🎙️ September 30 – Podcast Day: Let’s Get Ear-resistibly Entertained! 🎧
Okay, podcast lovers, this one’s for you. Whether you're the kind of person who’s got a queue so long it's basically a scroll of ancient wisdom, or you’re still calling them "those radio show things on the internet"—September 30 is International Podcast Day, and it's time to tune in and geek out.
Let’s rewind just a sec (see what I did there?) and look at where this glorious audio obsession began…
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📻 A Brief History of Podcast Day (Because We Love a Good Origin Story)
🎧 International Podcast Day was officially founded in 2014 by podcasting duo Steve Lee and his son Dave Lee, who were already knee-deep in the audio trenches. They kicked it off as a grassroots effort to celebrate the power of podcastsand encourage more people to jump on the mic and share their voices with the world.
The idea gained traction fast (like, viral-fast), and now every September 30, podcasters and listeners all over the globe come together to spotlight their favorite shows, share tips and tools, and basically fangirl/boy/enby out over their favorite hosts.
🎙️ Fun & Quirky Podcast Facts to Drop Casually in Conversation
The term "podcast" is a mashup of iPod and broadcast. (Yes, that means Apple accidentally named an entire industry. Again.)
There are now over 5 million podcasts globally. So yes, it’s totally okay if you're behind on your backlog.
The most popular podcast genre? Comedy! Which is great, because the world could always use more laughter.
The longest podcast ever recorded went 36 hours straight. That’s a LOT of coffee and questionable life choices.
Some folks listen to podcasts at 2x speed and honestly, that’s just… a bold way to live.
🎉 12 Delightfully Nerdy Ways to Celebrate Podcast Day
🎧 Binge a New Genre – True crime’s your jam? Try fiction. Love business? Dip into paranormal weirdness. Shake up those earwaves!
🎙️ Start Your Own Podcast – All you need is a mic, a half-decent idea, and the ability to speak semi-coherently. Bonus points for weird niche topics!
💬 Leave a Glowing Review – Podcasters live for those 5 stars and sweet, sweet validation.
🧼 Clean Your House to a Podcast – Turn chores into something vaguely tolerable with a little podcast magic.
🎁 Gift a Podcast Rec – Curate a playlist of your all-time faves and share it like a modern mixtape.
🤳 Post a #PodcastSelfie – Snap a pic of your current listen, headphones on, cozy vibes fully activated.
👂 Host a Listening Party – Yes, it's like a book club but with more earholes involved.
🐾 Make a Podcast for Your Pet – Honestly? Zero rules. Just whisper sweet nothings to your dog.
🛠️ Build a Blanket Fort Studio – Try your hand at DIY recording and learn why podcasters are always asking for donations.
💡 Pitch a Podcast Idea to a Friend – Something weird. Something wonderful. Something like “Bread Talk: Loaf Stories & Yeasty Drama.”
🖼️ Make Fan Art – Got a favorite host or podcast moment? Immortalize it in doodle form and tag them!
🧠 Take a Quiz to Find Your Podcast Personality – Are you a “news junkie,” a “storytime soul,” or “mystery goblin”?
🎙️Dinner Theme: "Dinner & Downloads"
Dim the lights, grab your best headphones (or just pretend), and set the scene for an "audio lounge" dinner. Casual, cozy, clever. Dishes should be easy to enjoy while multitasking (like... listening to a podcast), and named like episodes.
🍝 Main Dish: "Episode 1 – Mic’d Up Mac & Cheese"
Ultra-creamy stovetop mac & cheese with a crispy topping for a little ASMR crunch.
Ingredients:
8 oz elbow macaroni or cavatappi
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 cups whole milk
1 ½ cups sharp cheddar, shredded
½ cup Gruyère or fontina (for podcast host levels of depth)
Salt, pepper, pinch of paprika
Optional: crushed kettle chips or toasted breadcrumbs for topping
Instructions:
Cook pasta until just al dente.
In a saucepan, melt butter, whisk in flour, and cook for 1 minute.
Slowly whisk in milk. Stir until thickened.
Add cheeses, season, stir until creamy.
Mix in pasta. Top with crunchy topping for texture you can hear.
Serve in a bowl. Preferably with socks on and something playing in your earbuds.
🥗 Side: "Sidebar Salad"
A crunchy, refreshing side that adds a bright intermission.
