S01 E06: SESAME ST.
How Do You Make Education More Entertaining? In the 1960's TV had a problem. Kids were watching hundreds of hours of ads and cartoons but they weren't learning anything. That was until Joan Ganz Cooney came along. She revolutionised TV and invented a whole new genre when she launched Sesame Street in 1969 against all the odds. She quickly became one of the most influential people in TV. The story of how Sesame St. came to life is a real hero's journey about fighting systems, challenging the status quo and taking the advice of kids over consultants. In this 10-minute episode, I take a quick look behind the scenes of how Joan created Sesame Street, and I share the actual report that secured the original $8M funding. A little inspiration perhaps for something you're trying to change at the moment... 🌈 🍪 EPISODE LINKS Joan Ganz Cooney [Bio] Sesame Workshop - Joan's Legacy Non-Profit "The Potential Uses of Television in Preschool Education" [THE OFFICIAL REPORT] "How We Got To Sesame St" [FEATURE LENGTH DOCUMENTARY] EPISODE TRANSCRIPT S01 E06: SESAME STREET How Do You Make Education More Entertaining? This is a story about how one woman revolutionised children’s education—and took on the entire system to do it… In the late 1960’s television was not seen as a force for good. Business leaders saw it as a tool for commerce, educators dismissed it as a mindless distraction, and the elite gatekeepers of knowledge believed it was incapable of delivering a real education. But there was a lady called Joan Ganz Cooney who saw something different—a possibility so radical it bordered on the impossible: What if television could teach? What if it could lift children out of poverty? What if TV could level the playing field for kids who didn’t have the privilege of expensive preschools and well-funded local schools? This was a problem no one was trying to solve. Joan was a journalist and documentary filmmaker who was focused on the civil rights movement and she had no formal background in education – BUT she would go on to create Sesame Street—the most influential children’s TV program in history. [1966 Q] The education gap between rich and poor kids in America in the 60’s was staggering. By the time they started school, underprivileged kids were already behind. Joan saw this firsthand while working on public affairs documentaries, covering issues like poverty and civil rights. What struck Joan was the role TV played in shaping children’s minds. Kids from wealthier families had books, tutors, and structured learning, while poorer children spent an average of 130 hours a year in front of the TV— but watching ads and cartoons did nothing to prepare them for school. [BEER CLIP] Joan knew TV was shaping children’s brains. The question was—could it be used for good? At the time, the idea of “educational television” was almost laughable. No one believed children would willingly learn from TV. Joan saw it differently: What if you combined the power of entertainment with cutting-edge child psychology? What if you created a show that was as addictive as Saturday morning cartoons but filled with lessons that actually prepared kids for school? At a dinner party, Joan was discussing these questions with a guy called Lloyd Morrisett. Lloyd turned out to be an educational psychologist from the Carnegie Foundation. Lloyd made his name pioneering educational assessment scoring, but his passion was around human creativity. He was just as frustrated as Joan that academics were not interested in TV. He listened to Joan’s pitch over dinner and didn’t just see it as an interesting idea – he thought it was a vision for how you might educate under-privileged kids. So – in 1966, Lloyd got the Carnegie Foundation to commission Joan to create a report called “The Potential Uses of Television in Preschool Education”. [SELL – HERE’S AN OLD CLIP OF LLOYD] In the report, Lloyd & Joan laid out the science and strategy for what would become Sesame Street. It proposed a show that wasn’t just for fun, but carefully engineered to teach children the alphabet, numbers, social skills, and even emotional intelligence. It would be fast-paced, filled with humour, and designed using research-backed techniques. And, crucially, it would feature a diverse cast that reflected the real world—something unheard of in children’s programming at the time. The report was so well researched it secured $8M of government funding. So Joan & Lloyd gathered a small team of 10 cognitive psychologists, educators, and television producers to bring “The Children’s Television Workshop” concept to life — this was an unprecedented collaboration at the time. The skeptics were everywhere. The TV execs weren’t convinced education and entertainment could mix. Educators doubted that children would actually learn from television. Alongside the team were also a few “advisors”. And those advisors said the show should be a reality-style show, set on an inner city street (because kids look down from the apartments onto the street and it looks exciting). Their data suggested the set should be populated by humans. And only humans. So a pilot was created and every segment of Sesame Street was rigorously tested in local daycare centres before airing. If kids didn’t respond, it didn’t make the cut. That’s when they noticed that children were not learning and retaining as much knowledge as they expected. The 3 & 4 year olds in the daycare centres highlighted something that data didn’t. It wasn’t FUN enough. And there was no FANTASY in the show. So for fun – why not try to get Jim Henson? His muppets were originally on a late night SNL-style show for college kids. Not pre-school kids. Joan didn’t believe they’d be able to get Jim to join them. [EDU ENT] And why was there no fantasy in the shows that they tested? [NO FANTASY] I love this clip of Jim Henson speaking at an awards show a few years later. It’s hard to believe that nobody wanted him or his muppets at first. [JIM HENSON] --- It’s hard to believe now that there was such a backlash against Sesame Street. Some TV stations refused to broadcast it, arguing that the show’s diverse cast was too controversial – but Joan just doubled down on diversity, ensuring that Sesame Street didn’t just teach letters and numbers, but also taught children about fairness, inclusion, and social justice. Joan fought for INCLUSIVITY as a business advantage. Sesame Street premiered on November 10, 1969. It was an immediate success, drawing millions of young viewers and receiving widespread acclaim. The New York Times said Joan would become one of the most powerful women in television. Within its first year, it had changed the way people thought about children’s TV. Sesame Street didn’t just succeed—it forced the industry to change. Since then… In study after study, researchers have found that children who watched Sesame Street performed better in school, had larger vocabularies, and were more socially and emotionally prepared for learning. Over 50 years later, it is still one of the most influential children’s programs in history. When I joined IBM one of the first projects I was working on was a collaboration between IBM & Sesame Street – using Watson AI to personalise education programs for individual kids. This story is not just about television or education. It’s about changing the system. Every industry has its status quo, its set of “rules” that dictate what is and isn’t possible. By innovators like Joan don’t play by the rules—they challenge them. She saw something others didn’t: that the industry’s conventional wisdom was wrong, and that the real opportunity was in breaking the mold. Joan didn’t just want to make a hit show. She wanted to change the entire industry. The best business leaders don’t just chase quick wins—they build something that lasts. And Sesame Street has proved that media could be a force for good. [PROFIT + PURPOSE] Joan has given us a roadmap for how to challenge an industry, win against the odds, and make an impact that lasts a lifetime. Start with the real problem. Combined vision with data. Fight for what matters. She thought she was creating a quintessentially American TV show – but it turned out to be the most international show ever created. That’s what happens when you mix facts with fantasy. So the question for us is - What’s the status quo that you’re willing to challenge? And how can you include a bit of fantasy in order to challenge it? Good question isn’t it? [CLOSE CRAZY] -- The Truth in Ten is a cross between a podcast series and a storytelling masterclass. Each short episode shines a light on a different inspirational leader; someone who shared a short story which changed the world in some way. This is a show for anyone who wants to make a difference by sharing their story. --
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