Episode Transcript
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Jane (00:20):
This is But Why
Public. I'm Jane Lindholm. Onthis show, we take questions
from curious kids all over theworld and we find answers. Well,
that's usually what we do. Hereat But Why, we have a tradition
for the last episode of theyear. Instead of having you send
us the questions. We send you aquestion, and have you send us
(00:45):
answers. The But Why team joinedme here in the host chair to
listen to all of yoursubmissions. I mean,
technically, we don't all sharethe host chair. We all sit in
separate chairs, but you knowwhat I mean. So here with me in
the studio today is Melody.
Melody (00:58):
Hey!
Jane (00:59):
And Sarah, who joined our
team earlier this year.
Sarah (01:01):
Hey, everyone!
Melody (01:03):
In previous years, we've
asked you about what you would
like to invent, what kind ofsuperhero you would be, and what
your New Year's resolutionswere. This year, we asked a
question that's kind of like aNew Year's resolution, but
bigger instead of something youwant to accomplish in the coming
year, we asked you to share yourdreams for your whole life!
Jane (01:19):
Sometimes people refer to
these big dreams as their bucket
list, the things they reallyhope to do in their lifetime.
Sometimes these big dreams arelike true dreams, kind of
fantasies that might not everhappen, but you want to be able
to imagine this cool, fantasticidea, because it's fun, like,
maybe you'd say, I hope to winthe lottery. I mean, you can't
(01:41):
really control that.
Sarah (01:42):
But more often, these
bucket lists have things that
you might actually be able to door see or eat or feel. When I
was little, my dream was to gosee koalas and kangaroos in
Australia. I still haven't beento Australia, so that's still a
bucket list item for me.
Melody (01:58):
Ooh, that's a good one.
I kind of want to go there too.
But I think my bucket list itemwould be to finish hiking the
Long Trail, which is a longdistance hiking trail in
Vermont. I started it a coupledecades ago, and I still haven't
finished it yet. It's not thatlong!
Jane (02:13):
One goal I'm working
towards is running another half
marathon. I did one a coupleyears ago, but I've had some
foot injuries, and I'm slowlygetting back into running, so
it's going to take a lot of workto get back up to that distance,
13.1 miles. So that's on mybucket list.
Sarah (02:28):
Go, Jane! Well, let's get
into the answers you've sent us
about what you want to do inyour lives. Jane, you just
mentioned an athletic goal, veryimpressive. And Hannah has a
physical goal too.
Hannah (02:41):
I'm 10 years old. I live
in Washington, DC, and something
that's on my bucket list isclimbing a V 10.
Melody (02:46):
Wow, I'm not a rock
climber, so I had to look up
what a V 10 is.
Sarah (02:50):
And what is it?
Melody (02:51):
A V system is a
difficulty scale, to give you an
idea of how hard it's going tobe to climb a route, either
indoors or outdoors. A V systemis for bouldering, where you're
trying to climb a big boulder,usually without a rope. A V 10
is a really hard level that alot of climbers never reach.
Jane (03:06):
Wow. I hope Hannah can
reach it. That's a really good
goal. Here's another big,physical goal.
Jack (03:12):
My name is Jack. I am
eight years old. I live in
Cincinnati, Ohio, and on mybucket list, I want to finish
the Thanksgiving 10K.
Jane (03:23):
A, 10k is a great dream
Jack! That's running 10
kilometers. Or if you live in aplace that tends to measure in
miles, it's a little over sixmiles.
Sarah (03:32):
I don't do a lot of
running myself, but I do love to
travel, so I was really excitedto see some of the bucket list
items you've sent us about coolplaces you want to visit. Here's
a couple.
Mattise (03:42):
Hi, my name is Matisse,
and I'm six years old. I live in
Lemon Grove, California. On mybucket list I want to go to
Disney World and see all of theparks.
Henley (03:54):
Hi, my name is Henley.
I'm seven years old. I live in
Chicago Ridge, Illinois. What'son my bucket list is I want to
go to Disney World or Disneylandin California or Florida, which
ever one is fine with me,because they're both like the
same thing.
