Fourth grade students in Ryan Brazil’s class at Love Elementary have created a podcast called “Little Minds Big Talks,” that aims to educate and inspire elementary school students nationwide.

The podcast addresses critical topics such as racism, gender identity, empathy, and more with fresh and youthful perspectives.

“Through heartfelt conversations with experts and community members, the podcast aims to promote inclusivity, empathy, and understanding in elementary schools across the country,” according to an Alameda Education Foundation statement.

So far, the class has created three episodes of their podcast, which runs about five to eight minutes in length. The three podcasts focus on neurodiversity. Neurodiversity is a framework for understanding human brain function and mental illness.

It argues that diversity in human cognition is normal. In the second episode, the podcast featured an interview with Lilac, a Love Elementary fifth grader, who discusses their experiences living with autism and ADHD.

“It’s kind of hard to understand,” said Lilac on the podcast. “I don’t try to teach everyone about because every time I do that I do a long explanation for every single person.”

Students run every aspect of the podcast, with assistance from Brazil, nurturing skills in communication, research, and leadership.

The Alameda Education Foundation provided a Teacher Mini Grant to fund purchases of microphones, headphones, USB audio interface, TRS pro balanced interconnect cables, a room divider, soundproofing panels, and a headphone amplifier.

The Little Minds Big Talks podcast is available anywhere podcasts are available. A trailer for the podcast is available at www.buzzsprout.com/2253287/13661939.