hawaiian Islands formed, what it means to sail using wayfinding (ancient, non-instrument navigation using the stars, sun, wind, and waves), and why this tradition still matters today.
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ABOUT THE POLYNESIAN VOYAGING SOCIETY:
Founded in 1973 by Herb Kawainui Kāne, Ben Finney, and Tommy Holmes, the Polynesian Voyaging Society was created to prove that ancient Polynesians navigated across the Pacific with skill and purpose, not by accident. Their voyaging canoe, Hōkūleʻa ("Star of Gladness"), launched in 1975 and has since sailed over 300,000 nautical miles, carrying forward the practice of traditional wayfinding taught by master navigator Mau Piailug. Learn more and track Hōkūleʻa's real-time voyages at hokulea.com, or explore learning resources for kids at waahonua.com.
Website: hokulea.com
Social media: @hokuleacrew (Instagram and Facebook)Third canoe / educational platform: Waʻa Honua ("Canoe for the Earth"), https://waahonua.com/
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ABOUT TEACH AAPI:This episode was created in partnership with TeachAAPI, a national nonprofit on a mission to build student belonging through AAPI education. TeachAAPI arms PK-12 schools with turn-key lesson plans and programming, trains educators in culturally responsive teaching, and supports them all year long.
Academic Materials for Educators:TeachAAPI provides educators with books, activity boxes, performances, and a range of AAPI lesson plans - from quick mini lessons to two-week, cross-curricular units. Mini lessons are free and accessible to all.
Find the full classroom lesson paired with this episode, along with additional AAPI academic resources, at https://teachaapi.org/resources/.
Website: teachaapi.org
Instagram: @teachaapi
LinkedIn: TeachAAPI
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A Note from Culture Kids:
Grown-ups, if you haven't already, please consider making a small donation to our nonprofit, Culture Kids. We're a small team with a big dream, raising a generation of kids who are curious, globally minded, and ready to make friendships across every border, all while keeping our show ad-free. Every dollar helps us create more adventures and reach more families. You'll find the donation link below.
Links:Donate: https://www.culturekidsmedia.com/support/Website: culturekidsproductions.orgInstagram: @culturekidsproductionsYouTube: youtube.com/@culturekidspodcast
Credits:
Hosted by Kristen and Asher Kim Executive Producer: Kristen KimProduced By: Culture Kids Productions, TeachAAPI, Polynesian Voyaging Society, Nikki Kealalio, Mark Ellis Guest Host: Mark EllisSound Design: Kristen KimSound FX & Music: Envato ElementsAudio Engineering: Robin LaiAcademic Consultant: Elisha LiGFX: Tessa Gin, TeachAAPI, Kristen KimNonprofit Consultant: Jesseca Ryan, Emil KangYouth Advisor: Asher Kim
Antarctica's Frozen MYSTERY: Discovering the SHIPWRECK of Endurance!
Friday, September 11, 2026 • Duration 20:59
Culture Kids heads to the bottom of the world this episode, Antarctica! Join Mom and Asher as they explore towering icebergs, meet emperor penguins and a very sleepy Weddell seal, then dive nearly two miles beneath the frozen Weddell Sea to uncover one of the greatest shipwreck discoveries in modern history: Ernest Shackleton's Endurance, lost for over 100 years and found perfectly preserved on the ocean floor in 2022.
Along the way, we learn why Antarctica is technically a desert, how emperor penguins huddle for warmth, why the Weddell Sea is one of the only places on Earth where a hundred-year-old wooden ship can still look brand new, and the incredible true story of how all 28 members of Shackleton's crew made it home safely.
A Note from Culture Kids:
Grown-ups, if you haven't already, please consider making a small donation to our nonprofit, Culture Kids. We're a small team with a big dream, raising a generation of kids who are curious, globally minded, and ready to make friendships across every border, all while keeping our show ad-free. Every dollar helps us create more adventures and reach more families. You'll find the donation link below.
Links:
Donate: https://www.culturekidsmedia.com/support/
Website: culturekidsproductions.org
Instagram: @culturekidsproductions
YouTube: youtube.com/@culturekidspodcast
Thanks for joining us today! Stay tuned in two weeks as we sail off to Hawaii to learn about Polynesian voyaging, and don't miss our Halloween specials coming up as we return to the Culture Kids Spooky Forest.
Asher and Mom visit family friend Miral Sattar, whose roots stretch from Pakistan to Burma to Persia, for a hands-on lesson in how food becomes a love language across cultures. Kids will learn about Rooh Afza rose milk, crispy beef samosas, Burmese khow suey noodles, the tradition of chai hospitality, and creamy pistachio kulfi, all while discovering why sharing a meal is one of the most universal ways people show they care.
About Miral Sattar:
🎧 Miral Sattar is the creator and host of Bearily Bear Reimagined Fairy Tales, an award-winning kids podcast with more than 3 million listeners that reimagines classic fairy tales with brave heroines, diverse cultures, and stories from around the world. She's also a mom of three and a children's media advocate passionate about raising curious, empathetic kids through stories.
