Podcasts · Kids & Family

Moment Of Um

Brains On Universe

300 episodes

Moment of Um is your daily answer to those questions that pop up out of nowhere and make you go… ummmmmmm. Brought to you by your friends at Brains On Universe.

More about the show

Sales and Distribution by Lemonada Media https://lemonadamedia.com/

Episodes page 1 of 6

  1. We’re back! Brains On Universe has a new headquarters

    · 8:15

    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…

  2. A big update about Moment of Um and the Brains On Universe

    · 3:41

    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…

  3. How do braces work?

    · 7:04

    They come in cool colors, catch popcorn kernels and sometimes even have spacers - it’s braces! Ever wondered how braces magically straighten teeth? We asked Dr. ArNelle Wright - a real life dentist! - to help us break…

  4. How did the solar system and all the planets get their names?

    · 5:41

    The Milky Way! Neptune! Uranus! Halley’s Comet! There are so many cool features in our solar system – but how did they get their names? We asked space scientist and communicator Maggie Aderin-Pocock to help us find the…

  5. How do stoplights know when to change?

    · 6:09

    Waiting for a stoplight to turn green can be really annoying, especially when you’re running late. It would be awesome if you had a magic wand you could wave to get the light to change. But alas, such things don’t…

  6. Can you control your dreams?

    · 6:09

    Have you ever had a scary or weird dream and wished you could switch your brain-television to another channel? Great news! You can learn to use “lucid dreaming,” a technique that helps you realize when you’re in a…

  7. How did people figure out how to make yogurt?

    · 7:42

    There are all different kinds of yogurt: Greek, vanilla bean, blueberry, even sheep’s milk yogurt! But how did people first figure out how to make this yummy food? We asked journalist Allison Conroe to help us find the…

  8. Why did snakes lose their legs?

    · 4:58

    Happy Snake Week! Every episode this week explores a different question about our slithery friends. Here’s a mind blower for you: did you know the ancestors of snakes used to have legs? Somewhere along the zigzag path…

  9. How do snakes make venom?

    · 4:53

    Happy Snake Week! Every episode this week explores a different question about our slithery friends. Did you know that, out of the roughly 3,000 total species of snakes, only about 10-15% are venomous? But how do those…

  10. Why are snakes shaped like a stick?

    · 5:32

    Happy Snake Week! Every episode this week explores a different question about our slithery friends. Snakes come in all sizes and colors, but they have one thing in common: no arms or legs! In fact, one might argue they…

  11. What do zoos feed big snakes, such as pythons?

    · 4:50

    Happy Snake Week! Every episode this week explores a different question about our slithery friends. Zoos have to have all kinds of foods available to feed the different species that they care for. Animals like…

  12. What do snakes do when they hibernate?

    · 5:41

    Happy Snake Week! Every episode this week explores a different question about our slithery friends. Did you know snakes hibernate in the winter just like bears, chipmunks and geckos? But what do they do while they’re…

  13. Why am I allergic to raw egg but not cooked egg?

    · 7:12

    Some people have allergic reactions to foods like peanuts, sesame, and raw eggs. But when people with egg allergies eat cooked eggs, there’s no reaction. What’s up with that? We asked pediatrician Liz Placzek to help…

  14. How do mood rings work?

    · 7:28

    Have you ever heard of a mood ring? It’s a little piece of jewelry that supposedly tells you what kind of a mood you’re in. But how the heck can it know? We asked scientist Edwin Thomas to help us find the answer. Got…

  15. Why do we have weird dreams when we’re sick?

    · 6:41

    When you’re sick, it’s important to get plenty of rest to help your body heal. But it can be hard to sleep when your brain keeps showing you bizarre fever dreams (Like being chased by a giant fireball! Or swimming in…

  16. Are brains really pink?

    · 5:46

    Quick, picture a brain! Did you imagine a rosy-colored little meatball? Us too! But are brains actually pink when they’re inside our skulls? We asked brain expert Gwenaëlle Thomas to help us find the answer. Got a…

  17. Where do poop and pee go on airplanes?

    · 5:48

    Dogs come in so many different sizes, from the tiniest teacup terrier to the giant Great Dane. How did we get such a delightful assortment of these furry best buddies? We asked Brains On producer and archaeologist Anna…

