Do trees think? That's the question nine-year-old listener Alden wanted to find out — and he already had a hunch that mushroom roots might be involved. In this episode, you'll meet a young soil scientist named Natalia Mondi, who studies forests from the ground up. She'll take us underground to discover how trees send messages through a hidden network — and how that knowledge is helping to heal a sick forest in Canada. 🎧 Listen to the Episode 🌲 What Kids Will Learn Why tree

Why does most of the universe seem to be made of something we can’t even see? And if dark matter is invisible, how do scientists know it’s there—or find it? In this episode, you’ll meet physicist Alvaro Chavarria, who’s searching for answers deep inside a laboratory hidden under a mountain in the French Alps. Join us as we go underground to explore one of the biggest mysteries in science—and discover why everything we think we know about the universe might still be up for de

EDUCATION RESOURCES: NGSS Standards: K-LS1-1, K-ESS3-1, 4-LS1-1 Crosscutting Concept: Patterns, Systems and System Models How does a koala eat eucalyptus leaves? Eucalyptus is toxic to most animals, but they’re a koala’s only food. In this episode, we look past the cuddliness to discover how koalas manage to chow down on the Australian tree species. Biologist Michaela Blyton shares the story of how she convinced some extremely picky koalas to try new foods in the midst of a c

EDUCATION RESOURCES: NGSS Standards: LS 3-LS3-2, 4-LS1-1 Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect, Systems and System Models Why do seals have whiskers? Listener Karah’s question dives into the wonderful world of whisker science. Robyn Grant, a self-described “whisker biologist” shares her discoveries of how whiskers work, from training a friendly seal named Moe to making slow-mo movies of super speedy “whisking.” Here's an underwater video of a slightly different experiment,

EDUCATION RESOURCES: NGSS Standards: K-ESS2-2, K-ESS3-1, 2-LS4-1, 3-LS4-3 Crosscutting Concept: Systems and System Models, Patterns, Cause and Effect We're going on an indoor expedition to discover the species in our own home! You’ll never look at the bugs in your house the same way again. Ecologist and author Rob Dunn is our guide to exploring what he calls, “the unknown we wake up in every morning.” We’ll find out how many species live in the average home (it’s more than y

EDUCATION RESOURCES: NGSS Standards: LS 4-LS1-1 Crosscutting Concept: Systems and System Models Sea stars are known for their tight grips. But what's their secret? Scientists have long suspected it has to do with their tube feet, which protrude along the undersides of sea stars arms. Depending on the species, sea stars can have thousands of tube feet. We traveled to the Birch Aquarium at Scripps in La Jolla, California to get an up-close look. How do you think tube feet wor

EDUCATION RESOURCES: NGSS Standards: LS 3-LS3-2, 4-LS1-1 Crosscutting Concepts: Cause and Effect, Systems and System Models Can plants feel pain? Not really, but they can sense a lot more than you might give them credit for! That's right, plants talk to each other. And we're just starting to understand them. Dr. Appel took this research one step further when she discovered "listening plants ." In the study, caterpillars were placed on Arabidopsis, a small flowering plant r