There’s a joke you see a lot on Twitter these days, about how the human reaction to the COVID-19 lockdown tends to manifest in one of two ways: Baking bread, or starting a podcast. (And sometimes both—although, bizarrely, that’s not what Doughboys appears to be about.) That same need for parasocial contact even applies to brains made of felt, apparently, with Variety reporting today that Sesame Street is getting its own podcast, too, because why should cheerful, educational Muppets be any different from the rest of us?
Hosted by Amazon-owned Audible, The Sesame Street Podcast With Foley & Friends will focus on titular new character Foley, who—with the help of her sentient, talking microphone, natch—chats with various Street residents in 15-minute installments designed to help teach kids useful lessons. Starting on October 15, the podcast is being produced in partnership between Audible and Sesame Workshop, and will be released on Tuesday and Thursdays of every week. And while we’re obviously not, like, crazy about Amazon getting even a finger on this particular beloved and trusted property, the concept of the show itself does sound pretty great; the idea of parents—especially parents dealing with the current global situation—getting a little help via a dose of a new Elmo joke twice a week, or a brand new alphabet song, sounds both soothing and super helpful. (God help us, though, if we ever have to hear Oscar The Grouch shill for Blue Apron.)