Who invented tacos?
March 21, 2025
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 […]
What are taxes and tariffs?
March 7, 2025
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 […]
Are tapeworms sticky?
February 21, 2025
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 […]
Why do trains run on tracks?
February 7, 2025
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 […]
How do you whistle?
January 24, 2025
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 […]
Are wild cats afraid of water?
January 10, 2025
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 […]
What would your superpower be?
December 27, 2024
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 […]
Who decides what robots look like?
December 13, 2024
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 […]
Why can’t animals talk to us?
November 29, 2024
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 […]
How does food turn into poop?
November 15, 2024
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 […]