One episode about a marshal in the 1800s U.S. West, discusses types of weapons, shooting prowess, shooting outlaws, and recreates a shooting match with sounds of gunfire. This episode also discusses the "Trail of Tears," which was the brutal forced relocation of most Native Americans. A child's father, who's a fugitive from slavery, disappears forever when he learns the Dred Scott Decision made it possible for him to be enslaved again.
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Perseverance, overcoming adversity, following your dreams, and giving back are shown in often-untold biographies. Diverse representation is at the forefront, with mostly female or BIPOC subjects, offering new heroes for history.
Positive Role Models
a lot
Each biography shows examples of people who've persevered to achieve success or follow their dreams through adversity, discrimination, or both. Some gave back, like star Puerto Rican baseball player Roberto Clemente who helped Nicaraguans after a devastating earthquake. Lewis Latimer, son of enslaved parents, carried on through discrimination to follow his dreams and become an inventor critical to the creation of the lightbulb and telephone.
Diverse Representations
a lot
Women and historic figures of color are highlighted almost exclusively in the first season: Chinese American physicist Chien-Shiung Wu; Madame C.J. Walker, the first Black female self-made millionaire in the U.S.; Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid who broke through her male-dominated field. Characters are fleshed out and well-rounded, with actors voicing their inner thoughts, interacting with other characters, and with the narrator describing their various struggles and triumphs. Most of the subjects are from U.S. or Western European history.
Almost all of the stories are of women, African Americans, and other people of color, filling in some gaps and creating new role models. Biographies detail the individual along with the surrounding historical context. Various voice actors, music, and sound effects make learning about history lively and engaging.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Who, When, Wow! is a podcast about largely unsung heroes of history, mostly women and people of diverse races, ethnicities and cultural backgrounds. The storytelling is engaging including many different voice actors bringing to life the main character and other people of the time. Episodes mention U.S. slavery, the mistreatment of Black and native peoples, the "Trail of Tears," and one episode includes talk of guns, shooting people, and recreates a shootout. Biographies describe the historical context around each character in lively and accurate ways; but in one episode, Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu's contribution to the Manhattan Project made it possible to drop nuclear bombs on Japan. It's explained that she helped end WWII by solving a problem no one else could solve; however, no mention is made of the devastation to Japan.
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What’s It About?
WHO, WHEN, WOW! is an engaging kids' history podcast from the creators of the podcast Wow in the World. Each weekly show tells the story of a different, largely unknown character from history, like the first Black deputy marshal west of the Mississippi and a female Chinese-American physicist from the 1940s whose huge influence gave her the title "First Lady of Physics." The writing is engaging and tight with a variety of lively voice actors, creating effective storytelling over a short time. Characters are well-rounded people of various races who've achieved greatness by persevering against odds. They make for fresh role models in a history largely represented by White men.
This podcast features very entertaining, well-researched biographies of change makers in history. Various talented voice actors appear in each episode of Who, When, Wow! along with the host, who is a veteran audio storyteller. Well-timed music and sound effects, plus fun banter, keep things lively and the writing and acting make it accessible to younger and older kids. Considering the overall quality and that many of the stories will be new to adults, this is an engaging listen for them, too. Strong representation of women and people of color are highlighted.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Who, When, Wow! highlights heroes of history. What do you think it takes to be a hero? Who are your heroes and why?
Which of the heroes in this podcast interest you most, or did you most identify with? Why?
Why do you think this podcast features these particular people? And why is it important to learn about heroes who may be female, transgender, or of different race or ethnicity, for example?
Do you have a dream you wish to follow? What, if anything, is holding you back? What is the first step you can take to push through that obstacle?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
suggesting a diversity update.
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.