Brains On! Science podcast for kids

By American Public Media

What's Brains On! Science podcast for kids about?

Brains On!® is a science podcast for curious kids and adults from American Public Media. Co-hosted each week by kid scientists and reporters from public radio, we ask questions and go wherever the answers take us.

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Aliens and UFOs: Making Sen...

12.31.2019

In the final episode of our series about myths and legends, we’re launching our imaginations into outer space! Monster expert Emily Zarka tells us about her favorite alien and why aliens fascinate so many people. In the Hoax Hunters season ...

Brains On! Science podcast for kids episodes:

12.31.2019 Aliens and UFOs: Making Sense of Myths, pt. 4 In the final episode of our series about myths and legends, we’re launching our imaginations into outer space! Monster expert Emily Zarka tells us about her favorite alien and why aliens fascinate so many people. In the Hoax Hunters season ...
12.24.2019 Mermaids, Kraken and the Loch Ness Monster: Making Sense of Myths, pt. 3 What’s lurking in the depths of the ocean? Or your local loch? We’re diving deep into the world of water-dwelling mythical creatures in part three of our series on myths. We’ll talk with monster expert Emily Zarka and learn about ...
12.17.2019 Lost Cities: Making Sense of Myths, pt. 2 Was Atlantis a real city? If not, why have so many people gone looking for it? In part two of our series on modern myths and legends, we’re searching for lost cities. We’ll trace the origins of El Dorado, and ...
12.10.2019 Bigfoot, Unicorns and Dragons: Making Sense of Myths, pt. 1 Where do stories of unicorns, mermaids and Bigfoot come from? And do they have any truth to them? In this four-part series, we're tackling listeners' biggest questions about modern myths and legends. Today's episode is about mythical creatures that live ...
12.03.2019 How do pianos work? Behind every piano’s polished exterior are thousands of parts. From keys to strings, they work together to produce a sound. In this episode, we take a field trip to a piano shop, peek behind the walls at a world-famous piano ...
11.26.2019 Flavor facts: Why food is so delicious You might think flavor is what happens on your tongue – and it is. But it’s also so much more. Flavor is influenced by all the senses. How food looks, smells and feels can make a difference. Even the sounds ...
11.20.2019 What was the first life on earth? What was the first lifeform like? What was the first fish or mammal? Is it even possible to know? In this episode, we look to the fossil record to help us trace our roots back to the Last Universal Common ...
11.12.2019 Ask-A-Scientist: Bird Bonanza! In this special episode, we've asked two rock star ornithologists to answer a flock of listener questions about birds. Drew Lanham and Corina Newsome talk flying, feathers, eggs, poop and how we humans can help birds. Plus: we test their ...
11.05.2019 Books: How they're made and how your brain reads them There is so much happening in your brain when you read. From recognizing shapes as letters to discovering empathy, our brains really get a workout when we read books. In this episode, Ben Bergen from the Language and Cognition Lab ...
10.29.2019 Why do we like getting scared? Spooky stuff may make you cover your eyes in fright, but many of us find ourselves peeking through our fingers to get another glimpse. Why are we drawn to things that make us jump? In this episode, we'll find out ...
10.22.2019 Wonderful Wool: The secrets of this amazing fluff Wool is warm, absorbs water and odors, plus it’s flame resistant. In short, wool is amazing! In this episode we explore how wool is different from hair. We go on a sheep safari at Cuyama Lamb in California, meet expert ...
10.15.2019 How does the internet get to us? In this episode, we find out how a system of cables around the globe (and deep in our oceans) brings websites, songs, videos and podcasts to our phones and computers, almost at the speed of light. The internet can seem ...
10.08.2019 How do flu vaccines work? The flu shot changes every year. But why is the flu special, if other illnesses have much longer-lasting vaccines? This episode takes us into the world of viruses and immunity. A friendly lymphocyte fills us in on how flu shots ...
10.01.2019 Why do we lie? Most of us think we’re good at detecting lies, but it turns out humans only get it right about half the time. And why do we do it anyway? What makes us want to deceive other people? In this episode ...
08.27.2019 The secrets of the spectacular spacesuit Never explore the final frontier without your trusty, white, puffy space suit! But why is it puffy and white? And why do astronauts need them? Turns out space is super dangerous and these suits can save your life. We’ll give ...
