This week I want to share a fast-paced and fun podcast for middle schoolers, The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel.

It's a peabody-award winning mystery podcast, stuffed full of cliffhangers and featuring a full cast of professional actors - most of them middle-schoolers. The plot unfolds in bits and pieces as we follow a group of middle school kids who don’t quite fit in, and don’t know why their friends keep disappearing one by one. The show is frequently broken up by “announcements” from the show’s eccentric (fictional) billionaire sponsor, Oliver Pruitt, with his take on things or with commercials for his “special” school, Pruitt Prep. 

This show would make a great text for middle school - there’s so much you could talk about from a podcasting perspective  in the way that it builds suspense, incorporates plot layers through the asides with Oliver Pruitt, and weaves in sound elements. But it could also make for great writing prompts, listening skills practice, and discussion or debate fodder. 

I highly recommend listening to just one episode to see what you think, and I bet you won’t want to stop there! 

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