Reading Inspires! with Benjamin Strouse

[00:00:00] Erin: Welcome to Reading Inspires by Reading is Fundamental. I'm your host, Dr. Erin Bailey. This podcast celebrates the power of books and the joy of reading. In each episode, we talk with educators, librarians, families, authors, and literacy champions to explore one big question: What does reading inspire for you?

[00:00:21] Through stories, research, and real-world experiences from classrooms, libraries, and homes, we explore what literacy looks like and why it matters. Whether you're nurturing young readers, shaping learning spaces, or simply love a good book, we're glad you're here. Be sure to subscribe to get the latest episode.

[00:00:39] Let's get inspired.

[00:00:42] Speaker 16: Welcome. Today on Reading Inspires, we're joined by Ben Strauss of Gen Z Media, the creative force behind GMZ Shows and GMZ Classroom, which

[00:00:54] Speaker 10: But GZM, GZM.

[00:00:56] Speaker 16: I'm sorry. Let me, let me start again.

[00:00:58] Speaker 10: Start again

[00:00:59] Speaker 16: Um, today on Reading Inspires, we're joined by Ben Strauss of Gen Z Media, the creative force behind

[00:01:06] Speaker 10: Actually, let me just interrupt you one more time. We're just GZM Shows. I know we're Gen Z Media when you look for it, but it's, it's just GZM Shows.

[00:01:12] Speaker 16: Okay, got it. Um, okay, starting from the top.

[00:01:16] Speaker 10: Okay.

[00:01:16] Speaker 16: Reading Inspires, we're joined by Ben Strauss of GZM Shows, um, which bring engaging audio storytelling and educational resources to children, families, and educators through imaginative audio adventures like The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel.

[00:01:32] And Six Minutes, GZM is introducing young audiences to storytelling in a format that sparks curiosity, builds listening skills, and invites children to use their imaginations. Uh, today we're exploring the connections between audio storytelling and literacy, how podcasts can complement traditional reading experiences, and why engaging children through stories can inspire a lifelong love of reading.

[00:01:54] So welcome, Ben. Thanks for joining us.

[00:01:56] Speaker 10: Thank you for having me. I'm glad to be here

[00:01:58] Speaker 16: I'd love to start with your background. Um, you've had an interesting career. Um, what role did storytelling play in your own childhood and ultimately inspire you to co-found GZM?

[00:02:10] Speaker 10: Well, the storytelling was, uh, such a large part of my childhood, mostly in the form of books, and that's something where I, I would lose myself in these big adventures and, uh, feel like I was part of something at a time when maybe, like all teenagers, you struggle to feel like you're, like you belong and who you are, and you're figuring out, uh, who you're going to be.

[00:02:35] Uh, books, stories in particular, they, they, they, they did that for me, so, uh, I never forgot, forgot that. And of course, you know, there have been movies and TV shows along the way which, which have, uh, felt similarly inspirational, and those were the, those were the memories that, uh, brought me to, to, to, uh, start, uh, GZM, uh, which was the idea of creating a sort of a, a sophisticated, uh, compelling entertainment for, at this time, you know, for, for young audiences, the audience that I used to be.

[00:03:11] For, for teenagers, older tweens, um, who I, I didn't think were necessarily especially well-served, uh, with existing media, uh, a few years ago, and still, it's still true. Um, I think that, uh, people love to consume what they can because entertainment is entertaining. It's addictive. Uh, but that's not the same thing as saying that there are, uh, great stories that are a good fit for people who are going through a very distinctive stage of their lives, where they're beginning to imagine what they'll become as young adults and eventually as adults.

[00:03:48] Speaker 16: Yeah. So I'd love to dig into that, particularly around tweens, middle grade, middle school, um, uh, adolescents. Um, so your shows like Six Minutes and The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel, they've developed these enthusiastic audiences. What do you think it

[00:04:05] Speaker 10: They have

[00:04:06] Speaker 16: stories that are so compelling for adolescent listeners?

[00:04:11] Speaker 10: Well, we have about 30 shows, a little, uh, uh, m- few more than 30 shows at this point. Those are two of them. Those are the two of the bigger ones. Uh, and all of our, all of our Epic Adventures are, are franchise properties, have certain things in common. They're ... The ... We approach storytelling, uh, as a, as a complex endeavor, so there are lots of points of view.

