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Science for Kids / Science's Not Boring: The Kids Science Podcast

Kidopoly

A groundbreaking podcast for curious kids aged 4-12 that proves science is anything but dull.
  

Join our fictional AI hosts Mira, a brilliant 9-year-old, and her younger brother Finn, age 7, as they explore the incredible world of science. From exploding volcanoes and black holes to deadly venom and the tiny machines inside your own body, each episode uncovers the most astonishing, surprising, and sometimes mind-bending wonders of science - explained in a way that actually makes sense to kids.

Whether you're discovering how rockets blast into space, why dinosaurs ruled the Earth, what really happens inside a thunderstorm, how your brain pulls off impossible tricks, or why the ocean's deepest creatures glow in the dark - Science Is Not Boring transforms big scientific ideas into unforgettable stories that ignite curiosity and wonder.

Because science isn't a pile of facts to memorize. It's the story of how everything works - and how we figure it out.

A note on why we use AI. For us, AI allows us to deliver learning at a scale and quality that previously would have been too expensive. If we make the odd technical error, or the sound goes a bit funny, bear with us, we're trying our best. We hope you enjoy the show!

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  • 93 episodes
  • daily
  • Avg 12 min
  • English
Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.
  • S1 · E477
    September 28 · 11 min

    What are stars?

    Look up at the twinkling night sky! Did you know you actually have dead stars inside your body right now? Eww... but also totally awesome! Join Mira and Finn on an explosive space adventure to discover the wild life story of every star in the universe. We are travelling to giant space clouds called nebulas, where freezing dust is squished together by gravity until—BOOM—a brand new baby star switches on! Discover how super-hot nuclear fusion keeps stars shining for billions of years, and what happens when they finally run out of gas. You will learn mind-blowing facts about our very own Sun, discover glowing white dwarf stars made entirely of crystallized diamond, and witness massive supernovas—the brightest and biggest explosions in the entire cosmos! Most unbelievable of all? Find out why the red iron in your blood and the white calcium in your teeth were forged straight out of these dying giant stars. You are literally made of star-stuff! Get ready for a cosmic, out-of-this-world episode of Science is Not Boring!

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  • S1 · E476
    September 27 · 13 min

    What is a scab?

    Have you ever fallen off your bike and scraped your knee? Ouch! It might look messy on the outside, but underneath, your body is launching a highly advanced microscopic rescue mission! Join Mira and Finn on an amazing journey inside the human body to uncover the astonishing repair kit you carry everywhere you go. Did you know a single drop of blood contains ten million tiny cells called platelets? When you get a cut, these platelets grow sticky tentacles and team up to plug the leak! We’ll explore how your blood weaves a biological spiderweb out of fibrin to build a dam, which eventually dries into a natural bandage—a scab! But the action doesn't stop there! Discover the microscopic garbage truck cells that eat pesky germs, and the special builder cells that stitch your skin back together with super-strong collagen. Plus, find out what happens when you break a bone! You won't believe how squishy scaffolding turns into rock-hard armor that is actually stronger than solid steel. A piece of bone the size of a matchbox can hold up two adult elephants! Tune in to find out how our skeletons are basically invincible!

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  • S1 · E475
    September 26 · 11 min

    What is fire?

    Have you ever stared at a campfire and wondered what those glowing, dancing flames actually are? Join Mira and Finn as they uncover the blazing secrets of fire! You'll learn the secret "Fire Triangle" recipe that makes things burn and discover that flames are actually super-heated, glowing gases floating in the air. We’ll travel back in time over a million years to a place called Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa, where our early human ancestors first learned to tame wild flames. Did you know that cooking food over a fire gave them the extra energy they needed to grow bigger brains? Plus, we'll find out why a blue flame is the hottest color of all—reaching temperatures that can literally melt solid steel! And wait until you hear about the amazing Firehawk raptors in Australia! These wild, clever birds actually pick up burning sticks in their claws and drop them to start wildfires just so they can hunt for their dinner! Grab your marshmallows and get ready for a red-hot scientific adventure on this exciting episode!

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  • S1 · E474
    September 25 · 11 min

    What is extinction?

