American Public Media to sell popular Brains On! podcast, eliminate jobs
American Public Media, an affiliate of MPR News, said Monday it was in active talks to sell the Brains On! Universe, an award-winning science podcast for children and young adults. The sale will eliminate 15 positions.
“This is not the outcome we hoped for, as these are valued colleagues and award-winning, rightfully beloved content,” Chandra Kavati, APM’s president, wrote in an email Monday. “This has been a hard decision, and we are deeply saddened to say goodbye to this team.”
Kavati cited challenges in monetizing audio content for kids and families as the reason for the sale, adding that the APM Studios unit plans to “thoughtfully inform the audience of this change.”
Brains On! Is a weekly podcast where kids can co-host a show to find answers to questions they have about the world. The podcast has more than 100 episodes with four other franchises on debate, history and fun facts.
Other APM Studios podcasts like The Splendid Table and The Slowdown will be brought under the umbrella of the national brand American Public Media.
American Public Media is a unit of American Public Media Group, the parent company of MPR News.