Emerson (04:09):
My name is Emerson, and
I am nine years old, and I live
in Chicago Ridge, Illinois.Something that I would like to
do on my bucket list is go toIreland.
Charlie (04:20):
My name is Charlie. I'm
nine years old, and I'm from Old
Bridge, New Jersey. Some thingson my bucket list are that I
want to go to Greenland, Russiaand every state in America. I
also want to hike up tall SnowyMountains in Colorado.
Melody (04:35):
Those are really cool,
Charlie. I want to climb some
tall mountains too. Lots of yousent us things that you want to
become when you grow up.
Isabella (04:43):
My name is Isabella.
I'm six years old, and I live in
Germany. My biggest dream is tobe a singer when I grow up.
Florence (04:55):
Hi, I'm Florence. I
live on the Central Coast, New
South Wales. I'm 10 years old.On my bucket list is to be a
special effects makeup artistand do makeup in movie scenes.
Sarah (05:05):
Those makeup artists are
amazing. They can make young
people look older, or makesomeone look like a zombie or an
alien. They do all kinds of coolthings. We'll keep our eyes on
the movie credits for your name,Florence.
Jane (05:18):
Remember at the beginning
when I said we sometimes include
things on our bucket lists thatare maybe not all that likely to
actually happen. Well, Julian'sgot one of those.
Julian (05:28):
I'm four year old. I
live in Germany. My biggest
dream is to drive a race carover a rainbow.
Henry (05:36):
My name is Henry, five
years old. I live in Wheeler,
Massachusetts. I want to fly tothe sun in the Magic School Bus.
Jane (05:46):
Going anywhere on the
magic school bus would be
amazing, Henry. But going to thesun, which is 15 million degrees
Celsius, or 27 million degreeson the Fahrenheit scale, would
be even cooler, or, I guess,hotter. A few others of you are
hoping to go to space too.
Charlie (06:03):
Hi, But Why! My name is
Charlie, and I'm six years old.
I live from Independence,Missouri. My bucket list item is
to go to outer space someday.
William (06:15):
Hi, my name is William.
I live in East Brunswick, New
Jersey. I'm 10 years old. Andsomething that would be on my
bucket list is to go to space.
Lucia (06:24):
I am Lucia. I am five
years old, and I live in
California, and my bucket listis I want to go up to Pluto.
Melody (06:35):
I don't have a space
travel dream for myself, but
earlier this year, my family andI did go on a trip to Costa
Rica, much like Sebastian dreamsabout.
Sebastian (06:43):
I'm nine years old.
I'm from British Columbia,
Canada, and my bucket list tripis to help the sloths in Costa
Rica.
Tadhg (06:50):
My name is Tadhg. I am
six and a half years old, and I
Eleanor (06:50):
Hi, my name is Eleanor.
I am nine years old, and I live
live in Mayo, Ireland, and mybucket list is gorilla watching.
;
in Mayo Ireland, and my bucketlist is to swim in the Great
Barrier Reef in Australia.
Reese (07:10):
My name is Reese. I live
in Germany, and all I want on my
bucket list is a hotel, a pooland a beach.
Remy (07:21):
I'm Remy. I'm four years
old. I live in Puerto Rico, and
my big dream is going toGermany.
Melody (07:31):
So Reese lives in
Germany and wants to be able to
float in a beach side pool. AndRemy lives in Puerto Rico and
wants to go to Germany. Thereare a lot of beaches in Puerto
Rico. Maybe Reese and Remy coulddo a swap for their vacation
someday.
Sarah (07:43):
That'd be so fun. Melody,
Jane, do you consider yourselves
foodies, people who are reallyinto food trends and restaurants
and cooking?
Melody (07:53):
Oh, yeah, definitely.
What about you, Jane?
Jane (07:55):
I used to be now I just
try to get food into my family's
belly. But I really, really lovegood food.
Sarah (08:01):
Me too. I love good food
and trying new recipes. Maybe
someday I'll get to try the foodof some of our young listeners.