    Have you ever wondered where all the woolly mammoths and dodo birds went? Once upon a time, our planet thundered with incredible creatures that are now completely gone. But what does it actually mean when an animal goes extinct? Join Mira and Finn as they uncover the wild, fascinating secrets behind why animals disappear forever! You will travel back in time to the tropical island of Mauritius to meet the funny, ground-nesting dodo bird, and journey to the freezing Arctic where the very last woolly mammoths lived at the exact same time the ancient Egyptians were building the Great Pyramids! But that is not all! Discover the thrilling true rescue mission of the California condor—a giant bird saved by brave scientists using hilarious hand-puppets! Plus, get ready for the most mind-blowing science of all: de-extinction. Could scientists really use futuristic DNA editing to bring extinct animals back to life? Could a chicken actually hatch a baby dodo? Tune in to find out how science is fighting to save our animal friends, and maybe even reverse the clock!

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  • S1 · E473
    September 24 · 12 min

    What is an opposable thumb?

    Did you know you are basically a biological puppet master?! It’s true! Wiggle your fingers right now. You might be shocked to learn that there are absolutely zero muscles in your fingers! Instead, they are controlled by long tendons connected to muscles all the way down in your forearm, just like puppet strings! Join Mira and Finn on Science is Not Boring as they explore the ultimate superpower: the amazing teamwork between your busy brain and your hands. You'll discover that a massive 25% of your entire skeleton's bones are stuffed right into your hands and feet (that’s 27 bones in just one hand!). We will learn how your clever opposable thumbs let you switch from crushing power grips to delicate precision grips in a split second. Plus, find out how your fingertips are packed with 3,000 touch receptors that zoom electrical signals to your brain at 250 miles per hour! Without this epic partnership between brain and hand, early humans could never have invented the very first stone tools 3.3 million years ago, and we wouldn't have built the incredible world we live in today. Get ready for some mind-blowing human biology!

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  • S1 · E472
    September 23 · 11 min

    What is space made of?

    Look up at the night sky. It looks like a giant, empty, pitch-black room, right? But what if I told you space isn't actually empty at all?! Join Mira and Finn on a mind-blowing journey into the deepest, darkest parts of the universe to find out what space is really made of! We usually think of space as a perfect vacuum with absolutely nothing inside, but that’s a cosmic myth! You'll discover the secrets of the Interstellar Medium, where lonely atoms float in the dark, and ride alongside Voyager One, a robotic probe that has been flying for almost fifty years and can actually hear the hum of deep space! Plus, find out about the freezing Boomerang Nebula, the invisible gravity glue called Dark Matter that holds our universe together, and the crazy quantum particles that pop in and out of existence from nothing! Space isn't a boring empty room; it is a giant, buzzing ocean of plasma, ghost matter, and icy gas clouds. Oh, and did we mention there’s a giant dust cloud in the center of our galaxy that smells exactly like sweet raspberries?! Buckle up for an epic cosmic adventure!

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  • S1 · E471
    September 22 · 11 min

    How do animals defend themselves?

    In the wild, nobody wants to become someone else's dinner! But how do small creatures stay safe from hungry predators? Join Mira and Finn on a wild adventure to uncover the most mind-blowing and explosive animal defense mechanisms on the planet! Did you know there is a mammal covered entirely in giant fingernail-like scales? Discover the amazing Pangolin, an animal that rolls into a heavy, razor-sharp ball of armor! We will also bust a massive myth about the North American Porcupine and its 30,000 spiky quills. But wait, it gets even crazier! Prepare to be shocked by the Bombardier Beetle, a tiny insect that shoots a boiling hot, toxic chemical spray out of its bottom to blast away attackers! Plus, dive underwater to see how clever squids create gooey, fake bodies out of ink to trick sharks. Finally, meet the absolute wildest reptile of all—the Texas Horned Lizard, which literally squirts foul-tasting blood right out of its eyeballs to scare off coyotes! Packed with wild facts, gross science, and an awesome quiz, this episode proves that science is definitely not boring!

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  • S1 · E470
    September 21 · 12 min

    What are feelings?

