Radiolab for Kids

Maggots are disgusting, right? Lulu has a hard time even saying the word maggot. But in this episode, we’re asking you to join us in setting our “ick” aside. If you stick with us, we promise that you’ll go from thinking these bugs are the grossest things ever to actually kinda liking them. Maybe even loving them. ER doctor Avir Mitra leads us down a rabbit hole of scientific discovery, explaining how these revolting critters have a history - and future - of saving human limbs and lives. Plus, a musical lesson in wound treatment 101.Tell us what creature you want a future show about! Submit suggestions on what animals we should do our next season on here!Terrestrials was created by Lulu Miller with WNYC studios. This episode was produced by Alan Goffinski with sound design by Mira Burt-Wintonick. Our Executive Producer is Sarah Sandbach. Our team also includes Ana Gonzalez, Tanya Chawla and Joe Plourde. Factchecking was by Natalie Middleton.Huge thank you to Dr Avir Mitra. If you liked his storytelling, listen to some more stories he did with Radiolab:The Elixir of Life Dispatch 5: Don't Stop Believin'The Dirty Drug and the Ice Cream Tub Our advisors for this show were Jamie Albright, kid advisor Kai, momma (fly) Maya, Ana Luz Porzecanski, Nicole Depalma and Carly Ciarrocchi.Support for Terrestrials also comes from the Simons Foundation, the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, and the John Templeton Foundation. HEY GROWN-UPS!Love the show? Leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and review on your podcast app—it helps curious listeners find us!We want to hear from you! Share your thoughts about Terrestrials with us.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for bite-sized essays, activities, and ways to connect with the show.Follow us on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok for behind-the-scenes extras and more.Listen to original music from Terrestrials on Spotify, Apple Music, or our music page.Got a badgering question for the team? Email us at terrestrialspodcast@wnyc.org or submit a voice memo with your name, age, and your question using this form!Terrestrials is made possible in part by listeners like you. Support the show by joining Radiolab’s membership program, The Lab—and we’ll send you a special thank-you gift from our team!

In this engaging discussion, Natalie Middleton, a science writer and fact-checker, unveils the whimsical journey of Apollo 14's 'Moon Trees.' A quirky combination of astronautic adventure and environmentalism, the story begins with astronaut Smokey Roosa's decision to take tree seeds to the moon in 1971. After nearly being forgotten, these seeds sprouted across the U.S., leading to a rediscovery when a curious third grader stumbled upon a Moon Tree. Natalie shares her emotional visit to one and highlights her interactive map that helps others locate these celestial trees.

Ana González, the producer who brilliantly narrates the tale of Jose the beaver, dives into the incredible impact beavers have on our planet. Discover how Jose and his kin transformed the Bronx River from a polluted waterway into a thriving ecosystem. Hear laughable tales of the U.S. government parachuting beavers into mountains and learn how these furry engineers create wetlands that help fight wildfires. This engaging discussion uncovers the life-saving and environment-mending talents of beavers, making them unsung heroes of nature!

