But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids

Why do walrus look the way they do? Why do they have such long tusks? Do they have other teeth? Do walruses migrate? We learn all about these majestic giants with Adam Ratner of the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California.Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide | Transcript 

What's the difference between seals and sea lions? Do seals bark? Are they gray? Do harbor seals live in snowy regions? Why do sea lions eat fish? Why do sea lions fight each other? Seals and sea lions are pinnipeds, fin-footed marine mammals, and we're learning all about them today with a visit to the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California, where marine biologist Adam Ratner answers all your pinniped questions!Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide | TranscriptYou can watch the sea lions at San Francisco's Pier 39 no matter where you live by checking out the live stream at pier39.com/sealions!

What are atoms made of? Why is everything made of atoms? Why are atoms so small? How many atoms are there in the world? How did scientists find atoms if we can't see them? How do atoms get their color? We learn about atoms with Dr. Ben Still, author of “Particle Physics Brick by Brick” and “The Secret Life of the Periodic Table.” His new book, “How the Universe Works,” will be released in September.Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide | TranscriptFurther reading:Cosmic History - NASAThe Secret Science of AtomsDOE Explains...Nucleosynthesis | Department of Energy   

How are records made? How does a record player make sound? Why are we still listening to and buying records when there are so many digital ways to listen to music?! But Why visits Gold Rush Vinyl in Austin, Texas to learn how little plastic beads become brightly colored records that can play back your favorite music or sounds.  Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide | Transcript

Do you love tacos? Then you're not alone! Tacos originated in Mexico but they're popular worldwide and they are ever evolving. Kids have a lot of questions about this favorite food so we visited Nixta Taqueria in Austin, Texas to learn more! Who made the first tacos? And where? What's the deal with crispy shells vs. soft tortillas? Why do tacos have sauce? Why does corn come in so many different colors? And are there rules about what makes a taco…a taco? Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide | Transcript

No matter how old you are, you're part of the economy, but it can be tricky to understand what the economy actually is. Plus, what are taxes? What's inflation? What are tariffs and why have they been in the news so much in 2025? In this episode, we break down economic terms and concepts with business reporter Stacey Vanek Smith.Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide | Transcript

Fleas, lice, tapeworms and ticks - these are all examples of parasites, living organisms that live on or in a host species and need this other organism to complete their complex life cycles. Sounds bad, but parasites are essential to a healthy ecosystem! And our guest for this episode says they're also fascinating and even beautiful. Parasite ecologist Chelsea L. Wood, author of Power to the Parasites, tackles all your parasitic questions in this episode! They include: Why are there worms in our stomachs? Why do fleas bite cats and dogs? Where did head lice come from? Why do lice make you itch? Why do ticks suck our blood? Download Transcript

How do trains work? We went to Union Station in Washington, DC to answer a whole wagonload of questions with Amtrak's Patrick Kidd.A few years ago, we left our studio in Vermont to hop on the Amtrak Acela train that runs multiple trips per day between Washington, DC, New York City and Boston. But don't worry; we got off before the train departed! It was so much fun, we wanted to bring you that journey again!Questions we're answering in this episode: How do trains work? What about electric trains? Steam trains? Bullet trains? Why do they have to go on tracks? How can trains go so fast even though they're so heavy? And why don't trains have seat belts?Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide |Transcript

How do people whistle? How does whistling make a sound? Why does your tongue change a whistle higher or lower? Can you get a trophy for whistling? Can people with laryngitis whistle? Get ready, we learn all about whistling with musician and champion whistler Emily Eagen and musician Yuki Takeda. And who whistles our theme song? We'll hear from musician Luke Reynolds, and a kid whistling chorus from our listeners!Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide | Transcript

Are all cats afraid of water? Do wild cats bury their poop? How are the cats that live in your house related to lions and tigers roaming in the wild? We take a walk in the woods with wildlife biologist Emily Carollo. She works with a conservation and research organization called Panthera that's dedicated to helping all 40 species of wild cats in the world. Why do cats live in different habitats? What do cats eat? Why do they chase mice? Why do cats' eyes glow in the dark? Why do some cats roar and some purr? Do cats have their own language? Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide | Transcript

If you could be a superhero, what would you want your superpower to be–and what would you call yourself? That's what we asked kids for this special end-of-year episode, and we got some amazing answers! Some kids want to fly. Some want to go back in time. One wants to be able to draw everything perfectly the first time. And a surprising number of kids want a super ability to do math!Stories about humans with special abilities have been around for as long as humans have been telling stories. But the word superhero is only about 120 years old. The first known use of the word was in 1899, but the term became more mainstream in 1930s comic books and movies. Now, superheroes are all over the pages of books and both the small and big screen. Give this episode a listen and think about what YOUR superpower might be!Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide | Transcript  

