Just Jack: Second-grader hosts podcast that attacks listeners with science facts

Jack Collins, a second-grader at Daniel Axford Elementary, welcoming listeners to his learning-based podcast, Jack Attack Facts. Photo by Shelby Tankersley.

“You’re listening to Jack Attack Facts, where I attack you with facts about science and more.”

Jack Collins, a second-grader at Daniel Axford Elementary, is a talkative eight-year-old who will enthusiastically tell you about whatever is on his mind. True to his personality, the talkative little guy hosts his own podcast focusing on what piques his curiosity.

“For as long as Jack could talk, he loved to tell other people things that he knows,” his mother, Danielle Collins, said.”So this kind of just fits with his personality.”

Jack is a podcast enthusiast. After the encouragement of a family friend and the example of his favorite science podcast, Brains On, Jack started his own called Jack Attack Facts. So far, he has covered topics like circadian rhythm and dinosaurs.

“I think it’s really, really cool when I’m behind the microphone and speaking,” Jack said.

Because he’s still eight years old, Jack’s parents help him write the scripts for his episodes, which average about four minutes. He talks about whatever topic his latest episode is on, and mom and dad just write his words down.

“With either my mom or my dad, I’ll say things to them and they’ll write it down on the computer,” Jack said.”And that’s what I say in the podcast.”

“The content is 100 percent his words, I just write them down,” Danielle added.

After an episode is written and recorded Jack’s dad, Brian Collins, edits the whole thing on GarageBand and posts it to PodBean. They hope to see Jack Attack Facts on Apple Podcasts someday.

Jack does the talking, but knows he still needs help with the hard stuff.

“He’s a regular eight-year-old,” Danielle said. “I always say about him that he is exceptional in certain things, but he’s still a regular eight-year-old.”

Jack says making the podcast entails “a lot of things to do” and he much prefers talking into the microphone and doing research instead of working on a script. But, he enjoys knowing that people listen to and enjoy what he has to say and the fact that he has faithful listeners in his principal, Chad Boyd, classmates and friends.

His coolest kudos so far have come from the creators of Brains On, his favorite science podcast.

“That felt really amazing,” he said. “Ever since I’ve made a podcast, I’ve been having a happier life than I’ve ever had before… I’ve talked about it to the school board office – there’s just been a lot of good things happening. And who knows, maybe I’ll become famous someday.”

Even though it’s a lot of work, Jack said it’s always fun to hold his microphone in hand and talk to an invisible audience.

“I go into a closet and I’m just looking at a script,” Jack said.”It’s like I am thinking to myself that I am talking to this piece of paper like it has a mouth and ears and arms and legs and eyes like a human has.”

The Collins family aims to get a new podcast out every weekend on PodBean and the latest episode is part of a series on dinosaurs.

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