Once upon a time—before I became a podcaster and an audiobook narrator, before the Bear Cave booth, before the Shure mic or the sound effects —there was a school library.
It was my favorite place in the world: a magical place that was buzzing, busy, and bursting with books and small humans asking big questions. But one thing became clear very quickly: my students had no idea where anything in the United States actually was.
I’d hand out a list of states for their research project, and a hand would go up:
“Can I do China?”
“No, sweetheart, that’s not one of our states.”
“Germany?”
“Nope.”
“Canada?”
“Still no.”
So when the pandemic shut the world down and gave me time to think, something clicked. The kids didn’t know their own beautiful and diverse country. And I missed teaching them. A lot. I wanted to find a way to spark creativity outside the library. And suddenly, everyone was trying voiceover…
Why not me?
Why not a kids’ podcast about America?
Why not make learning fun again?
The Characters Enter the Scene
In my old library story times, I used to read about two adventurous chihuahuas who traveled the globe. I loved the idea of two little characters opening the world for kids. And then I looked around my house.
Enter Jasmine: quintessential cat, gray, regal, dramatic. Named for the tea not for the princess— but you’d never know it from the way she rules the household. Her favorite throne is my daughter’s bed, which she guards like a dragon guarding treasure. Only Pyewacket the Gentle is allowed. Loki the Panther attempts sneak attacks under the covers. Jasmine always catches him. Maybe she is really a dragon?
Enter Gracie: my daughter’s tortoise, sturdy, determined, with the personality of a tiny armored queen. A diva in her own right. Her tank is seasonally decorated, her meals must meet strict standards, and her favorite hobby seems to be plotting her escape to whichever city she’s staring at on her map-covered wall. London, Cairo,
anyone?
Together, they became my unlikely explorers: Jasmine the dreamer, Gracie the steady guide.
Perfect podcast chemistry..
Behind the Curtain
Lucky for me, I have a family of creative geniuses.
My daughter Abigail creates the artwork—an animator who creates the beautiful, whimsical portraits that made the characters real. Multitalented, she voiced the intro. My grandson, Noah, voiced the outro; his voice has deepened since then, so it’s basically a time capsule of sweetness! My granddaughter, Honor, my No. 1 fan has me joined for some very special episodes. Check out her Hedgehogs and Dumbo Octopus adventures! She loves doing voices too! A family project was born.
What Goes Into Each Episode (a.k.a. The Research Rabbit Hole)
Since this is an educational podcast for kids, I want the facts to be fun and accurate.
Here’s my process:
- I choose a state or topic (we’ve done all 50 states—woohoo!).
- I research for several hours using kid-friendly sources like National Geographic Kids. Love Google! And yes, former students, I use keywords!
- I check travel blogs to find kid-approved places and quirky attractions. Who knew that Vietnam has a bridge supported by giant hands? Or that you can go glamping in the Sahara? Complete with electricity and bathrooms! Jasmine and I agree, it is the only way to camp!
- I craft a script where Jasmine asks the silly, unexpected questions and Gracie delivers the facts—with some tortoise sass, naturally.
Then I record everything in my cozy Bear Cave recording studio (yes, that’s it’s called), built by a super team in Canada. It’s filled with inspirational quotes, soft lighting, and seasonal decorations… all fabric, so my noise floor doesn’t revolt. A perfect she cave!
Things I’ve learned
Doing two voices is easy, add a third voice and it gets tricky. When Loki joined during the black cat episode, he kept sounding like Jasmine. Take 4!
Editing used to take me forever. But now? I’m a pro. I can record a 10-minute episode using Adobe Audition in about 20 minutes—unless Loki tries to scale the booth walls like a determined ninja. The actual editing of the recording is a little more involved. I have a great stack that gets out most of the pops, clicks, and breaths. Then a little fine tuning makes it sing. I have got it down to about an hour. Goes faster when I am sipping jasmine tea!!
My favorite search term? (Topic) facts for kids.
Research can’t be rushed. I want the facts to be fun and educational Jasmine likes fun. Gracie makes sure she’s got the facts.
From the USA to the World… to Everything Beyond
Once Jasmine and Gracie visited all 50 states, I realized I wasn’t ready to be done. So I expanded the show. First to world countries. And then to “and beyond,” which is podcast-speak for:
“If it’s cool, we’re doing an episode on it.”
Some of my favorite discoveries?
- Vermont has its own sea monster—Champ!
- Iowa has eight pigs for every person. Who knew?
- Roadrunners leave X shaped footprints because they have two toes pointing forward and two toes pointing backwards. So you knew know if they are coming or going.
- Axolotls are only pink in aquariums, not in the wild.
- And there is so much more more weird, wonderful, kid-worthy trivia than I ever imagined.
My goal? To inspire kids to learn, explore, and discover how fascinating this world really is.
Because curiosity doesn’t stay still.
What’s Next?
Did I hope to monetize the podcast someday?
Sure.
Has that happened?
Absolutely not.
But what I did gain is even better: joy, creativity, family fun, and a chance to help kids fall in love with learning again.
Future dreams?
- A book
- Merch
- Maybe a little plush tortoise and kitten duo?
- A career as an audiobook narrator?
A girl can dream.
And For Now?
The podcast didn’t make me rich—but it gave me joy. It kept me connected to teaching, storytelling, and discovery. It let me watch my grandkids shine. And it reminded me that learning doesn’t end in a classroom. It grows wherever we let it. As long as Jasmine has a princess bed and Gracie has a map to stare at, they’ll keep traveling.
And so will we.
If you want to join the adventure, you can listen to “Jasmine and Gracie Explore the USA, the World, and Beyond” on any podcast platform or on Podbean at:
jasmineandgracie.podbean.com
