The Kid Should See This  • September 16, 2025

🚴🏻‍♂️ WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK:

World Championship Downhill MTB Run: Jackson Goldstone's POV at Champéry 2025 ➜

Educational content is getting more politicized. Tech companies are reportedly scraping millions of videos to train AI. Through it all, teachers, librarians, and other experts continue to do what matters most: finding real information and genuine discoveries to share with kids, helping them understand, question, and improve the world around them. This week: A fantastic Sesame Street announcement, student podcasters tackle immigration and AI, and NASA scientists spot something remarkable on Mars rocks.

📺🌈 YouTube is getting “hundreds” of full classic Sesame Street episodes beginning in January 2026. YAY! “New episodes of Sesame Street will debut on Netflix starting November 10th. Season 56 will have ‘fresh format changes’ including a focus on ‘one 11-minute story’ per episode… New episodes will also be available ‘same day-and-date in the US on PBS stations and PBS KIDS digital platforms.’”

▶️ How European Kids, Parents, and Teachers are Using YouTube for Education. “Across the EU, 84% of teachers surveyed used YouTube content in their lessons or assignments – while two-thirds (67%) agreed that YouTube helps increase student engagement. Meanwhile, parents see YouTube and YouTube Kids’ value in helping children learn and explore. The research shows that 80% of parents who use YouTube believe the platform offers quality content for learning and entertainment. Additionally, 71% are confident in guiding their child on responsible use, and two-thirds (66%) feel it helps their children discover the world.”

🤨 Why critics are alarmed about the influence of PragerU's educational videos: "There's been a long-term project to create an alternative intellectual infrastructure to replace the liberal institutions... If you can create your own infrastructure, kind of a mirror right wing, that would be one of the goals people had dreamed about for many years."

🤖 AI Is Coming for YouTube Creators: At least 15 million videos have been snatched by tech companies. (🎁 Gift link) “How the courts ultimately apply the law to this novel technology could have massive consequences for creators’ motivations to post their work on YouTube and similar platforms—if tech companies are able to continue taking creators’ work to build AI products that compete with them, then creators may have little choice but to stop sharing.”

📚 The Legendary Children’s Librarian of Harlem: Raised in a family of storytellers, Augusta Baker continued that tradition, imparting a love of books to readers of all ages.

🎧 Here they are: The best student podcasts in America. “For the seventh year of the Student Podcast Challenge, we received nearly 2,000 entries from 45 states and the District of Columbia. Among the topics on the minds of middle and high schoolers this year were: AI and its expanding role in classrooms, immigration and its effects on their own communities, and interviews with family members and loved ones.”

🪨 NASA just dropped the most convincing evidence for ancient life on Mars. Planetary scientist Hemani Kalucha explains why recently spotted spots on Mars rocks likely point to ancient life. (Plus: 🥚 this related science reel from Alex Dainis.)

🦉 And Getty has launched their first podcast for kids and families: If Objects Could Talk “is a playful storytelling podcast that imagines what antiquities at the Getty Villa Museum might say if they came alive and found their way to our podcast studio.”

What's on your mind about kids and media right now? Hit reply and let me know. - Rion

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