On this award-winning show Molly Oldfield, the original QI elf, Guardian kids' quiz compiler and writer (of four books), answers questions sent in by children around the world. This week, we’re continuing our new season of Everything Under the Sun with a wonderful episode featuring author and marine biologist Helen Scales. Helen answers a question sent in by Rian about how shells are formed, explaining which animals create which shells, and how! And Molly answers two more curious questions from ...
May 13, 2022•14 min•Season 4Ep. 97
On this award-winning show Molly Oldfield, the original QI elf, Guardian kids' quiz compiler and writer (of four books), answers questions sent in by children around the world. This week, we’re answering: Why are sheep so fluffy? Why do we work to make money? Why does metal feel cold when you touch it? Talking about work we have Holly Tucker, founder of Not On the High Street who shares with us why it is wonderful to discover what we love and then find a way to make a business from it so we can ...
May 06, 2022•17 min•Season 4Ep. 96
On this award-winning show Molly Oldfield, the original QI elf, Guardian kids' quiz compiler and writer (of four books), answers questions sent in by children around the world. This week, we’re kicking off a new season of Everything Under the Sun with a wonderful episode featuring author and psychotherapist Philippa Perry. Philippa answers a question sent in by Noemie about why we make mistakes and gives lots of helpful insights into the importance of failure and how we can learn from our mistak...
Apr 29, 2022•16 min•Season 4Ep. 95
On this award-winning show Molly Oldfield, the original QI elf, Guardian kids' quiz compiler and writer (of four books), answers questions sent in by children around the world. This week on Everything Under the Sun, it's our Christmas Eve special! Our wonderful guest Neil Gaiman, author of Coraline , Stardust and Good Omens , answers a Christmassy question from Arlo, 'why does Santa bring us toys?' We also answer two more Christmassy questions, 'when was the first sighting of people putting cand...
Dec 24, 2021•20 min•Season 3Ep. 14
On this award-winning show Molly Oldfield, the original QI elf, Guardian kids' quiz compiler and writer (of four books), answers questions sent in by children around the world. This week on Everything Under the Sun, our extra special guest Tom Fletcher, musician, author and Strictly star, helps us answer Henry’s cracking Christmassy question ‘which country does Santa deliver his presents to first, last and middle?’. We announce the winner from last week’s Lauren Child competition and offer the c...
Dec 17, 2021•17 min•Season 3Ep. 13
On this award-winning show Molly Oldfield, the original QI elf, Guardian kids' quiz compiler and writer (of four books), answers questions sent in by children around the world. This week Lauren Child, author of Charlie and Lola , Clarice Bean and Ruby Redfort answers the extra Christmassy question 'why do elves have pointy ears?'. We pick the winner from last week's competition and we offer the chance to win a copy of Lauren Child's book Think Like An Elf and an elf-tastic tea towel! Continuing ...
Dec 10, 2021•17 min•Season 3Ep. 12
On this award-winning show Molly Oldfield, the original QI elf, Guardian kids' quiz compiler and writer (of four books), answers questions sent in by children around the world. This week poetry expert William Sieghart tackles the question 'who wrote the first poem?' and there's a chance to win a copy of William's amazing book, Everyone sang! We also answer Ellie's question about why Pluto is no longer a planet and we explore - thanks to a question from Denis - why we have curse words. Tune in an...
Dec 02, 2021•18 min•Season 3Ep. 11
On this award-winning show Molly Oldfield, the original QI elf, Guardian kids' quiz compiler and writer (of four books), answers questions sent in by children around the world. This week award-winning author Michael Morpurgo tackles the question 'why are there always problems in stories?' and there's a chance to win a copy of two of Michael's amazing books, Owl Or Pussycat? or The Puffin Keeper ! We also answer Rory's question about whether owls can see in ultraviolet light and we explore the or...
Nov 26, 2021•19 min•Season 3Ep. 10
On this award winning show we answer three questions sent in by children around the world. Can you make paper out of poo? Asks Arlo, 4. CBeebies presenter Maddie Moate has the answer. How do plants grow? Matilda, 10 would like to know! Join us to find out what plants need to grow. How do whales poo? asks Bluebell. Find out why whales help the ocean with their poo and what it is like! Check out the Everything Under The Sun book at www.mollyoldfield.com/everything-under-the-sun Socials @mollyoldfi...
Nov 25, 2021•20 min•Season 3Ep. 9
On this award winning show Molly Oldfield - the original QI elf, Guardian kids quiz compiler and writer (of four books) answers questions sent in by children around the world. This week we have wonderful author Sophie Dahl answering 'why are tortoises so slow?' based on her experience with her pet tortoise, Torty! We also work out why you might get a headache if you eat a lot of ice-cream quickly. As well as when lions and other animals from koalas to the world's smallest birds sleep! You'll get...
