Get ready for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy! In this episode, kids learn all about the Milan–Cortina Winter Games, where athletes from around the world will compete in exciting snow and ice sports.

We explore where the Games are being held, how countries prepare to host the Olympics, and what makes the Winter Olympics so special.

Perfect for elementary students, classrooms, families, and young sports fans, this episode makes Olympic history and current events easy to understand and fun to learn.

This pack can be used with the TPT resource.
Grab the resource pack here.

These packs are the perfect way to have your students learn about history, while reading, writing, and thinking deeply about primary sources.

All rights are reserved. This content cannot be used for ANY commercial purpose, including in free or paid resources or products. Please contact danmault@gmail.com with any questions.

Get ready for the 2026 Winter Olympics with this fun and informative episode that explores the fascinating history of the Olympic Games! In this episode, we travel all the way back to Ancient Greece to learn how the Olympics began, then fast-forward to the creation of the Winter Olympics and how cold-weather sports earned their own global stage.

Listeners will discover how early winter competitions like the Nordic Games influenced Olympic history, why winter sports were once part of the Summer Olympics, and how events like figure skating and hockey helped shape the modern Games we know today. We’ll also talk about why the Olympics are split into Summer and Winter Games, how often they occur, and what makes the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan–Cortina, Italy so exciting.

Perfect for elementary classrooms, families, and curious kids, this episode blends history, sports, and fun facts into an easy-to-understand listening experience. Whether you’re learning about the Olympics for school or just love sports, this episode will help you understand how the world’s biggest athletic competition came to be—and where it’s headed next!

This pack can be used with the TPT resource.
Check out the pack here.

These packs are the perfect way to have your students learn about history, while reading, writing, and thinking deeply about primary sources.

All rights are reserved. This content cannot be used for ANY commercial purpose, including in free or paid resources or products. Please contact danmault@gmail.com with any questions.

In this companion story to our American Revolution episode, listeners meet Lina—a kind, courageous girl known throughout her town as Lantern Lina. Through Lina’s eyes, we experience what life felt like for everyday people during the time of unfair taxes, peaceful protests, and big ideas about freedom.

From a quiet harbor protest inspired by the Boston Tea Party to hopeful moments lighting the way toward independence, this story shows how even small acts of kindness and bravery helped shape a new nation.

Perfect for young listeners, this episode highlights how ordinary people—kids included—can make a difference when they care about fairness, community, and working together.

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This pack can be used with the TPT resource.
Check out all of the Historical Perspective packs by clicking here.

These packs are the perfect way to have your students learn about history, while reading, writing, and thinking deeply about primary sources.

All rights are reserved. This content cannot be used for ANY commercial purpose, including in free or paid resources or products. Please contact danmault@gmail.com with any questions.

In this episode, we travel back to the time of the American Revolution to learn how ordinary people stood up for fairness and freedom. Why were the colonists upset with the King of England? What does “no taxation without representation” really mean? From the Boston Tea Party to the Declaration of Independence, we break down the major events and people that helped shape the United States.

Discover how teamwork, bravery, and big ideas changed the course of history—one step at a time!

This pack can be used with the TPT resource.
Check out all of the Historical Perspective packs by clicking here.

These packs are the perfect way to have your students learn about history, while reading, writing, and thinking deeply about primary sources.

All rights are reserved. This content cannot be used for ANY commercial purpose, including in free or paid resources or products. Please contact danmault@gmail.com with any questions.

Why do people set goals at the New Year? In this episode, students learn why January is the perfect time to reflect, set goals, and build small habits that lead to big growth.

This kid-friendly podcast explains what research says about goal setting, why small steps work best, and how students can set short-term and long-term goals they can actually achieve in school and life.

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References

Duhigg, C. (2012). The power of habit: Why we do what we do in life and business. Random House.

Duckworth, A. L. (2016). Grit: The power of passion and perseverance. Scribner.

Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American Psychologist, 57(9), 705–717. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.57.9.705

Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2006). New directions in goal-setting theory. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 15(5), 265–268. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2006.00449.x

Muraven, M., & Baumeister, R. F. (2000). Self-regulation and depletion of limited resources: Does self-control resemble a muscle? Psychological Bulletin, 126(2), 247–259. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.126.2.247

Yeager, D. S., & Dweck, C. S. (2012). Mindsets that promote resilience: When students believe that personal characteristics can be developed. Educational Psychologist, 47(4), 302–314. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2012.722805

What happens when summer never arrives? In this episode of Big Ideas, True Stories, students explore the true story of the Year Without a Summer and the powerful eruption of Mount Tambora.

This kid-friendly science and history podcast explains how volcanoes can affect Earth’s climate, how people responded to unexpected challenges, and why understanding Earth’s systems matters today.

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References

Brönnimann, S., & Krämer, D. (2016). Tambora and the “Year Without a Summer” of 1816: A perspective on Earth and human systems science. Geographica Helvetica, 71(2), 121–132. https://doi.org/10.5194/gh-71-121-2016

Harington, C. R. (Ed.). (1992). The year without a summer? World climate in 1816. Canadian Museum of Nature.

Luterbacher, J., & Pfister, C. (2015). The year without a summer. Nature Geoscience, 8(4), 246–248. https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2404

National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (n.d.). Volcanic aerosols and climate. NASA Earth Observatory.
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/VolcanoClimate

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (n.d.). How volcanoes influence climate. NOAA Climate.gov.

What happens when a society has everything it needs: food, safety, comfort, but still collapses?

In this episode, we tell the true story of Universe 25, a famous mouse experiment by researcher John B. Calhoun that explored population growth, social behavior, and the breakdown of community in a resource-rich environment. Often misunderstood and dramatized online, this episode separates myth from science and explains what Calhoun actually observed and what he warned us not to conclude.

A story about behavioral sink, social roles, belonging, and meaning, this episode invites listeners to rethink what “utopia” really means and why survival alone isn’t the same as living.

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References

Calhoun, J. B. (1962). Population density and social pathology. Scientific American, 206(2), 139–148.

Calhoun, J. B. (1973). Death squared: The explosive growth and demise of a mouse population. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine, 66(1), 80–88.

Calhoun, J. B. (1986). The ecological context of behavior. In J. B. Calhoun (Ed.), The social biology of Rattus norvegicus (pp. 1–26). National Institute of Mental Health.

Ramsden, E., & Adams, J. (2009). Escaping the laboratory: The rodent experiments of John B. Calhoun and their cultural influence. Journal of Social History, 42(3), 761–792.

Sparks, J. (2017). The myth of behavioral sink. Psychology Today.

Welcome to Maple Grove, a town where ideas are shared, voices are heard, and rules are made together. In this story-based episode, students in grades 3–5 learn about the legislative branch of the United States government through a relatable and engaging community story.

As a problem arises in Maple Grove, listeners follow local leaders as they talk, debate, and work together to create fair rules that help everyone. This episode shows how the legislative branch makes laws, why discussion and voting are important, and how representatives speak for the people they serve. Through storytelling, students see how laws begin as ideas and why teamwork and listening matter in government.

This episode is perfect for elementary classrooms, homeschool lessons, or young learners exploring how the branches of government work in real life.

This pack can be used with the TPT resource.
Check out all of the Historical Perspective packs by clicking here.

These packs are the perfect way to have your students learn about history, while reading, writing, and thinking deeply about primary sources.

All rights are reserved. This content cannot be used for ANY commercial purpose, including in free or paid resources or products. Please contact danmault@gmail.com with any questions.