But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids

By Vermont Public Radio

Kids & Family

What's But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids about?

But Why is a show led by kids. They ask the questions and we find the answers. It’s a big interesting world out there. On But Why, we tackle topics large and small, about nature, words, even the end of the world. Know a kid with a question? Record it with a smartphone. Be sure to include your kid's first name, age, and town and send the recording to [email protected]!

4.4

2,684 ratings

Download our free app to listen on your phone

LAST EPISODE

What's A Screaming Hairy Ar...

01.15.2021

Why are whale sharks called whale sharks? Why are guinea pigs called pigs if they're not pigs? Why are eagles called bald eagles if they're not bald? You also ask us lots of questions about why and how animals got ...

But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids episodes:

01.15.2021 What's A Screaming Hairy Armadillo? How Animals Get Their Names Why are whale sharks called whale sharks? Why are guinea pigs called pigs if they're not pigs? Why are eagles called bald eagles if they're not bald? You also ask us lots of questions about why and how animals got ...
01.01.2021 Hopes And Dreams For 2021 From Kids Around The World As the new year dawns, what are you hopeful for in 2021?Even though the change of the calendar year is mostly symbolic, New Year's Day is often a time for looking back on the year that just passed and setting ...
12.18.2020 Why Do Things Seem Scary In The Dark? Lots of people are afraid of the dark, including many kids who have shared that fear with us. In today's episode we explore the fear of the dark with Daniel Handler, better known as Lemony Snicket, the author of the ...
12.04.2020 Why Aren’t Babies Just Little Adults? Why are babies small and grownups big? Why are babies so helpless, instead of little versions of adults? Do babies know they're babies? How do babies grow? How do babies learn to talk? Kids have been sending us lots of ...
11.20.2020 Why Are We Still Talking About The Election? A few weeks ago we talked about why kids can't vote and we also answered some questions about the U.S. Presidential Election. It's been two weeks since the November 3rd election, but we're still getting questions about it! We get ...
11.06.2020 Why Do Whales Sing? In our most recent episode, we answered questions about really big animals: whales! We covered a lot when it comes to these huge aquatic mammals but there was one big topic we didn't get to: and that's how whales communicate. ...
10.23.2020 Why Are Whales So Big? How do whales spray water? Why are humpback whales so fat and blue whales so long, and why are blue whales blue? Do whales have belly buttons? How do you weigh a whale? And how do whales drink water in ...
10.09.2020 Why Can't Kids Vote? In the United States, where But Why is based, we have a big election coming up. Election Day is officially on November 3rd. But more Americans than usual are voting in advance this year, sometimes in person at their town ...
09.25.2020 Why Are Some Animals Pets And Others Are Lunch? This episode may not be suitable for our youngest listeners or for particularly sensitive kids. We're discussing animal ethics with author Hal Herzog. In a follow up to our pets episodes, we look at how we treat animals very differently ...
09.11.2020 Why Do Dogs Have Tails? Why do dogs have whiskers? Why are dogs' eyesight black and white? Why do dogs have so many babies? Why do dogs have tails and we don't? Why are dogs thumbs so high on their paw? Why don't dogs sweat? ...
08.28.2020 Why Do Cats Sharpen Their Claws? Why do cats purr? How do cats purr? Why can't we purr? Why do cats "talk" to people, but not other cats? Why do cats sharpen their claws? Are orange cats only male? Why do cats like milk and not ...
08.14.2020 Vaccines, Masks and Handwashing: A Coronavirus Update In this installment, we follow up on our March episode about the novel coronavirus now that we know more about COVID-19 and how it spreads. Dr. Krutika Kuppalli, assistant clinical professor of infectious diseases at the Medical University of South ...
07.31.2020 How Do You Make Ice Cream? How is ice cream made? Why does ice cream melt? Why does some ice cream melt faster than others? We’ll answer your questions about this summery concoction with Rabia Kamara, of Ruby Scoops in Richmond, Virginia. It’s going to be ...
07.17.2020 What Happens To The Forest After A Fire? Why do forest fires happen? What happens to the forest after a fire? Sometimes you send us questions about things you've heard about, and sometimes you send us questions about your experiences. We'll hear from 5-year-old Abby in Australia who ...