[00:04:32] We don't, uh, uh, we don't signal what we want audiences to think. Uh, we, we, we tend to play... The characters play games, um, with, with what's going on. And, and these are fully realized, for people who don't know or, or who haven't heard our shows yet, these are fully realized story worlds. So these aren't, these aren't audio books.

[00:04:53] This is not someone telling a story. And, um, uh, and they're not narrator intensive in most cases. There's not even a narrator. Uh, what they are are, are, are story worlds with actors and music and, uh, sound design, very immersive sound design. Uh, a lot of action which isn't necessarily spoken or said, but is understood from the sound design.

[00:05:14] And so it's a complex world which I think anyone would feel, uh, like they're listening up. And by anyone I mean not just middle grade kids, uh, but about a third of our audience is adults, uh, who love smart YA-type,

[00:05:33] Speaker 16: Hmm.

[00:05:34] Speaker 10: content. And about half of them listen with, with, uh, with presumably with kids, and half of them listen on their own because it's

[00:05:41] It really is all ages content. But we do... Design is not quite the right... We, we create it f- with, with, uh, with, uh, a middle grade, uh, audience in mind. Sort of I c- could think of it as youth, youth forward but not youth limited maybe is a way of saying it.

[00:05:58] Speaker 16: Mm-hmm.

[00:05:58] Speaker 10: And that's because, uh, a- a- and what that means besides age, is that, um, middle grade kids, older tweens, younger teens, um, whatever they may be in the world in terms of their background, uh, their household composition, however they may identify religion, things like that, first and foremost I believe they think of themselves as kids.

[00:06:20] Because they live in a world where they're surrounded by people who have all the power. Some of them are nice, some of them are not so nice, some of them are distant, but they're adults. And those people are different than who, who, who, who kids see themselves as. Uh, who are essentially people who will become adults, but they're not there yet, so they're in a position where they are, um, thinking about how they're gonna navigate the world.

[00:06:44] And a particularly thoughtful, smart and, um- Uh, uh, what's the word? Um, a story which is relatable with characters who are relatable. Um, really, uh, uh, it, it, it, it, it, it connects in a way which is very powerful. That was my experience when I was that age. That's been the experience I gather from the people who listen to our shows.

[00:07:11] Uh, it takes you ... It transports you, and it transports you because it take- it brings you into it. You connect with the characters and so forth. And that's, um, that's what we try to do. There's no, there's no formula for it, um, other than for instance, uh, like I said, we are generally writing about themes, uh, or in- not about themes, but we are writing in- integrating themes like, uh, like independence and friendship and, uh, uh, dis- self-discovery that are very important to this age group.

[00:07:46] Uh, they're not limited to this age group, but those are the, those are the themes that we, uh, that, that I think come out first.

[00:07:52] Um, the essence of the story is, is, is, is the things that, uh, I think in one form or another kids think about, uh, all day long. How do they fit in? Where can they be? What will they become? Things like that

[00:08:08] Speaker 16: That makes a lot of sense, and I hear that a lot from, uh, students in our middle school programs. You know, they're looking for things like, um, mystery but also friendship drama. You know, they want things that they can relate to

[00:08:22] Speaker 10: That's, that's right. And, and, and since we're talking about audio and, uh, I'm talking a little bit about our shows, some, some, uh, genres work especially well, or some aspects of a genre, like mystery. Mystery works very, very well in audio as opposed to, uh, pure action. We can do it and we do do it, and we do have pure action, but it's not the same kind of payoff.

[00:08:43] So, so mystery is an important part of, of, uh, of our shows. And, um, I don't know if I said it already, but the other important part are stakes, real stakes, which, which means, um, uh, in the simplest terms, it doesn't mean that someone's lost a lot of money or, or a, or a, uh, uh, a valuable ring, which is, which, you know, is, is worth a lot, but rather that they lost the ring that was given to them by their grandparent before they died, or they, uh, are trying...

