Everything Under The Sun

Molly Oldfield•everythingunderthesun.co.uk

Children are full of curiosity and questions about the world.

Each Friday, join Molly Oldfield, write of the weekly kids quiz in the Guardian each Saturday, the original QI elf and author and host of Everything Under The Sun (both the book and podcast) as she answers questions sent in by children around the world with the help of experts including Neil Gaiman, Heston Blumenthal, Grayson Perry, Lauren Child, Richard Branson and Sophie Dahl to the fish curators at the Natural History Museum.

If you're a kid - big or small - with questions you want answered or if you want to learn interesting facts about life on earth, this is the award winning podcast for you.

Do check out Everything Under The Sun - a curious question for every day of the year, published by Ladybird books now!

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Episodes

9. Why is the sun so bright? Why will the sun turn into a big red giant? And why is the sun orange? Ft special guest experts Harry Cliff and Amy (The Science Museum)

In this week's show we answer three questions from Sophia, Romilly and Alice, with help from special guest experts Harry Cliff and Amy Davey, from London's Science Museum. This week I'm at the Science Museum in London to answer your questions about The Sun, with the help of Harry and Amy, both curators at the museum involved with their current exhibition The Sun - Living with Our Closest Star. This week's questions are from Sophia, Romilly and Alice and they are: Why is the Sun so Bright? Why wi...

Jan 18, 2019•14 min•Season 1Ep. 9

8. Why do we fart? Where do tornados come from? Why do nettles sting and how? Ft special guest expert Chris Chittick.

In this week's show we answer three questions from Ray, Maya and Amelia, with help from special guest expert Chris Chittick, from the TV show Tornado Chasers. Ray would like to know: why we fart? Find out why humans can’t help farting sometimes and what they’re made up of. Ever wondered whether other animals fart? Find out whether millipedes do, whether dinosaurs did and about whale farts, as well as why sloths are the only mammals that don’t fart and how they get rid of gas inside their bodies ...

Jan 11, 2019•13 min•Season 1Ep. 8

7. What is the biggest species of owl ever known to mankind? Why do owls turn their heads all the way around? Are bats actually blind? Are any fish nocturnal? Ft. Roberto and James.

In this week's show we answer four questions from Etienne, Douglas, Camille and Isabel, with help from special guest experts Roberto and James, from the Natural History Museum. Happy New Year! Welcome to this week’s episode of Everything Under the Sun, a weekly podcast answering all the most pressing questions children around the world have about life on earth. This week we're headed into the Natural History Museum in London. We’re going to explore their exhibition called Life in The Dark.The sh...

Jan 04, 2019•16 min•Season 1Ep. 7

6. Why do we sing Auld Lang Syne for New Year? Why is holly spiky? Why do some animals have four legs and some have two legs? Ft special guest expert Simon Loader.

This week we have three questions from Teddy, Eleanor and Molly, with help from special guest expert Simon Loader from the Natural History Museum. They would like to know why holly is spiky, why we sing Auld Lang Syne on New Year's Eve and what it means as well as why some animals have four legs and some have two legs? Discover why we sing Auld Lang Syne on New Year's Eve, where the song came from, what it means, how Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns made it famous and why we sing it on New...

Dec 28, 2018•10 min•Season 1Ep. 6

5. Does Mrs Christmas help Father Christmas to see who is naughty or nice? Has an astronaut ever seen Father Christmas? How do reindeers see in the dark? Why do we have Christmas trees? Ft special guest expert Neil Gaiman.

In this week's special Christmas show we answer five questions from Tommi, Rosie, Gigi, Lottie and Wren, with help from special guest expert Neil Gaiman. The first is from Bea , she'd like to know if Mrs Christmas helps Father Christmas to work out who has been naughty and who has been nice? To answer her question we have the brilliant writer Neil Gaiman, author of Coraline, Stardust, Fortunately The Milk , picture books about Chu the sneezing panda and piles of other books, he's the one who kno...

Dec 21, 2018•15 min•Season 1Ep. 5

4. Why Can't Penguins Fly? Why do Snakes shed their Skin? How Big can a Giant Crab get?

This week we answer questions from Oscar, Harry and Caleb. They would like to know why penguins can't fly, why snakes shed their skin and how big can a giant crab get to? We find out why chubby penguin Dads are popular, how penguins that build nests for their eggs poo without making the nests messy, why snakes shed their skin and all about different giant crabs, where they live and what they get up to. Our special guest expert this week is Suzi, a keeper at ZSL London Zoo who knows all about pen...

Dec 14, 2018•12 min•Season 1Ep. 4

3. Why do flamingos stand on one leg? Why do waves break on the beach? Why do bears hibernate when they've got such long fur to keep them warm?

In this week's show we answer three questions from Millie, Diah and Tommi. They would like to know why flamingos stand on one leg, why waves break on the beach and why bears hibernate when they've got such long fur to keep them warm? We find out about flamingo legs, how they sleep standing up, why they're pink and why they sometimes lose their pink colour when they have new baby chicks! We answer Diah's question which she sent in from her home on the island of Bali, in Indonesia and hear her lan...

Dec 07, 2018•12 min•Season 1Ep. 3

2. Why are rainbows so colourful? Why do we sleepwalk? Why do some people spit when they're talking?

In this week's show we answer three questions from Wren, Abi and Tomos. They would like to know why rainbows are so colourful, why some people talk in their sleep and why some people spit when they're talking? We discuss where the rainbow's colours come from and we talk about Iris, the goddess of the rainbow, and why the colours of our eyes are named after her. We discover the parts of a sleep cycle when you're most likely to sleep talk and finally what causes spitting, how to stop it from happe...

Nov 30, 2018•10 min•Season 1Ep. 2

1. Can blue whales talk to killer whales? Why do killer whales have white patches by their eyes? Why do hammerhead sharks have heads shaped like hammers? Ft special guest expert James McLaine.

In this week's show we answer three questions from Bea, Finn and Tommi, with special help from James McLaine from London's Natural History Museum. They would like to know whether blue whales can talk to killer whales, why killer whales have white patches by their eyes and why hammerhead sharks have heads shaped like hammers? We find out the different ways whales and dolphins communicate underwater, what the white patches are for and our special guest expert James Mclaine from the Natural History...

Nov 23, 2018•10 min•Season 1Ep. 1

Trailer for Everything Under The Sun

Children are full of curiosity and questions about the world. Each Friday, join Molly Oldfield, the very first question writer or QI elf on the BBC TV show QI and author of three books as she answers questions - often with the help of experts - sent into the show by children around the world. If you or a child you know has a question you would like answered, or just want to learn interesting facts about life on earth, this is the podcast for you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more i...

Nov 14, 2018•1 min

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