But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids

What are eels? And why are some eels electric? We head to Poughkeepsie, New York to learn about eels with Chris Bowser, Hudson River estuary educator with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. Plus we learn about electric eels. Electric eels have captured the imagination of many people, but they’re not actually considered eels by the scientific community. They’re a type of knife fish, more closely related to catfish and carp. But they are electric! So we’ll tackle why they’re electric and how they create electricity. David de Santana, of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, tells us what it’s like to study electric eels in the Amazon.
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Why is there traffic? How do traffic lights work? How do they know when to turn red and green? Why does green mean go and red mean stop? Why are cars able to go faster than they are allowed to go with the speed limit? Why do we drive on the right side of the road in the United States? Why are some roads bigger than others?  Answers to your traffic questions with Mike Knodler, professor and director of the Transportation Center at the University of Massachusetts.

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Can’t get enough of lizards? We’re back with a bonus episode answering more of your lizard questions with Adam Clause of the San Diego Natural History Museum. This week, chameleons, Komodo dragons, iguanas, monitor lizards and tuatara! How do chameleons change color? Why are Komodo dragons called dragons and are they endangered? How many babies do monitor lizards have? Why do iguanas have dewlaps? (And what’s a dewlap?!)  Why are iguanas green? What is a tuatara?
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Deep in the basement of the San Diego Natural History Museum, there are thousands of jars filled with preserved reptiles and amphibians. In this episode, But Why takes a tour with collections manager Adam Clause to answer your questions about lizards!  How do lizards climb walls? Do lizards hibernate? Do they sleep? Why are lizards cold blooded?  How do lizards grow back their tails if they break off? Why do geckos lick their eyes? Do lizards poop and pee? 
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But Why turns ten years old on April 1, 2026! To celebrate this milestone, we’re listening back to our very first episode. We’ve got owls and turtles and bears. Naturalist Mary Holland gets into the details about hibernation–including the questions you may not even have thought to ask, like what about poop? Then we meet a barred owl named Chapin, who is cared for by Outreach for Earth Stewardship in Shelburne, Vermont. 
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Download and print Hibernating Bear and "Om Nom" Bear, coloring pages by Lauren Turmel.