I recently discovered Podcast Brunch Club, which is like a book club but for podcasts. Each month they collate a themed playlist of podcasts and provide discussion questions to help you discuss your thoughts. Some recent themes of note have included:

• Representations & Stereotypes in Pop Culture
• The Future of the Human Body
• Climate Change
• Creativity
• Gangs

Each episode also comes with a cool Spotify playlist, which you know I love doing, and to make things easier you can sign up to receive their newsletter.

Essential Listening for #Healthed Teachers: October 2017 Podcast Playlist

Regular readers of this blog know that my 70 minute commute to work allows me to avidly consume podcasts and I have previously blogged about my aural addiction. Although the genres are pretty varied, recently I’ve been checking out podcasts aimed at kids, I am often frustrated at the lack of podcast episodes that speak directly to us as health teachers. Having said that, there have been some real gems that I have shared online and even gone back for a second listen.

NPR’s Code Switch Podcast: Being ‘Outdoorsy’ When You’re Black Or Brown

I love this podcast as it really makes me think about issues of social justice, but this early episode from them brought up a topic that I had never considered. As health teachers we want our students to be health literate and to make healthy choices and we know that the influence of others, and the concept of perception vs reality can have a powerful effect on our behavior. This episode highlights that people of color aren’t heading to national parks. In fact, according to the National Park Service, last year about 80 percent of all national parks visitors, volunteers and staff were white. There are organizations attempting to address this, but there are some powerful takeaways for health and PE teachers regarding how free our students and their families are when it comes to feeling comfortable in the outdoors.

Harvard Public Health Podcast: An Invisible Evil

This is the podcast episode that I was waiting for Code Switch to record, but instead it came from the excellent weekly podcast from Harvard Chan. In this episode they examine how long-standing institutions and policies affect health disparities—and what can be done to change this. As we strive to encourage our students to become global citizens it is important that they are able to identify disparities between communities and advocate for their eradication. Our students must be comfortable speaking out when they hear facts such as

A black mother in New York City is four times more likely to die during childbirth than a white mother. And nationally the infant mortality rate for non-Latino blacks is more than two* times the rate for white infants.

Wow in the World : Back-To-School – Recess 101

This is a podcast from NPR targeting kids and my 5 year old enjoys it. In this episode the hosts discuss “How in the world does recess make us smarter? Where in the world do kids enjoy the most of it?” As we are taken on an expedition to better understand the science of taking a break, the theory behind the benefits of movement and how it helps us learn is presented in a way that allows younger students to digest and hopefully share with their peers, parents and teachers. I maintain that if we do our jobs properly as teachers and deliver great lessons that empower our students to navigate their health and physical literacy journeys we will essentially turn them into an army of advocates. When they hear of their peers being given second rate instruction they will feel more confident in advocating for an improvement in the situation.

This podcast also shares additional resources and conversation starters from each episode.*

Global Physed Voxcast: Helping Students Improve Their Health Literacy

A podcast created by our community, for our community and one in which I have been personally involved. In this episode my good friend, and co-worker Andy Horne presents a 10 minute justification on why we must move away from content-based instruction and towards skills-based instruction as we better prepare our students to develop their health literacy. This is the podcast that you need to share with those who could benefit from bringing their health education instruction into the 21st century!

Conversation Starters about The Essential Listening for #Healthed Teachers Playlist:

Other #slowchathealth posts you’ll like include:

Protest Songs which has another awesome Spotify playlist of songs to unleash the activist within.

While You Were Away a collation of the best that social media had to offer over the summer. Includes a cool downloadable e-book with lots of live links!