On Monday, March 30, 2026, Second Lady Usha Vance announced the launch of her podcast: “Storytime with the Second Lady.” The first episode will feature the Second Lady reading The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. Later podcast episodes will feature special guest readers including celebrities, children’s authors, athletes, veterans, musicians, and more.
The podcast is part of Ms. Vance’s ongoing initiative to increase childhood literacy rates and inspire a love of reading in children across the country. In June 2025, Ms. Vance launched her Summer Reading Challenge, which received tens of thousands of submissions from across all 50 states and most U.S. Territories. With both her podcast and Summer Reading Challenge, Ms. Vance hopes to nurture curiosity and a love of learning in children outside of regular school hours, especially during the summer months.
“Reading for pleasure at home builds stronger literacy and classroom skills and opens the door to a world of opportunity for children,” said Ms. Vance. “I’m excited to invite special guests to share great stories, spread their love of reading, and help reverse the decline of childhood literacy rates in our country.”
The first three episodes, which are live today, are available to stream on Spotify and YouTube.
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