[00:09:14] They're trying to accomplish something in the world which means a lot to them. Those are the stakes, uh, rather than... A- and the kinds of stakes that matter to kids,

[00:09:21] Speaker 16: Mm-hmm

[00:09:22] Speaker 10: rather than, uh, something which is, um, impersonal, but maybe theoretically meaningful in a world, uh, i- i- you know, in the real world, um, like a lot of money or something like that

[00:09:35] Speaker 16: Yeah, yeah. That makes a lot of sense. Um, so I do wanna talk about, um, that, the point that you just mentioned, that it's an audio format. So, uh, what I'm always trying to say at Reading is Fundamental is that we are platform-inclusive. Of course, we're mostly about books, but I believe that there's lots of different ways for children to engage in literacy.

[00:09:55] It has a very expansive definition. Um, so read- listening to a podcast and reading a book, they're different experiences, yet you can still build some of the skills like vocabulary, comprehension, critical thinking. How do you think that podcasts specifically contribute to children's literacy development, and then what are some of, like, the unique opportunities that this format offers?

[00:10:19] Speaker 10: Well, uh, that's a big question. I mean, literacy is more than decoding. Um, it's, uh, reading proficiency. Um, it, uh, encompasses understanding and, uh, language and vocabulary, inference, reasoning, um, comprehension. Uh, audio drama can engage children in a, um, in a sophisticated kind of, uh, reasoning even when they're not yet capable of reading comparable material, if that makes sense.

[00:10:54] So they're drawn into a world which may not be accessible to them if they were just reading it as a first step. So that's step one, as I think of it. Um, step two is, step is the wrong word, but in terms of the way, you know, like the way I think of the, the way I think of the connection between audio and literacy, uh, as I've come to understand it, and I should be very clear, I am not an educator and I am not someone who has, um, you know, has a deep knowledge of literacy.

[00:11:23] I've done my best to kind of, of educate myself about it. So these are sort of super curious, and these are kind of the way, these, this is my, this is my thought process. Um, fundamental to, uh, literacy and so many things in life is motivation. Um, and there's a huge difference between, in my mind, between learning the mechanics of anything, like reading, uh, and developing a d- a desire to use them.

[00:11:47] Um, and so stories that create curiosity, uh, a genuine appetite for language, for narrative, uh, moves you in the direction of creating sort of an internal motivation to exercise some skills that you're developing without thinking that you're practicing. Uh, kinda like, um, uh, the metaphor would be in music, uh, you know, practicing scales over and over to complete a task, uh, and, and, and, and playing something musical, uh, which is a two-way, which, which is a, uh, a feedback process where you're actually doing something, uh, and seeing how it works in the real world or in a larger sense.

[00:12:25] Um, and, and audio drama creates a distinctive bridge, I think, to printed text, which is, um, a little bit unique in the world of audio. Um, an audiobook, for instance, is, is a, uh, uh, a, you know, it's a recitation of, of a written script. Uh, someone is performing the act of reading and you are listening, and you're listening to the reading, and that's helpful if you're talking about literacy in terms of, I suppose, decoding and seeing how words are pronounced and what they might mean in the context.

[00:12:59] But, but that's not the experience of listening to an audio drama. An audio drama, characters act, sound effects, like I said, convey events, music establishes emotion, atmosphere, actions unfold without anyone narrating them. Um, and then audio dramas are essentially written creations. They're not painted, they're not, um, en- entirely musical.

[00:13:24] They are writing, and so text is adjacent to everything about them. There's a script, which is incredibly popular in cla- classrooms, and it contains written descriptions and directions that may never be spoken. And kids, um, use the desire to learn more about these incredible worlds to read, to satisfy their curiosity.

[00:13:49] They read the transcripts. They, they respond to... And this is what teachers do, right? It's, it's, it's the teachers who make the connection, and it's the teachers who have always made the connection. We are not an education company. We don't-- I mean, we do have a website, GZM Classroom, which serves teachers.

[00:14:06] I'm digressing a bit, but we only created that because there was such a groundswell of interest in using these shows, uh, like Six Minutes in classrooms, and we wanted... And it's, it's the greatest thing in the world. We couldn't be happier. These are entertainment, but it's something about the format of shows like Six Minutes and the form of the audio drama that sparks a, uh, an interest in kids, which teachers picked up on, and then they are able to provide, uh, text-based materials for, um, for, uh, all sorts of literacy-related, uh, uh, uh, tasks, whether it's reading comprehension or learning more about the, uh, the story, or whether it's writing.