Who decides what robots look like? How do robots work and move? How are they controlled? And are robots alive? We tackle all your robot questions in this episode, and we're taking a field trip to a local factory that uses hundreds of robots to help humans do their jobs. GlobalFoundries, in Essex Junction, Vermont makes microchips that go in all kinds of electronics. In fact, if your adults have a smartphone, more than likely it has a chip made at this very facility. Engineers Adrien Plouffe and Lucy White work with the robots at GlobalFoundries and answer your questions about robots, including: Why are robots made of metal? Why do people like robots? Do robots cry?Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide

Why can't animals talk to us? Are humans the only animals that can talk? Can different species of animals communicate with each other? We learn about animal communication with Arik Kershenbaum, author of Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication. He studies wolves, gibbons, dolphins and hyrax to learn how they communicate. Also in this episode: why are parrots able to speak human words but other birds can't? Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide | Transcript

Why do we have to poop? Why does fiber make you poop? Why is poop brown? Why does it smell so bad? Why do farts smell bad, too? Yup, we're going there! In this episode, Mary Roach, author of Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal, answers your questions about those things that we're told not to talk about in polite company: poop and farts. We learn how astronauts use the bathroom in space and how many germs are in one ounce of poop.

Why do we worry and how can we deal with it? Why do we get anxious? Where does anxiety come from? Anxiety or worry is a hard feeling to overcome, but it's a universal human emotion. In this episode, we explore anxiety with clinical psychologist Eileen Kennedy-Moore, also known as Dr. Friendtastic. She helps us understand why moderate anxiety is useful and necessary. But too much worry can prevent you from learning new things or doing activities that could be fun. And she has some tips for how to overcome anxious feelings.Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide | Transcript 

Election Day in the United States is November 5 this year and election officials across the country are already hard at work setting up polling places and processing mail in ballots. Even if you're not old enough to vote, you can be part of the process. You can watch voting machines be tested, observe the polling places on Election Day, or even watch votes be counted once the polls close. (Sometimes there are livestreams so you can watch from the comfort of your own home!) For this episode on how voting works, But Why stopped by the South Burlington City Hall on the day vote tabulators were being prepared. Plus we meet Vermont's top election official, Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas. Have you asked an adult to take you to the polls yet? Download our learning guides: PDF | Transcript

What is voting? Why (and how) do people vote? Why can't kids vote? Why are there red and blue states (not to mention donkeys and elephants representing political parties)? How can someone win the most votes but still lose the presidential election? We're answering kid questions about elections with Bridgett King, a political scientist at the University of Kentucky. Download our learning guides: PDF | Transcript

A new food-focused kids podcast is here. It's called ChopChop and it's part of a non-profit committed to getting kids and families to cook and eat meals together. Explore tasty recipes on their website! They also publish a quarterly magazine in English and Spanish (a good way to practice a second language). We contributed to their very first episode and we have to say, it's the corniest episode you're ever going to listen to! Our contribution was the science of how popcorn pops. We hope you gain some kernels of knowledge from this episode! We had an ear full. 

Why do we have bones? How do they grow–and how do they know when to stop growing? How many do we have in our bodies? And when we break our bones, how do they heal? What do casts do? And how do you know if you've broken a bone? Broken bones are a common occurrence in kids. Up to 40% of girls and up to 50% of boys will break a bone in their lifetime. In this episode, we learn about the role of bones in our body and how to deal with a fractured bone with Melissa Raddatz, a family nurse practitioner at Duke Health System in North Carolina. The first part of this episode is all about bones in general, and we shift to broken bones for the second half.Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide

How do wind turbines work? How are wind turbines made? What will our energy picture look like in the future? We're taking a deep dive into wind power, and trying to make the technology understandable, with Josh Castonguay of Vermont utility Green Mountain Power. Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide | Transcript

Come along to learn all about the wriggling worms that live in the dirt beneath your feet. Earthworms are everywhere, and there are many species of worms yet to be discovered. How do worms communicate? Why do worms have slime? Why do worms come out when it rains? Answers to all of your worm questions with earthworm detective Sam James. Plus, we learn about worm composting with a kid who's in charge of her family's food scraps! Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slides 

But it's important to know how to swim if you're going to be around water! In this episode, Upper Valley Aquatic Center Swim School Director Kana Wyman gives us swimming tips, like how to get comfortable putting our heads in the water, how to float and more.Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slides | TranscriptA few tips for getting started: If you don't live near a pool or body of water, you can learn some primary skills even in a bathtub or using a bucket.  Get used to putting your face in the water by using a bucket or big bowl. Keep your mouth closed and blow air through your nose. Humming can help make sure you're breathing out. When floating, think about a string pulling your belly button up to the sky. It's easier to float if you spread your body out, rather than curling into a ball. You may need to swirl your arms or legs to keep your whole body on top of the water. Some people have a harder time floating than others, due to body mass differences. So if it feels hard, it's not your fault! Check with community swimming pools to see if they offer free lessons. Many pools, gyms or swim schools will offer lessons for kids and adults that are free or subsidized, at least occasionally, to make sure everyone has the opportunity to learn lifesaving swimming skills.

