Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet here: https://wondery.com/links/the-best-idea-yet/Once upon a time, American kids had a problem—OK, two. They were watching way, WAY too much TV and they were falling way, way behind in school. But then a trailblazing producer and her psychologist friend asked a bold question: What if we used the first problem to solve the second? The result: Sesame Street, home of Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Bert & Ernie, and a social-media superstar named Elmo. Since Sesame Street’s debut in 1969—the same year as the moon landing!—the show’s helped educate more than 150 million kids in 70 different languages while breaking racial barriers along the way. It’s also taught us the meaning of friendship, the value of neighbors, and the joy of a good rubber ducky. And it was only possible thanks to audacious creators, educators, and one shaggy-looking puppeteer named James Maury Henson (but you can call him Jim). Learn about Kermit The Frog’s commercial past, why the only bets worth making are contrarian ones, and why Sesame Street is the best idea yet.Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet for the untold origin stories of the products you’re obsessed with — and the bold risk takers who made them go viral.Episodes drop every Tuesday, listen here: https://wondery.com/links/the-best-idea-yet/—-----------------------------------------------------GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts FOR MORE NICK & JACK: Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/ Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/ SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Full Episode
Yetis, Nick and Jack here. We're still on Jack's paternity leave, although we'll be back very, very soon. Full disclosure, we recorded this before my paternity leave. Yes, we did. But in the meantime, we wanted to whip up something special for you. And that thing is The Best Idea Yet. The Best Idea Yet, our second show. It's weekly and it dives deep into the most viral products of all time.
Today, it's Sesame Street, the most surprisingly powerful story we've ever covered. As I read the script for this story, I cried. Yeah, twice. Also in the recording. And since Jack's about to return from paternity leave, we thought the timing of this was perfect. So Yeti, sit back, relax, and enjoy this sample of the best idea yet with our Sesame Street episode.
Nick, as you know, I decided to go to Paris this summer. Not just with Alex. We brought both boys too. Bold move. We should point out these boys are under four years old. And we had four seats next to each other in the middle of the huge airplane. And everyone loved you on that airplane, didn't they? Well, you know, we whipped out the nuclear option. iPads. Yeah. The cheapest babysitter there is.
We don't love pulling out the iPad. That's going to do it. But the worry is, is that going to make them hooked on the iPad? It's like on the one hand, the iPad deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for kids. On the other hand, it's completely destroyed their brains. I try to find like educational content that will keep them occupied on the screen. Right, right, right.
Is Baby Shark really going to teach them quantum physics? I don't know. It's worth a shot, honey. Now, Nick, this feels like a modern problem. It does. But it actually goes way back. Before TikTok, before smartphones, all the way back to the earliest days of television, every parent has been dealing with this screen dilemma.
As long as there have been screens, there have been kids trying to watch things on those screens. But get this. In the 1960s, one woman decided to harness children's fascination with screens and use it for something great. She wasn't a teacher and she wasn't a parent. She was a TV producer. And her creation paved the way for the golden age of screen time that you can feel now.
Sesame Street taught us to read, to count, to process emotions, and to make friends with a guy who lives in a trash can. Bert and Ernie showed us what lifelong friendship is about. They're the original co-hosts. And Grover taught us that being a waiter is harder than it looks. Sesame Street has been on the air since 1969, the same year we landed on the moon, Jack.
That makes Sesame Street the longest-running children's TV show in U.S. history. The Simpsons? Eh, Sesame Street beat them by 23 years. Sorry, Marge. And since Sesame Street launched, it has helped educate more than 150 million children across 70 different languages in more than 150 countries. Jack, could you sprinkle on some more numerical context for us, please?
Well, add in the 300 million parents who are grateful that their kid had Sesame Street, and that means this show has impacted 450 million people. That's right. The number of the day is 450 million. This show, it broke barriers with a diverse cast and black actors in leading roles, which actually got the show banned in Mississippi in the 70s, which we'll talk about.
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