07.03.2020 Why Do Ladybugs Have Spots? Do Dragonflies Bite? This week, we're getting out our bug nets and talking about dragonflies and ladybugs! Why do ladybugs have spots? How many different types of ladybugs are there? How do they crawl on the ceiling without falling down? Where do dragonflies ...
06.27.2020 But Why Live: A Musical Celebration In this special live episode But Why had a musical celebration with Mister Chris, the Junkman and May Erlewine, and we heard your songs. You can listen to But Why Live at vpr.org and call-in every Friday at 1 p.m. ...
06.19.2020 But Why Live: A Discussion About Race And Racism In this special live episode But Why held a discussion about race and racism with the authors of ABCs of Diversity, Y. Joy Harris-Smith and Carolyn Helsel. You can listen to But Why Live at vpr.org and call-in every Friday ...
06.13.2020 But Why Live: Trees In this special live episode learned about trees and tree communication with scientists Alexia Constantinou and Katie McMahen of the Simard Lab at the University of British Columbia. You can listen to But Why Live at vpr.org and call-in every ...
06.06.2020 But Why Live: Kid Press Conference with Governor Phil Scott In this special live episode we held a kid press conference with Vermont Governor Phil Scott. You can listen to But Why Live at vpr.org and call-in every Friday at 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time through June 19, 2020. This ...
06.05.2020 Why Do Spiders Have Eight Legs? Why don't spiders stick to their own webs? How do spiders walk up walls and on ceilings without falling? Why do spiders have eight legs and eight eyes? How do they make webs? And silk? What's a cobweb? How do ...
05.30.2020 But Why Live: Words and Language In this special live episode we learn about words and language with linguist John McWhorter, host of the podcast Lexicon Valley. You can listen to But Why live at vpr.org and call-in every Friday at 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time ...
05.23.2020 But Why Live: Space Exploration In this special live episode we learn about space and space exploration with Jim Green, NASA's Chief Scientist. You can listen to But Why live at vpr.org and call-in every Friday at 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time through June 19, ...
05.22.2020 How Does Slime Work? What is slime and how do you make it? What makes glue sticky? Why does mixing diet coke and Mentos make an explosion? How does glow in the dark stuff glow without batteries? We're talking about sticky things like slime ...
05.16.2020 But Why Live: Poetry In this special live episode we learn about poetry and writing with Poetry Guy Ted Scheu, Rajnii Eddins, and we hear your poems! Get your pencils ready; we’ll be doing some fun writing exercises as well. You can listen to ...
05.09.2020 But Why Live: Bats and Beavers In this special live episode, we learn about bats and beavers! First up, all about bats with Barry Genzlinger of Vermont Bat Center. Then, we learn about the industrious beaver with wildlife biologist Kim Royar of the Vermont Department for ...
05.08.2020 Where Does The Sky End? Where is the border between sky and space? That's what 5-year-old Matthias of Durham, New Hampshire wants to know. Allesandra, 3 of Bella Vista, Arkansas wants to know why we can't hold air. We're going to get scientific, but also ...
05.01.2020 Circle Round: The Fallen Sparrow We're sharing a new episode from one of our favorite podcasts, Circle Round. Jane Lindholm co-stars with Molly Bloom (Brains On!, Smash Boom Best) as twin sisters who reap what they sow in this story with origins in Korea, Tibet, ...
04.24.2020 Why Do Cookies Taste Better With Salt? And Other Cooking Questions We head to the kitchen to answer cooking and food questions. Why does food taste better with salt? Why do we need salt to make sweet things like cookies? Why do seasonings taste good in food but not so much ...
04.10.2020 Why Do Baby Teeth Fall Out? We're talking about teeth with a friendly dentist! How do teeth become loose? Why do our baby teeth fall out? Why do people only have two sets of teeth? Why don't babies have teeth when they're born? Why are teeth ...
03.27.2020 'Are Llamas Ticklish?' And Other Silly Questions We're answering 9 questions that put a smile on our faces, and we hope they make you chuckle, too. Plus, you might actually learn something from some of the answers! Are llamas ticklish? Why do pickles and cacti look alike? ...
03.25.2020 Brave Little State: Tips From A Homeschooling, Remote-Working Mom We’re sharing an episode of a Vermont Public Radio's Brave Little State. We know many of you are experiencing some changes now that schools in lots of states and countries are closed to slow the spread of COVID-19. For some ...
03.13.2020 Coronavirus For Kids, And The Science Of Soap As COVID-19 spreads across the globe, the World Health Organization has declared the novel coronavirus a pandemic. We’re answering questions about the virus with infectious disease doctor Krutika Kuppalli, who studies global pandemics. And chemistry professor Palli Thordarson, from the ...