Mary (08:09):
Hi, my name's Mary, and I
live in Malvern, New York. I'm
five years old, and I wouldreally like to be a cooker,
because it can help people'sbodies and it's strong for them.
Sometimes. My mom makes mehealthy food and vegetables.
Agot (08:26):
My name is Agot. I'm six
and a half years old. I live in
Norway. On my bucket list, Iwant to be rich, working as a
chef and traveling along theworld.
Jane (08:41):
Being a rich traveling
chef would be a pretty cool
life. We're hearing all of yourbig dreams, the things that are
on your bucket list. Today, it'sour special end of year episode
where we ask you a question andyou send us the answers. More to
come, including some reallyfantastic careers you hope to
have.
This is But Why. I'm JaneLindholm and today Melody, Sarah
(09:05):
and I are listening through allof the responses you sent us for
our last episode of 2025.
Melody (09:11):
We asked you to tell us
one thing you hope to accomplish
doesn't have to be right now,but something you want to do at
some point in your life. Pennyhas one to check off their
bucket list right away.
Penny (09:21):
Hi, my name is Penny. I
live in Biloxi, Mississippi. I'm
12 years old. My bucket list fornext year is that I want to get
as many stickers as possible forschool, and I want to make my
own little rubber band braceletbusiness.
Sarah (09:36):
Penny, you're an
entrepreneur, someone willing to
go out on a limb to start a newbusiness. Good luck to you,
Penny! Nova also has a shortterm goal.
Nova (09:45):
Hi, I'm Nova. I live in
Springfield. My bucket list
would be to stay up all nightbefore I go to college. I'm six.
Jane (10:01):
I have no doubt you can
accomplish that one Nova. I can
remember wanting to stay up allnight too. But the funny thing
about getting older is that mostadults would like to never stay
up all night again. Lots of ushave goals related to getting
more sleep, not less.
Melody (10:17):
Ah, to be young. Here
are a few goals that might take
a bit longer to accomplish.
Nico (10:21):
My name is Nico. I'm eight
years old. I live in New
Hartford, Connecticut. On mybucket list is I want to be an
NBA basketball player and be inthe Hall of Fame.
Sophia (10:32):
Hello. My name is
Sophia. I'm seven years old. I
live in Washington, DC. My goalis to be a ninja, and I want to
be as good as the [noises].
Sarah (10:44):
Ooh, that's pretty good.
How about these animal related
dreams?
Louise (10:48):
My name is Louise. I'm
three years old, and I want to
hold a rainbow butterfly.
Nina (10:55):
Hi. I'm Nina. I live with
Silver Spring, Maryland. On my
bucket list, I want to have abunny.
Jane (11:03):
I would love to hold a
rainbow butterfly too. We
actually did an episode aboutbutterflies where I got to go to
a butterfly enclosure, and someof them landed on my headphones
and microphone.
Sarah (11:14):
And we're actually
working on an episode about
bunnies right now.
Sally June (11:17):
Hello. My name is
Sally June. I am seven years
old. I live in Midland, Texas.Something on my bucket list is
to be an archeologist, because Iwant to find dinosaur bones.
Bradlee (11:31):
I'm Bradlee. I'm eight
years old. I live in Germany
Ramstein, and something that Iwant on my bucket list is when I
get older, to be someone whostudies animals.
Lucy (11:42):
Hello. My name is Lucy,
and I live in Fairfax, Virginia.
I'm six years old. On my bucketlist, I want to have babies in
the future and be a mommy justlike my mommy, and have 10
babies.
Logan (12:03):
Hi, my name is Logan. I'm
11 years old, and in nine days
I'll be turning 12. I live inMount Martha, in Victoria,
Australia, and when I grow up, Ihope to be a YouTuber, like a
successful one, and I hope tohave a room that's just for
Lego.
Melody (12:21):
A room just for legos
would be brilliant. Speaking of
legos...
Seva (12:25):
Hi, my name is Seva, and I
live in Mississauga, Ontario,
and I am seven years old. On mybucket list, I want to go to
Mario Land, and I want to go toLegoland, and I want to play
Roblox.
