The Most Important Question

A Calm Voice In A Loud World


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Your kids are hearing about the news whether you are ready or they're ready or not. One study said two-thirds of kids aged 8 to 14 are absorbing current events at least every few days, and almost none of it was made for them.

They're getting the fear without the context, the headlines without any nuance, and the algorithms without any sort of filter, and in a country arguing over whether to teach history or ban books.

The question of who helps kids make sense of the world has never been more necessary and urgent.

So what can I do to help the next generation build a healthy, lasting relationship with news and information?

Today's guest is Andrea Barbalich. Andrea is the editorial director of The Week Jr., the only weekly news magazine reporting current affairs directly to children, ages 8 to 14. Under Andrea's leadership, it has grown to over 155,000 subscribers.

Andrea's got 25 plus years in editorial leadership at places like Child Magazine. She's also the editor of a book called Feeling Safe: Talking to Children About War and Terrorism.

We talk about how you explain wars and elections and climate change to an 8-year-old without either terrifying them or talking down to them, why a physical magazine is thriving in a world of 8 second attention spans, and what every parent, grandparent, teacher, coach, and more can do this week to help the kids in their lives become informed, curious, and resilient.

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INI Book Club:

  • The Golden Rock by Theo Varlet

  • Find all of our guest recommendations at the INI Book Club: https://bookshop.org/lists/important-not-important-book-club

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    • Produced by Willow Beck

    • Intro/outro by Tim Blane: timblane.com

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