We're celebrating the Olympics and Olympic athletes with an episode chock full of the interviews we've done with Olympians. Plus we answer some of the Olympic-themed questions you've sent us, starting with: what's all the hype about winning a big piece of metal? And are those medals really made out of gold, silver and bronze? And we speak with Paralympian Emelia Perry, who's competing in the paratriathlon in Paris! (Other athletes we hear from: skier Andrew Weibrecht, bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor, and mountain biker Lea Davison.)Download our learning guides:  PDF| Google Slide | Transcript

Have you ever been threading one leg through a pair of pants in the morning and wondered…why do we wear clothes anyway? Or wondered why pockets in clothing designed for girls are sometimes smaller than the pockets in clothing designed for boys? In this episode we tackle questions about clothes with fashion historian and writer Amber Butchart.Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slides | Transcript

How is pizza dough made? How does gluten-free dough rise? Who invented pizza? Is there pizza in every country? Is yeast alive?! Kids love pizza and they have questions! We get answers from Frank Pinello of Best Pizza in Williamsburg and Scott Wiener of Scott's Pizza Tours. Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide | Transcript

Why do oranges have peels? Why is the inside of an orange segmented? Why are lemons and limes so sour? Why do lemons have seeds but limes don't? Why does fruit have juice? How many oranges are in a gallon of juice? How do seedless oranges reproduce? How are oranges available year-round? Why are the fruit and the color both called orange? We're answering questions about citrus with Fernando Alferez from the University of Florida's Southwest Florida Research and Education Center. Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Drive | Transcript

Yes! In many parts of the world, insects are a regular part of people's diets. Bugs are an efficient source of protein, and many cultures find them delicious. Some countries, like the US, don't have a strong culture of insect cuisine, but that's starting to change as people look for ways to feed a growing global population without using as many resources as we currently do. So insects might be an important part of our future diets as well. With all the talk about cicadas this summer, eating bugs has been making news for adults. So, in this bonus episode, But Why learns about cooking up insects with Joseph Yoon, edible insect ambassador at Brooklyn Bugs. Download transcript

This spring, trillions of periodical cicadas are emerging from the ground, where they've spent 13 or 17 years feeding on xylem (basically, tree juice).  The two specific broods emerging this year have not come out at the same time since 1803, and kids may be hearing a lot of news about these loud insects. So today we're tackling the cicada questions you've sent us: Why do cicadas come out every 17 years? What do cicadas eat? Why are there more cicadas at night than in the morning? Why do cicadas molt? How do cicadas get babies? We speak with Dan Gruner, professor of entomology at the University of Maryland, to get answers.Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide

Where is the border between sky and space? That's what 5-year-old Matthias of Durham, New Hampshire wants to know. Alesandra, 3 of Bella Vista, Arkansas wants to know why we can't hold air. In this episode from 2020, we're joined by anthropologist Hugh Raffles, a professor at The New School, and by astronomer John O'Meara, chief scientist at the Keck Observatory. And we have special scoring by cellist Zoë Keating.Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide | Transcript

That's a question a lot of people have, honestly. But a kid named Rosie was bold enough to ask us to investigate why. So, in the latest episode, we dig in on why cockroaches get such a bad rap and why you might want to reconsider if you're not a fan. Only two percent of the world's cockroaches are considered pests. Those are the ones that can live in houses and potentially make us sick. But the vast majority of cockroaches don't bother humans at all! Some, like the social cockroach species known as termites, work to decompose organic material and are hugely important to our environment. So where do people learn negative attitudes toward insects? We dig deep into insects with Jessica Ware, an entomologist and curator at the American Museum of Natural History. She's also the host of the PBS digital series Insectarium. Answers to your questions about cockroaches, termites, dragonflies, praying mantises and more! Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide

Why do lizards have scales? Why are reptiles cold-blooded? Why do lizards have long tongues? How do lizards grow their tails back? Are crocodiles dinosaurs? What's the difference between an alligator and a crocodile? Why do crocodile eyes look like they have mirrors in the back? How do crocodiles chomp? Why do crocodile teeth stay sharp? Why are crocodiles green? Why do crocodiles swim? Answers to all of your crocodile and alligator questions with Venetia Briggs-Gonzalez, one of the researchers known as the Croc Docs at the University of Florida. Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide | Transcript