Nov 12, 2021•23 min•Season 3Ep. 8
On this award winning show we answer three questions from Tabitha, Emma and Christopher with help from special guest expert Laura Henry-Allain MBE Laura is a writer, parenting expert, Early years advisor, inspirational speaker, creator of the CBeebies show JoJo and Gran Gran and has written a new book called Your Skin, My Skin. You can win a copy of her book on this week’s episode by entering our competition! Check out the pod for more info. Laura explains what racism is, how it is basically bul...
Oct 21, 2021•21 min•Season 3Ep. 7
In this week's show we answer three questions from Louise, Amy and Wilf. The team at Ladybird books explain how Everything Under The Sun - a curious question for every day of the year (the beautiful book of this podcast) was made. Find out how ladybirds get their spots and whether or not its on their birthday? We find out what fingernails on a blackboard have to do with babies crying. Instagram: @everythingunderthesunpod and @mollyoldfieldwrites Twitter: @mollyoldfield Facebook: Molly Oldfield W...
Oct 15, 2021•20 min•Season 3Ep. 6
On this award winning show, that goes along with the Everything Under The Sun BOOK we answer three questions a week, one with the help of an expert, two are answered by Molly Oldfield, the original QI elf and author of four books! Our first question is why do bad things exist answered by author Laura Dockrill. Next up find out what would happen if a cheetah and falcon raced, as well as what parts of a falcon inspired the design of jet engines. What does the tooth fairy do with our teeth? We have...
Oct 07, 2021•14 min•Season 3Ep. 5
In this week's show we answer four questions from Ted, Finn, Laurie and Louie with help from special guest expert Tony Adams. Tony Adams was England coach, played for decades for Arsenal, was the last person to score a goal at the old Wembley and has a statue of himself outside the Emirates stadium! Tony tells us how many football clubs there are in the world and how he felt when he played football. Next up we talk about the three kinds of tears and why sad tears help us to feel better in two di...
Oct 01, 2021•16 min•Season 3Ep. 4
In this week's show we answer three questions from Ryan, Willa and Orla with help from special guest expert Rachel Dorris at the Royal Institution in London. We find out all about electric cars, how many are made each day, why they could be great and how we need to thank Michael Faraday who invented the electric motor at the Royal Institution for their existence! Hear how you can win family tickets to a show at The Royal Institution in London! Next we discuss how long it takes to build motorways...
Sep 23, 2021•16 min•Season 3Ep. 3
In this week's show we answer three questions from Matilda, Ben and Octavia with help from special guest expert Clarissa Ward. Clarissa is an award winning journalist who reports from conflict zones including recently in Afghanistan during the Taliban's takeover of Kabul - she was on the ground covering events for CNN. So she is perfect person to answer this excellent question about how people become refugees, from Matilda who has recently been donating clothes to refugees from Afghanistan. We t...
Sep 17, 2021•23 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Welcome back! Today we have questions from Jack, Penelope and Charlotte with help from our wonderful guest expert Stephen Fry. Stephen Fry is the voice of Harry Potter and Paddington and is a renowned brain box and brilliant actor, creator and genius! Stephen takes on a question about Apollo and why the Greeks and Romans had different names for all the gods, except Apollo! He kindly reminds listeners that even grown ups don't know EVERYTHING! Next up Penelope would love to know where the first l...
Sep 09, 2021•19 min•Season 3Ep. 1
In this week's show we answer questions from Maggie, Charlotte, Bertie and Quinn with help from special guest expert Ofra Magidor who is a professor of philosophy at Oxford University Ofra Magidor is a philosophy expert and teaches at Oxford, he has all sorts of interesting questions and thoughts about unicorns and whether they're real. Next up we find out which species of rhino have two horns and which have only one, what they use them for and why their horns have got them into such trouble. Th...
Apr 16, 2021•20 min•Season 2Ep. 20
In this week's show we answer questions from Arlo, Grace, Georgie, Scarlett, Grace and Poppy with help from special guest expert Kate Martin who looks after beautiful places for The National Trust. Kate looks after National Trust land and nature in Formby in Liverpool including red squirrels, natterjack toads and miles of sandy beaches and sand dunes. It gets pretty windy where she works so she knows the answer to your questions about wind! She tells us all about why and how wind blows and how i...
Apr 09, 2021•24 min•Season 2Ep. 19
In this week's show we answer four questions from Gus, Coco, Heidi and Darcy. Peter Gallivan is in charge of things for families and children at the Royal Institution in London and writes a monthly feature for The Week, Junior Science & Nature magazine. Join us to find out how bunnies hop, all about how the different parts of an egg are made, how a chick hatches with a special tooth and how calcium affects the speckles on an egg. Check out Mel Kids here and try a subscription using the code ...