Ingredients:
Arugula & spinach mix
Sliced apples or pears
Shaved fennel (underrated, just like your favorite indie pod)
Crumbled goat cheese
Candied walnuts
Dijon-honey vinaigrette
🍹 Drink: "Host’s Choice Highball" (Cocktail or Mocktail)
Podcast hosts always have a signature drink—this one’s yours.
Ingredients:
2 oz ginger beer or sparkling water
1 oz lime juice
1 oz honey syrup (honey + hot water, equal parts)
Optional: 1–2 oz bourbon or gin
Ice + lime wedge + sprig of rosemary (for the ~aesthetic~)
Shake or stir over ice, sip slowly while discussing your favorite episodes out loud like the main character you are.
🍪 Dessert: “Bonus Episode – Sound Bites”
Bite-sized lemon shortbread cookies with a lavender glaze. They snap like a great cold open and melt like a heartfelt sign-off.
🥄 Ingredients (Shortbread):
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup powdered sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp lemon zest
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
🫧 Lavender Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1–2 tbsp milk or lemon juice
½ tsp dried culinary lavender, crushed or steeped into the milk
Optional: purple food coloring or edible glitter for ✨podcaster sparkle✨
🎙️ Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
Cream butter & sugar until fluffy. Mix in lemon zest, vanilla, salt.
Add flour gradually—dough should be soft but not sticky.
Roll out & cut into headphone shapes, sound waves, or just circles (keep it meta).
Bake 10–12 mins, until edges are just golden. Cool completely.
Mix glaze ingredients and drizzle or dip cookies. Let set.
Serve on a “record sleeve” or with mini signs like “Hot Take” and “Cookie Crumbs”.
🕯️ Bonus Vibes:
Set out coasters made from old CDs or vinyl.
Use podcast episode titles as place cards (ex: “True Crime Dinner Guest”).
Ask your guests: If your life were a podcast, what would it be called?
🎧 Elementary Idea: "My Life as a Podcast" - A One-Episode Wonder
Theme: Personal storytelling meets audio fun!
Grade Level: 2–5
Time Needed: 1–2 class periods
Materials:
Chart paper or whiteboard
Simple script template
Crayons/markers
Audio recording tools (optional: classroom iPads, student Chromebooks with voice recording tools, or just a phone with Voice Memos)
Headphones (if available)
🎯 Objective:
Students will learn how podcasts share stories using voice and sound, then create a short personal audio story about something quirky or meaningful in their life.
📝 Step-by-Step:
🎙️Hook: Start by asking: "What do you think a podcast is?" Play a 1–2 minute clip from a kid-friendly podcast (see recs below). Ask: "What did you hear? What made it interesting?"
🧠 Brainstorm Together: On the board, jot answers to:
What makes a good podcast voice?
What are some cool things you could share in a podcast?
📄 Script Time! Hand out the mini script template.
🎨 Add Art (Optional): Have students decorate a "podcast cover" with a title and illustration.
🎤 Record It! Use simple audio tools to let students record their episodes. No tech? Do a live share circle, where students read their scripts aloud into an imaginary mic.
🔊 Optional Bonus: Compile into a class “Podcast Day” playlist and play it during morning routines or parent night!
🧠 Podcast Recs for Kids:
Circle Round (folk tales)
Brains On! (science with humor)
Wow in the World (curiosity-driven stories)
🎙️ Secondary Idea: “PodClass Investigates” - Student-Led Mini Podcasts
Theme: Inquiry + Voice + Real-World Relevance
Grade Level: 6–12
Time Needed: 2–4 class periods (or a mini project)
Materials:
Topic planning template
Devices for research and recording
Access to audio editing tools (basic ones like Vocaroo, Audacity, or even Canva’s new video/audio tools)
Headphones (optional)
Rubric
🎯 Objective:
Students will research and script a short podcast episode that explores a compelling question, current event, or classroom content topic—practicing skills in research, synthesis, and oral presentation.
📝 Step-by-Step:
🎧 Kickoff: Play a short podcast clip relevant to your subject. (Example: use Short Wave for science, The Daily for social studies, or Science Vs. for debunking myths.)
🕵️ Choose a Focus: In pairs or small groups, students pick a topic or question to explore. This can tie into your current unit or be student choice. Examples:
“Is AI helping or hurting student learning?”