Why do people dance? Where did ballet come from? How do you make pointe shoes for ballet? How does practice make you better at things? But Why visited Dance Theatre of Harlem to get answers to these questions with company artists Derek Brockington and Lindsey Donnell. Download our learning guides: Transcript

A solar eclipse is coming to North America on April 8, 2024. The moon will line up perfectly between the Earth and the sun, blocking out the sun's light and casting a shadow that will pass over parts of Mexico, the United States and Canada. People in the path of totality will experience a few minutes of darkness during the day as the moon perfectly covers the sun. Those not in the path of totality in those countries will still experience a partial solar eclipse. In this episode, we're answering questions about the eclipse and talking about how to keep your eyes safe if you're watching it! We speak with Bridgewater State University solar physicist Martina Arndt, Fairbanks Museum planetarium director Mark Breen and Thomas A. Hockey, author of America's First Eclipse Chasers.  Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide

Why are there Burmese pythons and chameleons in the Florida Everglades? We might not know how those animals arrived but they are causing damage to the natural ecosystem. An invasive species out competes native plants and animals in an ecosystem. So how does this happen? But Why travels to the Everglades to learn more about how and why species end up in places they shouldn't. Plus, why are we sometimes told to kill invasive insects like the spotted lanternfly? Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide Transcript

How is snow made and what's it made out of?  Why is it white and sparkly?  Why do snowflakes look different? Can snowstorms have thunder? Why do some places, like mountains, get more snow than others? Answers to all of your questions about snow, with Seth Linden, who works for the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. Plus we hear what it's like to live at the top of Mount Washington, famous for its extreme weather, from Alexandra Branton, a meteorologist who works at the observatory at the top of the mountain, even during the frigid winter. Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slides

How do glasses work? Why do some people need glasses and other people don't? Why do we have different eye colors? We answer your questions about glasses and eyes in the second of two episodes with Dr. Sujata Singh, a pediatric ophthalmologist at the University of Vermont Medical Center. And we hear from Maggie, a kid with low vision, about what it's like to need glasses.  Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide | Transcript

What shape are our eyes? What are they made of? How do they work? What's the point of having two eyes if we only see one image? Why do we blink? What's the point of tears and why are they salty? We answer your questions about eyes in the first of two episodes with Dr. Sujata Singh, a pediatric ophthalmologist at the University of Vermont Medical Center.

We've collaborated with our podcast friends at What If World to bring you the first (and only) episode of…But Why If World! In this episode we jointly answer some “what if” questions. What if cereal could talk to us? What if dinosaurs didn't lay eggs? What if the world started spinning backwards? Take a listen to this curious collaboration. Download transcript

For our last episode of each year, we often like to ask our listeners around the world to send us something fun. This year, we wanted you to tell us what makes you happy and you had a lot to share on that topic! Our listeners find happiness in spending time with friends, family, and pets and in doing activities they love: playing with friends, toys, arts and crafts, participating in sports, watching movies, and riding bikes. Two people say the special sandwiches their adults make them are what bring them happiness. And some kids told us learning new skills is especially exciting for them. In this episode: a happiness bonanza with all the responses we got. Plus we talk with a happiness expert: Gretchen Rubin. She's the author of the Happiness Project and host of a podcast called Happier with Gretchen Rubin.  Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide

Almost half the people in the world speak at least two languages. And, it turns out, that includes a lot of But Why listeners! In this episode we talk about what it's like to speak multiple languages and kids from around the world share phrases in many different languages so we can all learn something new! Plus, linguist and professor Anna Babel answers questions we've gotten about languages, including: What does it mean to be bilingual? Why do some people speak two or three languages? How many languages can someone learn? Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide

How are electric guitars made? How are guitar strings made? And how, exactly, do guitars work? We're answering questions about electric guitars with local luthier (guitarmaker) Lea in Burlington, Vermont. Creston gave us a tour of his studio–including his custom glitter room, to help us understand what goes into making an electric guitar. Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide

For the past 50 years, visitors to the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C. were able to see giant pandas. But recently, China asked for those pandas back. (Technically, all pandas in the United States are considered “on loan” from China.) With pandas in the news, we're bringing back the episode from our 2022 field trip to the zoo. Zookeeper Mariel Lally answered all of your panda questions. Among the questions we tackled: Why do animals live in the zoo? Why are pandas black and white? Do pandas hibernate? How can we save the pandas? Check out our social media pages for lots of pictures! Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide | Transcript