Can you tickle a dog? A rat? A chimpanzee? Our listeners have been wondering — and it turns out, the science of tickling is way weirder and more fascinating than anyone expected. In this special Mailbag edition, we answer your tickling questions with the help of a real tickle scientist, and Marshall debuts a brand-new song inspired by a listener's spider roommate! 🎶🕷️ 🎧 Listen to the Episode 🤣 What Kids Will Learn Whether dogs, rats, and other animals can be tickled — an

Do animals have friends? And what are those friendships like? In this episode we'll meet two scientists who have spent their life studying animal friendships. Karen Bales and Annaliese Beery each specialize in studying adorable animals who love to spend time with their closest friends. Listen in to find out what they've learned from animal besties! 🎧 Listen to the Episode 🐭 What Kids Will Learn How scientists look at animal's behavior to try to tell what it might be thinki

How did the Earth begin, and how do scientists know? In this episode, we'll meet Bill Bottke and learn how mysterious, ancient asteroids might hold the secrets to how the solar system began. We'll also hear an incredible story about the very beginnings of our planet--so buckle up for an amazing adventure! 🎧 Listen to the Episode 🌎 What Kids Will Learn How scientists think Earth formed How scientists use space rocks like asteroids and meteorites to uncover clues about Earth'

How do people learn — and how can a video game help us find out? In this episode, we meet cognitive scientist Dr. Charley Wu, who turned Minecraft into a giant science experiment. With help from a “braintrust” of kid Minecraft experts, Lindsay and Marshall explore how Charley used pumpkins, watermelons, and blocky rewards to study when we learn on our own and when we learn from others. Plus, ideas for turning your own games into experiments! 🎧 Listen to the Episode ⛏️ What K

Why do colors exist in the world? That’s what Phoebe wants to know. The answer might change how you think about the colors that you see!

Trash is one of the biggest problems on the planet. But scientists are coming up with solutions that might surprise you. In this Earth Day episode, we meet two researchers who are tackling trash in two very different ways. Kevin Solomon hopes to solve the challenge of recycling plastic with the help of meal worms, and Lily Pollans is figuring out what kids can do to help everyone make less trash. Find out how science can help tackle Earth’s biggest challenges - and how you ca

EDUCATION RESOURCES: NGSS Standards: LS 3-LS3-2 Crosscutting Concept: Cause and Effect Why and how do cats purr? That’s what Reid wants to know. It sounds like a simple question, but it leads us to a deep challenge: Can we ever understand cats? To find out, we launch a full-scale cat purr investigation. You’ll hear from a puzzled veterinarian, a scientist who studied her cat’s annoying purr, and the author of purring.org, the premier cat purr research website. It’s a purr-fec

EDUCATION RESOURCES: NGSS Standards: PS, ESS 2-PS1-2 Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect How do you launch the largest space telescope ever built into space? The James Webb Space Telescope will travel 1.5 million miles away from Earth to help answer some of our biggest questions about the universe. But first, it has to be launched on a rocket - and the telescope is too big to fit on a rocket. So NASA decided to fold it up - and then unfold it in space. How? NASA scientist

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES: NGSS Standards: LS 3-LS3-1 3-LS3-2 Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns Cause and Effect Fish with legs? Crazy, right? Turns out, fish with legs are a lot more real than you might think! We teamed up with What If World, one of our favorite storytelling podcasts, to answer this question both scientifically and creatively! In our “science version,” we consult with the funniest fish biologist you’ll ever meet, Solomon David. He’s obsessed with creating puns for

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES: NGSS Standards: LS 3-LS3-2 Crosscutting Concept: Cause and Effect What are the origins of owls, and why do they stay up at night? We answer questions from two owl-curious Tumble listeners. with the help of Harvard ornithologist Dr. Scott Edwards. He takes us on a journey starting in the time of the dinosaurs, to unravel the secrets of what made owls WHOOOO they are today. THE BIRD FAMILY TREE In the episode, Scott Edwards is looking at the bird family t