Podcast · Kids & Family
by WBUR · English · Kids & Family
WBUR's Circle Round adapts carefully selected folktales from around the world into sound- and music-rich radio plays for kids ages 3-103. Each 15 to 25-minute episode explores important issues like kindness, persistence and generosity. And each episode ends with an activity that inspires a deeper conversation between children and grown-ups.
29 Sep 2026 · 27 min
Broadway's Aaron Bartz, Erik Christopher Peterson and Cara Ricketts (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) headline a Jewish and Egyptian story about a high-stakes game of hide and seek. This Circle Round episode originally was released on Oct. 1, 2024. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Lion's Roar", here .
22 Sep 2026 · 25 min
Béchir Sylvain (Jurassic World Rebirth) stars as trickster Anansi in a West African tale about a magic stone, a major trick, and getting a taste of your own medicine. This Circle Round episode originally was released on Sept. 9, 2025. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Lion's Roar", here .
15 Sep 2026 · 29 min
Julian Lerner (The Wonder Years, Alma's Way) stars in a Ukrainian tale about how high-flying risks can pay off in the end. This Circle Round episode originally was released on Oct. 3, 2023. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Lion's Roar", here .
8 Sep 2026 · 26 min
Vanessa Aspillaga (Dora Saves the Snow Princess, Leave the World Behind) stars in this Puerto Rican and Chilean tale about baby basil, cuddly kittens, and how two heads can be better than one. This Circle Round episode originally was released on April 2, 2024. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Lion's Roar", here .
1 Sep 2026 · 29 min
Recorded live at Tanglewood with Boston Symphony Orchestra musicians and a star-studded cast, this Afghan tale follows a savvy seamstress and her chatty kitty on a royally epic adventure. This Circle Round episode originally was released on Aug. 5, 2025. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Lion's Roar", here .
25 Aug 2026 · 26 min
Welcome back to Circle Round Summer Camp! We're revisiting our favorite stories about the outdoors. Tatyana Ali (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Abbot Elementary) and Jack De Sena (Lego Monkie Kid, Avatar: The Last Airbender) headline this Filipino story about getting the upper hand by taking the lower half. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Lion's Roar", here .
18 Aug 2026 · 21 min
Welcome back to Circle Round Summer Camp! We're revisiting our favorite stories about the outdoors. Jacob Laval (The Unbreakable Boy, John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch) and Amanda Warren (The Night Agent, East New York) headline a Sicilian tale about sowing the seeds of kindness, compassion and crocuses. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Lion's Roar", here .
11 Aug 2026 · 20 min
Welcome back to Circle Round Summer Camp! We're revisiting our favorite stories about the outdoors. Recorded live at The Aladdin Theater in Portland, OR, this high-flying tale explains how the islands of the Philippines came to be. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Lion's Roar", here .
4 Aug 2026 · 23 min
Welcome back to Circle Round Summer Camp! We're revisiting our favorite stories about the outdoors. Recorded live at Round House Theatre in Bethesda, MD, this African tale explains how the guinea fowl got its distinctively speckled feathers. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Lion's Roar", here .
28 Jul 2026 · 24 min
Welcome back to Circle Round Summer Camp! We're revisiting our favorite stories about the outdoors. Recorded live at Symphony Hall with Boston Symphony Orchestra musicians and a star-studded cast, this indigenous Pacific Northwest tale follows a wily coyote on a daring rescue. This Circle Round episode originally was released on Feb. 18. 2025. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Lion's Roar", here .
21 Jul 2026 · 23 min
Welcome back to Circle Round Summer Camp! We're revisiting our favorite stories about the outdoors. Cree Summer (Good Times, Abbott Elementary) headlines a Blackfoot legend about fast friends, warm winds, and why bears hibernate during the winter. This Circle Round episode originally was released on May 7, 2024. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Lion's Roar", here .
14 Jul 2026 · 21 min
Welcome back to Circle Round Summer Camp! We're revisiting our favorite stories about the outdoors. Jessika Van (Seoul Searching, Awkward) and Mark Pellegrino (American Rust, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley) co-star in a Welsh tale about a girl, a drought, and a mouse with a life-saving secret. This Circle Round episode originally was released on May 14, 2024. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Lion's Roar", here .
7 Jul 2026 · 20 min
Welcome back to Circle Round Summer Camp! We're revisiting our favorite stories about the outdoors. Comedian Alonzo Bodden (Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me!, Heavy Lightweight) headlines this African legend about how one animal’s mischief created the savanna’s most majestic, magical trees. This Circle Round episode originally was released on Nov. 7, 2023. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Lion's Roar", here .
2 Jul 2026 · 15 min
Circle Round continues our special presentation of WBUR's new podcast, The Midnight Rebellion , with Chapter 3, "Into the Machine." If you have not listened to Chapter 1, go back and start there! The Midnight Rebellion tells the story of a girl on an adventure in a watery world where everything is wrong. She has to set it right—with your help. Each episode ends with a choice that YOU make. **Recommended for ages 7 and up.** To hear more episodes, search for The Midnight Rebellion in your podcast app and follow the show, or visit wbur.org/midnight . Sign up for our monthly newsletter,…
2 Jul 2026 · 6 min
Circle Round continues our special presentation of WBUR's new podcast, The Midnight Rebellion , with Chapter 2, "Get Hart." If you have not listened to Chapter 1, go back to the previous episode and start there. The Midnight Rebellion tells the story of a girl on an adventure in a watery world where everything is wrong. She has to set it right—with your help. Each episode ends with a choice that YOU make. **Recommended for ages 7 and up.** To hear more episodes, search for The Midnight Rebellion in your podcast app and follow the show, or visit wbur.org/midnight . Sign up for our monthly…
2 Jul 2026 · 17 min
Circle Round brings you a special new podcast: The Midnight Rebellion , by WBUR, the same place that makes our show! Heads up! This podcast is recommended for ages 7+. The Midnight Rebellion , starring Erika Henningsen (Netflix's "The Four Seasons") and others, tells the story of a girl on an adventure in a watery world where everything is wrong. And she has to set it right—with help from YOU. Each episode ends with a choice. What YOU choose changes the story, sometimes for the better, and sometimes ... not. Either way, it's fun! To hear more episodes, search for The Midnight Rebellion in…
30 Jun 2026 · 20 min
Welcome back to Circle Round Summer Camp! We're revisiting our favorite stories about the outdoors. Broadway stars Lorna Courtney (& Juliet) and Shoba Narayan (Aladdin) face off in this Indian legend about a tiny bird who opens up a farmer’s eyes in a big way. This Circle Round episode originally was released on Dec. 20, 2022. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Lion's Roar", here .
