History Ignited is an award-winning kids and family history podcast inspired by Billy Joel’s iconic 1980s song, We Didn’t Start the Fire. Hosted by Amy, Dave, Andrew, and Caroline, each short episode explores the real stories behind the famous names, events, inventions, conflicts, pop culture moments, and turning points mentioned in the song.
Created for curious kids, parents, teachers, homeschool families, and lifelong Billy Joel fans, History Ignited turns 20th-century history into fun, accurate, child-friendly storytelling. Episodes cover major world events from the 1950s through the 1980s, including Cold War history, politics, music, movies, science, sports, famous people, and everyday moments that shaped the modern world.
Each episode is designed to be short, engaging, and easy to understand, making History Ignited perfect for classroom listening, homeschool lessons, car rides, family time, and anyone who loves educational podcasts, short history episodes, trivia, and learning through stories.
History Ignited is proud to be the winner of the 2025 Webby People’s Voice Award for Best Kids and Family Podcast, a recognition that celebrates our mission to make history exciting, accessible, and memorable for young listeners and families.
Whether you are a student discovering history for the first time, a parent looking for a smart podcast for kids, a teacher searching for classroom-friendly history content, or a music fan wondering why Billy Joel included certain lyrics in We Didn’t Start the Fire, History Ignited brings the past to life one story at a time.
Curious to know more about our team?
Amy is a lawyer, talent development expert, and lifelong Billy Joel fan who helps bring the heart, structure, and storytelling to History Ignited. She works with the family to turn the people and events from “We Didn’t Start the Fire” into short, engaging stories for kids and parents. Amy helps shape the scripts, connect the history to bigger themes, and make each episode clear, accurate, and fun. Dave is a scientist by training, a lifelong Billy Joel fan, and the show’s resident fact-checker and script smoother. He brings a deep knowledge of history and science to History Ignited, helping make sure each episode is accurate, clear, and easy to follow. Dave brings curiosity, humor, and a steady hand to the family’s storytelling. Dave has a deep focus on Citizen Science and loves turning data and observation into real-world understanding; his latest launch is TrailTemps, which brings together his love of hiking, data, and science by helping long-distance hikers use weather information to better plan their adventures.Amy Tenney Curren
Dave Curren
Andrew Curren
Andrew is 12 and brings a remarkable command of historical events to History Ignited. He often shares facts and connections that somehow seem to come from well beyond the script. When he is not recording, Andrew loves manga (especially Attack on Titan), anime, Boy Scouts, cooking, and bike riding.
Caroline Curren
Caroline is 10 and brings energy, humor, and a kid’s point of view to History Ignited. She is also the show’s official joke teller, making sure each episode ends with a smile. Caroline loves KATSEYE, K-pop, sushi, and dancing.
Andrew Burchins
Andrew Burchins is an award-winning recording and mixing engineer based in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Through Andrew Burchins Audio Productions, he provides full-service audio engineering and podcast production, bringing experience in major television production and sound assistance to each project. Andrew brings patience, technical expertise, creativity, and a lot of careful editing to every episode. He helps turn lively family recording sessions into clear, polished audio while keeping the warmth and personality of the show intact. His work has been essential to making History Ignited sound professional, engaging, and fun to hear.v