[00:14:48] Um, and, uh, and the audio drama, uh, functions as sort of a s- a, I don't know, the, the hub and the spoke, if you will, uh, that creates the opportunities for the teachers to, um, to, to, to, to, to engage the kids around literacy, uh, outcomes, uh, uh, without, without having to push along the way. The kids are just drawn to, um, to, uh, to wanna learn more.

[00:15:15] It's the inspiration of wanting to understand more about the story and the show that drives them.

[00:15:21] Speaker 16: I appreciate everything that you just said, particularly the way you emphasize the expertise and the professionalism of the teachers in this, and the role that they play, um, in connecting audio storytelling to reading and writing. Um, I see a little bit of a movement right now in education to kind of like scripting out lesson plans for teachers.

[00:15:48] Uh, to me, that removes a bit of the expertise that teachers have. Uh, teachers, uh, get trained to write lesson plans and make connections for students, and I see you describing that. They... These teachers have children who are interested and enthusiastic about audio storytelling. Now they can be the bridge and build that into a project that involves reading and writing at...

[00:16:17] But the way you describe the script is just perfect, because there's the audio parts of the script. There's also the actions, the sound effects that you're going to use, the music that's going to set the mood, and all of these are important literacy skills that a skilled teacher can pick up on and design a very compelling lesson plan, um, that can engage even the most reluctant readers, um, to join in because they enjoy the listening component so much

[00:16:47] Speaker 10: A-a-absolutely. I mean, I don't-- There's nothing for me to add to what you said. It's the, the, it, it-- All, all credit to teachers, uh, and to other educators, um, and librarians too, um, for, for doing, for, for bringing this along. Um, they, they spot that the child is already interested, uh, and they understand that, uh, they still have to provide the text, the prompt, the whatever it is, the exercise.

[00:17:10] All very easy to do though in the context of the story like Six Minutes. Uh, and then deciphering the text has an immediate purpose for the kids, an immediate purpose. And the satisfaction of, of going through that exercise, um, is, um, is profound because they actually are not completing a task. They're learning more about the world and understanding what reading and writing, uh, means in the world, and how it can create things, and how it can bring information and, and, and, and, and satisfaction and joy, um, rather than merely-- And I don't mean to, uh, diminish the import- And I'm cer- By the way, I'm not talking about kids who have, uh, no fundamentals whatsoever.

[00:17:54] I'm not ta- trying to-- I, again, I can't say often enough I am not a literacy expert. I'm talking about my experience and my understanding and my ideas about, uh, the world and about how our shows are impacting kids in classrooms from what I've seen, from what teachers have shown me. Um, and, uh, and that is, uh, uh, entirely with, uh, I think, you know-- Sometimes I visit third grades.

[00:18:19] I think I might, might have visited a second grade once. But it's primarily fourth, fifth, six- fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth grades. Occasionally we do visit high schools and, and, and our shows, I-- this is a podcast about literacy, um, but shows like Six Minutes are used very, very widely beyond literacy for pull-out groups and, and, and, and, and gifted and talented programs, uh, for, uh, analytic thinking and so forth.

[00:18:47] But fundamentally, I think the greatest gift they can give teachers is, is a tool for, for them to engage their students and then make incredible strides with literacy

[00:19:01] Speaker 16: Yeah. And, uh, so as you're describing, you know, this kind of extensive field work that you've done and feedback that you've heard from teachers, I'm wondering if there are any particularly memorable classroom stories or student reactions that have stayed with you

[00:19:16] Speaker 10: Well, they're all, they're all pretty similar. So most of these, these visits are virtual, I should tell you. And so I've been to every state in the nation virtually. Uh, and, uh, uh, uh, diverse classrooms, homogenous classrooms, well-funded classrooms, poorly funded classrooms, public, private, large, uh, sometimes five, six classrooms together, uh, with the principals there- with the principal there, and sometimes administrators too.

[00:19:40] And typically it's a 45-minute visit or an hour or something, we'll stop by. And, um, and, and, and, and it's, it's, it's, it's usually the same. The kids are so ... It makes me feel like a rock star. I mean, they are so thrilled to meet anybody who has anything to do with whatever the show is. You know, Six Minutes is the most popular show, um, in, in classrooms, but, uh, there's also Becoming Mother Nature, and you mentioned Mars Patel, and, uh, The Hollow, and a number of, of, uh, audio adventures.

