Podcast Episodes

How is paper made?

Paper is all around us. There’s toilet paper and pizza boxes, wrapping paper, and receipts. Most of the paper in the U.S. is made from trees, but it can be made out of all sorts of plant material – b…

Published on 9 months ago

Whirr. Zoom! Plink plink. It’s a Mystery Sound extravaganza

Bzzz. Shloop! Bang Bang. Wooooosh! It’s time for another Mystery Sound Extravaganza.

Join Molly and co-host Violet as they figure out what’s making some seriously mysterious noises.

Plus, they'll inte…

Published on 9 months, 1 week ago

Is it true? Vikings, dogs, and twins edition

Listeners send us LOTS of questions. Like hundreds a month! We read every single one — and we love all of them! Every now and then, we get a special kind of question that starts with “Is it true that…

Published on 9 months, 2 weeks ago

Are whales communicating with their clicks and songs?

Baleen whales sing. Toothed whales click. But how and why do they make these musical sounds?

Join Molly and co-host Tyler as they dive into the wonderful world of whale sounds. First, they run into An…

Published on 9 months, 3 weeks ago

Smarty Pass Sneak Peek: Bones On Mystery Sounds!

It’s almost midnight and Mr Bone Jangles has snuck into the studio to debut his new show -- Bones On! His plans are foiled when Molly pops in and asks him to guess some mystery sounds instead!

Published on 10 months ago

Donate today and get a personalized message!

You – yes, you – are  at the heart of the Brains On Universe! This is a public radio podcast and you are the public! That means we rely on your donations to keep us going strong.  

This Giving Tuesday…

Published on 10 months ago

We're back December 17!

Brains On will be back with new episodes starting December 17! We’ve got a gaggle of mystery sounds, so many great questions to answer and surprises in store. We can’t wait for you to tune into our n…

Published on 10 months, 1 week ago

Smarty Pass Sneak Peek: Mystery Animal Poetry Slam

Molly’s got a case of poetry fever, and she’s ready to rhyme! She’s testing out her newest stash of stanzas on her pals, Marc and Sanden. They’ll have to guess the animals featured in four of Molly’s…

Published on 10 months, 3 weeks ago

Smarty Pass Presents: Noun Noun

Usually, bonus episodes like this are exclusively for Smarty Pass subscribers but this month we’re sharing them with all our listeners. If you like this bonus episode and want to hear fun games every…

Published on 11 months, 2 weeks ago

The real vampires of the animal world

According to legend, vampires are creatures with pale skin and sharp teeth who drink blood. These creepy ghouls are not real, but in this episode, we'll meet some vampire animals that do exist!

Join M…

Published on 11 months, 3 weeks ago