  18. Could you make a candle out of earwax?

    · 7:30

    Dogs come in so many different sizes, from the tiniest teacup terrier to the giant Great Dane. How did we get such a delightful assortment of these furry best buddies? We asked Brains On producer and archaeologist Anna…

  19. Does space affect an astronaut’s digestion?

    · 4:53

    We chew our food, swallow it, and our stomach goes to work on digesting! Our bodies absorb the nutrients they need and then we poop out the rest. Here on Earth, the whole process takes somewhere between one to three…

  20. Why are some dogs so small and some so large?

    · 7:07

    Dogs come in so many different sizes, from the tiniest teacup terrier to the giant Great Dane. How did we get such a delightful assortment of these furry best buddies? We asked Brains On producer and archaeologist Anna…

  21. How does the earth support heavy buildings?

    · 4:35

    Did you know the tallest building in the world is a skyscraper in Dubai called the Burj Khalifa? It has 163 floors and weighs as much as 100,000 elephants! But how can the Earth even support such a huge building?! Why…

  22. Why is the moon white and why does it have different shapes?

    · 7:16

    Some planets have lots of moons. Others have none. Earth has just one moon, but it’s a really great one. It can glow bright and white and sometimes it’s shaped like a big round ball. Other times it’s skinny like the…

  23. Did dinosaurs fart?

    · 8:50

    You fart. I fart. Your dog farts. We all fart! Or do we…? Birds don’t fart, and they’re the closest living descendants of the dinosaurs. So, did dinosaurs fart? We asked paleontologist Kallie Moore to help us find the…

  24. What was the very first dinosaur?

    · 7:41

    Dinosaurs went extinct around 65 million years ago after an asteroid crashed into Earth. So we know when dinosaurs disappeared from the planet, but when did they appear? What was the first dinosaur, and how long ago…

  25. How do we know what dinosaurs sounded like?

    · 5:49

    Happy Dinosaur Week! Every episode this week explores the ancient marvels that walked the Earth millions of years ago. Fossilized bones and footprints help scientists figure out what these prehistoric creatures looked…

  26. How did Megalodon sharks go extinct?

    · 8:34

    Megalodon was the biggest shark species that ever lived. The biggest ones were almost 60 feet long, which is longer than a school bus! These gigantic sharks went extinct millions of years ago, but why? We asked…

  27. Did dinosaurs lay colorful eggs?

    · 6:58

    Dinosaurs were reptiles, which means they laid eggs! But what did these eggs look like? Were they big? Small? Speckly? Colorful? We asked paleontologist Kallie Moore to help us find the answer. Got a question you just…

  28. How does an immortal jellyfish go back to being a baby?

    · 7:26

    Way out in the deep blue sea, there is a remarkable creature called the immortal jellyfish. This buoyant little blob can deal with being hurt or stressed by going from its adult form back to a baby!! Then it grows up…

  29. Why can you hear the ocean in a seashell?

    · 4:10

    The sounds of the ocean are so relaxing… the waves crashing on the sand, the gentle roar of the surf. And if you pick up a big seashell and put it to your ear, you can almost hear the ocean there too! One of our…

  30. Why are we more closely related to fungi than plants?

    · 6:59

    All living things on Earth are related. To help keep track of how close those relationships are, scientists organize life on Earth into groups using a system called taxonomy. Sometimes, taxonomy can be surprising –…

  31. Would a poisonous snake die if it bit itself?

    · 4:35

    We all know that bites from poisonous snakes can be really dangerous, but can a poisonous snake poison itself? We asked snake expert Lawrie Arends to give us the factssssssssss. If you’ve got a Moment of Um question…

  32. What are birthmarks?

    · 5:35

    Our skin is pretty incredible. It protects us and helps us sense the world around us. Some people have colored patches or dots on their skin called birthmarks. We wanted to know what birthmarks actually are, so we…

  33. What makes dolphins so smart?

    · 5:57

    Dolphins are super cool sea creatures that can swim fast, jump high, and make all kinds of nifty noises. But did you know that they also have big complicated brains like humans do? How did they get those big brains,…

  34. Do we sneeze in our sleep?

    · 4:43

    Being asleep is kind of a funny thing, because you don’t know if you’re doing anything in your sleep – because you’re asleep! Some people talk in their sleep, others get out of bed and walk around… but do we ever…