Apr 02, 2021•20 min•Season 2Ep. 18
In this week's show we answer three questions from Bee, Rose and Alex with help from special guest expert Sam Lee. Sam is a folk singer and writer – author of the book The Nightingale, Notes on a Songbird – who leads adventures into the woods to play music with nightingales as they sing. Sam tells us about how nightingales sing at night, unlike most other birds and tells us about their beautiful song. Then we have a competition for you to win a copy of Sam's book for a grown up in your life! We ...
Mar 26, 2021•21 min•Season 2Ep. 17
In this week's show we answer three questions from Laurie, Joud and Sonny with help from special guest experts Emma Freud and Richard Curtis. Emma Freud and Richard Curtis founded Red Nose Day and Comic Relief 35 years ago with comedian Lenny Henry. They tell us why we wear red noses and what Red Nose Day is all about. Our second question is about funny bones, we find out that it’s actually a nerve and there’s a great reason why it’s called a funny bone when it isn’t a bone and isn’t very funny!...
Mar 19, 2021•13 min•Season 2Ep. 16
In this week's show we answer four questions from Arthur, Scarlet, Coco and Beth with help from special guest expert Justin Pollard. Justin is a historian and writer. He writes questions for the TV show QI and is a historical consultant on TV shows such as Vikings and on films. He knows all about the Egyptians so he’s the perfect person to answer our first question about pyramids and mummies. Justin tells us about how the Egyptians thought your spirit would need your body in the afterlife and so...
Mar 12, 2021•17 min•Season 2Ep. 15
In this week's show we answer three questions from Ted, Polly and Tara with help from special guest expert Mark Powers. Mark is the author of Space Detectives a story about two boys who go to space to run an ice cream shop and solve mysteries along the way. We also have a competition to win a copy of the book! We find out which was the first planet in the solar system, how big it is compared to earth, how many moons it has and discuss the big storm happening on it as well as how many satellites ...
Mar 05, 2021•17 min•Season 2Ep. 14
In this week's show we answer three questions from Matilda & Tabitha, Cleo and Magnus with help from special guest expert the picture book writer and illustrator Kim Hillyard. Kim has written two picture books, one about a brave and strong fly called Mabel who decides to climb a mountain and the other about a hamster called Ned, which is a story about kindness. Kim tells us about hamsters and their different kinds of poo and why they eat one kind usually at night! We have a competition to wi...
Feb 26, 2021•15 min•Season 2Ep. 13
In this week's show we answer three questions from Goldie, Meg and Isla and Valentin with help from special guest expert Lizzie King of Lizzie Loves Healthy. Lizzie is a family nutritionist and cook book writer who has a range of natural remedies to help children, one helps with Sleep! It’s called Be Sleepy. Lizzie talks to us about how light affects our sleep, why we get sleepy and what to do to help us sleep well. We also talk about fish and how and where they sleep as well as the sleep of spi...
Feb 19, 2021•14 min•Season 2Ep. 12
In this week's show we answer three questions from Faye and Maya, Ethan and Alex with help from special guest expert Willow Crossley. Willow Crossley is a florist and a writer who lives in Oxfordshire with her three boys, writing books and designing beautiful things with flowers. She tells us all about why flowers are prickly plus we find out why blackberry bushes are extra prickly because of a special job they used to do. We also talk about Valentine’s Day and why people send flowers on that da...
Feb 12, 2021•15 min•Season 2Ep. 11
In this week's show we answer three questions from Arlo, Beatrice and Henry and Isabelle with help from special guest experts Jon Ablett from the Natural History Museum in London. Jon Ablett is a world expert on molluscs and looks after a huge collection of them at the Natural History Museum in London. He gives us the low down on snails and why they come out in the rain. Our first question is from Arlo and is about elephants, he would like to know why they have trunks? Discover lots of fun facts...
Feb 05, 2021•16 min•Season 2Ep. 10
In this week's show we answer three questions from Bea, Beatrice and Wilf with help from special guest expert Lauren Child. Lauren Child is a much loved children’s author and illustrator who has written classic series such as Charlie and Lola, Clarice Bean and Ruby Redford. She has won many awards, her books are bestselling and she was Children’s Laureate! Very impressive indeed. Lauren talks to us about daydreaming, why she thinks we do it, and how it can lead to great new ideas! Next we discus...
Jan 29, 2021•20 min•Season 2Ep. 9
In this week's show we answer three questions from Leo, Dragon and Cecily with help from special guest experts Professor Schmitt and Doug Millard from the Science Museum in London. Professor Schmitt is a world expert on skateboards and has been making them for decades - he gives us the low down on how they were invented. Doug Millard looks after the airplane collection at the Science Museum in London and chats hoverboards. We find out why crabs walk sideways, as well as what the biggest crabs on...
Jan 22, 2021•15 min•Season 2Ep. 8
