Brains On Podcast

The immune system is so cool and so important but it largely goes about its business without us knowing it.

What’s up with worms? How do they sleep? Why are they slimy? How do they move? Here at Brains On, the only way to find out is to embark on an EPIC QUEST! Join co-host Ezra and the worm adventurer extraordinaire Sir Wormus on a journey to find the Golden Worm, a magical artifact!

The ExPLORERR was built to go everywhere. That’s why this vehicle’s full name is: the Extremely Practical Land and Ocean Rover Exploring Remote Realms. And guess what? It has a recording studio built on-board! Good thing, because this episode was recorded while traveling up, up, up a mountain!

Snow days - snow daze - snow dazzle!

What route would you take to walk around the world?

Marshmallows, lollipops, gummi bears -- we want them all! But we’ve all heard that eating a lot of sugar isn’t that healthy for us. So what’s the deal? Why do we like sugar so much in the first place? We’ll find out why our bodies evolved to seek out sweet things, and how clever humans invented a way to make food even sweeter. And we’ll get to the bottom of a confectionary conundrum from our co-host Zoe: are sugar rushes a real thing? Plus: Sanden cooks up some very sweet schemes and we have a new mystery sound for you to guess!

Get ready to learn the science behind the multiverse! That’s the idea that our universe isn’t the only universe out there. What if there were other, different universes existing alongside our own? Ones with different laws of physics, different planets and stars… or maybe even different versions of us!

In this episode we explain a few different theories behind this popular idea.

Wow, wow, wow! Our new Moment of Um podcast is finally here. Check out this sample episode, and subscribe to Moment of Um in your podcast player. There are already five episodes just waiting for you to listen, and there’s a new one every weekday.

Oh wow, Moment of Um has a podcast!

We’re heading to space, and dropping a feather in a few different places to see what happens!

Today’s episode is all about your belly button aka navel aka umbilicus. And not just your belly button -- every single person you can think of has one. This means our listeners have LOTS of questions about them. We're going to tackle several of these fascinating navel-gazing questions like: is your belly button connected to your insides? Where does belly button fuzz come from? Why do some belly buttons stick out? And do cats and dogs have belly buttons? Plus, we have a tricky mystery sound for you to guess and a Moment of Um that answers the question: How do carrots grow if they don't have seeds?

In this episode, we’re asking sharks to say “aaaah”, and taking a close look at their chompers. We’ll see how shark teeth grow, and what those teeth can teach us about sharks of the past. We’ll also play a game of Jaws Jeopardy, and find out how sharks help keep the ocean healthy with their super snacking. Stick around for a listener-submitted mystery sound and a Moment of Um: why does steam rise in the air?

Just in time for spooky season, it’s an episode all about superstitions! Do you avoid the number 13? Or maybe it’s your lucky number, like Taylor Swift? In this episode we’ll look at why we have such strong feelings toward 13, and we’ll hear about other unlucky and lucky numbers around the world. Plus, Marc and Sanden will explain why our brains latch on to superstitions in the first place. Oh, and our favorite talking skeleton, Mr. Bonejangles, is back with a spine-tingling quiz! All that and a Moment of Um that answers the question: do cockroaches have hearts?

This episode shines a light on crystals, and they’re sparkling right back at us! We’ll zoom way in on a diamond to understand the structure that makes crystals special, and hear about some unexpected crystals, too (hint: chocolate chip cookies contain a few different crystals!). Then, we take a look at how crystals form and get their cool colors. Plus, Marc and Sanden hunt down a hoax about Mesoamerican crystal skulls.

We’re heading to a squirrel-themed adventure course and practicing a few of the skills they use to survive: gathering nuts, traveling in trees, and speaking like a squirrel.

Eighteen months into our fight with this coronavirus, it may feel frustrating that we're still in this battle, but there are many reasons to feel hopeful. One reason is that we know a lot about this virus now and have plenty of tools to fight it. We meet the superheroes prepared to help us defeat the coronavirus: Sgt. Socially Distanced, the Masked Mentor, the Testmaster and the Vaxinator! Plus: Gilly, one half of the hit podcast Going Viral with Kara and Gilly, and a special guest explain what a virus variant is and how the delta variant is different from the original coronavirus. Also, journalist Sarah Zhang helps us understand how the pandemic could end.

After getting a firsthand look at the history of trash, we’re having visions from garbage’s present and future this week. Producer Kunsang Dorjee visits a landfill to see what happens to our trash after we throw it away, and producer Ruby Guthrie shows us how we can make less trash and dispose the trash we do make in ways that are better for the planet. Plus: we hear from a kid who helped her class produce almost no waste during the school year. And our Moment of Um answers the question: if ants like sweet things, why don’t they attack beehives?