  35. Do lizards smell with their tongues?

    · 6:13

    The sense of smell is so powerful. Without it, we couldn’t sniff out freshly-baked muffins, stinky garbage, or smoky campfires. Some animals use their noses, others use antennae or even their feet to smell. But what…

  36. Do we have our own gravity?

    · 5:10

    You might have heard of gravity as the force that keeps us firmly on the ground and not floating off the planet. Big things (like planets, moons, and stars) have gravity that pulls other objects toward them. But what…

  37. Why do beans give us gas?

    · 6:52

    Beans are delicious. From edamame to lentils, there’s a bean for everyone! But they can also make us a little tooty. Why is that? We asked pediatrician Wendy Hunter to help us find the answer. Got a question that’s a…

  38. Why don’t scars go away?

    · 6:26

    If you get a cut or scratch that goes deep enough into your skin, your body will form a scar. But why don’t scars themselves heal and go away? We asked dermatologist Liz Farhat to help us find the answer. Got a…

  39. How do boomerangs return?

    · 6:22

    A boomerang is a specially curved wooden throwing stick that was originally used as a hunting tool by Indigenous Australians. Nowadays, you can find toy versions along with the real thing, and if you throw them just…

  40. What happens when paleontologists find a fossil?

    · 7:12

    Make no bones about it – fossils are super cool! But what do you do if you find a fossil? We asked Jingmai O’Connor, the Associate Curator of Fossil Reptiles at the Field Museum in Chicago, to help us find the answer.…

  41. What is plastic made of?

    · 7:21

    Plastic is a part of so many of the things we use every day. But just what IS it? We asked University of Minnesota professor Frank Bates to help us find the answer. Got a question you’ve been bottling up? Send it to…

  42. How does pasta turn from hard to tender?

    · 6:08

    Pasta is delicious, whether it’s rigatoni, linguine, macaroni or any shape at all! When you buy pasta from the store, it’s usually hard, crunchy, and dry. But after cooking it, the pasta is tender and toothsome! How…

  43. How are our brains different from other animals' brains?

    · 7:47

    Have you ever looked at an animal and wondered what they were thinking? Us, too! What’s going on in a bobcat’s brain, a newt’s noggin, or a mouse’s mind? We asked science writer and author of Innovative Octopuses,…

  44. Do zookeepers work at night?

    · 7:43

    If you go to the zoo during the day - you can see that things are hopping! Animals are being cared for, people are milling about, and there’s a lot of action to observe. But what happens at night? Who takes care of the…

  45. Why does corn have hairs on it?

    · 5:59

    Have you ever peeled the leaves off of an ear of corn and noticed the white hairy-looking stuff tucked inside? What is that, anyway? We asked chef and cookbook author Kenji Lopez-Alt to help us find the answer. Got an…

  46. Where does pepper come from?

    · 4:54

    Black pepper is in just about everyone’s kitchen. It’s salt’s best buddy. It comes in shakers, grinders, and little paper packets. But where does black pepper come from? We asked historian Jenna Schultz from the…

  47. Why do donuts have “nut” in the name?

    · 7:42

    If you ask us, donuts are one of the most delicious treats in the world. Chocolate frosted with rainbow sprinkles, cinnamon twists, powdered sugar, strawberry jelly-filled, we love them all! But why are they called…

  48. Why is cotton so fluffy?

    · 7:21

    Cotton is soft and strong. It comes from cotton plants, and gets turned into everything from t-shirts to cotton balls. But why is cotton so fluffy? We asked biologist Candace Haigler to help us find the answer. Got a…

  49. How is couscous made?

    · 6:05

    Couscous is a delicious fluffy, starchy food that people enjoy all over the world. You can find the dried version in stores, but what if you wanted to make it fresh? How does couscous actually get made? We asked…

  50. Why do people stop growing taller?

    · 5:32

    Kids grow super fast and get taller and taller and taller and then – all of the sudden they stop! How do our bodies know when it’s time to stop? Why don’t we just keep growing until we reach the sky? We asked Dr. Frank…

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them. Explicit shows are for adult profiles only, and children’s profiles hear only children’s shows. More about this list.