Bearily Bear Reimagined Fairy Tales: wherever you get your podcasts!
Miral on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miralreads
About The Saami Family
🎶 A special thank you to The Saami Family for allowing us to use their beautiful Khayal music, a centuries-old South Asian classical vocal tradition, in this episode.
Listen to The Saami Family website: https://voiceofsaamis.com/
The Saami Brothers on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesaamibrothersofficial/
💛 Please consider supporting our nonprofit, Culture Kids Productions and help us stay ad-free and help us keep our show accessible for every family:
Culture Kids is a small team with a big dream: raising a generation of kids who are curious, globally minded, and ready to build friendships across every border, all while keeping our show completely free and ad-free for families everywhere.
If our adventures have brought a little wonder into your home, we'd be so grateful for your support. Every donation, big or small, helps us create new episodes, partner with cultural experts and organizations, and reach even more curious young explorers around the world.
DONATE HERE:
https://www.culturekidsmedia.com/support/
Thank you.
Credits:
Hosts: Kristen and Asher Kim
Guest Collaborator: Miral Sittar
Produced By: Culture Kids Productions
Executive Producer: Kristen Kim
Sound Design: Kristen Kim
Audio Engineer: Robin Lai
Nonprofit Consultant: Emil Kang, Jesseca Ryan
Academic Consultant: Elisha Li
Sound FX: Envato Elements, The Saami Family
Culture Kids Summer Special! YOUR JOKES & Voicemails from Around the World!
Friday, August 14, 2026 • Duration 09:53
It's a Culture Kids first, an entire episode made by YOU! For this summer special, Kristen and Asher hand the mic over to the Culture Kids community, featuring voicemails sent in from listeners all around the world sharing what they love most about the show, plus a whole lot of jokes to keep things silly. This episode is a celebration of the curious, kind, and adventurous kids who make up the Culture Kids family, and a reminder that every single explorer who tunes in is part of what makes this show special.
Hosted by Kristen Kim and Asher, Culture Kids Productions
Featuring voicemails from the Culture Kids community
The Mermaid Mystery: Did People Really See Mermaids? A True History Adventure for Kids
Friday, July 31, 2026 • Duration 15:44
Grab your imaginary passports, Culture Kids! In this episode, Kristen, Asher, and Arden hop aboard the Culture Train time machine to investigate one of history's most enduring legends: mermaids. Are they pure myth, or did real people really believe they saw one? The adventure begins over 2,300 years ago in the ancient city of Hierapolis, in what is now northern Syria, home to a sacred temple dedicated to the goddess Atargatis, widely considered one of the oldest mermaid-like figures in recorded history. From there, the Culture Train jumps nearly 1,800 years forward to 1493, landing aboard Christopher Columbus's ship in the Caribbean Sea, where Columbus famously recorded seeing three "mermaids" in his own journal.
Along the way, kids discover that mermaid-like legends appear across cultures all over the world, from the ningyo of Japan to Mami Wata in West and Central Africa, and learn the real, scientific explanation historians believe is behind Columbus's sighting: the gentle, slow-moving manatee. It's a story about curiosity, the mystery of the ocean, and how humans everywhere have always tried to make sense of the unknown through story.
The real historical origins of mermaid mythology, starting with the goddess Atargatis in ancient Hierapolis
How Christopher Columbus's 1493 ship log describes a real "mermaid" sighting
The scientific explanation behind Columbus's sighting: manatees, and why sailors mistook them for mythical creatures
How mermaid-like legends appear independently across cultures, including Japanese ningyo and West/Central African Mami Wata
Why humans across history and geography have always turned mysterious sightings into story
Families with kids ages 4 to 10 who love ocean adventures, mythology, world history, marine animals, and time-travel storytelling.
Hierapolis, ancient Syria — Temple of Atargatis
The Caribbean Sea, 1493 — Christopher Columbus's voyage near Hispaniola
Cross-cultural mermaid mythology: Japan (ningyo) and West/Central Africa (Mami Wata)
Credits:
Hosts: Kristen and Asher Kim
Producer & Sound Designer: Kristen Kim
Sound FX License: Envato Elements & Epidemic Sounds
Audio Engineer: Robin Lai
Academic Consultant: Elisha Li
Nonprofit Consultant: Emil Kang, Jesseca Ryan
Priest: Kristen Kim
Christopher Columbus: Kristen Kim
Sailor: Kristen Kim
This episode is a work of fiction created for children's entertainment and educational enrichment purposes only. While inspired by mermaid mythology and folklore from various cultures, the characters, dialogue, and specific story events depicted are fictionalized and should not be relied upon as an accurate, complete, or authoritative account of any culture's traditions, beliefs, or history.
Culture Kids Productions has made a good faith effort to represent the cultural and mythological source material respectfully, but listeners seeking factual or academic information about these traditions should consult qualified cultural experts, historians, or primary sources.
