A New Podcast Families Can Bee-lieve in

Moody Radio’s The Honeycomb Chronicles is ready to help parents creatively engage their children in biblical truth

by Nancy Huffine  /  August 9, 2024

MITCHELL: You see, Colin, life can sometimes be really confusing and hard to understand. But there’s a saying that has helped me a lot: “When you can’t trace God’s hand, trust His heart.”

COLIN: What does that mean?

MITCHELL: It means that even when things don’t make sense to us, and we can’t see what God is doing, we can still trust that He loves us and wants the best for us.

COLIN: I guess that’s hard to do sometimes.

MITCHELL: It is. But it’s something we can learn and grow in, especially during difficult times.

You’ve just eavesdropped on Colin and Mr. Mitchell, two of the main characters in Moody Radio’s new podcast designed for kids ages 8 to 13: The Honeycomb Chronicles.

Beginning on Tuesday, August 6, a new 15-minute episode will drop each week, featuring characters Max, Catalina (Lina), and Colin. These kids love hanging out with their friends at The Honeycomb Club, Mr. Mitchell’s after-school club where connecting with God by learning more about His Word is a daily focus.

Carter Warn and Caleb Gray are digital producers for Moody Radio and are part of The Honeycomb Chronicles development team. Carter grew up listening to quality kids’ shows like Focus on the Family’s Adventures in Odyssey, and Caleb’s Moody Radio roots run through several generations.

“My grandfather was Tedd Seelye (announcer for several classic Moody Radio programs and early host of the Bible call-in show Open Line), and my great uncle was C. Donald Cole (one-time Open Line host and radio pastor),” Caleb says.

‘A really untapped demographic’

Both producers are excited to bring the new podcast to families with a focus on young listeners. At a recent podcast convention, the two delved deeper into the content and development of successful podcasts, and they heard statistics that reinforced the need for and the timing of The Honeycomb Chronicles.

“The age group 5 through 15 is a really untapped demographic as far as podcasts go,” Carter says, “which is interesting because a lot of media is focused on that age group—like cartoons, television, social media apps, etc. There’s a need for that demographic to be reached by podcasts, especially by gospel-forward podcasts with the truth of God's Word.”

While each of the “Honeycomb kids” has their own unique characteristics and storyline, the first season of The Honeycomb Chronicles will spotlight Colin. Raised by a single mom, Colin and his family struggle to make ends meet and don’t practice or pursue any spiritual beliefs.

Throughout season one, listeners will get to know Colin better and follow along as he slowly wades into the current of faith, asking questions and seeking answers. That’s exactly where The Honeycomb Club and the character of Mr. Mitchell come in. Club kids like Colin learn more about God, His love, and His Word at every after-school session.

Episodes will be released weekly each month. The first three episodes will follow the main characters living their lives and learning biblical lessons in real time, while the fourth episode of each month will be an episode of The Honeycast. “That’s a podcast that The Honeycomb Club characters create themselves. So that episode is like a podcast within a podcast,” Caleb says.

Helping parents engage their kids spiritually

But The Honeycomb Chronicles doesn’t just follow the adventures of the club kids. It’s also designed to follow the topics and scriptural study featured in Today in the Word, Moody’s daily Bible devotional, in tandem with the Today in the Word Family Studies devotionals.

“Today in the Word is releasing a family devotional in August, which is when The Honeycomb Chronicles also launches,” Carter says. “As they release their daily devotionals, they can point to The Honeycomb Chronicles for kids to listen to, and we can point the podcast listeners back to the Today in the Word devotionals.”

Carter and Caleb see the episodes as a great chance for parents to engage with their kids about faith, Jesus, and the love of God. “It's definitely something we hope that parents will listen to with their kids,” Carter says. “Kids have questions, and these podcasts could really open up some good opportunities for parents.”

The show’s theme—exploring life’s sweetest treasures—as well as the “honey” image are intentionally reinforced through the name of the podcast, the kids’ club, and The Honeycast, the name of the podcast that the club kids create. The podcast name is derived from Psalm 119:103—“How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”

‘We can help get some truth into their lives’

In an almost constant environment of noise, negativity, confusion, and untruths that surrounds children today, The Honeycomb Chronicles development team is clear about their intent, and their hope. Carter looks back on his days as a kid tuned in to Christian radio and says, “Listening to hours of those shows gave me a foundation of solid biblical theology. And for the most part, I didn't even realize at the time that I was absorbing it.

“So many lies flow around and through social media and all that stuff that kids are consuming. And (social media) knows no bounds as far as how young the audience is. Every kid has an iPad or a phone at this point. Everything is competing for their attention. If we can get this into the ears of kids—even if it's just playing in their cars or if it’s on in the background while they're doing schoolwork—then we can help get some truth into their lives.”

A team of five Moody writers and producers—along with several voice actors—began working on The Honeycomb Chronicles in 2023. The podcast will be available on platforms like Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, and on YouTube beginning August 6.