    Have you ever wondered why you feel happy, sad, angry, or even scared? Feelings aren't just magic—they are a super cool mix of chemistry and electricity zooming around inside your body! Join Mira and Finn on a wild emotional rollercoaster to discover what is actually happening in your brain when you feel a feeling. Did you know you have a tiny, almond-shaped alarm system in your head called the amygdala? It can react to danger in just 74 milliseconds, which is way faster than you can even blink! We will also explore how human beings actually have 27 different types of emotions beautifully blended together. Plus, get ready for some incredibly wacky science facts! You will find out why your mouth gets super dry when you are nervous, how crying when you are sad is completely different from crying over chopped onions, and why scientists actually tickle rats just to hear them laugh! Understanding our emotions helps us be much kinder to ourselves and each other, so take a deep breath and let's dive in!

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  • S1 · E469
    September 20 · 10 min

    How does the internet work?

    Have you ever wondered what happens when you send a message, watch a video, or play a game online? Do the signals just float through the air like magic? Join Mira and Finn on a mind-blowing journey to discover the secret, physical machine that connects our whole world—the internet! Get ready to be amazed because the internet isn't floating up in the sky; it is actually buried at the absolute bottom of the freezing, deep ocean! Discover how thousands of miles of underwater cables, some no thicker than a garden hose, carry your messages using super-fast laser beams. You will learn about giant buildings called data centers that hold millions of computers and are as big as one hundred and twenty-five football fields! We will even uncover some hilarious and wild secrets, like why deep-sea sharks sometimes try to eat the internet! Tune in to find out how your favorite games and videos travel across the globe in a heartbeat. It is an epic underwater adventure you won't want to miss!

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  • S1 · E468
    September 19 · 11 min

    What is a whale?

    Did you know the biggest animal to ever live on planet Earth isn't a mighty dinosaur? It is alive today and swimming in our oceans! Join Mira and Finn as they dive deep into the fascinating world of whales and dolphins. Discover the incredible Antarctic Blue Whale, a gentle giant so massive that its heart is the size of a golf cart! But wait, if whales live in the ocean, why do they have to hold their breath underwater? You won't believe the answer! We'll travel back 50 million years to meet Pakicetus, a bizarre, wolf-like land creature that was actually the ancient ancestor of all whales. Plus, find out exactly how these ocean giants talk to each other in the dark. From humpback whales singing beautiful 30-minute songs, to sperm whales using the loudest clicks on the planet to hunt giant squid, their sonic superpowers will blow your mind! We’ll even learn how whale poop gives humans the oxygen we need to breathe, and how dolphins invent special names for their friends. Get ready for an underwater adventure!

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  • S1 · E467
    September 18 · 13 min

    What is body temperature?

    Have you ever wondered why you shiver in the freezing winter snow and drip with sweat in the blazing summer sun? Your body is actually performing an incredible, invisible magic trick! Inside your brain, there is a tiny, almond-sized control center called the hypothalamus that works around the clock to keep your insides at the absolute perfect temperature. Join Mira and Finn on Science is Not Boring as they uncover the amazing secrets of how our bodies survive extreme hot and cold environments! You'll discover why humans are mostly water, how a fever actually helps you fight off sick germs like a fiery superpower, and the crazy history of the very first foot-long glass thermometer. Plus, we'll meet some of the most extreme animals on the planet, including a shiny desert ant that wears a mirror suit and an Alaskan wood frog that survives winter by freezing completely solid like a living ice cube! Get ready for a mind-blowing adventure into the science of homeostasis and learn why staying warm-blooded is your body's cleverest survival trick!

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  • S1 · E466
    September 17 · 12 min

    What is an animal architect?

    Did you know some of the greatest builders on Earth don't use blueprints, hard hats, or power tools? They just use pure instinct! Join Mira and Finn on a wild adventure to discover the world's most amazing animal architects! First, travel to Madagascar to meet Darwin's bark spider, a tiny creature that shoots bulletproof silk over rushing rivers to build traps 82 feet wide! Next, grab your imaginary hard hat and head to Canada to find a massive beaver dam so gigantic that scientists can actually see it from space! How do they do it? With super-strong teeth made of real iron! Finally, we'll visit the hot savannas to uncover a 30-foot-tall skyscraper made entirely out of dirt, saliva, and termite poop! You won't believe how these tiny bugs built their very own natural air-conditioning system to farm mushrooms. Nature's creatures are totally wild! Tune in for epic animal facts, incredible science, and an awesome quiz to test your brain at the end. Are you ready to explore? Let's go!

