Podcasts · Kids & Family · Science

But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids

Vermont Public

299 episodes

But Why is a show led by kids. They ask the questions and we find the answers. It’s a big interesting world out there. On But Why, we tackle topics large and small, about nature, words, even the end of the world. Know a kid with a question? Record it with a smartphone. Be sure to include your kid's first name, age, and town and send the recording to questions@butwhykids.org!

Episodes page 1 of 6

  1. Why are there Bigfoot-like creatures all over the world?

    · 40 min · Episode 302

    Have you heard of legendary creatures like Bigfoot, Yeti or the Loch Ness Monster? Maybe you’re on the lookout for them. Maybe you’re scared of them. Maybe you don’t believe in them at all! These creatures are…

  2. Why do we get growing pains?

    · 30 min · Episode 301

    As kids, you are constantly growing. You may not be able to feel yourself growing day to day, but if you’ve ever had achy legs at the end of a long day and been told, “Those are just growing pains,” it certainly SEEMS…

  3. 300th Episode: What’s your favorite?

    · 36 min · Episode 300

    This is But Why’s 300th episode! It’s safe to say we’ve answered several thousand questions from kids all over the world. We asked our listeners to tell us about their favorite episodes and today we’re hearing from all…

  4. Why does my voice sound weird when it’s recorded?

    · 26 min · Episode 299

    How does our body make our voice? How do voice boxes work? What makes our voices so different? Why are boys' voices often lower than girls' voices? Why does your voice sound different when you are sick? Why does your…

  5. What are fossils?

    · 31 min · Episode 298

    What is a fossil? How are they formed? Where are they found? What’s the oldest fossil, and what’s the biggest? When you think of a fossil you might be picturing a full dino skeleton preserved at a museum. But fossils…

  6. Where do constellations come from?

    · 48 min · Episode 297

    How are constellations formed? How many stars are there? What are stars made of? Why are there stars in the sky? Why are stars white? Why are some stars red? Why do stars twinkle? Why do we only see the stars at night?…

  7. Why does space have so many planets?

    · 46 min · Episode 296

    Join us on a tour of our solar system with John O’Meara, chief scientist at the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii. We’ll answer all of your questions about planets! How were the planets in our solar system made? Why are…

  8. Do animals play?

    · 34 min · Episode 295

    Have you ever seen your dog play with another dog? Have you seen squirrels chasing each other in the woods? Are they playing or are they doing something else? We look at the behavior of animals with Marco Wendt,…

  9. When was the first World Cup?

    · 28 min · Episode 294

    Right now, the 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup is happening across 16 cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico and it’s time to learn a little bit about soccer…or should we say football? That’s one conundrum we’ll be…

  10. How are video games made?

    · 27 min · Episode 293

    How are video games made? Who invented the concept? Why do games have levels? Who invented them? Why are game consoles so expensive? Why do people like playing these games so much and do they turn your brain to mush?…

  11. What is ADHD?

    · 27 min · Episode 292

    What is ADHD? How does ADHD affect the brain? Why do only some people have it? How can we control our brains? An estimated 11 percent of U.S. kids are diagnosed with the neurological condition known as ADHD, so you may…

  12. What are eels?

    · 23 min · Episode 291

    What are eels? And why are some eels electric? We head to Poughkeepsie, New York to learn about eels with Chris Bowser, Hudson River estuary educator with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. Plus we…

  13. Why does green mean go and red mean stop?

    · 36 min · Episode 290

    Why is there traffic? How do traffic lights work? How do they know when to turn red and green? Why does green mean go and red mean stop? Why are cars able to go faster than they are allowed to go with the speed limit?…

  14. Are Komodo dragons really dragons?

    · 21 min · Episode 289

    Can’t get enough of lizards? We’re back with a bonus episode answering more of your lizard questions with Adam Clause of the San Diego Natural History Museum. This week, chameleons, Komodo dragons, iguanas, monitor…

  15. How do lizards grow their tails back?

    · 35 min · Episode 288

    Deep in the basement of the San Diego Natural History Museum, there are thousands of jars filled with preserved reptiles and amphibians. In this episode, But Why takes a tour with collections manager Adam Clause to…

  16. But Why turns 10!

    · 23 min · Episode 287

    But Why turns ten years old on April 1, 2026! To celebrate this milestone, we’re listening back to our very first episode. We’ve got owls and turtles and bears. Naturalist Mary Holland gets into the details about…

  17. What's it like to be a Kid Governor?

    · 27 min

    In the United States, voters in each state elect a governor every two or four year terms. The governor is the top official in the state government. But did you know five U.S. states also elect a Kid Governor? It’s a…

  18. How do we know life is not a dream?

    · 32 min

    Some questions are so big they’re existential, meaning that they get right to the heart of human existence. These are also sometimes called philosophical questions, so for this episode we called up a professor of…

  19. How did bird dinosaurs survive the meteor?

    · 30 min · Episode 284

    Why did the dinosaurs go extinct? Many of you have learned about the meteorite that scientists say hit the earth 66 million years ago and killed off many dinosaur species. But some dinosaurs survived, and the birds you…

  20. Why are brothers and sisters so annoying?

    · 19 min · Episode 283

    Why are brothers and sisters so annoying? Why do siblings often look a lot alike? Why do siblings fight? Can your sister be your best friend? Why do we fight with our siblings even if we love them? But Why takes a look…

  21. Do bunnies come out at night?

    · 25 min · Episode 282

    Why are rabbits called bunnies? Why do they have fur? Why do bunnies have puffball tails? Why do rabbits have eyes on the sides of their heads? Why do rabbits hop? Our guest is Margo DeMello, professor of anthrozoology…

