By DAPHNE NORTHROP
Part mystery, history, with hip-hop flair, the new GBH Kids' podcast “Keyshawn Solves It” introduces listeners to Keyshawn, a 10-year-old detective from North Minneapolis who is determined to solve the mystery of missing bicycles to save the community’s Juneteenth bike parade.
“The podcast story is set during the week leading up to Juneteenth so that the listeners can gain a deeper understanding of this historical day in African American history,” said creator Ed Jenkins, who has more than 20 years’ experience as an entertainer and children’s media creator. “This podcast invites families to reflect on what Juneteenth means to them and their communities through Keyshawn’s story.”
As Keyshawn gets closer to solving the case, he is also learning about the power of some of the social-emotional keys to success such as resilience, self-worth and responsibility.
Children’s podcasts are exploding in popularity, with the market growing by 20% since 2019. GBH’s portfolio includes podcasts based on the popular PBS Kids series Arthur, Molly of Denali, Pinkalicious & Peterrific as well as “The Creeping Hour,” a horror-based podcast for kids 8-12.
For Dorothea Gillim, Creative Director of GBH Kids and Executive Director of “Keyshawn Solves It,” the new podcast fills a long-standing gap.
“There is quite a lack of podcasts available for kids that feature Black and ethnically diverse characters,” she said. “’Keyshawn Solves It’ helps fill that gap by providing a richly entertaining and informative story that all kids and families will enjoy.”
Jenkins and Gillim connected through the PRX Ready to Learn Podcast Accelerator, a podcast training and development program for producers creating educational content for young children. Jenkins and his team were the beneficiaries of support from GBH, PRX and Black Public Media as they produced the eight-episode podcast.
See a preview here.
For Jenkins, the podcast is a way to address the needs of children whose city was the site of George Floyd’s murder. It’s also an opportunity to spotlight a rarely seen side of North Minneapolis, a predominantly Black community with both great possibility and great need.
“People in North Minneapolis are doing extraordinary things,” he said. “Keyshawn is trying to help his community, and I hope kids will see that just because you're young, you don’t have to wait to make a positive contribution to your community.”
With its immersive sound and real-life ambient North Minneapolis audio recorded by Avery Moore Kloss, the podcast brings Keyshawn’s family and neighborhood alive. It also features 23 original spoken word poems, bringing an upbeat, rhyming cadence to the storytelling.
“"Spoken word gives a fun hip hop element to the podcast that has fluidity that young children can follow and understand," said Jenkins.
As he created the story of Keyshawn uncovering clues and searching for suspects, Jenkins tapped his background as a performer and magician.
“Mystery writing is very much like being a magician,” he said. “You know where you're trying to lead the audience, and you're tricking them a bit along the way.”
Gillim hopes that the podcast raises awareness about Juneteenth. “I hope it sparks conversations with kids, parents and caregivers and raises awareness about what Juneteenth is and its origins,” she said.
Jenkins hopes that young listeners pick up on the “keys to success” and try them in their own lives.
“Anyone who is successful in their lives has to master certain skills, like rising above mistakes, taking responsibility and following through,” he said.
Jenkins said he found that he was turning to those skills, too, as he produced his first podcast.
“My team had to live out all of them together to make this a successful project,” he said.