[00:20:17] Uh, I- I'm leaving out some. Nightingale, a incredible show. Um, I'll talk a little more about Six Minutes in a minute, but, but you asked me about the visits. They're all so much fun, and the kids ask similar questions all the time, which is, you know, um, usually related to writing and related to, uh, story development.

[00:20:36] You know, sometimes they are very basic questions, um, like where do you, how do you pick your names? Um, sometimes they have to do with, you know, how do you create a cliffhanger? And cliffhangers are a large part of what we do and, and, and not a simple, and not a simple device. I mean, yes, y- the cliffhangers keep you coming back, but, um, they have to vary.

[00:20:57] And I know I'm digressing a bit, uh, into the, uh, into, uh, the story form and why I think it connects with kids, but having a serialized story also, uh, gives, um, kids something to invest in over time. And that's the reaction we see, where there's something that's closer to this story which has impacted them so deeply, even if it's some dude who, you know, isn't an actor in it or that interesting.

[00:21:27] Um, and just the ability to ask the questions about where the story comes from is, is, is what it, is what I, I ... moves me every time

[00:21:36] Speaker 16: Yeah, I love that. You're like a mini celebrity to,

[00:21:39] Speaker 10: Take

[00:21:39] Speaker 16: these

[00:21:40] Speaker 10: it.

[00:21:40] Speaker 16: you're... It's inspirational, I, I think because what I sense is through these classroom visits, a lot of the students f- and with the support of their teachers, not only have listened to the shows, but they're probably working on a writing project, um, to develop their own shows, and that's why they're asking you questions about how do you write a cliffhanger?

[00:22:01] Um, and really, it's forming their identities as writers

[00:22:05] Speaker 10: Sometimes, sometimes. I mean, a lot of classrooms, yes, that's true. They, they, uh, it depends how deep... Many of the classrooms I've, we, we visit, and, uh, mostly, um, um, lately it's been me who's been focusing on it because I've been trying to educate myself as much as possible about, um, how the shows are used in literacy in particular.

[00:22:25] Um, and, uh, we're going to be presenting, uh, six minutes at, uh, we were invited to present it at the, uh, at a literacy conference in LA, uh, in February. So that's, uh, something that I just learned about. And, um, uh, I wanna make sure I, I... I'll never be an expert on it, but at least I wanna understand, um, what I'm talking about.

[00:22:46] And, um, the, uh, uh, sorry, I forgot what, what I was saying. Uh-

[00:22:53] Speaker 16: was asking about students' identities, developing

[00:22:57] Speaker 10: the writing.

[00:22:58] Speaker 16: of wr- as a writer

[00:22:59] Speaker 10: That's right

[00:23:00] Speaker 16: their own podcasts

[00:23:02] Speaker 10: Yeah. Well, I mean, again, all credit to the teachers, and they, teachers use it specific to the classroom and to the instruction, and sometimes it goes in one direction and sometimes it goes in another. Uh, some to- they use it re- reading. They, they, they, they, they, they, they bring reading into the process for the kids to discover, uh, and practice, uh, the skills of, of, uh, investigation and critical thinking.

[00:23:29] Um, and then, you know, sometimes they go beyond that and they bring in, um ... They have the s- they have the students, uh, act out the parts, which is another way of learning, uh, of, of understanding all the nuances of reading. Um, and, uh, and write, uh, scenes themselves, whether or not they perform them or, or, or, or record them.

[00:23:51] Um, that could be alternatives. And then, yes, there's a lot. We've, we've, we've gotten a number of recordings of students acting out, uh, scenes from the story world which they've written, which is, um, you know, lovely

[00:24:06] Speaker 16: Yeah, that sounds pretty cool. Um, so I guess my n- next question is what is, what's next for children's audio storytelling? I mean, as this kind of genre of media continues to evolve, what, what do you see as the opportunities for children to engage with stories, um, in various digital platforms, and what excites you?

[00:24:28] Speaker 10: Well, a lot of it excites me, but a, a couple of things. I mean, audio's still a, a underexplored medium, um, for, especially for sophisticated children's entertainment. I'm not talking about the music that we listen to all day. I'm talking about the audio that we're talking about, and I'm also, um, distinguishing, you know, these sorts of shows, our sorts of shows from, um, audiobooks.

