But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids

How do birds fly? Why do they flock? How do they not get shocked when they sit on telephone wires? The Bird Diva has our answers to all of your questions about our feathered friends. And why do chickens lay different colored eggs? We visit the hen house at Shelburne Farms to find out.

Who invented the president? Which country had the first president? We answer presidential questions historical in nature with author Kenneth C. Davis . Also in the episode: why do leaves change color in the fall?

We're heading to the coast of Maine to learn a little bit about why the sea is salty, how mussels get their shells and how model ships get in those glass bottles. Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide | Transcript | Ship In Bottle Plans

7-year-old Kala wants to know why we say soccer in the United States, when the rest of the world calls the game "football." In this episode we hear from people who make their living in the game, professional players, coaches and commentators.

How long does it take for baby animals to grow up? In this episode, we're learning about cheetahs and horses with two questions from siblings in Australia.

This episode is all about bugs! We've gotten a lot of questions from you about insects and other critters. So we're tackling them with the help of Jessica Honaker and Kristie Reddick, otherwise known as the Bug Chicks. Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide | Transcript

It's all about bikes in this episode of But Why? Why bicycles can stay up when you're riding them, but fall over when stopped. Olympian Lea Davison tells how to get started when riding, and we learn how a bike chain moves a wheel.

Seven-year old Sawyer wants to know: how does an engine work? We learn about chainsaws from Ashleigh Belrose, an instructor the Center for Technology in Essex, Vermont.

Families grow and change. What does that feel like? We asked kids to tell us about their families, and we speak with author Amy Bloom about how love is not something that needs to be divided up, like a pie, but can expand and multiply.

Why is the sky blue? We get an answer from a science writer for NASA's Space Place. And what are Saturn's rings? Carolyn Porco of the Cassini Imaging Team explains.

In this episode of But Why we're learning how to make paint from an artist who wild-crafts his own pigments, and we're visiting the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum to learn about the value of art.

In this episode of But Why we tackle the question of why people have different religions. Our answer comes from Wendy Thomas Russell, who wrote a book on how to talk about religion for secular families. Plus we visit a farm where kids of both the human and the goat variety are involved in making cheese.

On But Why we let you ask the questions and we help find the answers. One of the things that many of you are curious about is language. How we speak, why we speak and what we speak.

We're turning things around! Instead of you sending us the question, this time we're asking the question and looking to you for some answers. We wanted to explore why music moves us.

This episode looks at a big question, a really big question. It's about the end of the world and what it might feel like. Parents: this episode is about asteroids and supernovas; some kids may find this episode a bit scary, or may have never considered those possibilities before, so you may want to listen first on your own.

In our very first episode, we've got owls and turtles and bears, oh my! It's all about animals. But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids is a show led by you. Kids ask questions and we find someone who can give you an answer. And that way all the rest of us listening get to learn something cool!

My name is Jane Lindholm and I'm hosting a new podcast for kids from Vermont Public Radio. We're calling the show But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids . And it's designed to be something you and your kids can listen to on long rides in the car, at the dinner table, or whenever you’re in the mood for learning something new. Think of it as public radio - made especially for kids.