A Chat w/ Dr. Breniel Lemley

Dr. Breniel Lemley is a children's podcast researcher, she mainly researches kid’s podcasts. She has a nice list of credentials: BA in Psychology with a minor in music from University of San Francisco, MA from Northwestern University, and recently acquired her PhD from Northwestern University as of this past summer. Has a plethora of research experience. TV is still #1 when it comes to media choices for kids. She thinks that children could benefit from educational podcasts, depending on how kids are engaging with it. The average length of a children's podcast was about 15-20 minutes; though, they were for kids who were 6-10 years old. Children podcasts have an ad break in-between and segments to keep their attention. The shorter the podcast is the better they will be able to keep their focus. In her bio, she has a focus on mental health stigma, including how talking about mental health issues has become less stigmatized, and thankfully, Society is more open to it, talking about it is very liberating, and erodes away the stigma over the years. She has always been an avid podcast listener and she became curious into the kid’s TV shows that have podcasts. The media is constantly evolving to the point where the research can’t keep up. She also mentioned how research takes forever. The rules & regulations that apply to TV have not made their way into the podcast world.