08.20.2019 What is dyslexia? And how do our brains read? Have you heard the word dyslexia before? It's a term used to describe when people have a hard time learning to read. It's actually very common because reading is a fairly new skill that humans have developed. In this episode ...
08.13.2019 How do elevators work? Elevators are like magic. You walk in, the door shuts and when it opens again, you are suddenly someplace new! Ta da! But it’s not magic that does this trick, it’s science and engineering. In this episode we explain how ...
08.06.2019 Hey, where did you get those genes?!? Today we’re talking genes - the recipe for you! We’ll go microscopic and check out how traits like hair color are passed down through your family. We’ll also hear the story of genetics pioneer Nettie Stevens and find out how ...
08.06.2019 Hey, where did you get those genes?!? Today we’re talking genes - the recipe for you! We’ll go microscopic and check out how traits like hair color are passed down through your family. We’ll also hear the story of genetics pioneer Nettie Stevens and find out how ...
07.30.2019 Plastic: Why it's everywhere Human-made plastics are super useful -- they're lightweight, can be molded into anything, and they don’t break down. And because plastic is so versatile, we humans have found lots of uses for it. But the fact that it last forever ...
07.23.2019 Ants: Who's in charge here? We have a lot to learn from ants. This episode digs into the hierarchy of ant colonies (spoiler alert: there is none) and why they walk in a straight line (spoiler alert: they don’t). We’ll also find out about epic ...
07.16.2019 Tree, Myself and I: All about our leafy green friends Trees are the strong, silent type but that doesn’t mean they can’t communicate. In this episode we’ll explore how trees send each other messages above ground and below. Plus we’ll learn how a seed goes from a tiny sapling to ...
07.09.2019 Do insects see the world in slow motion? Looking through animal eyes Do insects see the world in slow motion? Do animals see the same rainbow we do? How do eagles see so far away? Our listeners have a lot of questions about the way animals see the world, and this episode ...
07.02.2019 Going underground at Wind Cave National Park What wonders are hiding underground? Producer Marc Sanchez finds out what it’s like to explore one of the biggest networks of caves in the world — and scientists are still discovering unmapped branches. Marc will show us the wonders hidden ...
06.25.2019 Nervous: All about feelings, pt. 4 (This is the final installment in our series about feelings. Check out the first three if you haven't yet.) You know that feeling when you have butterflies in your stomach? Or maybe you get sweaty and hot? Or maybe you ...
06.18.2019 Angry: All about feelings, pt. 3 This is the third of our four-part series on feelings. Today we're learning why we all get angry and what to do with that emotion. We'll get in touch with our inner Super You Person and learn what physical reactions ...
06.11.2019 Sad: All about feelings, pt. 2 This is the second episode in our four-part series on feelings! In this episode, we're covering the small and big parts of sadness. Because this episode touches on some heavy pieces of sadness -- we recommend kids listening along with ...
06.04.2019 Happy: All about feelings, pt. 1 Where do feelings come from? And why do we have them? In this four-part series, we're digging deep into our emotions. In this first episode, we're getting happy! We'll get a play-by-play of the chemicals in our brain that trigger ...
04.30.2019 Thinkin stinkin: Why we smell You may have noticed some strong smells coming from your feet, your friend's breath, or your brother's armpit. Where do these body odors come from? We'll meet the microscopic organisms responsible and visit the kingdom of Footsteros. We'll also find ...
04.23.2019 Forever echo: Can a sound wave go on forever? Today we shout out our love for the ECHO! (echo echo) Discover how these curious callbacks happen and why we hear them in some places but not others. We'll also play you the longest echo in the world and take ...
04.16.2019 The hows and whys of hair The hair on our heads is on our minds. We have fun with follicles and learn about how they make hair. Our experts help us decipher what makes hair black or brown, blonde or red, and even why it turns ...
04.09.2019 Why are smartphones so hard to put down? Screens are everywhere these days! We’re taking a look at why smartphones are so addictive, and how our devices affect us. Our co-hosts took on a bold challenge for this episode: they went a week without phones or tablets. We’ll ...
