Brains On! Science podcast for kids

By American Public Media

Kids & Family

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.

4.5

7,966 ratings

Download our free app to listen on your phone

LAST EPISODE

Spooky superstitions! Why w...

10.26.2021

Just in time for spooky season, it’s an episode all about superstitions! Do you avoid the number 13? Or maybe it’s your lucky number, like Taylor Swift? In this episode we’ll look at why we have such strong feelings toward ...

Brains On! Science podcast for kids episodes:

10.26.2021 Spooky superstitions! Why we think 13 is bad luck Just in time for spooky season, it’s an episode all about superstitions! Do you avoid the number 13? Or maybe it’s your lucky number, like Taylor Swift? In this episode we’ll look at why we have such strong feelings toward ...
10.19.2021 Crystals: More than just shiny rocks This episode shines a light on crystals, and they’re sparkling right back at us! We’ll zoom way in on a diamond to understand the structure that makes crystals special, and hear about some unexpected crystals, too (hint: chocolate chip cookies ...
10.12.2021 Squirrelsperience: Trying out squirrel skills In many places, tree squirrels are extra busy these days. It’s time for them to collect nuts to prepare for winter! So we’re heading to a squirrel-themed adventure course and practicing a few of the skills they use to survive: ...
10.05.2021 The heroes we need to defeat the coronavirus Eighteen months into our fight with this coronavirus, it may feel frustrating that we're still in this battle, but there are many reasons to feel hopeful. One reason is that we know a lot about this virus now and have ...
09.28.2021 How to conquer Garbage Mountain After getting a firsthand look at the history of trash, we’re having visions from garbage’s present and future this week. Producer Kunsang Dorjee visits a landfill to see what happens to our trash after we throw it away, and producer ...
09.21.2021 The invention of trash A pair of ghost shoes visit Molly with a message: it's time to think about garbage. They predict that Molly will be visited by three visions of garbage, one from the past, one from the present and one from the ...
09.14.2021 Take a deep breath: How does breathing work? Breathing is a really cool thing. We breathe automatically without thinking about it, but we can also control our breath and play with it. We'll learn how our lungs work and why our bodies need this air in the first ...
09.07.2021 What does the giraffe say? Our animal mystery sound extravaganza! When one of our listeners wrote in with an animal sound mystery (What sound does a giraffe make?) we set out to find an answer. We came back with lots of other fascinating animal sounds, so we decided it was ...
07.27.2021 Why do we lose teeth? Today we’re looking at a phenomenon that happens to all of us: losing our baby teeth and getting new ones! So how do our teeth grow in and what makes them fall out? Naturally, a group of wandering teeth helps ...
07.20.2021 What causes wildfires? A fire can be super useful or cozy or even magical. But it can also be dangerous -- and in the case of wildfires, if they burn long and hot enough, they can destroy ecosystems and send lots of harmful ...
07.15.2021 Million Bazillion answers your questions about money Today we’re sharing an episode with you from our friends at Million Bazillion, the podcast that answers the questions kids have about money. They help dollars make more sense and they’re back for a whole new season! In today’s episode, ...
07.13.2021 Why do mosquitoes bite? Scratching that itch In this episode, we're tackling all the mosquito questions that have been bugging our listeners. Why do they bite? Why do the bites itch? Is scratching them a good idea? Why do some people seem to be more delicious to ...
07.06.2021 Why do songs get stuck in our heads? You know that feeling where you get a snippet of a song stuck in your head and it loops over and over? Those hard to shake songs are also known as earworms, and in this episode Molly has a particularly ...
06.29.2021 Vaccines for kids and silver linings: Our second COVID summer Adults around the world are getting vaccinated against the coronavirus, and now, in a handful of countries (including the U.S.) kids over 12 can get vaccinated too. We hear from a 13-year-old who participated in a clinical trial for a ...
06.22.2021 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 ...
