Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

How the Story Pirates Team Uses Kids' Imaginations to Create Audio Magic

19/11/2019

What happens when you take story ideas straight from a child's imagination and put them in the hands of some equally creative, fun-loving, musically inclined adults? You get Story Pirates-a children's media company turned podcast with stories by kids, for kids.

According to creative director Lee Overtree and CEO Benjamin Salka (a.k.a. Jamie), Story Pirates started off performing children-inspired musicals in schools and theaters as a live touring group in 2004 and eventually evolved into a radio show, bringing heartwarming and engaging stories to even more listeners. More recently, the company transitioned into a podcast that has spawned several music albums.

So how does it work? Youngsters from all over the world submit their ideas to the Story Pirates website, then the creative team (comprised of world-class actors, comedians, improvisors, and musicians) selects and adapts them into podcast episodes filled with sketch comedy and musical theater. Episodes even have special celebrity guests each week.

Kids (and parents!) love the original songs sprinkled throughout the show. So, to give fans more of what they love, Story Pirates released two albums-Backstroke Raptor and Nothing Is Impossible-which take the best songs and remix them into standalone versions that are easy to find and play in album format on Spotify.

We sat down with Lee and Jamie to talk about what makes the Story Pirates podcast and albums such a beloved phenomenon.

What do you think it is about podcasts that makes them a great storytelling medium for kids? Lee: Well, audio amplifies imagination, right? It allows the listener to engage in a way that a visual medium doesn't. You have to be involved, and for kids who are eager to live in a participatory world, a medium like podcasting is very natural for them.

What's the most surprising thing you've learned since embarking on this podcast and album journey? Jamie: The thing that surprised me most is just how authentically people are responding to what we're putting out there. Story Pirates has been a slow, steady build-the live show started in 2004. But the last couple of years have been astronomical in terms of the growth. We hear from people who drove eight hours to see us in person or even flew in from Australia. I think it's because families are responding to what's different about what we're doing. I think it feels more playful, more connected, and more joyful than what they expected.

How do you differentiate between the albums and podcast? Jamie: One of the things people love so much about our podcast is the music. But the podcast runs anywhere between 22 minutes and a half hour, and the songs are wrapped up in the whole show. So if you get obsessed [with a song], you have to rewind and fast-forward to find your favorite part, whereas with the album, you just get right to it.

Lee: The albums that we put out through Gimlet are the best songs from the podcast remixed and remastered. So most of the songs on the album are ones you've heard in a different form on the podcast. For example, Lin-Manuel Miranda wasn't on the podcast version of The Wizard Who Could Just Go Poof, but he was on the album version.

Speaking of Lin-Manuel, who are some of the other guests that you've had on the show, and who are your favorites that you've worked with so far? Lee: We've been really lucky, and it's sort of gone from us reaching out to our contacts in the comedy community to people reaching out to ask to be on the show because their kids listen. We've had lots of great people, like John Oliver, Claire Danes, Dax Shephard, and David Schwimmer. And we have some more really exciting guests coming soon.
LINK: https://newsroom.spotify.com/2019-11-14/how-the-story-pirates-team-use...
See more stories from spotify

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

22/05/2026

Study: AI Labeling Does Not Hurt Video Ad Performance

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/05/2026

NAB Show Makes 200+ Sessions Available on Demand

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/05/2026

Torneos Upgrades Multichannel Playout with Imagine's Versio

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/05/2026

CBS Sports Expands WNBA Tip-Off Show To Cover Half of 20-Game, Regular-Season Package

Game Creek Video Columbia and Celtic, NEP Supershooter 8 will house onsite produ...

21/05/2026

SVG Students To Watch: Christina Zelin, Rowan University

Freshly graduated, this upstart producer, director, and camera operator is already working as an AP on videoboard shows for the Philadelphia Phillies In the li...

21/05/2026

Media Links Announces Channel Partnership with Clearcast Asia Ahead of BroadcastAsia 2026

Media Links has announced a channel partnership with Clearcast Asia, a broadcast...