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  • S1 · E465
    September 16 · 15 min

    What is the speed of sound?

    Have you ever wondered why you see the bright flash of a firework before you hear the massive BOOM? Or why thunder always arrives after the lightning? Join Mira and Finn on Science is Not Boring as they uncover the invisible, super-fast world of sound! When you clap your hands, you're actually pushing tiny air molecules together like a microscopic line of falling dominoes. But just how fast do those dominoes fall? Discover the wild 1705 experiment where an English clergyman named William Derham used shotguns and a tall church tower to measure the exact speed of sound! But the journey doesn't stop there! You'll find out why a solid diamond is the ultimate speedway for sound, allowing it to blast at a mind-bending 12,000 meters per second! Plus, we will dive into the secret, high-pitched world of echolocation. Learn how bats scream in the pitch-black darkness to find their dinner, and discover the hilarious-sounding "melon" organ in a dolphin's forehead that lets them see completely hidden fish underwater! Get ready to test your brain in our fun sound trivia quiz. Tune in now!

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  • S1 · E464
    September 15 · 15 min

    What is lightning?

    Have you ever wondered what makes that giant, glowing spark in the sky during a thunderstorm? Or why a huge boom of thunder always follows it? Join Mira and Finn on an electrifying adventure to uncover the shocking truth about lightning! Did you know a single lightning bolt is only the width of your thumb, yet it packs enough energy to heat the air to 30,000 degrees Celsius? That is over five times hotter than the surface of the sun! You will discover how giant, fluffy storm clouds act like massive flying batteries, why light beats sound in a race to your eyes and ears, and how super-heated air literally explodes to create the thunderous boom you hear! We will even travel to a magical lake in Venezuela that has wild lightning storms 280 nights a year, and learn about mysterious red lightning called Sprites that shoots straight up into space! Plus, learn the smartest rules for staying safe when a storm rolls in. Tune in and get ready to be mind-blown by nature's greatest light show!

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  • S1 · E463
    September 14 · 13 min

    What is the digestive system?

    Did you know your mouth makes enough spit in your lifetime to fill a whole backyard swimming pool?! Eww! Get ready for a messy, mind-blowing adventure as Mira and Finn shrink down to take a roller coaster ride inside the human body! We are following a single bite of a crunchy red apple as it travels all the way through your incredible digestive system. You will discover how powerful squeezing muscles let you swallow food even if you are hanging upside down on the monkey bars like a bat! Then, plunge into a churning stomach acid bath that is strong enough to dissolve metal razor blades (don't worry, your tummy has a special slime shield to keep you safe!). You will also explore a shark-sized tube folded up in your belly, meet millions of microscopic fingers grabbing your nutrients, and say hello to the thirty-nine trillion friendly bacteria living in your gut right now! Plus, we are answering the ultimate question: what exactly is poop made of, and why do we have to go? Buckle up, because science has never been this gross, or this awesome!

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  • S1 · E462
    September 13 · 13 min

    What is Mars?

    Buckle up, space explorers! Have you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered about that glowing red dot? Join Mira and Finn on an epic rocket ride to Mars to find out if humans could ever make it our second home! Mars might be our next-door neighbor in the solar system, but surviving there requires some serious superhero skills. Did you know that Mars is basically a giant, freezing desert entirely covered in rust? In this mind-blowing episode, we'll discover how astronauts would survive on a planet where the air is toxic and winter temperatures drop to a freezing minus 220 degrees! You'll learn about a genius little golden box called MOXIE that magically turns toxic air into breathable oxygen, and how future astronauts would grow space potatoes using high-tech pink and purple lights. Plus, get ready to explore Olympus Mons, a massive volcano almost three times taller than Mount Everest! From bouncing around in low gravity to watching a stunning glowing blue sunset with two potato-shaped moons, Mars is totally wild. Tune in to see if you have what it takes to survive on the red planet!

