# Empowering Middle Schoolers Through Podcasting (and Eating Oprah's Soup) with Rich Boerner

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/grc-pr-360-784039/empowering-middle-schoolers-through-podcasting-and-eating-oprah-s-soup-with-rich-boerner
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/grc-pr-360-784039/empowering-middle-schoolers-through-podcasting-and-eating-oprah-s-soup-with-rich-boerner.md
Podcast: [GRC PR 360](https://stenobird.com/podcast/grc-pr-360-784039)
Published: 2026-07-22T09:02:00+00:00
Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/pr-360/episodes/empowering-middle-schoolers-through-podcasting-and-eating-op
Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/5dcc39baa20b6b9503a07b26/e/6a3726a46f90df4cb7993a52/media.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/grc-pr-360-784039/episodes/empowering-middle-schoolers-through-podcasting-and-eating-oprah-s-soup-with-rich-boerner
Duration seconds: 2120

## Resource

Rich Boerner is an award-winning audio creator, producer, voice talent, and best-selling author whose career has taken him from a pirate radio station on Long Island to New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and more. Along the way, he's worked alongside A-list talent and with major networks including Spotify, Audacy, FOX, and CBS. From 2001 to 2007, he worked with Tod at 97.1 KLSX Los Angeles, the home of "The Howard Stern Show" and "The Adam Carolla Show." These days, he's the co-founder of The Sandbox, a private podcast network and curriculum program designed to help middle school students find their voices and build self-confidence. In this episode, Rich shares how The Sandbox is teaching middle schoolers important communication skills and giving teachers new creative options for the classroom. He also recalls a wonderful story about having lunch with Oprah Winfrey and Gwyneth Paltrow. Key Takeaways: - Why podcasting is an incredible educational tool - How teachers are using podcasting in their classrooms - What it's like to eat Oprah Winfrey's barley soup Episode Timeline: 0:00 Introduction to Rich Boerner 3:00 The impact Rich had on Tod's Career 4:10 Coaching Gwyneth Paltrow to interview Oprah Winfrey 8:45 Eating lunch with Oprah 12:30Tod's dog hung out at Gwyneth Paltrow's house 13:22The Sandbox: Empowering middle schoolers through podcasting 16:00Learning how to podcast builds kids' confidence 17:00The private podcast network explained 19:50Building communication skills through podcasting 22:40Overcoming barriers in education 24:45The Sandbox gives teachers new options 26:45Kids use podcasting to get things off their chests 27:30Innovative uses of podcasting in education This episode’s guest: • Rich Boerner's LinkTree • Rich Boerner on LinkedIn •…

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