The summer road trip is a time-honored tradition guaranteed to fortify the bonds of family even while testing the mettle of the most patient and loving parents.
Preparation is key to surviving long hours on the road with a backseat full of little ones, a fact that Brittany Gibbons knows all too well as a mother of three who regularly drives to Florida to visit family. About four years ago it occurred to her that a trivia podcast would be a fun way to help pass the hours.
When she couldn’t find what she was looking for, she and her best friend Meredith Soleau decided to team up with their kids to make the trivia podcast they wanted to hear. Thus the hit Family Road Trip Trivia podcast was born.
As longtime friends who also own and run a successful Toledo area marketing agency together, the two women knew they had a winning idea on their hands and decided to carry on producing weekly episodes every Friday. Covering diverse pop culture topics ranging from Harry Potter to chain restaurants to 90s trivia, it didn’t take long for the podcast to find an audience.
Producing a hit
Each episode now averages 60,000 downloads and the show is a regular chart topper on the Apple Podcasts Kids & Family list. A little over a year ago, Gibbons and Soleau were approached and signed by the Airwave Media podcast network.
“The show has really exploded, so it’s been fun,” Soleau, a mother of three, said.
Occasionally Gibbons and Soleau record live shows at Rosaria’s on 3rd Street in Perrysburg and the Swanton Public Library. This summer, they brought on two “interns” to guest host: Soleau’s 21-year-old son, Lars, and his girlfriend, Kelsie.
Episodes usually range in length from 11 to 15 minutes, making them easy to binge in the car. Topics come from listener suggestions, and most episodes begin with the hosts giving “shout outs” to their young fans who write in. Gibbons says this has increased listener engagement and helped kids who tune in take ownership of the show.
The kindest audience
Family Road Trip Trivia is not the first or only podcast the two friends have produced together, but they both agree that children are their favorite audience. “We get lots of videos of kids pretending to be us,” Gibbons said. She jokes that she likes to remind her teenagers how “cool” she is to younger kids.
“Children are the kindest audience you could ever have,” adds Soleau.
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Gibbons admits she is a little surprised the show is still going strong and finding new fans after four years. She attributes its success in part to the fact that the hosts don’t “pander” to their audience. “Kids are funny. They get jokes. They get sarcasm and they want to feel cool. I love that we speak to them on that level,” she said. “I just think treating them like people is something we do really well and I think it’s super needed.”
Weekly episodes of Family Road Trip Trivia can be found on your favorite podcasting service. For more summer road trip entertainment, check out these other kid-friendly podcasts:
- The Past and the Curious: This history podcast created by museum professional and educator Mick Sullivan explores many of the people and places left out of the history books.
- Culture Kids: Culture Kids Podcast explores different cultures to help children embrace differences with curiosity, respect and equality while celebrating the similarities between all people.
- WOW in the World: This podcast shares the latest news in science, technology and innovation for kids and their families.
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