Brains On Podcast

Have you ever wondered why a guitar sounds different from a violin? Or why a banjo is twangy and a cello is mellow? Then this episode is for you!

Looks like Marc has a beautiful new plant but doesn’t know where to put it. Direct sunlight or indirect sunlight? It’s too hard to figure out! But you know what’s not hard to figure out? Whether or not you should play Molly’s new game, Radical Design! Grab your Smarty Pass to see what producers Marc Sanchez and Rosie duPont think homes would look like on other planets!

Humans have visited the moon but we’ve never lived there. Could we build a home on our lunar neighbor?

Looking for an escape? Join Molly and co-host Julian as they explore Antarctica! They’ll learn about Antarctica’s massive ice sheets and active volcanoes — plus they’ll meet the largest land animal on the continent!

Have you ever taken a big ol’ whiff of rotten milk? It probably smelled like dirty socks or stinky garbage. Blech! But why does food go bad, and how can we be sure that something is fresh and safe to eat?

Ouch! If you’ve ever stubbed your toe, gotten a paper cut or fallen off your bike, you know that getting hurt is no fun. Sometimes we can take medicine to help feel better, like ibuprofen. But how does that medicine know where to go in our bodies to stop the pain?

Oh no! It looks like Brains On host Molly Bloom and producer Marc Sanchez are in some deep trouble, and the only way to get out of it is with an extra special game of Mystery Sound. Will either of them be able to guess the right sound? Grab your Smarty Pass to find out!

On April 8, a total solar eclipse will be visible on a path that crosses North America, from the west coast of Mexico to the east coast of Canada.

We love a good mystery, and UFOs are magnificently mysterious! But are they real?

We're so excited to announce that Brains On is coming to the east coast! We’re doing three live shows -- in Washington DC, Princeton, New Jersey and Brooklyn, New York!

Laughter is like a language and humans are really good at understanding it.

Satellites are like robots in the sky: they monitor the weather, make GPS possible, and take stunning pictures of outer space! But how exactly do they work?

What’s that alluring flute music and what does it have to do with Molly Bloom’s biting new game? Well, there’s only one way to find out. Grab your Smarty Pass to hear Anna and Rosie play Molly’s latest game: Tooth or Dare!

Have you ever seen someone strike a match? The match rubs against a scratchy strip and a split second later – poof! It makes fire! But how does a match work, anyway?

Sand! We use it to make all kinds of things, from spectacular sandcastles to roads and bridges. But where does it come from? And why is the sand on so many beaches disappearing?

Hypnosis. You’ve seen it in movies, cartoons, and maybe even on stage! But is it real? And if so, what is it?

You’ve probably heard it’s important to brush your teeth to prevent cavities. But what is a cavity? And how do dentists fix them?

Producers Rosie duPont and Aron Woldeslassie are at the Brains On petting zoo checking out some of the cutest baby animals in the world. It’s there that Rosie realizes that they should play a round of Baby Mystery Sounds! It’s the classic Brains On game Mystery Sound with an adorable twist!