Our favourite radio plays and podcasts for young and old

Now there's something for your ears! Here we present the most popular podcasts, radio plays and other audio tips for the whole family.

NIK NIETHAMMER

Listening tips for adults:

Hörbar Rust
For me, it's the best radio talk show in the German-speaking world. Every Sunday from 2 to 4 pm, presenter Bettina Rust invites a celebrity guest to her Hörbar. They bring music and tell stories from their lives. Rust is funny, quick-witted and always well prepared, never aggressive, takes a serious interest in her guests and manages to elicit the most private things from them as a matter of course. And they've all been there: Anke Engelke, Martin Suter, actor Matthias Schweighöfer, singer Sophie Hunger, presenter Sandra Meischberger.
Tip: If you like clever conversations with clever people, Hörbar Rust is the right place for you
Paardiology
Charlotte Roche became famous as the author of «Wetlands», an excursion into the last taboos of the present day. This summer, she launched a podcast on Spotify. And with her pronounced drive for self-exploration, she is once again venturing into the most intimate zones of human existence. In «Paardiologie», she discusses - no, dissects - her relationship with her husband Martin Kess. The two talk about their love life together, about alcohol, sex, arguments, cheating, jealousy and every conceivable topic that couples deal with. As a listener, you get carried away, immerse yourself and often think to yourself: they didn't really say that!
Tip: Make sure you listen to it together - even if you almost can't stand it: Paardiology on Spotify.

Listening tip for parents:

Family ties
Noa and Dan have been parents to a little boy called Nathan since September 2014 and to Nave since 2016. The two of them have dealt extensively with what it means to become parents and raise children. Nevertheless, new and unforeseen questions keep cropping up in everyday life. Noa and Dan turn to their most important contact, the Zurich paediatrician and developmental paediatrician Sepp Holtz, who is also Noa's father, with these uncertainties and thoughts.
Tip: «Familienbande» by Pro Juventute is a clever podcast about becoming a family and being a family. For parents and those who want to become parents.

Listening tip for children:

The three ??? kids
Justus Jonas, Peter Shaw and Bob Andrews are ten years old and live in Rocky Beach, a Californian coastal town between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. The three sleuths («We take on every case») have specialised in solving tricky problems. Their headquarters is the «coffee pot», a discarded water tank on a disused railway line. This is their meeting place so that they can investigate without being disturbed by their parents or the police.
The episodes are exciting, easy to understand and suitable for children aged six and over.
Tip: The Three??? Kids (also on Spotify) are also fun for adults. So cosy up on the sofa with your loved ones and share the excitement.

Nik Niethammer ist Chefredaktor vom ElternMagazin Fritz+Fränzi und Vater von zwei Kindern, einer Tochter, 8, und einem Sohn, 10 Jahre alt. 
Nik Niethammer is editor-in-chief of the parents' magazine Fritz+Fränzi and father of two children, a daughter aged 8 and a son aged 10.

EVELIN HARTMANN

I'm currently listening to «Understanding, feeling, being happy - the mindfulness podcast». Sinja Schütte, editor-in-chief of Flow magazine, and Dr Boris Bornemann, meditation researcher, discuss topics such as sustainability, relationships, anxiety, friendship and sleep from the perspective of mindfulness. Each episode revolves around an overarching topic that is explored in greater depth: Why do thoughts actually bother me? How can I stop the carousel in my head and enjoy the moment? And why don't mindful people automatically live sustainably? It's informative and practice-orientated, but above all super relaxing and is great to listen to on the train after a stressful day at the office.

Our favourite things to listen to with the children are the stories by Astrid Lindgren: Michel from Lönneberga, Ronja the Robber's Daughter, the children from Bullerbü and so on. My favourite character is Madita, who is actually called Margareta but is only called by her full name when she has been up to mischief - and she is very often called that. Madita is the female counterpart to Michel. And that's what's so great about her.

It's not always particularly educational, but it's funny - even for the parents listening in. We listen to the stories on CD.

Evelin Hartmann ist stellvertretende Chefredaktorin und Mutter von zwei Töchtern, 3 und 6 Jahre alt. 
Evelin Hartmann is deputy editor-in-chief and mother of two daughters, aged 3 and 6.