“Should homework be banned?”
“How does music affect your brain?”
🧩 Planning Template:
🎙️ PodClass Investigates 🎙️ Episode Title: _________________________ Hosts: ________________________________ Topic/Question: _______________________ Why this topic matters: ________________ Sources we’ll use: _____________________ Main points (3): _______________________ Segment ideas (intro, interview, conclusion): _______________________________________📚 Research + Script: Guide students to research and script their mini-episode (3–5 minutes long). Teach podcast structure: hook, content, wrap-up.
🎤 Record & Edit: Use free tools (like Vocaroo or Audacity) or have them present live “radio style.”
🎧 Showcase It: Host a Podcast Day Listening Lounge—headphones, bean bags, even a “feedback emoji card” station! Or publish on your class site or LMS.
🧠 Podcast Recs for Teens:
Stuff You Should Know
Radiolab
Science Vs
Teen Girl Talk (with preview for appropriateness)
💡Quirky Extension Ideas:
Create a class "Podcast Studio" bulletin board with QR codes to student episodes
Let students create fictional podcasts from a historical figure’s POV
Use “Podcast Pitches” as formative assessment (What would your podcast on this unit look like?)
🎙️ Quirky in the Workplace
A.K.A. “Watercooler chat, but make it serialized.”
Sure, International Podcast Day is meant to celebrate the audio storytellers, interviewers, and rogue comedians who fill our ears while we ignore our inboxes. But here at Celebrate Quirky HQ, we ask: Why just listen to podcasts when you can become one? Especially when your coworkers already have hot takes, soothing voices, and too many opinions about office snacks.
🎤 “Two Minutes of Fame” — Office Podcast Pop-Up Booth
Set up a makeshift “recording studio” in a quiet-ish corner (read: storage closet or HR’s least-used conference room). It can be as simple as a phone, a ring light, and a mic-shaped banana.
Then invite coworkers to step in and record a two-minute fake podcast episode. Categories to choose from:
“Unsolicited Office Hot Takes”
("Why the printer is gaslighting me — a 3-part series.")“True Office Crime”
("Who keeps stealing my yogurt... and what else are they capable of?")“Small Talk Survival Tips”
("Nodding convincingly through someone else’s vacation story.")“The Stationery Review Hour”
("Staplers: underrated weapons or misunderstood tools?")“The Microwaved Lunch Chronicles”
("Smells like betrayal: Episode 1.")
Post the best ones on your internal Slack or intranet (with permission), or just play them at random over the office PA (again, probably with permission).
🎁 Bonus:
Make a “Best Podcast Voice” trophy using a glittered coffee cup and an old USB cord. Eternal glory goes to whoever sounds most like NPR meets office gossip.
🪄 Tagline for the day:
“Podcast Day: Because everyone in this office already has a voice. Today, we give them a mic. Unfortunately.”
🎬 Movie Pick: Vengeance (2022)
Why it fits:
This dark comedy-thriller follows a New York podcaster who travels to Texas to investigate the mysterious death of a woman he once hooked up with — turning the journey into a podcast. Vengeance is a clever commentary on media ethics, cultural misunderstanding, and the self-centeredness often found in modern podcasting culture.
🧠 Bonus Tie-In: It directly critiques the “true crime podcast” genre while embracing its tropes — perfect for reflecting on the influence of podcasting on modern media.
📺 TV Episode Pick: Only Murders in the Building – Season 1, Episode 1: “True Crime”
Why it fits:
This pilot introduces three strangers (Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez) who bond over their obsession with a true crime podcast and decide to launch their own podcast after a murder occurs in their upscale NYC building.
🎧 Podcast Day Vibes: It’s a fun, meta take on the amateur podcast boom, true crime obsession, and the accidental intimacy podcasting can create between strangers.
🔊 Final Mic Drop
Podcast Day is more than earbuds and audio waves—it’s about connection, curiosity, and conversations that stick with you long after the outro fades. So whether you're vibing with voice-acted dramas, obsessed with oddly specific niche content, or just love falling asleep to someone talking about ancient Rome in ASMR tones… today’s the day to celebrate your inner listener.
Now go forth and vibe—headphones first. 🎧💫
📱 #InternationalPodcastDay #EarCandySeason #PodcastObsessed #QuirkyAndHeard #HeadphonesOnLifeOff #PodSquad
