Science
Brains On!
Kids listen as host Molly Bloom and a kid co-host chase down a listener’s science question each week.
Brains On! is a weekly science podcast in which host Molly Bloom pairs up with a different kid co-host to answer a question sent in by listeners. Recent episodes range from why people have pinky toes and whether dogs can read human minds to black holes, hair and why music makes people want to dance. Shows run around half an hour and, from what can be heard, mix facts the show says are expert-reviewed with a mystery sound to guess and a song worth dancing to. Short bonus episodes and seasonal Mystery Sound specials fill the gaps. The Apple Podcasts listing shows more than 400 episodes, so the archive runs deep. The same team makes Forever Ago and Moment of Um for kids who want more. It sounds geared to curious school-age listeners, and adults in the car may enjoy it too.
- Ages
- Curious kids and grown-ups
- Works on
- Web browser; iPhone and iPad app; Android app
- Topics
- Science
- Languages
- English
- Listed
- 2026-10-18
What kids do
- Hear a kid co-host tackle a science question
- Guess the week’s mystery sound
- Send in a question of their own
- Browse an archive of 400-plus episodes
Who it suits
Curious kids and grown-ups.
Notes for parents
Produced by Brains On Universe, the team that launched the show at American Public Media in 2013. Episodes stream in podcast apps or on the web, and the half-hour length fits a typical drive.
What you need
- Podcast app or web browser
More Science
- Solar Walk: Space Simulator 3D: A 3D model of the solar system to move around in, with scale comparisons and animations about Moon phases and tides.
- Science for Kids by Tappity: Interactive science videos, questions and a science journal, covering topics such as magnets and volcanoes.
- MarcoPolo Weather: Children adjust wind, temperature and precipitation and watch a landscape and its characters react.
- MarcoPolo Ocean: Reef building, a submersible to assemble and marine animals to find, with narration that introduces ocean words.
- Coral Reef by Tinybop: Children explore a reef food web, hide an octopus and follow food through a jellyfish to see how ocean life connects.
- Star Walk Kids: Astronomy Game: Cartoons, narrated facts and quick quizzes guide children around a moving solar system and a mobile observatory.
- The Earth by Tinybop: Volcanoes, earthquakes, fossils and shifting sediment, all on screen, showing how the Earth’s surface changes.
- Space by Tinybop: An interactive solar system model where children compare planets, tilt the Earth and follow the phases of the Moon.