  22. Why can’t we remember being babies?

    · 31 min · Episode 281

    How does memory work? Why can’t we remember things that happened when we were babies? Why do we forget? Why are some people forgetful? Why do elephants have such good memories. What’s this episode about? I forgot! Oh…

  23. What’s on your bucket list?

    · 17 min · Episode 280

    Have you ever heard of a bucket list? That’s an expression people sometimes use that means something big you want to do or see or accomplish in your lifetime! For our last episode every year, we like to turn things…

  24. Why do goats sound like humans? A Cozy Critters Collaboration

    · 8:37 · Episode 279

    Have you ever heard a fox scream at night and thought it was a human? And why, when goats bleat, do they sometimes sound like human babies? Animals can sometimes make similar noises but not because they’re feeling the…

  25. How do oysters make their shells?

    · 27 min · Episode 278

    On a rainy, windy day, But Why hopped on a ferry and headed to Governors Island in New York City with one thing on our minds - oysters! We met up with Mike McCann of the Billion Oyster Project to learn more about these…

  26. What’s an oboe? How does a flute work? What’s a viola?

    · 56 min · Episode 277

    How do musical instruments make their sounds? Why do people play music in the first place? What’s a viola bow made out of? How are musical instruments made? How much do professional musicians practice? Three musicians…

  27. How big is a Macy's parade balloon?

    · 36 min · Episode 276

    The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is an American tradition. It’s been going since 1924. This year marks the 99th parade (it took three years off during World War II). It’s famous for elaborate floats and huge…

  28. Why are there so many colors?

    · 26 min · Episode 275

    What’s your favorite color? Where do colors come from?Why do people see colors? Does everyone see colors the same way? How many colors are there in the world? We learn about colors with Kassia St. Clair, the author of…

  29. How is candy made?

    · 20 min · Episode 274

    Who invented candy? Why is it so sweet? Why does hard candy melt in your mouth? How are candy corn, gummies and nerds made? What makes pop rocks pop? We talk with traditional candy makers at Sticky in California and…

  30. Why do horses sleep standing up?

    · 31 min · Episode 273

    Why are horses so big? Why do horses have tails and manes? How do their legs move? Are their bones in their hooves? What do they eat and how do they run and jump? We tackle those questions and more in this episode all…

  31. When did volcanoes start existing?

    · 26 min

    Volcanoes have been erupting on Earth for BILLIONS of years, and they’re still creating new landscapes today! Volcanoes can seem mysterious and scary, but people all over the world have learned to live in close…

  32. How are glaciers formed?

    · 27 min · Episode 271

    But Why went somewhere really cool - literally - and we’re taking you along! We visited Sólheimajökull, a glacier in southern Iceland and then talked with University of Iceland glaciologist Guðfinna Aðalgeirsdóttir to…

  33. How does wildfire smoke travel so far?

    · 14 min · Episode 270

    Have you noticed especially hazy skies where you live over the last few summers? While many parts of the world are experiencing more frequent and intense wildfires, even places that are nowhere near the fires are being…

  34. Why are puffins' beaks so colorful?

    · 40 min · Episode 269

    Have you ever seen a puffin? With their bright beaks, orange feet and black and white coloring, these birds are very cool to look at. And we’ve gotten a lot of questions about them! In this episode, we talk with Don…

  35. Who invented the English language?

    · 35 min · Episode 268

    Where did the English language come from? Why do words have silent letters? Why do some people have accents? Why do some words sound similar? Answers to all of your questions about English and words with sociolinguist…

  36. Chameleons, jellyfish and ballerinas! Check out But Why Bites

    · 14 min · Episode 267

    For today’s episode, we’re doing something a little different! We’re going to be listening to our video series, But Why Bites! (Even without the video part, they’re really cool!) Every other week over on our YouTube…

  37. Who created math problems?

    · 29 min · Episode 266

    Who created math problems? Why does one plus one equal 2 and not 11? Why do numbers go on forever? Why are numbers for counting? Why do you need math? If you love math, this is the episode for you. And if you hate…

  38. Why do some people like spicy food?

    · 28 min · Episode 265

    Ever wondered why some spices burn your throat while others tickle your nose? Or why some of us live for spicy foods while others sweat at the mere thought of a habanero? How do pickles stay crunchy if they’re sitting…

  39. Why do we need to use sunscreen?

    · 22 min · Episode 264

    It’s summer and that means slathering yourself with sunblock before you’re allowed to go run around outside. Not everyone loves that ritual: sunscreen can be cold or sticky. Sometimes it gets in your eyes, and it…

  40. Are horseshoe crabs…crabs?

    · 34 min · Episode 263

    How did horseshoe crabs get their names? Are they even crabs? And did they really exist before the dinosaurs? Early spring presents a unique opportunity to see these living fossils up close as they scuttle up to the…

  41. Who invented emoji?

    · 21 min · Episode 262

    Emoji are those little images you can send in text messages to friends and family. Nine-year-old Leila in New Jersey wants to know how they were invented. So in this episode we find out with Jane Solomon, editor at…

  42. Why do walruses look so weird?

    · 11 min · Episode 261

    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,…

  43. What’s a seal? What’s a sea lion?

    · 29 min · Episode 260

    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,…

  44. Do atoms never touch?

    · 29 min · Episode 259

    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…

  45. How are records made?

    · 24 min · Episode 258

    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…

  46. Who invented tacos?

    · 26 min · Episode 257

    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…

  47. What are taxes and tariffs?

    · 33 min · Episode 256

    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…

  48. Are tapeworms sticky?

    · 34 min · Episode 255

    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…

  49. Why do trains run on tracks?

    · 21 min · Episode 254

    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…

  50. How do you whistle?

    · 28 min · Episode 253

    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…

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