Watch: ‘Corn Kid’ Creator Talks Lessons Learned via Hundreds of Child Interviews

Much of the world came to know the show Recess Therapy through a viral video this summer featuring Tariq, better known as “Corn Kid.” The show’s 23-year-old creator, Julian Shapiro-Barnum, tells The 74’s Asher Lehrer-Small what it’s like to launch a social media craze and what he’s learned from hundreds of on-the-street interviews with kids. 

During the pandemic, Shapiro-Barnum started interviewing children about happiness, and the footage “was clearly gold,” he said. 

“I don’t baby the kids and I don’t talk down to them. And I think that really does wonders.

Read more:

• Beyond It’s Corn: ‘Recess Therapy’ Creator on the Secret of Following Kids’ Joy

• Not It’s Corn-y, Guaranteed: ‘Recess Therapy’ Host Shares His Top 5 Other Clips