I spoke to the voice behind Yoto Daily and discovered why children can’t stop listening

My son is a huge Yoto fan, so Yoto Daily has become a regular part of our morning routine. We love listening together, and it's easy to see why so many families have fallen in love with it.

Presenter Jake Harris has a brilliant way of making children laugh, think and feel curious, all before breakfast. Drawing on his experience as a former primary school teacher and now a dad, he fills every episode with stories, games, jokes and fascinating facts that make learning feel like fun.

I caught up with Jake to chat about inspiring young imaginations, the wonderfully unexpected questions children ask, and why the best learning always starts with a sense of fun.

1. Before becoming the voice of Yoto Daily, you were a primary school teacher and now you’re a dad. How have those experiences shaped the way you connect with young listeners every day?

Jake: “Teaching gave me something no amount of broadcast training ever could. I spent years in a room full of children, watching their faces, reading the room, learning what made them switch on and what made them switch off.

“You can’t fake engagement with kids. They know instantly if you’re being real with them or talking at them, rather than with them. Being a dad has given me the opportunity to test out all of my stories, ideas and games on my own children - whether they like it or not, ha ha!”

2. Yoto Daily is packed with fascinating facts, silly jokes, games, and creative activities. How do you strike the balance between entertaining children and helping them learn something new without it ever feeling like a lesson?

Jake: “The moment I start thinking ‘right, how do I teach the audience something here,’ I never get the best results, it becomes stiff and worthy and children smell that immediately.

“Instead I think: what would genuinely surprise me? What would make me say ‘no way, really?!’ If it does that to me, it will hopefully have the same effect on my listeners. The learning is always in service of the delight, never the other way around. A good fact should feel like a gift, not homework.”

3. Your warm, sing-song storytelling style has become a familiar part of many families’; routines. How did you develop your on-air voice, and what do you hope children feel when they hear you each morning?

Jake: “I’m not sure I ever sat down and decided on a voice; it sort of developed naturally the more episodes I did. Nearly 2500 episodes later, and hundreds of thousands of kids around the world tuning in every day, I think I might just have just about got there!

“I’ve always tried to pitch my delivery as someone the whole family is happy to pay attention to. Not manic, not performatively cheerful in that way that makes parents want to throw the player out the window, and not talking down to or patronising the kids. Kids are smart and I respect that. I guess I just try to be warm and enthusiastic, like a friend who’s excited about the day ahead.”

4. If you could invite one person from history, one animal, and one fictional character onto Yoto Daily for a special episode, who would you choose and what adventure would you send them on together?

Jake” “Ok, I think I’d go with Leonardo Da Vinci, an octopus and Lyra from the His Dark Materials books. Leonardo was a remarkable man, not just a great painter but also a scientist, engineer, anatomist, architect, and inventor, centuries ahead of his time. So he’d be quite handy. Octopuses are ace, they can solve puzzles, use tools, recognise individual human faces, and even play. Absolutely one of my favourite animals.

“Lyra is actually a bit of a troublemaker, but entirely loveable because her instincts are always fiercely loyal and brave. She’s an incredible character. As for where we would go… I guess because the octopus is with us, we’d have to go underwater. So let’s say, scuba diving. That sounds fun, doesn’t it? I reckon that would win Yoto Daily even more awards - ha ha!”

5. Children are wonderfully curious and often ask the most unexpected questions. What’s the funniest, strangest, or most memorable question you’ve come across, and did it inspire an episode or activity on Yoto Daily?

Jake: “The questions kids ask are always the best, most insightful questions. Much better than anything any of us grown-ups can come up with. I’ve been asked all kinds of things: What are eyebrows for? Why do bees make honey? What would happen if there were no white lines in a car park? If you were a sandwich what would you say? Can lions count?

“They are often questions that, at first, make you smile, but then make you think: actually what is the answer to that? Many of these have led to little bits I have done on Yoto Daily, especially our Five Fantastic Facts episodes.”

Jake Harris is the host of the Yoto Daily Podcast, available every day on Yoto Players or via the free Yoto app and all major podcast platforms.

Natalie Dixon is our Lifestyle reporter, if you liked this article and want to read more about fashion, beauty and lifestyle you can follow Natalie Dixon on X here