[00:24:52] And, uh, in that sense, it's evolving fast. And, um, and, uh, you know, unlike, um- Uh, u-unlike a, a conventional written story, um, the realization, uh, a fully realized story world in audio is a new experience. That's what I'm trying to say. So, uh, most people have not experienced that And I am not lying when I say, and I, and I do ask the kids from time to time, you know, uh, it's never quite an equal choice, but if you were gonna sit down and watch a, a, a movie, a, um, you know, maybe a, a Marvel movie or something like that or whatever, whatever you like, um, or listen to this show, you know, what, what's, what's an experience that you

[00:25:40] What's the experience that you'd want? And they want, they want six minutes.

[00:25:46] Speaker 16: Hmm.

[00:25:46] Speaker 10: they want six minutes. But it's not an easy ... That's nice to say, but we live in a world where you don't just turn on six minutes. You have to find it. And the podcast ecosystem is, is, is evolving as well. It's complicated, um, for kids to navigate it.

[00:26:01] And it's un- also unfamiliar. It's not complicated if you're, if you d- if you're directed and you know where you're going and what to do, but it's a new experience. And it's just like, uh, if you wanna talk about business and marketing and so forth, when you ask someone to click five times, you're gonna get a much, much leaner result than if someone has to click through once, that type of thing.

[00:26:19] Um, but the thing that excites me the most, and the thing that is gonna be the great- the, the really the ... where audio, where our kinds of shows, audio adventures are going to, uh, not just shine but, but I think ultimately can be transformative, um, is where listening environments are really conducive to these kinds of shows, like the car.

[00:26:42] Already people listen to our shows, you know, on road trips. They write. They ask us what do we have next, uh, on the way to soccer practice, soccer being a stand-in for whatever the sport is. You know what I mean. Five minutes at a time, 10 minutes at a time. Um, and I think that shared time in the car is going to be a place where audio like this is going to, um, really explode.

[00:27:05] Classrooms obviously, and, uh, the funny thing about this, about classrooms is that, like I said, this is entirely gla- grassroots. We do not have the wherewithal to, uh, to, to, uh, uh, do any of what, what we've, what, what, what's, what's gone on, um, uh, what we've seen in, in, in terms of the uptake of our, uh, shows.

[00:27:30] And so I think when that story, uh, gets out, if you will, right now it's tens of thousands of classrooms, which is no small feat, but there is millions of classrooms. Um, and, um, and the third place which I was thinking about today before our, uh, interview, um, where I think a- audio's going to evolve this kind of audio, uh, is libraries and, uh, and librarians at the center,

[00:27:58] Speaker 16: Mm-hmm

[00:27:58] Speaker 10: uh, as curators of this kind of experience which is new to most people

[00:28:07] Speaker 16: Yeah, I love that. I mean, I can... You know how libraries will do story time? Imagine if there was just, like, a listening time where everyone could come and sit and, and listen together, and then have a chat about it afterwards, kind of like a book club

[00:28:21] Speaker 10: Sure, or just providing the, uh, the, the, uh, the environment and the, and the, the equipment where they can listen, you know? I mean, you assume everyone has, most people have that, but not everyone. And also not everyone is self-directed or knows what to listen to, and that's what librarians, uh, do so well is they are already curators of books.

[00:28:45] Uh, but I think this kind of audio, uh, gives them an opportunity. And I, and when, when I say books, I mean audiobooks too, because audiobooks are, are a reading of a book. This is a different art form. It's a different format. It's a different experience. And, uh, I think librarians, um, like teachers, will be central to, um, its growing success

[00:29:09] Speaker 16: Yeah, and thank you for making that distinction too, 'cause I think it's like books, audiobooks is just an audio version of a printed book, but really what you've created is a drama. It's like a, a play, right? You would write it out the same way that you might write out a play, but it's, it's, um, a dramatic storytelling on audio

[00:29:28] Speaker 10: Yeah, similar, that's right. I mean, again, the experience, and I, I always like to refer pe- I keep talking about Six Minute, Six Minute, Six Minutes. It's only one of our shows, but it's, it's the most popular show. And the format of Six Minutes is a little bit different than most of our other shows. The episodes are quite short.

[00:29:44] They're about six minutes, which is not the reason the show is called that. Uh, so that lends itself to a classroom use very nicely because there's lots of time afterwards to talk about it and, um, you know, follow through on whatever prompts the teacher wants to introduce. Um, but, um, uh, the, uh... Oh, I forgot what I was saying again.

