Apple Podcasts turned 20 this past weekend. It’s wild that it’s been that long as Serial premiered just under 11 years ago. There is a new podcast coming to town that will bring things full circle for younger Millennials and elder Gen Z. Steve Burns, aka Steve from Blues Clues, is launching a new podcast this fall called “Alive.” Steve will cover difficult issues that the now older Blue’s Clues audience are facing. It will be a part of Lemonada Media, the same network that aired Confessions of a Female Founder. In a statement, Steve said that he was inspired to start the show after that 2021 “closure” video he released went viral. His goal is to continue the great conversations he had with fans during his time on the show. Think of it as an audio Blue’s Clues sequel if you will.
At 51, Steve Burns is still searching for clues about the meaning of life. Burns, the actor, musician and writer best known as the original host of Nickelodeon’s “Blue’s Clues,” is launching an original podcast with Lemonada Media called “Alive.” It’s slated to premiere in the fall of 2025 (with an exact date TBD).
“Alive” is a weekly show in which Burns and his guests will discuss “what it means to stay human in a complicated world.” The podcast will touch on themes including mortality, masculinity, loneliness — and success. The inspiration for the podcast came after he shared a viral inspirational video for Nick Jr.’s promotion of the 25th anniversary of “Blue’s Clues” in 2021. It was a moment when Burns “found himself in conversation again with tens of millions of grown-up fans who still considered him a friend,” according to Lemonada.
Here’s how Burns describes what he aims to do with the new podcast:
“There are a thousand podcasts you can listen to, this is one that listens back. I really want to continue what we started decades ago… For us, it was all about curious investigation. It was about looking a little closer. About asking the right questions. About following the clues that helped lead us toward greater understanding. ‘Alive’ is really just a continuation of that same conversation — only now we’re grown-ups, trying to make sense of a world that’s a whole lot more complicated. We’re still searching, still learning, still trying to connect. Still doing our best to lead deeply examined lives, together. And, you know, there’ll be less talking furniture, sure, but we’re still going to have a lot of fun along the way.”
Burns starred as a fictional version of himself on Nick Jr.’s “Blue’s Clues” in more than 100 episodes from 1996 to 2002. Since then, Burns has released indie rock albums, toured with The Flaming Lips, wrote the theme song for CBS’s “Young Sheldon” and appeared on The Moth storytelling program. His exit from “Blue’s Clues” spawned a persistent internet rumor that he had died, which he recently spoke about on Rainn Wilson’s “Soul Bloom” podcast.
Burns recently announced “Steve Burns Alive,” his debut solo live show for adult audiences, written by Burns and Matthew Freeman (“The Ask”) and directed by Freeman. The pop-up performance will run July 23-25 at the Club at La MaMa in Manhattan’s East Village neighborhood.
“Adults need to be shepherded through life just as much as kids do, and Steve is the perfect person to do it,” said Jessica Cordova Kramer, CEO of Lemonada. “He taps right into your inner child, helping listeners feel delight, comfort and curiosity. From the moment we saw Steve’s videos on TikTok during the pandemic, we knew we had to work with him.”
I know that the podcast market is currently oversaturated, but I am excited about this one. And I didn’t even watch Blue’s Clues! I had aged out of those types of shows when it premiered, but my youngest sister watched it, so I was familiar with it. People of all ages are turning to social media, YouTube, and podcasts for answers and entertainment, sadly, they’re being fed so much negativity and rage. I can picture this being like BC or even Mr. Rodgers for adults. Oh, bless Steve. He has such a good heart. I hope he can reach some people who need to hear what he’s saying. I also hope that, like Serial, he can change the podcasting landscape.
Yes the podcast landscape is over saturated but I think his will be a nice port in the storm.
My grandson was a big Blues Clues fan when he was young. I was his babysitter when he was young and watched with him and enjoyed the show and the lessons it taught. I may give this podcast a listen.
Steve was my daughter’s first crush, so he had been in my house for a few years. I’m looking forward to checking his podcast out. Did you notice that the chair behind him on the video looked like the Thinking Chair?
There are wayyy too many podcasts out there but I will admit that I listen to my share. I prefer the ones that entertain me (God bless Roz Hernandez and Ghosted) but I will give this one a listen when it comes out. I was too old for Blue’s Clue’s back in the day but I have a passing knowledge of Steve and to be honest, this sounds like something that may be comforting and bring a sense of calm during this challenging time.
I’m slow to pick up podcasts because I struggle with managing time I’m not actively working, dealing with family commitments, other people’s expectations. There’s always a raft of things I need to do for basic adulting, things I want to do and me dealing with my attention span and energy to focus.
But this sounds like it’s worth adding in when it comes out. Meanwhile I’m off to fire up Soul Bloom because I like that Rainn Wilson tries to explore the deeper aspects of being human and find him entertaining to listen to.
Actually I’m not off to listen to it. First day in a month I had to myself, an unstructured day with no commitments, so i was looking forward to just hanging out, reorganizing stuff, listening to music, podcasts and not having to focus on what someone else needs or wants. And … my sister just called, could I please go with her to the dentist .. she’s having a procedure she’s nervous about, they had a cancellation today, she’s nervous she won’t be up to driving herself home. Oh well. (Just wanted to vent a bit – love her, happy to be able to help)