BIANCA FRITZ

Upspeak
My new favourite app is called Upspeak. Here you can find experts, especially from the fields of spirituality, personal development and marketing, but there are also some podcasts on the subject of relationships and family. What makes it special compared to simply listening to podcasts: You can record messages directly to the experts and very often also receive answers to your questions - as a personal message or in one of the next podcast episodes.
Audiobook tip for young people:
Right at the beginning, everyone under 12 and all crybabies and sissies are warned to get lost in the children's book section. Because this fantasy story, Walter Moers: Die Stadt der träumenden Bücher (read by Dirk Bach), is not for the faint-hearted: it takes you into the realm of dreaming books full of literary mythical creatures. Not all the books here are funny and benevolent - some mythical creatures can drive you mad, or even «kill» you. Very exciting, incredibly imaginative. Even teenage bookworms develop an interest in books.

Bianca Fritz leitet die Onlineredaktion und ist oft mit Kopfhörern anzutreffen. 
Bianca Fritz is head of the online editorial team and can often be found wearing headphones.

BENJAMIN MUSCHG

  • I've heard that the Ooigo app is now a hit for all children's audio drama needs. Attached to Spotify or Apple Music, radio plays can be found via interests and displayed in a nicely organised way. Disadvantage: There is no search field.
  • Much more analogue, but ultimately also digital, is Hörbert, an indestructible first ghetto blaster for children. Politically correct with its wooden casing and educationally valuable because the technology inside can be read very clearly.
  • In terms of content, I'm still a bit in my infancy. For me, the little dragon coconut stands out from the mass of less intoxicating content, which is really quite funny despite its name.
  • As far as children's music is concerned, I've done very well with two golden rules so far. Firstly: there is no such thing as children's or adult music, only music that you like and others. Secondly, ignore Andrew Bond if you can. If, in contradiction to the first rule, you don't dare expose your toddler to death metal or twelve-tone music from your own music collection, I recommend Marius & die Jagdkapelle, the Eastern Swiss answer to Schtärneföifi, as well as the likeably loud Hamburger Deine Freunde (currently on tour with their new CD «Helikopter»). And recently rediscovered from the 80s and devoured by the three-year-old: Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung. But that's really not children's music.
Benjamin Muschg leitet die Produktion der Magazine bei Fritz+Fränzi und zitiert bei Texten gerne mal aus der Musik. 
Benjamin Muschg is head of magazine production at Fritz+Fränzi and likes to quote from music when writing texts.

ANDREA WIDMER

My little girl loves listening to Tonie figures on her Toniebox. She reads out the figures according to her mood - from Bibi and Tina to What's What in Space to TKKG and Ella at school. We are big fans of the Toniebox because the figures don't get scratched as quickly as CDs and you can easily take the box with you wherever you go.

Unfortunately, the rest of us are not such big listeners, more like readers. (Reading tip: The editors' favourite children's books to read aloud).

Andrea Widmer arbeitet bei der Stiftung Elternsein im Fundraising und ist Mama von zwei Töchtern im Alter von 5 und 8 Jahren. 
Andrea Widmer works in fundraising at the Elternsein Foundation and is mum to two daughters aged 5 and 8.

