Site • RSS • Apple PodcastsDescription (podcaster-provided):
Short & Curly is the fun and educational ABC Kids and Family podcast that makes philosophy and ethics easy, entertaining, and thought-provoking. Hosted by Molly Daniels, Carl Smith, and philosopher Eleanor Gordon-Smith, the show explores big questions for kids about right and wrong, fairness, truth, knowledge, logic, beauty, and art.Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Kids’ philosophy and ethics • fairness, responsibility, rules, punishment • truth, lying, privacy • judging others, friendship, forgiveness • decision-making dilemmas • identity and dreaming • art, music, media • technology, money, animal ethicsThis podcast introduces philosophy and ethics through playful stories, debates, and kid-focused thought experiments. Aimed at roughly ages 8–12 (and useful for families and classrooms), it takes everyday situations—at home, at school, with friends, and in public—and turns them into “big questions” about how to think clearly and act fairly. The hosts use humour and imaginative scenarios to explore ideas about right and wrong, responsibility, honesty, and what people owe each other.
Across the episodes, many discussions revolve around fairness and decision-making: who gets to make rules, how resources and opportunities should be shared, and whether paying for advantages (like skipping lines) is acceptable. Moral responsibility is a recurring theme, including who is to blame when harm happens—whether that’s caused by people, animals, or technology—and what society should do when someone ignores warnings or behaves badly. The show also examines kindness, forgiveness, and relationships, asking how to handle apologies, unwanted gifts, party invitations, and friendships that raise concerns.
Truth and deception are explored in practical ways, including whether misleading by omission counts as lying and when adults should or shouldn’t tell comforting stories. Other episodes focus on inner life and character, such as whether private thoughts matter morally, what pride is, and why habits like messiness or too much screen time can be difficult to change.
The podcast also broadens into classic philosophical puzzles and “what if” worlds. It investigates identity and change, how we know what’s real (like distinguishing dreams from waking life), and what a society might be like without things such as privacy, punishment, schools, or competition. Questions about art and value appear too, including when graffiti counts as art and whether you can separate an artist’s behaviour from their work. Animals and nature enter the conversation through topics like fears, communication with other species, and the ethics of animal testing. Overall, the series offers accessible ways for kids to practice reasoning, weigh competing values, and consider multiple sides of complicated questions.