[00:30:05] Um, what were we just talking about? Six Minutes and, um-

[00:30:10] Speaker 16: Uh, the d- I mean, really just the differences between an

[00:30:13] Speaker 10: Oh, oui

[00:30:13] Speaker 16: and, and audio storytelling

[00:30:16] Speaker 10: right, right, right, right, right. So it's, it ... Oh, and right, you mentioned plays, and that's the thing I wanted to distinguish. So the experience of listening to a show like Six Minutes is, uh, it's an immersive story world. So when you watch a play or listen to a play, you're listening to actors on a stage, and this is, you know, a show like Six Minutes is a fully immersive world so you have not just the, all of the sounds of, of action which, uh, whether they're small or large that convey what's going on.

[00:30:42] Obviously, you know, in a, in a ... You can imagine a scene where someone takes out a cup and makes themselves some coffee or tea or whatever, and you know exactly what's happening if it's done well. And, uh, you can do the same thing for a helicopter chase or anything else if you design it well. That's not something you can see or experience on a stage.

[00:31:01] It's something you're used to seeing in a, in a movie or a TV show. Uh, but the experience of hearing it created, especially when it's scored appropriately and well, is a little transformative the first time you do it.

[00:31:17] Speaker 16: Yeah

[00:31:18] Speaker 10: so it's, it's, it's a little something else, and I still grasp at trying to explain to people, you know, um, and that's part of the challenge too, what it is, right?

[00:31:27] It's not an audiobook. It's not a play. It has elements of everything, and the business side of it, by the way, is fascinating too, but that's not what we're here to talk about. The idea that it takes from, you know, different industry, different entertainment industries and the way people consume it or, you know, or, or experience it, uh, and the rights that are involved and things like that.

[00:31:47] I mean, I love that side of it as well. Uh, but at the end of the day, you're, you're, you're, you're introducing, more than introducing, you are immerse- immersing a, uh, a listener in a world which is fascinating. And because it's a world created from writing, it's very easy to step into, uh, text of all kinds to learn more about it, to investigate it, and e- eventually you, you know, recreate parts of it as well, and you are all of a sudden performing the acts, all the acts of literacy without having been given the exercise, if you will.

[00:32:22] You're not completing a task to get a reward. Again, I'm saying it in a way which makes it sound like I'm diminishing that. I'm not at all, um, and I wanna say that as many times as I can. Uh, I'm just enthusiastic about, uh, what I've, um, witnessed with, um, with, with, uh, uh, kids who have, um, you know, have, have dived into this world and then, uh, use, um, reading and writing to, uh, learn more about it.

[00:32:50] The internal motivation, um, drives them so far, and teachers have said to us, and this is all anecdotal, but that the learning outcomes are substantially better

[00:33:01] Speaker 16: Mm-hmm.

[00:33:01] Yeah. I believe it.

[00:33:03] Speaker 10: I would love, I would love to do a study, but that's not gonna be me

[00:33:06] Speaker 16: yeah, So for those who are, you know, whether it's families or educators who are new to this medium, um, where- what's one thing you would recommend for them? Where should they start, and how can they make this experience meaningful?

[00:33:22] Speaker 10: Well, I mean, um, uh, if there, if educators, you know, can, can, can go to our website, which is gzmshows.com. GZM Classroom is a, uh, a website for, uh, educators which also provides, uh, materials that they are free to use, uh, for their classrooms They don't need those materials. They can come up with anything they want.

[00:33:46] Teachers Pay Teachers has lots and lots of supporting materials for our shows, uh, as well for purchase. Um, and, um, uh, I would just talk, you know, talk to their colleagues. There's so many also, there are Facebook groups where, where teachers talk about our shows. Um, I, uh, I, I, I would never presume to tell any teacher where to start, uh, especially it depends on what grade you're talking about and what you wanna get out of it.

[00:34:15] What you'll always get out of it is incredible classroom engagement and incredible enthusiasm, and then what you do with that is, is, is, is, is, is, is the choice. Um, Six Minutes, you can't go wrong, because it's an easy place to start, and they're short episodes, so if it's a first-time experience, um, you know, kids are going to be, uh, uh, I think more willing to, um, sit for something that

[00:34:41] to, to, to sit for something that's shorter, uh, than they are to sit for something that's longer, which is not to say that if they sat for something that's longer, they wouldn't immediately get into it. They would, but you're asking them to sit for something which is shorter, which is what I'm talking about.