04.02.2019 Mystery Sound Extravaganza 2019 This episode is an ear-tickler! Guess your way through eleven mystery sounds — one from a scientist, and ten from listeners like you! Plus, another mystery: what’s making Marc and Sanden dance to the sounds of a door jamb and ...
03.26.2019 Carnivores: Plants and animals that bite back Most plants get the energy and nutrients they need from water, sunlight, air and soil. But carnivorous plants get key nutrients from a different source: bugs. We’ll find out how they do it and talk about the mystery of how ...
03.20.2019 Flush! Where does our poo and pee go? Every time you flush, your poo and pee start an epic journey. From the toilet, to the sewers, to a treatment plant, our waste travels quite a distance only to end up cleaner by the end. We'll hear from a ...
03.12.2019 Black Holes, Wormholes and Donut Holes Black holes happen when you have a super huge, mega-giant amount of stuff --- crammed into a super-tiny, infinitely-small amount of space. AND THEY ARE SUPER COOL! In this episode, we learn all about what black holes are and how ...
03.05.2019 Walking on walls: How ants and spiders do it Ants and spiders are able to defy gravity -- but how do they do it? We'll learn about how awesome their feet are and how one predator takes advantage of these powers. Plus: A very challenging mystery sound and a ...
02.26.2019 My air came from where?! How oxygen gets around Oxygen is quite the savvy traveler. We explore how this gas travels all around the world and ends up pretty much everywhere for us to breathe. Plus we'll look at how plants and others make the stuff. And we learn ...
02.19.2019 How do airplanes fly? How do planes stay in the air? And how did humans figure out that it wasn’t enough to just strap wings to our arms and flap them like birds? We’ll find out about the invention of airplanes and our co-hosts ...
02.12.2019 Memory and deja vu In this episode, we take a trip down memory lane. We visit a campus full of hippos to learn how memories are stored, and drop in on a badger trainer to see how she recalls “the great badger blunder.” We ...
02.05.2019 Are we still evolving? In this episode, we climb up, down and all around our evolutionary family tree. When did we branch off from our more ape-like ancestors? And will we evolve one day into a different species altogether? We'll meet a bearded scientist ...
01.30.2019 Brains On: Behind the scenes This is a special fundraising episode, where we peek behind the curtain of Brains On!
12.25.2018 Earthrise: The picture of our planet that changed the world 50 years ago NASA astronauts took a picture that changed the world. It was a full color photo of planet Earth as seen from space. This image inspired many to think differently about our home. In this episode we'll tell ...
12.18.2018 Soil: Can you dig it? We’re ready to get our hands dirty as we explore the stuff beneath our feet. Clay, sand, mud — soil is everywhere. And it’s alive! We’ll find out how it helps plants grow and learn about all the little organisms ...
12.11.2018 Dreams: The science of a sleeping brain You dream every night, even if you don't remember them. But why? We'll hop on a wild ride to go inside the brain and see which parts help create these often fantastical images and storylines. We'll also learn how to ...
12.04.2018 Voices: How do we make sound? We are very vocal about this episode, and that’s because it’s all about voices. We look into how our bodies produce sound and talk to a voice recognition expert. And we find out what’s happening when helium enters the equation. ...
11.27.2018 Roller coasters: from dream to extreme How do roller coaster designers go from dream to reality? World-renowned roller coaster designer Alan Schilke tells us how he does it. Also — why do some people feel sick or dizzy after riding them? And how do coasters make ...
11.20.2018 Finding your way without a map If your GPS suddenly stopped working, would you still be able to find your way? In this episode we'll teach you tricks and tips to navigate on your own. We'll explain how compasses work and we'll tell you who helped ...
11.13.2018 Video Games: A Tale of Two Pongs Introducing our brand new history show, Forever Ago! Join host Joy Dolo and kid co-host Kai on an epic quest through history to figure out how video games began. With help from intrepid reporter Cari Spivack, they’ll visit the age ...
11.06.2018 Do dogs know they're dogs? We treat dogs like they're part of the family. But do they know they are a different species, or do they think they're just short, four-legged people? In this episode, canine cognition researcher Alexandra Horowitz helps us puzzle out this ...

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