02.28.2020 Why Do People Have Nightmares? Why do people dream? Why do people have nightmares? How do dreams happen? Can people who are blind can see in their dreams? We're listening back to our episode about dreams with psychiatrist Dr. David Kahn of Harvard Medical School. ...
02.14.2020 How Do We Fall Asleep? Why do people need to sleep? How do we actually go to sleep? How does sleeping get rid of toxins in the brain? And how come when it's nighttime I don't want to go to sleep but when it's morning ...
02.06.2020 What Happens When A President Is Impeached? Curious kids are hearing about the impeachment trial of US President Donald Trump. So But Why is helping them understand what impeachment is and what happens when a president is impeached. We'll explain why impeachment is an important part of ...
01.17.2020 Do Animals Get Married? Do animals get married? Do they fall in love and have friends? Do they laugh when they're happy and cry when they're sad? When you talk to your pets, can they understand you? Why can't they speak to us? And ...
01.03.2020 Why Do Lions Roar? Why do lions roar? Why do crickets chirp? Why do bucks shed their antlers every year? How can porcupines and hedgehogs avoid poking themselves? Do fish pee? What is the fastest fish? What do jellyfish eat? A roundup of animal ...
12.20.2019 How Do We Taste Food? Why do we like to eat certain foods? Why do some people like to eat spicy food? And what's up with kids not liking vegetables? Why does pineapple hurt your mouth when you eat too much of it? Why do ...
12.06.2019 Why Are Some Words 'Bad'? In this episode, we tackle why some words are "bad". Plus: Why do people say bad words? Why aren't kids allowed to say cuss words? Why is the middle finger bad? And adults, don't worry, we won't actually be using ...
11.22.2019 Ice, Ice, Baby: Why Is Ice Slippery? How does water turn into ice? Why is ice sometimes slippery and other times sticky? Why is it so cold? Why does it float? How are icicles made? Why are icebergs mostly underwater? What was the ice age? We'll get ...
11.08.2019 How Do Meteorologists Predict The Weather? How do weather people predict the weather and know what's going to happen tomorrow? Why is a meteorologist called a meteorologist? We learn about weather forecasting with National Weather Service Meteorologist Jessica Neiles and NBC5 Chief Meteorologist Tom Messner. Download ...
10.25.2019 Are Unicorns Real? Are unicorns real? Who made them up? Where do they come from? What do they eat, how big are they, and do they have rainbow manes? We're answering all of your questions about unicorns-and learning about other mythical creatures as ...
10.11.2019 Are Jellyfish Made Of Jelly? In this episode we're answering a few short questions about animals! Are jellyfish made of jelly? Do fish stink in the water or on land? Where do fish sleep? Do chickens have tongues? Can spiders sleep or not? How many ...
09.27.2019 Why Do We Have To Go To School? Why does school exist? When did kids start going, and why is it mandatory? Why are there 12 grades in school? Why do we call teachers by their last names? In this episode, we get schooled on school by sociologist ...
09.13.2019 How Are Noodles Made? This week, we answer a question from 4-year-old Hugo in Burlington, Vt. Hugo wants to know how noodles are made. But he's about to get more than he bargained for! For this episode we visit a restaurant called M.Y. China, ...
08.30.2019 How Is Paper Made? How is paper made from trees? Why does paper fall apart when it gets wet? Why does it lose color in the sun? Who invented paper? We make a few sheet of paper and learn all about how it's made ...
08.16.2019 What Do Mosquitoes Do In Winter? This episode is all about bugs! We've gotten a lot of questions from you about insects and other critters. So we're tackling them with the help of Jessica Honaker and Kristie Reddick, otherwise known as the Bug Chicks. Download our ...
08.02.2019 Why Do Earthquakes Happen? Why do earthquakes happen? How do the tectonic plates move underground? How do we stay safe during an earthquake? Why are continents so far apart? Why do buildings sometimes catch fire after earthquakes? Why are there tsunamis after earthquakes? For ...
07.19.2019 How Do Circuits Work? How do circuits work? How do electric plugs work? Why do some things conduct electricity and some things do not? How does a battery make a phone work? How do lights turn on? Where do electrons go when the electricity ...
07.05.2019 What Is Electricity? Where does electricity come from? What is electricity made of? Who invented it? How does electricity work? What are electrons made of? Electrical Engineer Paul Hines answers our questions, in part one of our live call-in program. Hines is a ...

Older episodes