Over a billion lightyears ago, in the darkness of outer space, a collision of black holes sent out a fleet of invisible waves that were headed right toward planet Earth. The waves were so powerful they could ripple spacetime but most people on Earth didn't believe the waves were real. SPOILER ALERT: The waves are called gravitational waves and…they are real! Astrophysicist Dr. Wanda Díaz Merced tells the story of what happened when they hit Earth in 2015 and how scientists came to learn to use senses beyond eyesight to detect the waves. We also learn from Dr. Stavros Katsanevas about the building of a giant gravitational wave catcher called “The Interferometer.” This episode also explores how to persist in the face of doubt as we learn Wanda's tale of going blind and learning how to listen to the stars. Learn about the storytellers, listen to music, and dig deeper into the stories you hear on Terrestrials with activities you can do at home or in the classroom on our website, Terrestrialspodcast.org.  Watch the interferometer come to life, disco style, and find even MORE original Terrestrials fun on our Youtube. Badger us on Social Media: @radiolab and #TerrestrialsPodcast  Support for Terrestrials is provided by Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations. More from Terrestrials  The Shovels: Dig Deeper For each episode of Terrestrials, we provide a selection of activity sheets, drawing prompts, musical lessons, and more. We call them “shovels” because we hope they will help you (and your friends, family, students, neighbors, etc) dig more deeply into the world! You can do them at home, in the classroom, outside, or in the privacy of your own mind. We hope you enjoy!If you want to share what you’ve made, ask an adult share it on social media using #TerrestrialsPodcast and make sure to tag @Radiolab Draw -  Use your ears to draw! In this very special drawing prompt, Wendy Mac and the DrawTogether team pull in an actual rockstar to play you various favorite sounds to draw. It's a feast for the mind, ears, and hands. Grab a pencil, pen, crayon, marker, anything, and check it out here! Play 🎶 - Learn how to play the chords to the song “UNIMAGINABLE” Do - Get crafty with a fun activity sheet!   This week’s storyteller is Dr. Wanda Díaz Merced. Want to keep learning? Check out these resources to learn about the time-bending power that is the gravitational wave: Get to Wanda a little better; watch her TED talk!Take a tour of the world’s first interferometer! (Free monthly tours in person in Richland, WA)Train yourself to use sound for signal detection in astronomy. Learn more about asteroseismology with the wonderful Hank Green!Spooked by the idea of the infinite universe? Listen to John Green’s “Against Nihilism” (probably best for 13 and up)! Terrestrials is a production of WNYC Studios, created by Lulu Miller. This episode is produced by Ana González, Alan Goffinski and Lulu Miller. Original Music by Alan Goffinski. Help from Suzie Lechtenberg, Sarah Sandbach, Natalia Ramirez, and Sarita Bhatt. Fact-check by Natalie Meade. Sound design by Phoebe Wang with additional engineering by Joe Plourde. Our storytellers this week are Dr. Wanda Díaz Merced and Dr. Stavros Katsanevas. Transcription by Caleb Codding. Our advisors are Theanne Griffith, Aliyah Elijah, Dominique Shabazz, John Green, Liza Steinberg-Demby, Alice Wong, and Tara Welty. Terrestrials is supported in part by Science Sandbox, an initiative of the Simons Foundation. Have questions for us, badgers? Badger us away! Your parent/guardian should write to us along with you, so we know you have their permission, and for maybe even having your ideas mentioned on the show. Email terrestrials@wnyc.org HEY GROWN-UPS!Love the show? Leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and review on your podcast app—it helps curious listeners find us!We want to hear from you! Share your thoughts about Terrestrials with us.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for bite-sized essays, activities, and ways to connect with the show.Follow us on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok for behind-the-scenes extras and more.Listen to original music from Terrestrials on Spotify, Apple Music, or our music page.Got a badgering question for the team? Email us at terrestrialspodcast@wnyc.org or submit a voice memo with your name, age, and your question using this form!Terrestrials is made possible in part by listeners like you. Support the show by joining Radiolab’s membership program, The Lab—and we’ll send you a special thank-you gift from our team!

Pizza is one of the world’s most beloved foods. But as much as we love the way it tastes, the secrets of its ingredients are even yummier to discover. We explore the surprising sounds tomatoes make when they’re stressed, how wheat became integral to human survival and how mold is sometimes... delicious?  This episode also features live tap-dancing, mind-melting cheese facts and what might be the Songbud’s catchiest song yet.Special thanks to Little Island for having us. If you’re in NYC,  go check them out. It’s free to wander around, there are hidden musical instruments to see, gorgeous plants and so much more. Visit littleisland.org to learn more.And huge thanks to our guest performers - tap dancer John Manzari,  who you can catch performing or teaching tap lessons around NYC, percussionist Caitlin Cawley from Mantra Percussion, Josh Windsor, the Associate Director of Caves at Murray's Cheese in New York City, a world-famous cheese shop with tons of cheeses, classes and fun family events, and WNYC’s very own David Gebel.This episode was originally produced and developed in front of a live audience at Little Island with Producing Artistic Director Zack Winokur and Executive Director Laura Clement.PLUS, TERRESTRIALS WILL BE BACK IN TWO WEEKS - STARTING SEPTEMBER 18TH – WITH BRAND NEW EPISODES DROPPING EVERY OTHER WEEK. Visit terrestrialspodcast.org to sign up for our newsletter and follow us on instagram @terrestrialspodcast for updates. HEY GROWN-UPS!Love the show? Leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and review on your podcast app—it helps curious listeners find us!We want to hear from you! Share your thoughts about Terrestrials with us.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for bite-sized essays, activities, and ways to connect with the show.Follow us on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok for behind-the-scenes extras and more.Listen to original music from Terrestrials on Spotify, Apple Music, or our music page.Got a badgering question for the team? Email us at terrestrialspodcast@wnyc.org or submit a voice memo with your name, age, and your question using this form!Terrestrials is made possible in part by listeners like you. Support the show by joining Radiolab’s membership program, The Lab—and we’ll send you a special thank-you gift from our team!

