Interview: Discussing the Fun-Filled and Family-Friendly Retellings of Greek Mythology with "Greeking Out" Host Kenny Curtis
Laughing Place had the honor to sit down with Kenny Curtis, host of National Geographic Kids’ hit podcast Greeking Out, for an enthralling interview about bringing Greek mythology to life for young audiences.
Back in 2019, National Geographic Kids began inviting young listeners into a fun and exciting deep dive into Greek mythology with Greeking Out. Hosted by children’s programming veteran Kenny Curtis, the podcast, which is now in its 12th season, brings ancient Grecian lore to life with fun and engaging storytelling. Joined by the hilarious Oracle of Wifi, Curtis uses his humor and wit to bring some of humanity's oldest stories to life with lively narration, sound designs, and catchphrases.
Since then, Greeking Out has developed an incredible following for bringing the gods, heroes, and monsters to life for kids while also weaving in historical and cultural insights about the ancient world. While Curtis is “the voice” of Greeking Out, he also takes a huge role behind the scenes in both writing and production. Laughing Place had the opportunity to interview Curtis, where he shared his insights about the incredibly successful podcast with our very own Benji Breitbart.
Benji: Hi. So, well, I mean, I guess let's go back to the beginning. So what's the, what's the origin story of this podcast? It's become quite popular.
Kenny: Yeah. The origin story of Greeking Out is, it actually is a podcast that was inspired by a book that then inspired its own book series. It's kind of crazy. There's a book series called Zeus the Mighty written by Crispin Boyer. It's a wonderful book series about animals in a pet store in Olympia, Georgia, who think they're the Greek gods because the owner of the pet store listens to a podcast called Greeking Out. So years ago, when I was working with the editors, some of the editors from Nat Geo Kids Books on a Weird But True radio show, they suggested, hey, we should do the
podcast that's in the book to promote the book. And then the podcast became so popular that the podcast that was from a book actually spawned its own book series. So here we are, full circle.
Benji: That's really cool. And, you know, I mean, I just know from my growing up, my siblings growing up, there's something about the Greek myths that just resonate with people. I mean, perhaps that's why they were the myths to begin with. So, you know, what was your experience being exposed to, what's your earliest memory of being exposed to these stories?
Kenny: Well, I can remember as a, I guess, a middle schooler, I started reading. I picked up actually this book, which I have on my desk because I always bring it up in interviews and my daughter gave it to me. Edith Hamilton's Mythology, Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes. And this is some dense reading, man, and probably way over the head of a fifth or sixth grader. But I was just totally into it. I was captivated by it. I was kind of a Dungeons and Dragons nerd before that was all cool, back when we actually had to roll dice and stuff. So it really spoke to me, all of these stories and these characters. But it's kind of exciting for me to come back around to them and to see how much they've sort of influenced pop culture and pop culture has sort of embraced them again.
Benji: And despite you're talking about some of the world's oldest stories, your show is anything but droll. And it's very witty and very clever and with production value and is really accessible, even though some of these myths, they make the Marvel Cinematic Universe look like easy peasy. When you approach these stories, I mean, how do you cram all that genius that you have in the production of these into one episode?
Kenny: Well, I think the real key is to make sure that you know who is listening. I mean, we like to believe that kids and families are listening together, but very often podcasts are consumed in the ear with earbuds, one to one. And I think parents trust National Geographic kids, justifiably so. So I think there's a lot to be said for working with National Geographic kids and getting their stamp of approval. But I also think that what we try to do when we're crafting these episodes is to tell these stories in such a way that the kids never completely forget that they're listening to a story. This stuff can be pretty complicated, but also pretty intense. There's a lot of heads getting cut off and a lot of crazy, scary monsters and worse in Greek mythology. So we tone it down for kids, but there's only so far that can go. So what we try to do is, by using this oracle of Wi-Fi and by having a sense of humor, is break the fourth wall occasionally to lessen the tension and remind the kids that are listening that this is, in fact, a story.
