Climate change is heating up the planet like it’s wearing too many blankets — so can we build artificial trees to help cool it down?

In this episode of Brilliant or Bonkers, Mark and Amanda dive into one of the wildest climate solutions yet: giant machines that suck CO₂ out of the air.

Amanda thinks they’re brilliant — fast, powerful, and essential if we want to clean up 150 years of pollution.

Mark thinks they’re bonkers — expensive, energy-hungry, and nowhere near replacing real trees.

Together they explore:

🌍 Why the planet is too warm

🌳 What artificial “super trees” can actually do

⚡ Why they’re so expensive right now

📉 Whether technology can make them cheaper

💬 And if they’re the climate superheroes we need… or just a flashy distraction

Kids decide the verdict — brilliant or bonkers?

A fun, science-filled episode for curious minds, young environmentalists, and families who want to understand the big ideas shaping our future.

What if the trees in your local park could glow in the dark?

In this episode of Brilliant or Bonkers, Mark tries to convince us that genetically glowing trees are the future — magical, energy-saving, and totally brilliant.

Amanda isn’t buying it. She’s worried about moths, TikTok influencers, glowing ghost forests, and light giving squirrels

Together, they explore:

How firefly genes could turn a tree into a natural nightlight

Whether it would help cities… or confuse squirrels forever

The real science — explained clearly for kids

Will it help squirrels find their nuts in the dark?

And of course… whether this idea is BRILLIANT or BONKERS!

It’s funny, curious, slightly chaotic, and packed with kid-friendly science.

Perfect for families, classrooms, or anyone who’s ever wondered,

“What if nature could glow?”

Dust: the silent killer of LEGO cities.

Builders spend hours keeping skyscrapers, bakeries, and modular streets spotless… and then the dust comes back.

So should someone invent a LEGO-sized Roomba?

In this episode of Brilliant or Bonkers, Amanda argues that a tiny autonomous robot that patrols LEGO streets at night and parks itself in a LEGO dog kennel is pure genius.

Mark thinks it is Bonkers. Will his resistance crumble?

Who’s right? Tune in and vote.

What if you could 3D print your snacks? In this episode of Brilliant or Bonkers, Dad thinks the Cheese Printer is a meltdown waiting to happen; messy, overengineered, and totally unnecessary. His daughter? She’s convinced it’s the future of food design, where art meets cheddar.

Join us as we debate whether printing a cheese Eiffel Tower is the height of innovation… or the end of civilization as we know it.

In the 1930s, parents were told babies needed fresh air to stay healthy, so some clever (or completely unhinged) inventors came up with the baby cage: a wire box you’d bolt to your apartment window and hang your infant outside.

Join Amanda and Mark as they explore the strange history behind this real invention, from its 1920s patent to its popularity in London and New York. Was it a genius bit of urban innovation or a parenting disaster waiting to happen?

Expect laughter, disbelief, and a few “please tell me this isn’t real” moments as we decide once and for all:

Was the baby cage… Brilliant or Bonkers?

Amanda hates getting soap in her eyes. Mark thinks she’s exaggerating. But what if a robot could fix the world’s biggest bathroom battle; washing hair without a single tear?

In this episode of Brilliant or Bonkers, we dive into the invention nobody asked for but everyone secretly wants: the intelligent, tentacled hair-washing robot. Can smart sensors and gentle jets really make bath time blissful… or is this just a slippery slope to chaos? Do we, surprisingly, find some interesting real use for this?

This week Amanda’s all in on the rise of AI-made music. No instruments, no lessons, no limits and just pure creativity at the click of a button.

But Dad isn’t impressed. To him, it’s a soulless, generic ocean of noise, where real musicianship drowns under a flood of algorithms.

Is AI the future of music? Does it open the studio to everyone, or will it be the end of everything that makes a song human?

It’s talent versus tech, melody versus machine, as Amanda and her dad debate whether AI music is Brilliant… or Bonkers.

The AI TV That Answers Every Question

You know that feeling when you’re trying to watch a movie, but there are millions of questions flying around:

“Who’s that guy?”

“Is she the sister?”

“Wait, did the dog just die?”

Now imagine a TV that answers all of them, instantly. No pausing, no explaining, just smart little pop-up answers powered by AI.

Mark says it’s brilliant; finally, peace and quiet during movie night.

His daughter says it’s bonkers; who wants a robot spoiling every surprise?

A genius invention or the end of family movie night as we know it? You decide.

It sounds like science fiction — cows genetically engineered without heads. No brains, no suffering, just meat and milk on legs. Some call it a humane breakthrough. Others call it horrifying.

Mark argues it’s brilliant — if it ends animal suffering and makes better meat, why not?

His daughter Amanda (10) says it’s bonkers — creepy, unnatural, and straight out of a nightmare.

Ethical innovation or mad science gone too far? Tune in and decide: Brilliant or Bonkers?