But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids
But Why is a show led by you, kids! You ask the questions and we find the answers. It鈥檚 a big interesting world out there. On But Why, we tackle topics large and small. From why flamingos stand on one leg to how circuits work to whether it鈥檚 ever okay to lie. No question is off limits, and we let your curiosity guide us!
Featured Episode
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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.
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We take questions from kids all over the world and on any topic you鈥檙e interested in. Grab an adult to help you submit your question (you need to get their permission) and have them grab a recording device (a smartphone with the built in voice recording app works great). Have a question? Submit it here!
Latest Episodes
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Field trip time! Today we鈥檙e learning all about snakes while out on a search for timber rattlesnakes in New York with state wildlife biologist Lisa Pipino. Some of the questions we tackle: How do some snakes make venom? Why are some snakes venomous and others are not? Why do rattlesnakes have a rattle? How do snakes slither on the ground without legs? Why don鈥檛 snakes have legs? Why don鈥檛 snakes have ears? How do they smell with their tongues? Why do some snakes use heat vision? Do snakes sleep? Why do snakes stick out their tongues so much? -
Why do we feel pain when we get hurt? What is pain? Why do we cry when we get hurt? Why do we say ow or ouch? We鈥檙e learning about how pain works with Joshua Pate. He鈥檚 a physical therapist and author of a forthcoming children鈥檚 book series about pain. -
Why do friends care about each other? How do you make friends? Can you have more than one best friend? How do you deal with a bully? We answer questions about friends and bullies with Dr. Friendtastic (also known as Eileen Kennedy-Moore), a psychologist and author of Growing Friendships: A Kids鈥� Guide to Making and Keeping Friends. And we get lots of advice from kids themselves about how to make friends and deal with bullies. -
How are crickets so loud? Why do they chirp at night? How are they different from grasshoppers? We鈥檙e talking crickets today with Karim Vahed, a cricket and katydid expert and entomologist (bug scientist) at the University of Derby in the United Kingdom. Professor Vahed also takes on some of your pressing insect questions: Do insects have bones? What do baby bugs like to do? Do insects drink water? Why are bugs so important? -
That鈥檚 just one of the questions we answer in this week鈥檚 episode, which also includes instructions on how to easily make your own ice cream at home! We鈥檒l also tackle the why and how of melting ice cream and why some flavors tend to melt faster than others! Our expert in this episode is ice cream entrepreneur Rabia Kamara, of Ruby Scoops in Richmond, Virginia. It's going to be sweet! -
The Washington Mystics of the WNBA join us in this episode to answer all of your questions about the sport of basketball and what it鈥檚 like to be a professional athlete. How many basketballs does the team have? Who invented basketball? Why do people think sports are just for boys? Do you get hated on for being a girl in professional sports? How do injuries impact professional careers? And do you have to be tall to play hoops? -
For the past 50 years, visitors to the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C. have been able to observe giant pandas. It鈥檚 one of the few places in the United States to see these black and white bears. For our latest episode we took a field trip to the zoo to visit the three pandas currently living there and answer panda questions with zookeeper Mariel Lally. We tackle: Why do animals live in the zoo? Why are pandas black and white? Do pandas hibernate? How can we save the pandas? And check out our social media pages for lots of pictures! -
When there's mass violence in the news, especially when it involves children, it can be really hard to know how to speak to your kids about what is going on. In this special episode FOR ADULTS, we talk with a child psychologist about some recommended ways to approach these conversations. We first released this episode in 2016, and are heartbroken and angry that it remains so relevant. -
What is climate change? What is causing climate change? How do you cool down the earth? How is climate change affecting the oceans? Kids are hearing about climate change and they have lots of questions. In this episode we explain the science of climate change and look at how humans will adapt to a rapidly warming planet. We speak with Dr. Claudia Benitez-Nelson, oceanographer at the University of South Carolina and Dr. Jola Ajibade, a geographer at Portland State University. This certainly isn鈥檛 a comprehensive look at the issue, but it鈥檚 a good way to start a conversation about this issue for families and teachers. -
Why do flowers bloom? How do flowers grow? Why are flowers different colors? Why do people find flowers beautiful? How are seeds made? Why do plants grow from seeds? Why do we put seeds in the garden? We鈥檙e answering your questions about seeds and flowers with garden writer Charlie Nardozzi and Hannes Dempewolf from The Crop Trust. Find more answers to plant questions in two of our older episodes: How Do Big Plants Grow From Such Small Seeds? and Are Seeds Alive?
But Why is a project of 开云体育.