Why Are Korean Mung Bean Sprouts Named After a Scholar? A Culture Train Adventure to 1400s Korea
Friday, July 17, 2026 • Duration 16:29
Grab your imaginary passports, Culture Kids! In this episode, Kristen and Asher welcome their friend Senna into the kitchen to cook up a Korean side dish called sukju namul (숙주나물), better known in English as seasoned mung bean sprouts. But this isn't just a cooking lesson. Halfway through sautéing sprouts with soy sauce and sesame oil, the Culture Train whisks the kids back to 15th century Hanyang (modern-day Seoul) during the Joseon Dynasty, where they uncover the real reason this humble vegetable carries the name of a royal scholar named Shin Suk-ju.
Kids will learn how a political betrayal during a real moment in Korean history became forever linked to a fast-spoiling vegetable, and why Koreans have called mung bean sprouts "sukju namul" for hundreds of years. It's a story about food, memory, loyalty, and how history hides in the meals we eat every day.
What mung bean sprouts (sukju namul) are and how they're prepared in Korean cooking
The difference between how mung bean sprouts were cooked in the Joseon Dynasty versus how they're cooked today
The true story of Korean scholar Shin Suk-ju and the royal succession crisis that changed his legacy
How a vegetable came to be named after a real historical figure
A hands-on family recipe families can recreate at home
Sukju Namul (Korean Seasoned Mung Bean Sprouts)
Lightly boiled mung bean sprouts, tossed with sesame oil, garlic, salt, and sesame seeds. Serve as a banchan (Korean side dish) alongside rice.
Hosted by Kristen Kim and Asher, Culture Kids Productions
Host & Producer: Kristen Kim
Co Host & Co Producer: Asher Kim
Guest Host: Senna Turin
Script Review/Academic Consultant: Elisha Li
Nonprofit Consultant: Emil Kang
Audio Engineering: Robin Lai
Music & Sound FX: Envato Elements
This episode is a work of fiction created for children's entertainment and educational enrichment purposes only. The characters, dialogue, and specific story events depicted are fictionalized and should not be relied upon as an accurate, complete, or authoritative account of any culture's traditions, beliefs, or history.
Culture Kids Productions has made a good faith effort to represent the cultural and mythological source material respectfully, but listeners seeking factual or academic information about these traditions should consult qualified cultural experts, historians, or primary sources.
Where Did Unicorns Really Come From? The Surprising True History for Kids
Friday, July 3, 2026 • Duration 16:26
Kristen, Asher, and Arden board the Culture Train Time Machine and travel to two extraordinary moments in history. First, they land on the Persian Royal Road in 400 BCE, where merchants and travelers are exchanging stories from distant lands - including eyewitness accounts of mysterious one-horned creatures from beyond the rivers of India.
Then they leap forward to a Medieval European castle, where knights and nobles are marveling at what they believe is a real unicorn horn - not knowing it is actually the spiral tusk of a narwhal, carried thousands of miles by clever traders.
Along the way, kids learn how stories travel, how imagination fills in the gaps, and how a legend is born when one curious mind sparks an idea and another passes it on.
Fun Facts from This Episode
The earliest known written description of a unicorn-like creature was recorded by the Greek historian Ctesias around 400 BCE
Historians believe early unicorn stories may have been inspired by travelers describing a rhinoceros to people who had never seen one
In Medieval Europe, narwhal tusks were sold as unicorn horns and were sometimes worth more than gold
Traders carried narwhal tusks thousands of miles south from the Arctic, and most buyers had no idea what they really were
Unicorn legends appear independently in ancient India, China, Persia, and Europe- showing how powerful a traveling story can be
SUPPORT CULTURE KIDS
If you enjoyed today's adventure, please subscribe, leave a review, and share Culture Kids with a family you love. Every share helps more children discover new places, meet new people, and grow curious about the world around them.
Culture Kids Productions is a 3x Webby Award-winning nonprofit podcast dedicated to sparking curiosity, connection, and wonder in children around the world. Rated five stars by Common Sense Media. Listed as an Apple Podcasts Essentials pick for Kids and Family.
Join our newsletter:https://culturekidsproductions.org
Support our mission:https://culturekidsproductions.org
Follow Culture Kids:
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/culturekidsproductions
Credits:
Host & Producer: Kristen Kim
Co Host & Co Producer: Asher Kim and Arden Kim
Script Review/Academic Consultant: Elisha Li
Audio Engineering: Robin Lai
Music & Sound FX: Envato Elements
Merchant: Kristen Kim
This episode is a work of fiction created for children's entertainment and educational enrichment purposes only. The characters, dialogue, and specific story events depicted are fictionalized and should not be relied upon as an accurate, complete, or authoritative account of any culture's traditions, beliefs, or history.
Culture Kids Productions has made a good faith effort to represent the cultural and mythological source material respectfully, but listeners seeking factual or academic information about these traditions should consult qualified cultural experts, historians, or primary sources.
Details about Culture Kids, a podcast by Culture Kids Productions