06.15.2021 Our 200th episode is SUN-sational! There’s no better way to celebrate our 200th episode than with our own shining star: the sun! In this episode we speak with Dr. Nicola Fox, who leads a team of NASA scientists that sent a probe to collect data ...
06.08.2021 How far can a cloud travel? We’ve all played the “what does that cloud look like” game. Maybe you saw a bunny… or an airplane… or a unicorn. What if that same cloud could also be seen by someone in a far off continent? That’s what ...
06.01.2021 Totally Slothsome: All about sloths There’s more to sloths than slowness. They’re great at saving energy, hanging upside down, and swimming! In this episode, Sloth Appreciation Society founder Lucy Cooke stops by to tell us all about these amazing animals. We also get into a ...
05.25.2021 How do computers store so much info in such a tiny space? If you translate “Hello! How are you?” to binary code, it looks like this: 01001000 01100101 01101100 01101100 01101111 00100001 00100000 01001000 01101111 01110111 00100000 01100001 01110010 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00111111 This episode takes a look at how ...
05.18.2021 How does taste work? We react to our very first episode! Brains On has a very special milestone coming up -- it’s almost our 200th episode! To celebrate, we're re-listening to our very first episode which was all about eating. We'll play the episode and chime in with commentary to give ...
05.11.2021 Like bread and cheese? Thank fungus! That fuzzy sandwich in your fridge? Yeah, don't eat that kind of fungus. But the mushrooms in your stir fry? Or the yeast in your bread? Or the rind on your brie? Or the miso in your soup? All of ...
05.04.2021 Is mold alive? A look at fascinating fungus Fungus deserves a party because it’s everywhere and super important to life on this planet. The kingdom of fungus includes mushrooms and molds, but also yeasts, like the kinds that help make bread. So today, we’re embracing the ick, we’re ...
03.30.2021 Is time travel possible? Will we ever get to rewind time, or fast forward through it? Sanden stops by to tell us all about how time works. He also has a couple ideas about how we might make time travel a reality! But one ...
03.23.2021 Mystery Sound Extravaganza 2021 What's that you hear? That's right, It's an episode of nothing but mystery sounds! Are your ears up to the challenge? Plus, we'll hear an answer to the question: "How do squirrels find their nuts after they bury them?" If ...
03.16.2021 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 ...
03.09.2021 What did dinosaurs sound like? Did dinosaurs roar? Or meow? And how do we know? Paleontologist Julia Clarke stops by to talk about sounds T-Rex might’ve made. We know a bit more about other dino sounds, and dinosaur expert Riley Black fills us in on ...
03.02.2021 Dino Edition: How do we know what dinosaurs looked like? 20 years ago, we pictured dinosaurs as green, scaly animals. But times have changed! Now, we know some dinosaurs had feathers. And who knows — maybe some even had stripes. This episode looks at how we figure out what color ...
02.23.2021 What's in the COVID vaccine? In this episode, we're using our zoom ray to zoom way in and answer your questions about the COVID vaccine. What's in the COVID vaccine? How does it work? And how do they make it? We'll also look at how ...
02.16.2021 What's behind the waves and tides? In this encore episode, we answer the questions: How does the moon control the tides? Where do waves come from? And what’s it like to live in a tide pool? Sir Isaac Newton drops by and drops some knowledge. He ...
02.09.2021 Why do we have crushes? When you've got a crush on someone, it can feel a bit overwhelming. All of a sudden, you might have butterflies in your stomach! And maybe you find yourself acting differently than you normally would. Why does our brain do ...
02.02.2021 Let's go bananas! HARVEY, our omnipresent virtual voice assistant, gets a software update that makes him go bananas for bananas. And if we talk about anything except bananas, he turns the microphones off! We talk to geneticist Dr. Janina Jeff about how much ...
01.26.2021 A super special shot: All about coronavirus vaccines In December, people started getting vaccinated against COVID-19. This is a huge scientific accomplishment and important step in making it safe for us to hang out in person again. So how did scientists develop these vaccines so fast? And how ...
01.19.2021 Meet Gitanjali Rao, Time Magazine's first-ever Kid of the Year Today we have a special episode featuring an old friend of ours -- scientist and inventor Gitanjali Rao. Time Magazine recently named her the first-ever Kid of the Year! We first met Gitanjali back in 2018, when she was the ...