Benji: And in this most upcoming episode, you get to partner with another telling of this myth. Obviously, Disney has a long history with mythology from Fantasia, Gods of Spring, the Hercules movie, and now the Hercules stage show that's performing in the West End. What's it like to partner with someone who's telling the story in a slightly different way or substantially different way, but you still get to bring them on and play with someone who has a strong connection to one of these great characters? Obviously, Hades being an iconic part of the pantheon there.
Kenny: Yeah, Stephen Carlyle was a delight, and he joined us as the guest oracle. Every once in a while, we'll have a guest. We've had Rick Riordan do it as well, and I think we're definitely going to have some other celebrities fill in for the oracle of Wi-Fi, the unofficial co-host of the podcast. Stephen plays Hades in the London West End musical version of Hercules, as you said. And right from the get-go, he was a ball to work with. He was a lot of fun. We start off right out of the gate with the fact that the musical is called Hercules, but the Greek pronunciation of the hero's name is Heracles, and it just devolves from there. It's silly. It's fun. I hope he had a good time. We certainly had a good time working with him. But I think it is fun. Sometimes when worlds collide, it can be wonderfully messy. How about that? And I think this is one of those. I don't even really think it was messy. I just think it was a really exciting opportunity for two different takes on Greek mythology to align their worlds.
Benji: Well, it's a lot of fun. Obviously, he's a strong performer, and I've listened to episodes. Everyone involved in the show is a strong performer. But you really got to play up his acting chops in his journey through the episode, and it was quite fun. The thing that is interesting is obviously these myths are having a moment right now. I mean, we talked about the West End. Percy Jackson and the Olympians is doing great on Disney+, along with the companion book series. And your show has been very—I mean, you're in your 12th season, if I'm not mistaken. And what's it been like to just see the success of your show over 12 seasons, which is several years of podcasts?
Kenny: It's kind of crazy. I mean, thank you for all of that. I mean, it is—it's a delight, really, to see people embrace storytelling the way they do. You know, telling these stories orally, you know, speaking them out loud and listening to them is actually how they were originally passed down from generation to generation. They weren't written down for thousands of years, like a lot of folktales and fables and myths. And so I think the telling of the story is actually part of the culture and part of the experience. And I love the fact that we get to do it in such a fun way for Greeking out. But I also love the fact that it is kind of low-key. There's a lot of stuff—I mean, our podcast is on YouTube, and even the podcasts that are on YouTube are kind of manic, and a lot of blah, in-your-face stuff for kids. And I like that this is very much, we tell you a story, and you use your imagination to make the pictures. Kids tell us all the time—we did a live event the other day, and a couple of kids came up to us and told us that it was their favorite thing to do while playing with Legos, was to listen to the podcast. And I thought, that's perfect. That's the perfect companion, drawing, playing with Legos, doing something else. But it is engaging your own original sense of creativity. And I hope that's what storytelling in general does. And I think that's very true to the source material, because that's how Greek myths were originally experienced.
Benji: And one of the things that your podcast, in the episodes I've listened to, also navigates is the fact that there's not one true story version of this. I mean, there's variations, and you touch upon that, and you acknowledge it. And I often think about, like, you know, if 10,000 years from now, people are looking at a Batman, and they were like, wait, which is the true Batman? No one would know. It's like 500 different versions.
Kenny: That is an excellent, excellent comparison.
Benji: And so, you know, what does it tell you about sort of how storytelling evolves? I mean, you're telling your own version of the story. I mean, you're historically based with the Nat Geo experts and all that stuff.But, you know, you are retelling it through, obviously, there was no Oracle of Wi-Fi, presumably in, you know, in ancient Greece. But being part of that continuation of the storytelling legacy of these ancient stories.
Kenny: Well, I think it tells you that, you know, people want and choose to identify their experience, the human experience, life in general, through a story. I think that's a great way to articulate any experience that you have. If even if you come home from school, your mom says, how was your day? The kid's going to tell you essentially a story. They're not going to say, “I had math.” They might. But that's still, even if they do, that's just part of the story. And I think that helps communication in general. But it also, by framing your own life in a narrative, it makes you feel more alive. And it allows us to share experiences. I tell you my story. You tell me yours. And I think that's part of the culture. There's a whole thing about African griot and the griot culture that really touches on that, too. But I don't want to get too, like, but, you know, I mean, it's really, I think, essential for people to experience stories one way or the other, whether it's a book or a movie or a television show or a streaming show or a podcast. I think the stories are some of the things that grab us. Even the nonfiction stuff is still kind of presented in a story format.