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  • S1 · E461
    September 12 · 11 min

    What is sound?

    Have you ever wondered how your favorite song gets from a speaker all the way into your brain? It all starts with invisible sound waves flying through the air at a whopping 767 miles per hour! Join Mira and Finn on an incredible, mind-blowing journey inside the human ear to discover the amazing science of sound! You will learn about the absolute smallest bones in your entire body—including one that is smaller than a grain of rice! Discover the bizarre, snail-shaped tube in your head where 15,000 microscopic hair cells literally dance to the music you listen to. We will also uncover the magical reason why some epic songs give you goosebumps (it’s a fancy scientific word called frisson!) and how your brain rewards you with a happy chemical called dopamine. Plus, find out the astonishing story of how the famous composer Beethoven used his teeth and skeleton to hear music after he went completely deaf! Turn up the volume and get ready for a scientific concert hidden right inside your own skull. Science has never sounded so good!

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  • S1 · E460
    September 11 · 13 min

    How did Mount Everest form?

    Did you know the highest point on Earth used to be at the bottom of the ocean? It’s true! Join Mira and Finn on a wild science adventure to uncover the unbelievable secrets of Mount Everest! Imagine standing over five miles up in the freezing sky, looking down at the snow, and finding an ancient seashell! How did ocean creatures end up in the clouds? Discover how the Earth's crust is like a giant cracked egg made of moving puzzle pieces called tectonic plates. Millions of years ago, the Indian plate zoomed across an ancient ocean and crashed right into Asia! This massive slow-motion collision squished the ocean floor and pushed it all the way up into the sky to create the mighty Himalayan mountains. The craziest part? The continent crash isn't over! Mount Everest is actually still growing a little bit taller every single year. But there is an epic tug-of-war going on! While the Earth pushes the mountain up, giant frozen rivers of ice called glaciers are slowly wearing it back down. Get ready to learn about freezing weather, ancient fossils, and giant rocky collisions!

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  • S1 · E459
    September 10 · 13 min

    What is the science of flight?

    Have you ever dreamed of stepping off a chair, flapping your arms, and zooming straight up into the clouds?! Why can't humans just fly like birds? Join Mira and Finn on a sky-high adventure to uncover the mind-blowing science of flight! Discover the four invisible forces of physics every flying creature must conquer to leave the ground: gravity, lift, drag, and thrust. You’ll find out why a bird's bones are hollow, how hummingbirds flap in rapid figure-eights, and why bats fly using giant webbed hands! Did you know tiny mosquitoes flap their wings 800 times a second to create miniature tornadoes that vacuum them into the air?! It’s true! Plus, learn how humans finally touched the sky when the Wright Brothers built the very first powered airplane in 1903. From lazy-flying Bald Eagles riding heat waves to the unbelievable 240-mile-per-hour dive of the Peregrine Falcon, this episode is packed with awesome animal facts! Buckle up, test your brain in our fun trivia quiz, and get ready for takeoff!

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  • S1 · E458
    September 9 · 11 min

    What are atoms made of?

    Are you ready to have your mind totally blown?! Look at your hands, the walls, and the screen you are reading this on. Everything around you is made of tiny, invisible building blocks called atoms! But what is an atom actually made of? Join Mira and Finn on a zooming, shrinking adventure into the smallest things in the entire universe! You'll discover that a single grain of sand has over fifty quintillion atoms inside it (that’s a five with nineteen zeros!). But the craziest part? Atoms are almost completely empty space! You'll hear the wild true story of Ernest Rutherford firing speeding particles at a super-thin sheet of gold foil, only to find out they bounced straight back! We'll shrink down past the tiny nucleus to find even tinier things like protons, neutrons, and funny-sounding particles called quarks. Learn how scientists used a two-mile-long machine to smash atoms together, and find out what would happen if you squeezed all the empty space out of every single human on Earth (Hint: we would all fit inside a single, incredibly heavy sugar cube!). Get ready to shrink down to the quantum level!

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Showing 21–40 of 93 episodes