PATRIK LUTHER

  • It's been a while, but it was my introduction to the world of audiobooks: The Kangaroo Chronicles by Marc-Uwe Kling. One day, the author and storyteller meets a communist kangaroo at his front door, who wants to borrow a few eggs from this first encounter. The result is an unusual friendship and flat-sharing situation that takes place in Berlin: Refreshing, uplifting, hilarious and hugely entertaining! In 2018, the fourth book «The Kangaroo Apocrypha» was published, which concludes the Kangaroo series with short stories. My favourite version is the one that Marc-Uwe Kling performs himself and live with an audience.
  • «The cow that cried» or «The elephant that forgot happiness». The Buddhist monk Ajahn Brahm tells Buddhist wisdom based on modern life issues with a lot of humour - inspiring and easily digestible insights with a beautiful depth. I like to enjoy this type of audio book in the car. It helps to make the most of the time spent in traffic jams in a refreshing and uplifting way.
  • There are many audiobooks on Spotify that are integrated into the subscription. Our little ones like to listen to the radio playtime with Leo Lausemaus. The Bluetooth loudspeaker, which is connected to the computer at home, is then placed wherever fairytale time is required; in the living room, in the children's room while playing Lego or in the conservatory while playing with the Büsis.
  • Globi CDs are still very popular with us. Both the CD player at home and in the car are used extensively. As soon as the girls are strapped into their child seats, it's «Chömer Globi lose». Everyone's favourite story: Globi, the clever farmer. We've heard it so often that we can all say and sing along to the lyrics and the funny songs. It happened to me recently that I only realised that I had been listening to the Globi story all the way to the office when I parked my car. I simply forgot to switch the source after the weekend.
  • A comedian from Aargau once explained it like this: «I realised that I was getting old when I switched from SRF3 to SRF1». I am therefore in the middle ages, but I currently enjoy listening to SRF2 ... On SRF2 Kultur, I experience many varied programmes that shed light on topics that are otherwise rarely addressed. «100 Sekunden Wissen», «Blick in die Feuilletons» or «Echo der Zeit» are some of the programmes I really enjoy listening to.
Patrik Luther ist stellvertretender Verlagsleiter und Papa von zwei Töchtern im Alter von zwei und sieben Jahren. 
Patrik Luther is deputy publishing director and father to two daughters aged two and seven.

FLORINA SCHWANDER

We usually have music, a story or something else playing somewhere in the family. The husband likes a certain Tekkie programme on Couleur3, the kids like all kinds of stories and children's music, and I like various podcasts and loud music with deep bass when I'm out on my own.
We listen to a lot of things on Spotify. The children mainly want to listen to Swiss-German stories (with the exception of Bibi Blocksberg and Fireman Sam). I can particularly recommend Jolanda Steiner, she combines lovely children's stories with music, which we adults also enjoy listening to. Sue Bachmann also has some collector's albums in Swiss German, and there are also lots of Kasperli playlists and a few Globis. We also regularly borrow CDs from the Pestalozzi libraries in Zurich, the stories are organised by age and dialect/script German. And then I still have all the old Kasperli, Pingu and Pumuckl cassettes from my childhood together with an old device, so that these are also being used again (see also: a plea for vintage toys).

My current tips for big listening fans:

Birth Stories
I love listening to Clemmie Hooper. The midwife and mum of four girls, also known online as Mother of Daughters, runs a successful blog in England and has recently launched a podcast with birth stories: Birth%20Stories.%20Meine%20bisher%20liebste%20Folge%20war%20ihr%20Gespr%C3%A4ch%20mit%20Autorin%20Frances%20Segal,%20die,%20wie%20Clemmie%20Hooper%20auch,%20eineiige%20Zwillinge%20bekommen%20hat.%20Sehr%20lustig%20ist%20%C3%BCbrigens%20auch%20ihr%20Mann%20Simon%20Hooper:%20Als%20Father of Daughters, he regularly makes his community laugh on various channels.
The podcast is freely accessibleon the usual podcast channels.
I also like listening to people who inspire me in some way or make me think without any preaching. This was recently the case with Palina Rojinski's podcast, for example in her conversation with Lars Eidinger or Elyas M'Barek . When it comes to family topics, I like to listen to Janet Lansbury or Little Years.

Tips for little listening fans:

De chli bear Sebastian
«Sebastian doesn't want to sleep», my daughter once told me after nursery. I thought of a boy who no longer wanted to take a nap. But far from it, Sebastian was actually a little bear, not a new addition to the crèche. Since then, we have been listening to Sebastian regularly at home. The story, told in Swiss German by Jolanda Steiner and accompanied by hearty songs, is fun for me to listen to too - and the children fall asleep to it wonderfully in the evenings.
The CD «de chli Bär Sebastian» is available in specialised shops for approx. 20 Fr.
Charly and Benjamin
The stories «Geissbock Charly fiered Wiehnachte» by Jolanda Steiner and the story of Benjamin the donkey with Sandra Studer are also very popular at the moment. Both available via Spotify or from specialist retailers.

Florina Schwander ist Redaktorin Online und Print bei Fritz+Fränzi. Zuhause hat sie drei kleine Hör-Fans: eine Tochter (5) und die Zwillingsjungs (3). 
Florina Schwander is the online and print editor at Fritz+Fränzi. She has three little listening fans at home: a daughter (5) and twin boys (3).