Sarah (12:39):
Here's one that combines
career and travel.
Eleanor (12:42):
My name is Eleanor. I'm
four years old, I'm from
California, and my goal is tobecome a doctor, and I also want
to travel to Hawaii.
Melody (12:54):
You're not the only one
hoping to go to Hawaii, Eleanor,
Levi (12:57):
Hi, I'm Levi. I live in
Maryland. I'm six years old. My
bucket list is two go to Hawaiiand see all the beautiful
nature.
Beau (13:09):
Hello. I'm Beau, and I
live in Ramstein, Germany. And
on my bucket list, I wouldreally want to see a shark in
person and go to Hawaii.
Jane (13:22):
We have a shark episode
too. Beau, you might enjoy that
one. And one of our frequentguests on this show lives in
Hawaii, so maybe he'll let us govisit and stay with him, and
someday we can do some Hawaiiepisodes.
Sarah (13:34):
Let's put that on our but
why bucket list!
Melody (13:36):
Yeah, should we do a few
more of the travel dreams?
Sarah (13:39):
Yeah.
Memo (13:39):
My name is Memo. I am
five. I'm from Oakland,
California, and on my bucketlist is I want to go to Greece.
Tio (13:50):
My name is Tio. I'm six
years old, and live in Hartford,
Connecticut. And my bucket listis I want to go into the Amazon
rainforest and jump off a cliffinto the water.
Lucy (14:06):
My name is Lucy. I live in
Nashville, Tennessee. I'm six
years old. Something on mybucket list is I want to see the
Statue of Liberty.
Harvey (14:18):
My name is Harvey. I'm
from Bristol, Vermont. I am six
years old, and I want to go toNew York City and see the Statue
of Liberty.
Dom (14:27):
My name is Dom, and I want
to go to Japan and eat sushi,
and I want to go to Antarcticato see the penguin. And that's a
part of my bucket list.
Sarah (14:43):
Jane, going to Antarctica
is on your bucket list, isn't
it?
Jane (14:46):
Sure is.
Luckily, you can see penguins inother places too. I've seen them
in Chile and Ecuador andAustralia, but seeing them in
Antarctica would be differentlevel.
Sarah (14:56):
Just a few more to go,
and they're all related to
things you've told us you wantto be able to do in your life.
Here's a fun one.
Maddox (15:03):
My name is Maddox. I
live in Green Bay, Wisconsin,
and I'm seven years old, andwhat's on my bucket list is
being better at origami.
Melody (15:12):
If you're unfamiliar
with origami, it's the Japanese
art of paper folding withoutusing any scissors or glue.
Maddox, send us some pictures ofwhat you're making. We'd love to
see your work.
Emmett (15:21):
My name is Emmett, and
I'm six years old, and what's on
my bucket list is I want tobuild a computer.
Sarah (15:29):
What kind of computer I
wonder? Okay, last one.
Sophie (15:32):
On my bucket list, I
want to do an airplane race in
the sky. And my name is Sophie,and I'm from Waterbury, Vermont,
and I'm four.
Jane (15:42):
That's very adventurous.
Sophie, since we live in
Vermont, we'll keep our eyes onthe sky in hopes of seeing you
win an airplane race someday.Thank you for sharing all of
your big dreams with us for ourend of 2025 special episode, we
are inspired by all of yourgoals, and if you're listening
and didn't send in a bucket listitem, maybe you're inspired by
(16:04):
this list too.
Melody (16:05):
That's it for today.
Remember, you can send us
questions on anything you'recurious about. Have an adult
help you record your questionusing one of the free apps that
come with their cell phone. Tellus your first name, where you
live, and how old you are, andhave your adult send the file to
questions@butwhykids.org
Sarah (16:23):
But Why is produced by
Vermont Public and distributed
by PRX. Our show staff is MelodyBodette, Jane Lindholm and me,
Sarah Baik. Our video produceris Joey Palumbo.
Jane (16:33):
And our theme music was
written and performed by Luke
Reynolds. We'll be back in twoweeks with an all new episode.
Until then, Happy New Year, andas always, stay curious!