Skip to content

Understood Explains

About the podcast

Understood Explains is a podcast that unpacks one important topic each season.

Season 1 covers the ins and outs of the process school districts use to evaluate kids for special education services. Host Dr. Andrew Kahn is a psychologist who has spent nearly 20 years evaluating kids for schools. He explains each step of the evaluation process. And he gives tips on how to talk with your child along the way.

Season 2 is about ADHD diagnosis in adults. It’s hosted by Dr. Roberto Olivardia. He’s a psychologist who was an adult when he found out he has ADHD. In each episode, he answers common questions. Things like “Should I get tested for ADHD?” and “Is an online diagnosis legit?”

Season 3 will launch in 2024. Stay tuned for more info….

Start listening

Meet the hosts

Season 1: Dr. Andrew Kahn

Dr. Andrew Kahn is a clinical psychologist. He focuses on learning differences, ADHD, and behavior. He also treats anxiety and other mental health issues. Kahn has a private practice and has worked in public schools for nearly 20 years. He has helped schools develop mental health policies and more. He also assesses students for learning challenges. Kahn has been featured in Forbes Health, USA Today, and other media. 

Season 2: Roberto Olivardia 

Roberto Olivardia is a clinical psychologist in private practice. He also lectures at Harvard Medical School. He focuses on ADHD and a range of mental health issues. These include anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. He’s appeared in Time, GQ, and Rolling Stone. He’s also been featured on Good Morning America, CNN, and VH1.

Learn more about our experts

Season 1 Featured Episode

Understood Explains Season 1

What is a special education evaluation?

Is your child struggling in school? Are you wondering what supports might help? Get an overview of how schools evaluate kids for special education.

Season 2 Featured Episode

Understood Explains Season 2

Should I get tested for ADHD?

Wondering if you have enough ADHD symptoms? If it’s worth the effort to get tested? Host Dr. Roberto Olivardia shares his own adult diagnosis story.

Audience reach

Understood Explains launched in July 2022, and now averages over 2,100 downloads per month across all audio platforms. The show has over 26,000 total downloads with an additional 10,200 views on YouTube. Each new episode of Understood Explains gets around 1,000 downloads within 30 days of publishing.

Who’s listening?

Season 1 listeners include parents, teachers, and others who want to learn more about evaluations for special education. Season 2 listeners are mostly adults who are curious about ADHD or think they might have ADHD. 

Season 3 of Understood Explains launches in 2024 and will target parents of kids who learn and think differently. Most listeners across all seasons are based in the United States.

Gender (based on Spotify data from 10/12/23)

  • 69% Female

  • 26% Male

  • 3% Not specified

  • 2% Nonbinary

Age (based on Spotify data from 10/12/23)

  • 0–17 = 0.33%

  • 18–22 = 4.93%

  • 23–27 = 11.61%

  • 28–34 = 22.51%

  • 35–44 = 28.97%

  • 45–59 = 23.75%

  • 60–150 = 7.29%

Episode promotion: What’s possible

Each new episode of Understood Explains is available across all major podcast platforms. This includes Audible, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. The episodes are also posted on the Understood Explains show page at Understood.org. The Understood.org site gets more than 20 million visitors a year.

Social media marketing

New episodes of Understood Explains are shared across all of Understood’s social channels. Worldwide, Understood has 785,000 followers, with 500,000 of those followers coming from the United States.

Email marketing

Understood Explains is promoted through Understood’s email marketing. This includes a network of more than 500,000 email subscribers.

How it works

Season 3 of Understood Explains is set to launch in 2024. It will feature eight 15-minute episodes recorded in English and Spanish — both audio and video will be captured. The entire season will be expert-led, and the team does not plan to feature any guests.

Looking to collaborate with Understood Explains?

If you want to learn more about partnership opportunities, or if you have any other comments/inquiries, reach out to us at podcast@understood.org.

Get in touch