Brains On! Science podcast for kids

Stickers are everywhere. They label our groceries, cover our car bumpers, and decorate our notebooks. But how do they stick? We’ll zoom in on a sticker to see how a special glue helps a sticker cling to a surface. Plus, we’ll hear about stickers that can help people heal from surgeries. We’ll also find out what kind of stickers Bob collects, and guess a new Mystery Sound.

Guest: Phillip Messersmith, professor ...

There’s more to sloths than slowness. They’re great at saving energy, hanging upside down, and swimming! In this episode, Sloth Appreciation Society founder Lucy Cooke stops by to tell us all about these amazing animals. We also get into a sloth mystery: The Case of the Perilous Poop Journey. Luckily, there’s a sloth sleuth on the case. And sloths aren’t the only animals who aren’t in a hurry — a...

Have you ever heard of Lake Natron? It’s located in Tanzania, Africa, and, if you believe the internet, it can instantly petrify anything that touches it. Lucky for us, we have a direct line to the Hoax Hunters (aka Sanden and Marc) - they love myths, and they hate getting tricked.

Along the way to saying yea or nay to this stoney phenomenon, the Hoax Hunters speak with Neovitus Sianga. Not only does he have firsthand knowled...

Skunks can stink, no doubt about it. But that stink is actually a superpower! Join Molly and co-host Diya as they find out how these critters use their smell to scare away enemies, what the smell is made of, and how to make your own de-skunking potion. Plus, Wombat Pete drops by to promote his new music festival, we speak to some skunk experts, and we try our best to guess a new Mystery Sound.

Don't forget the de-skunking potion mn...

 We're on a little winter break and we're gonna be back with a new Brains On episode next week. This week we have an episode of our Sister show forever ago to share with you. If you're interested in origin stories or history, this is the show for you. You can subscribe wherever you listen to Brains On.

Get ready for an out-of-this-world episode! Joy and co-host Elsa are trapped in a black hole with a baby elephant and a mountain of...

 We're on a little winter break here, but we're gonna be back with a new episode of Brains On January 6th. Until then, we have an episode of our sister podcast, smash Boom. Best to share with you the episode. Features some familiar voices. Me, mark, and Sandon, enjoy the show!

Whether you like your wheels big or small, this debate is for you! It’s Monster Trucks vs Hot Wheels. It’s a battle between Brains On besties Mar...

The Brains On crew is hitting the road in 2026, and our first shows have just been announced. If you like fun, games, dancing, optical illusions and... Mystery Sounds, check out Your Brain is Magic.

Head to brainson.org/events to get tickets for the following shows:

1/17 Newark, NJ Victoria Theater

1/18 Red Bank, NJ The Vogel

1/23 San Diego, CA The Observitory

1/24 Aneheim, CA House of Blues

2/21 Vancouver, BC Playhouse Theater (JF...

In our final look at metal, we explore how metal wires changed the world. Once humans figured out how to send little blasts of electricity through metal, we quickly developed lots of uses for this. One was a new way of communicating called the telegraph. Join Molly and co-host Ava as they team up with Dylan Thuras, co-founder of Atlas Obscura to learn how people laid hundreds of miles of wire in hopes of sending messages across oce...

Humans have been fascinated by metal for thousands of years. But it took us a long time to master making things with metal. In this episode we go back in time to learn how Japanese swords were forged, how swings were used to make thin metal wires and why steel cables saved so many lives. Molly and co-host Ava are joined by Dylan Thuras, co-founder of Atlas Obscura for part two of this deep dive on all things metal. Plus, Marc meets...

Metal is amazing. It can be super strong like a steel beam. Or super flexible, like a copper wire. Humans have been obsessed with metals of all kinds for a very long time. This is part one a three-part look at how humans have used metal throughout history. Molly and co-host Ava are joined by Dylan Thuras, co-founder of Atlas Obscura, to look at how Earth got metal in the first place, how humans first found and used this stuff, and ...

Most of us take listening to music or podcasts for granted. You can find them on your phone, in the car or just about anywhere you can imagine. But, have you ever wondered how those sounds were captured in the first place? To find out, Molly and Co-host Canyon shrink down and follow a sound waves as it is recorded and stored. They meet a robot who really loves to eat old school media, like cassettes and CDs. And they learn how spea...

We treat dogs like they're part of the family. But do they know they are a different species, or do they think they're just short, four-legged people?

In this episode, canine cognition researcher Alexandra Horowitz helps us puzzle out this question. We’ll also find out what happens (or doesn’t) when a dog looks in the mirror. Dogs are always dozing, and we’ll check in to see if they are dr...

Today’s episode is full of Mystery Sounds from around the world. Molly and co-host Rehema are joined by sonic explorer Thomas Rex Beverly, who travels the globe to capture the sounds of the natural world. He brings us some beautiful head-scratchers that really must be heard to be believed. Plus, we turn the tables on Thomas and ask him to guess some sounds you sent in.

Put on your detective hat, break out the magnifying glass...

Octopus, more like ROCK-topus! Because these creatures bring the excitement. They can shape shift to match their surroundings. They have three hearts and teeth on their tongues! And they are super smart. Join fill-in host Rosie duPont and co-host Izumi as they explore the world of their eight-armed wonders. They’re joined by Dr. Jennifer Mathers, a biologist and psychologist who studies octopus cognition, and Ophelia, who is ...

You may have noticed that electric cars sound different from gas powered cars. The engine doesn’t rumble; instead, it might sound like a hum or even a song. Why is that? Ride along as we learn how electric cars work and why there is so much shush in their woosh. Plus, Molly and co-host Asher interview Jay Kapadia, a sound designer who programs the special noises of electric cars for General Motors. And speaking of special noi...

Fidget toys are everywhere. There are ones you can squeeze, or click, or spin. Others are puzzles or have cool textures to touch. Some classrooms even have fidget toys for students, but do they help kids concentrate or are they just a distraction? Molly and co-host Penelope team up with an unconventional band to learn why we fidget in the first place.

Plus, neuroscientist Dr. Julie Schweitzer, from the UC Davis MIND Institut...

We’re back! We’ve officially moved into our new headquarters! Come unpack with us and get a tour while we fill you in on some big news. Plus, new episodes of Brains On coming later this month and new Smash Boom and Forever Ago after that. If you want to support the show or drop us a line, head to brainson.org. The best way to keep us going is to join Smarty Pass or donate here: https://brainson.supercast.com. Thank you!

See omnystud...

We're moving the Brains On Universe Headquarters, and that means we have to stop putting out new episodes until we get settled. We know: not cool. But, our new home is going to be bigger and better and the absolute BEST. We can't wait until it's ready for you to visit.

In the meantime, we still have some live shows planned this fall. Brains On Live will be in Dallas, TX on September 13. And Smash Boom Best will bring the debate ...

Brains On is a non-profit public radio program. There are lots of ways to support the show:

Support the podcast with donation | Subscribe to Smarty Pass for ad-free episodes and bonus content | Buy our book and merch | Come to our live shows | Get the newsletter for parents | Find teacher resources

Living in space would be super cool. You could float around with no gravity and see the Earth from really, really far away. B...