21/05/2026

SiriusXM and NASCAR Announce Multi-Year Broadcasting Agreement Renewal

SiriusXM and NASCAR have announced a multi-year renewal of their broadcasting agreement. SiriusXM will continue to carry live broadcasts of every NASCAR Cup Ser...

21/05/2026

Audio-Technica Hosts High-Density Wireless Microphone Demo at Technica House in New York City

Audio-Technica held a demonstration event at its Technica House location in New ...

21/05/2026

RTL Deutschland Selects Ateme Frame-Rate Conversion Technology for Live Event Workflows

Ateme has announced that RTL Deutschland has selected Ateme's software-based...

21/05/2026

BCC Live Deploys LiveU LU900Q for Record-Breaking IRONMAN Texas Broadcast

LiveU has announced that BCC Live deployed the LU900Q intelligent production unit for the first time during the 2026 Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Texas North Americ...

21/05/2026

Mark Aitken to Receive 2026 ATSC Mark Richer Industry Leadership Medal

ATSC has announced that Mark Aitken, President of ONE Media and Senior VP of Advanced Technology at Sinclair Broadcast Group, will receive the 2026 Mark Richer ...

21/05/2026

BBright Outlines MXL Integration Strategy for Software-Defined Broadcast Workflows

BBright has published a technical analysis of the Media eXchange Layer (MXL), de...

21/05/2026

Esports World Cup 2026 to Be Held in Paris, France

The Esports Foundation has announced that the 2026 Esports World Cup (EWC) will be hosted in Paris, France, from July 6 through August 23. The event marks the f...

21/05/2026

Chyron Announces PRIME Scorebug and Expanded Chyron LIVE Scorebug Capabilities

Chyron has announced PRIME Scorebug, a scorebug solution built on the PRIME Platform for on-premises sports production, and has expanded Chyron LIVE with purpos...

21/05/2026

Media Links Integrates Xscend Platform with DataMiner at BroadcastAsia 2026

Media Links has announced the integration of its Xscend IP transport platform with Skyline Communications' DataMiner xOps platform. The integration will be ...

21/05/2026

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Nova Lume CEO Jim Casey on Bringing Flexible IP Intercom to Live Production

As live sports productions continue to demand more flexible, scalable, and cost-...

21/05/2026

SVG Rewind: ESPN's Use of POVORA Wireless Tilt Control CapCam Gives College Football Fans a First-Person View of the Game

In advance of this year's Sports Emmy Awards, SVG is taking a deep dive into...

21/05/2026

Join Shade in Miami and Atlanta for Post-Production Networking Events

Hey Miami & Atlanta post-production folks! Shade is hosting a free private suite at a Braves game (6/2) and Marlins game (6/5) and have about a dozen extra tic...

21/05/2026

Phoenix Suns, Mercury, and Gray Media Extend Broadcast Partnership Through 2030

The Suns and Mercury become the first NBA and WNBA teams to make games available under a single broadcast partner across both over-the-air and streaming....

21/05/2026

Apple TV, MLS to Produce First Major Pro Sporting Event Shot Entirely on iPhone 17 Pros

iPhones are part of the the regular production rotation for Friday Night Baseba...

21/05/2026

SVG Rewind: AIQ: Where Data Meets Dirt Technology Brings Real-Time Data Analysis to Rodeo

In advance of this year's Sports Emmy Awards, SVG is taking a deep dive into...

21/05/2026

Filmmakers' Favorites: Sundance Film Festival Alums on Welcome to the Dollhouse

Heather Matarazzo as Dawn Wiener in Todd Solondz's Welcome to the Dollhouse...

21/05/2026

Create, Control, and Personalize Your Listening Across Every Moment

Spotify has always been about helping you find something you want to listen to. And over the years, we've learned your taste and the moments that matter to ...

21/05/2026

You Know Every Song. We Saved You Two Tickets. Introducing Reserved.

Getting concert tickets today can feel like a race you're set up to lose. You show up at the right time, refresh endlessly, and still miss out. Too often, ...

21/05/2026

Books on Spotify: New Updates for Listeners and Authors

In 2022, Spotify entered a new chapter by introducing audiobooks to our platform. Since then, we've grown our catalog to include more than 700,000 titles, e...

