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Kitty Felde - Book Club For Kids (EP.06)

Oct 04, 2018 • E06 • 00:25:24

Guest

Kitty Felde

Kitty’s the host and executive producer of the Book Club for Kids podcast. She’s an award-winning public radio journalist, winning dozens of Golden Mike Awards, AP Awards, and ABA Silver Gavel Awards. She’s reported from Africa, The Netherlands, Canada, Los Angeles, and Washington.

Kitty also writes plays and kids books. She’s working on her second middle grade novel set on Capitol Hill. She fell in love with young adult literature when she was still a young adult herself, working at her local public library.

Book Club for Kids - podcast

In this episode of Causecasts we welcome the host of Book Club for Kids, Kitty Felde. Kitty started the podcast a few years ago as way to create lifelong readers out of middle schoolers, a cause that we fully support! Coming from a career in public radio broadcasting and talkshows, Kitty was perfectly positioned to make the change to the podcast format, something that she views massively suited to the communication of ideas and the forwarding of causes. The idea of this podcast actually dawned on Kitty while she was still hosting her, adult aimed, radio show and she noticed how many children would end up, unwillingly listening to the radio with their parents. This prompted her to want to create something geared towards the younger generation and when the opportunity for a career change presented itself, Kitty chose the path to do just that.

In our discussion we look at the reason why Kitty thinks conversations with middle schoolers are important and how this grew out of her own experiences as a child. We also chat about some of the most memorable and surprising discussions she has facilitated on her podcast before moving onto some thoughts about why reading is important at any age and in particular just before high school. We also chat about the usefulness of the podcasting medium and the joys that are now afforded those wanting to create and broadcast content in the contemporary climate. Towards the end of the interview, Kitty is kind enough to share some of her expert radio and broadcast knowledge with us in the hope of inspiring anyone considering the idea of starting their own Causecast and getting their ideas out into the world. So for all this and more, be sure to tune in!

Key Topics:

• How Kitty wound up creating a podcast about kids’ books. (01:27)

• Having interesting and adult conversations with middles schoolers. (03:28)

• Some of the most surprising conversations Kitty has hosted. (04:37)

• The events that have grown out of the podcast itself. (07:10)

• The gift of instilling a love of reading at an early age. (08:26)

• The key to getting kids to pick up and books and discuss them. (10:24)

• Why podcasts are such an effective way of communicating. (13:30)

• Considering the future of podcasts for the younger generations. (15:06)

• Kitty’s advice for prospective podcasters. (17:52)

• Some insider knowledge and tricks to improving your content and delivery. (18:58)

• Things to avoid when starting up your own podcast. (20:28)