But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids

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? Why is the north star always facing north? We answer your questions about the stars and astronomy with Talia Sepersky of the Museum of Science in Boston.
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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 some planets made of gas and others are made of rock? How do planets stay in space? Why is Venus the hottest planet if it's not the closest to the sun? Why is Earth more like Mars than Venus? Why do dust storms happen on Mars? Why is the storm on Jupiter red? Why does Saturn have rings? What is a dwarf planet?
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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, Wildlife Ambassador for the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and host of Amazing Wildlife: A San Diego Zoo Podcast. Also in this episode: Why do pigs like to play in the mud? Why do elephants like to play in the mud? Why do hamsters like to play? Is it okay for animals to live at the zoo?
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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 tackling: why is it called soccer in some countries and football in others? We’ll also look at World Cup questions like where the first tournament was played and what makes the trophy so special. Plus: what are the basic rules of the game? Why are soccer balls often black and white? How come goalkeepers are allowed to use their hands? And what does offside actually mean? In this episode, we meet up with Meg Linehan, women’s sports lead for The Athletic at a Vermont Green FC training session and ask her all your soccer-related questions. 

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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? What do you do if you can’t make yourself stop playing? In this episode, we talk with Patrick Klepek, writer and editor of Crossplay, a newsletter focused on video games and parenting.

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