So fun fact, it’s very hard to find a podcast episode about kids’ learning and attention without it being centered around kids with ADHD. So instead, I wanted to share some podcasts about alternative ways of learning that help us (and our kids) strengthen our brains and executive functions.
Raising Healthy Kid Brains, Ep.48 – Create a Culture of Learning in Your Home or Classroom
This episode talks about the Organic Learning Method: exposure, curiosity, and exploration. I liked that this episode talked about asking thoughtful questions to drive dialogue, and how we can help our kids move toward exploring topics with genuine interest. Host Amy Nielson does mention shrinking attention span, and how important it is to encourage discovery, putting in effort to learn things that they don’t know yet, and give them structure on how to go deeper into their curiosity.
While you’re at it, I also liked Ep 4. – Understanding Your Child’s Attention Span.
Learn-To-Learn, S1 E224 – The Active Mind: Why Reading Builds Brains and Not Just Knowledge, Pt. 1 and Pt. 2
These quick 12-minute episodes are great cheerleader for reading books. I liked how they compare reading to weightlifting for the brain. It is an essential exercise for our brain, the muscle. The way we have to drag ourselves to the gym, the same goes for blocking out time to read. The same goes for asking a child read when there are so many other instant-gratification things to do. Reading is playing the long game for brain development.
Totally Booked with Zibby, S24 E99 – Dr. Zelana Montminy, Finding Focus
Finding Focus: Own Your Attention in the Age of Distraction is obviously an adult book, but it drives home how our environment can affect our focus. Particularly, how stress and burnout can be a result of having to constantly split our attention and keep up with a faster pace of day. Montminy goes into how we don’t necessarily need sustained focus for hours on a single thing, but we need to allow periods for fulfilling connection. This is more nuanced compared to the usual “I just need to spend less time on my phone.” We also forget that focus is JOYFUL. You get satisfaction and pride from completing a daunting task, or playing a game, or even… finishing homework.
Worklife with Adam Grant, ReThinking: The truth about the attention crisis with historian Daniel Immerwahr
This was a good episode on how society views of different types of media changes and evolves. It touches on why reading War and Peace is not a good measure of how one can sustain attention and focus. I also appreciated the discussion on how the types of media we consume (audio/visual, short form, long form) often teaches us more soft skills versus hard academic facts. So maybe we don’t frame the question as “how screens are ruining education”, but instead “how different types of mediums offer different methods of learning”.
TED Talks Daily, This is how kids should be learning with AI | Priya Lakhani, Dec 22, 2025
Yay, someone said that hard part out loud: Kids admit to using AI just to get out of doing the work. Lakhani talks about the “competency delusion” and the productive struggle needed to actually learn: memory, retrieval and reflection. “Durable learning does not come from shortcuts, it comes from certain types of effort.” Another gem, “Our knowledge is not just trivia. It is the raw material of thinking and discovery. AI is not there to replace our expertise, it’s there to allow our expertise to expand.”
Bonus: Raising Parents with Emily Oster, Episode Feature – How Camp Teaches Kids to Ditch Their Phones
This episode isn’t expressly about attention span or learning executive function, but I love how my kids are at camp. Most summer camps, sleepaway or not, have a no-screen policy. Eliminating the option for fast consumption forces your brain to switch gears. Whether you want your kid to SLOW DOWN, or be present, or talk to peers, camp can provide that environment. Summer camp is also a learning environment, bringing exposure/play learning, physical exercise outdoors, and gets kids out of their usual comfort zone safely. If you’re talking about specialty camps, like math, theatre, or coding camp, these also give kids an opportunity for prolonged focus, problem-solving, and immersion.
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