21/05/2026

Investor Day 2026 Remarks From Spotify Co-CEOs Alex Norstrm and Gustav Sderstrm

Opening remarks ALEX Good morning everyone, I'm Alex [Norstr m]. GUSTAV And I'm Gustav [S derstr m]. ALEX Whether you've been following our j...

21/05/2026

Spotify's 2026 Investor Day Recap: Raising Ambition for the Next Era of Media

Today, Spotify hosted our third Investor Day in New York City, offering the fina...

21/05/2026

Spotifys Investor Day 2026: Ambitioniert in die nchste ra der Medien

Spotify hat heute seinen dritten Investor Day in New York City veranstaltet und der Finanzwelt tiefere Einblicke in das Gesch ft, die Produktstrategie und die l...

21/05/2026

Rcapitulatif de l'Investor Day 2026 de Spotify : Des ambitions renouveles pour la prochaine re des mdias

Aujourd'hui, Spotify a organis son troisi me Investor Day New York. En pl...

21/05/2026

Il riepilogo dell'Investor Day 2026 di Spotify: eleviamo le ambizioni per la prossima era dei media

Oggi, a New York City, Spotify ha presentato il suo terzo Investor Day, offrendo...

21/05/2026

Resumen del Investor Day 2026 de Spotify: elevando la ambicin para la prxima era de los medios

Hoy Spotify celebr su tercer Investor Day en Nueva York, donde ofrecimos a la c...

21/05/2026

Rangkuman Investor Day Spotify 2026: Meningkatkan Ambisi untuk Era Media Berikutnya

Hari ini, Spotify menyelenggarakan Investor Day yang ketiga di New York City, me...

21/05/2026

2026 (Investor Day):

2026 : (Investor Day) , , . ...

21/05/2026

2026 :

20 2026 ...

21/05/2026

Resumo do Investor Day 2026 do Spotify: elevando a ambio para a prxima era da mdia

Hoje, o Spotify realizou seu terceiro Investor Day em Nova York, oferecendo co...

21/05/2026

2026: Spotify

Spotify Investor Day ...

21/05/2026

Spotify'n 2026 Investor Day zeti: Medyann Yeni a in Byk Hedefler

Spotify bug n, 20'nci y l d n m m z kutlad m z bu y lda, finans camias na, i modelimiz, r n stratejimiz ve uzun vadeli vizyonumuz hakk nda daha detayl ...

21/05/2026

Cinematic Motion & Ethereal Flows for Sonuscore's The Score

Two new Story Packs join orchestral instrument line-up Sonuscore have just introduced two new additions to The Score, marking the instrument's first maj...

21/05/2026

Heavyocity release Oblivion Drums

30,000 samples, 99 presets & 504 loops Heavyocity are well known for their hard-hitting cinematic instruments, and their latest release is no exception to t...

21/05/2026

Rohde & Schwarz AI powered voice to data: The future of air traffic control takes flight at Airspace World 2026

Rohde & Schwarz AI powered voice to data: The future of air traffic control take...

21/05/2026

Redefining Persistent and Affordable Airpower for Special Operations Forces

SKY RAIDER II INTERNATIONAL's modular open systems architecture delivers expanded operational reach and mission flexibility....

21/05/2026

From Payload to Platform: Autonomous ISR Where It Actually Matters

ASO-enabled WESCAM MX-10 systems conduct systematic wide-area maritime search patterns, autonomously managing sensor scan operations to expand coverage, reduce ...

21/05/2026

Sports content accounts for fastest-growing portion of top global SVOD catalogs

HBO Max, a new addition to Gracenote Data Hub, is home to the most sports programming among major streamers NEW YORK May 21, 2026 New analysis by Gracenote...

21/05/2026

Study: Nearly Half of U.S. Viewers Watch Video With Captions

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/05/2026

Apple TV to Capture MLS Game Entirely on iPhone 17 Pro

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

21/05/2026

MPTS 2026 Draws Record Numbers for Landmark 10th Annivers...

The UK's leading event for the creative industries united thousands of professionals for two days of networking, debate, industry insight and getting hands-...