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Usha Vance Launches Kids’ Reading Podcast ‘Storytime With the Second Lady’

The short, guest-led show targets young readers at a time of weak national reading scores.

Overview

  • Storytime with the Second Lady, which debuted Monday, arrived on Spotify and YouTube with three read‑aloud episodes for children.
  • The first episode features Usha Vance reading The Tale of Peter Rabbit, followed by guest readings from racing star Danica Patrick and Paralympian Brent Poppen.
  • Each installment runs about 10 to 15 minutes and is aimed at late‑preschool and early‑elementary kids, which Vance describes as an “advertisement for reading.”
  • In a paired NBC interview, Vance said she is “not his staffer” and that she and Vice President JD Vance sometimes disagree, casting her role as a spouse who offers personal counsel rather than formal advice.
  • Coverage linked the launch to long‑running literacy concerns, with reports citing NAEP data that about 31% of fourth‑ and eighth‑graders are proficient in reading.