23 Jun 2026 · 28 min
Welcome back to Circle Round Summer Camp! We're revisiting our favorite stories about the outdoors. Recorded live at Symphony Hall with Boston Symphony Orchestra members and a star-studded cast, this Swedish tale sheds magical light on kindness, caring, and letting roots run deep. This Circle Round episode originally was released on Oct. 28, 2025. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Lion's Roar", here .
16 Jun 2026 · 22 min
Welcome back to Circle Round Summer Camp! We're revisiting our favorite stories about the outdoors. Tantoo Cardinal (Killers of the Flower Moon, Three Pines) and Jonathan Joss (King of the Hill, Tulsa King) star in this sweet and sour Wabanaki tale about how people first learned to tap maple trees. This Circle Round episode originally was released on March 28, 2023. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Lion's Roar", here .
9 Jun 2026 · 21 min
Welcome to Circle Round Summer Camp! This summer, camp counselor Erika Henningsen ( The Four Seasons , The Midnight Rebellion ) will be reintroducing us to some of our favorite episodes celebrating the great outdoors and spending time with others outside. In this Taiwanese tale starring Karen Huie (Welcome to Flatch, Abominable and the Invisible City), a town learns the bad taste it can leave when you bite off more than you can chew! This Circle Round episode originally was released on Jan. 24, 2023. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Lion's Roar", here .
2 Jun 2026 · 24 min
This Circle Round episode originally was released on Oct. 31, 2023. Kimberly Guerrero (Spirit Rangers, Reservation Dogs) stars in a tale from the Lakota people about one thieving fox and four wise winds. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Lion's Roar", here .
26 May 2026 · 35 min
Film, TV and theater star Maria-Christina Oliveras (The Balusters, Cymbeline) headlines a Portuguese tale about the magical ways stories bring us together. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Lion's Roar", here .
19 May 2026 · 21 min
Marielle Heller (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Can You Ever Forgive Me) and Jorma Taccone (The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast, Little Fox and the Wild Imagination) headline a Seneca and Shawnee legend about how the raccoon got its eye mask and tail stripes. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Lion's Roar", here .
12 May 2026 · 21 min
Carolyn Michelle (Familiar Touch, The Chi) and Christopher Rivas (Brown Enough, Rubirosa) headline a Maya tale about lies having short legs... and long tails! Sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Lion's Roar", here .
5 May 2026 · 15 min
Musician and podcaster Hrishikesh Hirway (Song Exploder) plays a cocky rooster in this Southern American tale about judging a book by its cover and eating humble pie. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Lion's Roar", here .
28 Apr 2026 · 22 min
Vivien Lyra Blair (Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Boogeyman) headlines this story from the indigenous peoples of Siberia about a supernatural spirit with a very cold shoulder. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Lion's Roar", here .
21 Apr 2026 · 29 min
Edi Gathegi ("The Harder They Fall," "For All Mankind") stars in this East African story about twin brothers, enchanted fruit, and the magic of an open heart. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Lion's Roar", here .
14 Apr 2026 · 18 min
Charlene Amoia (The Breadwinner, How I Met Your Mother) plays a tiny but mighty bird in this French legend about the origin of fire. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Lion's Roar", here .
7 Apr 2026 · 22 min
This Is Us co-stars (and That Was Us co-hosts) Sterling K. Brown, Mandy Moore and Chris Sullivan co-star in a multi-cultural legend about two conceited coyotes and the fox who outfoxes them. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Lion's Roar", here .
31 Mar 2026 · 21 min
Recorded live in Cleveland, OH, this Appalachian tale proves that true friends stick together through thick, thin, and everything in between. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, "The Lion's Roar", here .
WBUR's Circle Round adapts carefully selected folktales from around the world into sound- and music-rich radio plays for kids ages 3-103. Each 15 to 25-minute episode explores important issues like kindness, persistence and generosity. And each episode ends with an activity that inspires a deeper conversation between children and grown-ups.
Circle Round is a English kids & family podcast from WBUR. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.
Sleep Tight Stories - Bedtime Stories for Kids
Sleep Tight Media | Calming Bedtime Stories for Kids & Starglow Media
Greeking Out from National Geographic Kids
National Geographic Kids | Realm
Bedtime Stories for Kids|Good Night Tales|Stories of New Beginnings
BabyBus
Deep Sleep Sounds
Slumber Studios
Little Stories for Tiny People: Anytime and bedtime stories for kids
Rhea Pechter
Curious Kids Every Day: A Daily Educational Podcast
Curious Kids Every Day
The Melo app keeps playing with the screen off, works in the car and on your watch, wakes you to your station, and browses the whole catalogue offline. Free, no ads, no account.
Get it on Google Play
