Priyanka and Riya are best friends. Morgan and Mercedes are daughter and mother. They are just four of the voices you will hear in this montage of eight short interviews created by kids ages 8-15 during the inaugural Story Seeds On Air Summer 2021 Podcasting Camp where aspiring podcasters learned from expert guests and each other the art and technical skills they need to amplify their voices and broadcast their ideas into community conversations big and small.  

In these interviews, campers from around the United States ask intimate questions of people they know very well, and in the process capture moments of curiosity, lifelong passions, and new perspectives on the familiar while creating memorable oral histories. 

• Queens, New York neighbors and best friends Riya, age 9, and Priyanka, age 12 ask each other questions about their favorite things.
• Seattle-based Anna, age 8, interviews her mother, Merideth, about her love of podcasts and the podcast platform, Storitopia, that she is brewing.
• New Jersey-based Ella, age 15, interviews her mother, Jennifer, about her memories of learning to cook and hairspray cooking mishaps!
• Philadelphia-based Ahan, age 13, interviews his mother Madhusmita, about her stories from her career as a dancer in the 500 year old Sattriya dance tradition from Assam (India).
• Harlem, New York-based Shalini, age 10, interviews her mother Swati, a writer, educator, and artist, about her interests and her passion for podcasting
• New Jersey-based Amrita, age 12, interviews her mother, Sandhya (creator of The Story Seeds Podcast), about the music she loved to listen to when she was her age and the role music plays in her life
• Alaska-based Morgan, age 10, interviews her mother, Mercedes about the moment in her childhood that she realized her passion was writing and how she puts that passion into practice in her life and workLinks to Interview Mentions :Riya's  favorite  TV shows: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Legend of Korra, and Miraculous  Tales of Lady bug & Cat NoirPriyanka's favorite books: Avatar: The Last Airbender graphic novel series from Dark Horse Comics and the Harry Potter series by JK RowlingAnna's mom's podcast platform: StoritopiaAhan's mom's dance company: Sattriya Dance CompanyShalini's mom's art and writing: SwatiKhurana.comAmrita's mom's favorite radio station: 90.7 WFUV Two pieces of writing by Morgan's mom: A poem in Literary Mama and an essay in The Anchorage Daily News

This special episode of The Story Seeds Podcast is produced by Claudia Haines and Ella Rose Frankel. Editing and sound design is by Alyssa Baptiste. Story Seeds is a Literary Safari production and will be back on October 28 with a new episode presented by Macmillan Publishing, featuring Katherine Applegate, author of The One and Only Ivan and her new book Willodeen.

Follow Story Seeds on Instagram @storyseedspod and on Twitter @litsafarimedia Learn more about our podcasting classes & camps at www.storyseedspodcast.com/classesOrder our Wirecutter/New York Times featured activity book Imagination Lab: Experiments in Creativity