01.12.2021 How do synthesizers work? Synthesizers are a very recent invention, especially when you compare them to acoustic instruments, like pianos and guitars. In this episode, we learn how these machines with keys, knobs, switches, buttons and sliders actually make sound. We’ll also travel back ...
01.05.2021 Why is it so hard to break a habit? If habits are really stuck, we don't think much about them -- we just do them! Some habits are good (like brushing your teeth in the morning) and others are not as good (like biting your nails). Today we find ...
11.25.2020 Smash Boom Best: Flowers vs Rainbows We’ll be back with new episodes in January. But we wanted to share another show with you that we’ve been working on: Smash Boom Best! It’s a debate show where we take two cool things, smash them together and let ...
10.27.2020 Bones from the inside out Bones! They’re spooky. They’re creepy. They’re utterly fascinating! This episode we dig up the science behind skeletons. We’ll look at how our bones grow, what happens when we break a bone and why bones last so long. Plus, we’ll meet ...
10.20.2020 Why do siblings annoy each other? Having a sibling is a special thing -- but, wow, can they be annoying! In this episode we’ll look at why our brothers and sisters are so good at pushing our buttons. Plus, is there any truth to the idea ...
10.13.2020 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. We released this episode about flu vaccines last year but ...
10.06.2020 Past, present and future: Using time to understand this pandemic If time feels weird to you lately, you’re not alone. The pandemic has changed the pace of life for people around the world. We’ll talk to a psychologist about how our sense of time works. We’ll look back into the ...
09.29.2020 Smash: When continents collide! How are mountains made? What causes an earthquake? How does hot lava come bubbling up? The answer in each case is…tectonic plates! These are giant, moving slabs of rock covering the Earth’s surface. When they slide past or smash into ...
09.22.2020 Behind the scenes: See how we make the show A listener asked how making Brains On is different during the pandemic. So with this episode we're giving you a peek into how we're making the show while staying safe. Spoiler alert: we're doing it all from our homes! What's ...
09.15.2020 The buzz on bees, pt. 2 In this second episode on bees (a bee-quel, you might say!) we’re taking a look at pollination: the many pollination talents of different bees, why pollination is so important, and what you can do to help wild bees! The tables ...
09.08.2020 The buzz on bees, pt. 1 We’re making a big buzz about bees! Our pollen-collecting friends get so much done, and we’re taking a look at how they live. We’ll bust some bee myths and meet some honeybees for a look at life inside the hive. ...
09.01.2020 Stars: Twinkling, glowing, giant balls of gas Those tiny pinpoints of light glittering in the night sky are actually incredibly distant, giant, churning balls of gas. They produce huge quantities of light and heat. In this episode, Mars interviews the biggest star in his eyes: the sun! ...
08.25.2020 What makes gross things gross? Fair warning: Today we’re gonna get gross! We’re talking sounds, smells, and tastes that some people might find repulsive. But we're asking: why? What's the purpose of disgust? Is it something we're born knowing or do we learn to dislike ...
08.12.2020 Poop Party: Answers to your poo questions Warning! This episode is all about the fascinating and gross world of doo doo. We know you have a lot of poo questions because you’ve sent many, many of them to us. So we’re finally bringing you the poo answers! ...
08.04.2020 Introducing: Million Bazillion We’re thrilled to share a brand new show with you. It’s called Million Bazillion and it’s all about money -- how we earn it, how we save it and how we spend it. In the first episode you’ll travel back ...
07.28.2020 Masks and mouth mist: What we know about the coronavirus now Since the world first learned about this new coronavirus at the end of 2019, we’ve been watching science happen in real time. Scientists all over the world are studying this virus and learning how to protect us from it. As ...
07.14.2020 The world of tiny robots We’re talking all about teeny, tiny robots in today’s episode. You know, the ones that are as light as a postage stamp and as look like insects? They may be small, but these robots can still take in information and ...

Older episodes