Welcome to Ping and Echo, a daily newsletter that links to one amazing podcast episode that is guaranteed to be a great listen for kids and their families. Each newsletter includes links to articles, videos and activities related to the podcast so you can turn every episode into an adventure.
Remember: You can email us pictures of the crafts and activities you do from Ping and Echo and we’ll post all your echos on our Instagram and our Twitter page.
Today’s podcast episode is from This American Life. Monkey in the Middle is actually just one “act” in a longer episode but we are just going to focus on Act One because… well because it is about monkey selfies. Did you know money’s take selfies? Did you know they smile for the camera? Did you know monkeys can sue photographers? This episode dives into the surprising history of the “monkey selfie battle” which raises fascinating questions about creativity, copyrights and animal rights. We hope you will send us your best monkey selfie too!
Podcast: This American Life
Episode: Monkey in the Middle
URL: https://www.thisamericanlife.org/631/so-a-monkey-and-a-horse-walk-into-a-bar/act-one (Click this link to see the actual monkey selfie in the story)
Length: 29 minutes
🧐 You Should Know
We’ll always give you a heads up if there is anything in the podcast that might surprise or worry kids. We only screened Act One of the podcast and so we can’t vouch for other parts of this episode. The kids said the legal discussion gets a little dry in parts, but overall the episode is “totally worth it.”
💡 Try This
After you listen to the episode you can monkey around with the links and activities below:
Listen and discuss - a great follow-up to this episode is another podcast called “Short and Curly,” which is an ethics podcast for kids. In the episode “Should chimps have the same rights as kids?” the hosts pause and give you time to debate the ethical questions in the episode with your family. Let us know what you decide!
Print out your own monkey mask and take some selfies
Listen to the Monkees and have a dance party
🔎 Explore More
Read up on all sorts of monkey business with these links:
Learn more about the Macaques species at the heart of this story.
Other monkeys apparently take selfies too
Listen to “Bad Self Portraits” by Lake Street Dive
The name Ping and Echo comes from sonar technology which relies on sending out “pings” and receiving back “echos” to discover the world around you. You can send us pictures of the art and activities created by your kids. Email them to pingandecho@gmail.com and we’ll post all your echos on our Instagram and our Twitter page.
Thanks for lending us your ears and your inbox.
Toby, Ruby and Josh