We’re back with an episode from the Radiolab archive. Horseshoe crabs have been around for a long time. They outlived the dinosaurs, survived all mass extinctions and witnessed the sprouting of the Earth’s first trees. The secret to their longevity? Their baby blue blood. Which has been saving both their lives and ours. Lulu and Radiolab co-host, Latif Nasser,  head to one of these bleeding facilities to learn how horseshoe crab blood became indispensable for modern medicine. And how this vampirish relationship humans have with the crabs might also be crucial to keeping them alive.  Terrestrials will be back in September 2025 with all new episodes airing every other week! SIgn up for our newsletter here and follow us on Instagram @terrestrialspodcast for updates.If you want to learn more about how miraculous horseshoe crabs are, check out:Alexis Madrigal, "The Blood Harvest" in The Atlantic, and Sarah Zhang's recent follow up in The Atlantic, "The Last Days of the Blue Blood Harvest" Deborah Cramer, The Narrow EdgeDeborah Cramer, "Inside the Biomedical Revolution to Save Horseshoe Crabs" in Audubon Magazine Richard Fortey, Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet WormsIan Frazier, "Blue Bloods"  in The New Yorker Lulu Miller's short story, "Me and Jane"  in Catapult MagazineJerry Gault, "The Most Noble Fishing There Is"  in Charles River's Eureka Magazine Glenn Gauvry's horseshoe crab research database HEY GROWN-UPS!Love the show? Leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and review on your podcast app—it helps curious listeners find us!We want to hear from you! Share your thoughts about Terrestrials with us.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for bite-sized essays, activities, and ways to connect with the show.Follow us on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok for behind-the-scenes extras and more.Listen to original music from Terrestrials on Spotify, Apple Music, or our music page.Got a badgering question for the team? Email us at terrestrialspodcast@wnyc.org or submit a voice memo with your name, age, and your question using this form!Terrestrials is made possible in part by listeners like you. Support the show by joining Radiolab’s membership program, The Lab—and we’ll send you a special thank-you gift from our team!

Sy Montgomery, an acclaimed author and naturalist, shares the captivating tale of Inky the octopus, who orchestrated a daring escape from his aquarium. Montgomery challenges perceptions of intelligence in the animal kingdom, highlighting the octopus's remarkable adaptability and problem-solving skills. The podcast dives into the affectionate behaviors of octopuses, including their unique connection with humans. With engaging anecdotes and expert insights, it invites listeners to rethink their notions of love and intelligence among marine life.

Today, we splash into the Hudson River Park with our Songbud to meet all kinds of crabs. With Siddartha and Carrie from  the Hudson River Park, Alan puts on waterproof rubber overalls, gets his hands dirty in the river and dives into the secret lives of Hudson crabs.Plus, CRAB WEEK is going on right now in New York City! It’s an annual shell-ebration that highlights the crabs of the Hudson River. Scuttle by for crabtastic activities throughout the park all week long! You’ll have the opportunity to try your hand at some crabby crafts, learn crabtivating facts and get your claws on a copy of our limited-edition Crab Week poster. Check out their entire shell-dule.And join us on August 6th + 7th in Little Island for our full-day takeover of the park. Join us at 10am for Wilderness Wonderland featuring scavenger hunts, live music, and more – including our friends from the Hudson River Park who will be on site with live critters! At 5pm, we will be performing a LIVE podcast taping  all about  PIZZA! The show’s free. There will be pizza. Join if you’re in NYC (or make this the reason you visit). Check out all of our other performances here. HEY GROWN-UPS!Love the show? Leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and review on your podcast app—it helps curious listeners find us!We want to hear from you! Share your thoughts about Terrestrials with us.Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for bite-sized essays, activities, and ways to connect with the show.Follow us on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok for behind-the-scenes extras and more.Listen to original music from Terrestrials on Spotify, Apple Music, or our music page.Got a badgering question for the team? Email us at terrestrialspodcast@wnyc.org or submit a voice memo with your name, age, and your question using this form!Terrestrials is made possible in part by listeners like you. Support the show by joining Radiolab’s membership program, The Lab—and we’ll send you a special thank-you gift from our team!

Join a whimsical journey exploring the magic of clam chowder! One host, a lifelong aversion, takes on the challenge of discovering its wonders. Dive into hilarious personal stories while learning about the essential ingredients like milk and clams. Get absorbed in a heartfelt tale of Emily the cow and her unique journey to friendship with deer. Discover the fascinating biology of clams and even their vibrational secrets. Plus, don't miss the exciting upcoming live shows, including one all about pizza!

Johnny Mones, a freelance science journalist passionate about marine life, dives deep into the enigmatic world of the Greenland shark. They explore how these seemingly unattractive creatures can live over 500 years, making them the longest-living vertebrates. Mones discusses their unique adaptations and the secret to their longevity, which comes at the cost of companionship and adventure. The episode also highlights the curious behaviors of deep-sea creatures, sparking a sense of wonder and engagement with these mysterious ocean dwellers.