Natalie's Everyday Heroes: 3rd graders land high-profile guests on new podcast

NEW BERLIN, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Caitlin Supple is a third-grade teacher at Hoover Elementary in New Berlin.

This year, though, she added a new title to her resume: podcast producer.

She wanted something fun and new for her kids to do.

They launched their podcast in January, and they've already snagged some high-profile guests.

"Nice catch, girl wonder," Miss Supple said, reading aloud to the class.

It's a typical day in Supple's class.

"Look at the illustration," she instructed.

Reading and discussing a book about baseball.

"Miss Supple's on the edge of her seat!" she exclaimed as she read.

Keeping the kids excited and engaged.

"That's my goal as a teacher, right? To give positive interactions and positive things that students can take on through their entire educations," she said.

This is also a typical day here.

"Hi Hoover Dragons, my name is Rifton. And I am Max," said two of Miss Supple's students into microphones.

"Thanks for being here, Natalie. We're so excited to interview you," they said, welcoming Natalie Shepherd from CBS 58 to their podcast.

The class started the podcast in January.

"It's been going really good. Amazing," Max and Rifton said.

Rifton Steinbacher and Max Herr got behind the mics to interview Natalie for an upcoming episode.

"What time do you have to wake up and go to sleep?" they asked. "Well, so, since I work at night, I don't go in to work until 2 p.m.," Natalie answered.

"Also, you could sleep in until 1 in the afternoon," Rifton added.

The class has already had some big-name guests.

"Me and my friend Azelus got to interview Alley Faith from 103.7 KISS FM," said Michael Burgos.

West Allis-West Milwaukee Superintendent Dr. Tarrynce Robinson made an appearance.

As did Governor Tony Evers.

Jojo Holliman got that assignment.

"It was really scary," Holliman said. "And Miss Supple just throws the governor interview at me, it's like I didn't even know. So, I had a panic attack."

Nerves aside, the kids have risen to the challenge.

"Oh, they blew me out of the water," Supple said.

"I think we did good," Holliman said.

They write their questions ahead of time.

"We practice a lot," Rifton said. "See that's important. Practice is so important," Natalie said.

"So, they do their own research. They come up with their own script and then we record it, which is awesome," Supple said.

And they have opinions on future guests.

"Like a athlete," Max said of a potential future guest. 

"It would obviously be my dad. He works at a gym called Crunch Fitness," Burgos said.

The podcast has meant learning new skills for Supple, too.

"And if it's, you know, me editing for 10 hours for one 20-minute podcast, then I am totally open to doing that because they have really attached onto this podcast and it's like their baby and my baby," she said.

Showing how fun learning can be.

"Thanks for answering our questions and joining us on our podcast. Well, thanks, have a great day," Max and Rifton said.

The podcast is called Hoover's Podcast with 3rd Grade Miss Supple's Class, and you can find it on Spotify. They are aiming to release one episode a month.

If you'd like to nominate an everyday hero, send Natalie a message at [email protected].