[00:34:55] And it's a serialized story, which is exciting, and it keeps everyone,

[00:34:59] Speaker 16: coming back

[00:35:00] Speaker 10: yeah, so I mean, that's a great place to start. And then what you do with it, which is really everything, is something that I can't really advise. Transcripts are fantastic, 'cause kids wanna learn more, and you could teach... But there are so many things.

[00:35:13] You do a scene a day or an episode a day and talk about what they think is coming next. Uh, you can write about it. You can write and recreate a scene. I mean, I've heard so many different things, I wouldn't know where to start, and it depends on the classroom. And one thing that has impressed me, I gotta say, and this is just something that a teacher said, is that it provides, you know, teachers in many cases struggle with classrooms which are diverse in the sense that there's some kids who are, uh, more, uh, s- sophisticated or advanced or mature or skilled and are re- reading, um, or learning at a higher pace, and there are other kids at the other end of the classroom who are struggling.

[00:35:51] Maybe they're struggling because they're not interested, or they're struggling because they don't know the fundamentals, or they're, for any other reason. Could be anything. Um, but that our shows, Six Minutes in particular, provides, uh, equal access to higher level thinking, because everyone can participate in that fully.

[00:36:12] It doesn't hold... No one is dis- at a disadvantage. You don't have to decipher the text in order to understand what's going on and to begin to think critically, uh, about what comes next or whatever you're directed to think about. Um, and that's, that's an amazing experience to have in a classroom, and it's an amazing thing for a teacher to be able to provide in a diverse classroom where they have to always think about both ends.

[00:36:36] Speaker 16: Yeah, I, that was very beautifully said. Equal access to higher level thinking. Um, thank you for sharing that, Ben. And I always end by asking guests what does reading inspire for you? But I'm sure you'll take that in, in whatever direction you want

[00:36:53] Speaker 10: I, I know what it inspired for me when I was much younger because I said it at the beginning. Ultimately it inspired trying to recreate that, um, experience for, uh, I mean, it, you know, for, for other, other, uh, other kids in what I'm doing now, uh, with GZM Shows. But, um, you know ... And, and I'll say also what I think it inspires in kids today generally is agency, um, and, uh, a, uh, ability to navigate the world.

[00:37:21] And like I said before, kids, older, older tweens and younger teens, they're looking at becoming young adults and becoming adults and what that might mean, and being able to navigate the world is a form ... in terms of reading and writing, is a form of empowerment, and so ultimately means independence. Um, but for me now, I, I'm grateful to be able to, uh, read great books that I enjoy and, uh, books of all sorts.

[00:37:51] And, um, I don't need to tell you that reading something is a different experience than receiving it in, in other ways, whether it's pure entertainment or whether it's something that you wanna learn about. Um, it's a very distinctive, uh, it's so fundamental and I feel silly even saying it, you know? But, uh,

[00:38:13] Speaker 16: it. Thank you,

[00:38:14] Speaker 10: that's what it means

[00:38:15] Speaker 16: Yeah, I, I love it. I appreciate it so much, and thank you for joining us today

[00:38:20] Speaker 10: Of course. It's been a pleasure, and thank you for inviting me on. It's, uh, it's a great show

[00:38:25] Speaker 16: Um, families and teachers listening today, if you're looking for a fun way to inspire a love of reading, join Reading Is Fundamental's Rally to Read, a free six-month reading engagement initiative available October 1st through March 31st for children in pre-K through elementary. Enjoy six months read-alouds and acclaimed authors, books, themed activities, and a reading challenge designed to keep kids engaged and excited about books. And educators, you can enter a chance to win 100 books for your classroom. Visit rif.org/rallytoread to learn more and join the fun. Thank you

[00:38:56] Speaker 10: Thank you. Can I, uh, ask you a-

[00:38:59] Speaker 17: Thank you for listening to Reading Inspires by Reading Is Fundamental. I hope today's conversation sparked new ideas, meaningful connections, and a renewed love of reading. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe, share it with a fellow literacy champion, and join us next time as we continue exploring what reading inspires.