Benji: Well, and this show is, you know, I know it's for Nat Geo for kids, but it's also great for co-listening. You know, this is not juvenile in that sense. And honestly, I listen to it and I don't even have kids. So, you know, adults can listen to it. And, you know, it can deal with some heavy themes, but it's done in such a fun way that, you know, it's not in a world where sometimes you just want some levity. It's still, it's a blast. And you should be very proud of what you and your team have created. It's spectacular.
Kenny: Thank you. I'm sorry. You know, our producer, Emily Everhart, has done an amazing job in shepherding all this through. And we have an incredible audio producer.He's like an audio animator, Scotty Beam. And of course, Tori Kerr, who does the recorded voice of the Oracle. She's a delight as well. So it's been fun. I write the episodes and the books with my daughter, Jillian Hughes, who is a writer. And she and I have just had the best time immersing ourselves in these myths and this storytelling culture.
Benji: And before I let you go, if you could, could you elaborate a little bit about, we talked about how the book, a book inspired the podcast, which is a book series. Can you tell us a little bit more about the book series for those that may have been introduced through the podcast?
Kenny: Well, there is a book series called Greeking Out. The first one is just the Greeking Out book. The next, the second is Heroes and Olympians. And the new book that's out is Greeking Out Tales from the Underworld. And these are, every one of the books is 20 different myths or stories, just like episodes of the podcast. Some of them were featured on the podcast. Some of them will be featured on the podcast. Some of them are brand new, but they're all myths and stories. What we really like about the new one, Tales from the Underworld, is that this book contain is 20 different underworld myths from around the world. So it's the underworld from around the world. So there are Greek myths in here, a handful of those, but there's also Mesopotamian myths, Norse myths, Chinese myths, Aztec myths. We have stories from all around the world, different cultures, and how they deal with ghosts and the afterlife and the underworld, Egyptian myths. And we do this on the podcast. We call them field trips. But the popularity of those particular episodes has led us to exploring a little bit more of that content in book form. And we're really excited to bring it to you.
Benji: Well, thanks so much. I listened to this upcoming episode coming home from the new Springsteen movie, which is very heavy. So it was a perfect antidote to that as we're driving home. So I didn't have to worry about the Nebraska album as I tried to-
Kenny: Right. I was going to say, yeah, it's definitely going to be more uplifting. Even though it's narrated by Hades, it's still going to be more uplifting than the Nebraska album, believe me. But yeah, that's great. I'm glad you listened to it. Yeah, this second episode. This is Stephen Carlyle guest hosts our second episode in a two-part series about grown-up Heracles, older Heracles. Yeah, as he's trying to settle down a little bit more in his life, rather unsuccessfully.
Benji: Yeah, I would not say that he was successful in that. Although if he did, then there probably wouldn't be stories that we would know.
Kenny: That's right. You can take the boy out of the fight, but you can't take the fight out of the boy. I guess that's-
Benji:Yeah, even if he gets on his own funeral pyre, he still finds a way to check through.
Kenny: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So thank you so much for chatting with me.
Benji: Thank you so much Kenny, Appreciate the time.
Kenny: Thanks, Benji. It was great talking to you.
Benji: Talking to you, too.
If you’d like to watch the interview, you can check out the full 15 minute conversation below:
Catch Greeking Out now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Stitcher, and YouTube.
The companion books are also now available for preorder.
Read More National Geographic:
- National Geographic Releases 2026 "Best of the World" List with Travel Suggestions for the Year to Come
- Review: National Geographic's "Love+War" Immerses Viewers in the Harsh Realities and Risks of Photojournalist Lynsey Addario's Life
- Chris Hemsworth's New Documentary Trailer Highlights an Emotional Journey with His Father