Indian skies are full of crows, pigeons and sparrows. But vultures have collapsed in numbers from a few million to a few hundred in under a decade. Want to find out how? Listen to 8-yr old Advik (who reiterates that he is almost nine) and Smyan Shetty explaining the why and how of this story.To listen to the entire podcast series on India's wildlife, click here Do you like to read stories? Read our newsletters hereGet Whatsapp alerts here Follow us on Instagram Email your comments...
Nov 13, 2023•14 min
Forest trackers also called 'pugees' play an inimitable role in conserving India's forests. They can reconstruct whole events inside forests just by looking at the pugmarks. Listen to the full episode to find out how. The pugees play a crucial role in monitoring the health of wildlife and getting medical support as quickly as possible.This is a continuation of the previous episode (part 5) and our sprightly young co-host Chandrika joins us in this episode as well.Podcast cover art has been ma...
Nov 09, 2023•13 min
The Asiatic lions had gone extinct in large parts of Central Asia. The last remnants were to be found in the forests of the princely states of Gujarat, in India. There were only a handful of these lions left (<20). The Nawab of Junagadh played a key role in protecting these lions from going extinct. Listen to this episode to find out how.Chandrika, a sprightly fourth-grader joins us in this episode, exploring India's success story in reviving the Asiatic lions.To listen to the entire podca...
Nov 09, 2023•12 min
Project Tiger was launched in 1973 amidst the gloomy news that the tiger numbers had plummeted to a measly 1400 from a high of 40,000 in 1900. An Indian officer called Kailash Sankhala, also called the Tiger Man of India, pushed the case for a special protection plan for tigers. Thus was born Project Tiger.This was also around the same time when M.K.Ranjitsinh was helping the Indian government draft one of the tightest wildlife protection acts - The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. One ...
Nov 06, 2023•17 min
Tigers are either feared or hunted or both. Sometimes when they turn into man-eaters, they turn into the stuff of legends (and eventually give birth to stories such as the Man-eaters of Kumaon by Jim Corbett). This episode explores a different side of a tiger. The tiger can also be a creature that is careful, caring and considerate. There are instances of tigers being excellent friends of humans and being allowed to roam around freely in their presence. Saroj Raj Chaudhury was a forest o...
Nov 06, 2023•13 min
After the British left India in 1947, Indians were feeling mighty happy. But they also had to figure out how to build the country, grow more food and earn a lot of money. In the middle of all of this, if some poachers were killing tigers for their skins or rhinos for their horns - not many were paying attention to that. There were a handful of wildlife conservationists at that time, who did all they could - to first bring this to the attention of India's leaders. This episode covers three suc...
Nov 02, 2023•27 min
We begin our new podcast series on 'India's Wildlife' - tracing stories from before India became independent, right until 2023, when India tries to bring back the cheetah from extinction. In the first episode, we trace the hunting habits of Indian Maharajahs and the British posted in India. We look at how hunting helped or hurt the wildlife balance inside India's forests. Shambhavi Nautyal, a ninth-grader from Ahlcon Public School, joins us in this episode, sharing stories about hunting was hard...
Oct 27, 2023•13 min
For a lot of us, going to school involves a walk around the corner, or a trip by a bus or a car. That is not the case for many children across the world. This is a real life story about a group of children who have to travel between two mountains to get to school and what happens when the cable car ferrying them gets stuck mid-air. This story has a happy ending. So worry not. Go ahead and give it a listen.An eighth grader - Temjentila, from Dimapur's Charis High school in Nagaland joins us in...
Oct 26, 2023•13 min
Palestine has an ancient history - going back many thousands of years. In this episode, we trace the stories of this region going back 3000 years, from the times of Moses right until now. The Jews were a dominant race in that region right until the Roman invasion. Soon after the birth of Jesus Christ, Christiantity gained favour and the Jews were a smaller share of the population. After the rule of the Romans and the Byzantine empire, the region is conquered by the Ottomans who then help spre...
Oct 13, 2023•16 min
Sharp needle pricks are not anyone's favourite - least of all, when the doctors force them upon us. Worse still is a vaccine injection that may or may not be followed by a bout of fever and illness before recovery comes our way.Who do we blame / credit for discovering vaccines in recent memory? Listen to the episode to find the story of Edward Jenner and the cowpox in his milkmaid. Also, listen to the episode to see what the Nobel winners of 2023 discovered that fascinates 12-year old Rhea Va...
Oct 09, 2023•13 min
World Food Day is here. A food that is both loved by children and the old is the warm and fluffy 'idli'. Often called a South Indian food, in this episode we explore the question 'Did idli really originate in India?'There are three competing stories about how South India got its idli. Let us know where you think Idli came from!Do you like to read stories? Read our newsletters hereGet Whatsapp alerts here Follow us on Instagram Email your comments at hello@wsnt.in.
Oct 07, 2023•9 min
Moose was eight years old, stuck in a shelter in Virginia. A family of five were looking to foster a dog for a weekend. It was going to be their lucky weekend. Moose and his kind face instantly won them over and off they went to their houseboat. What happened there and how Moose saved the three kids and the whole family from an impending disaster is the story of this podcast episode.If you'd like to see pictures of Moose and the three kids, click here Do you like to read stories? Read ou...
Sep 29, 2023•11 min
Dinosaurs might have been enjoying a good rest when a meteorite came crashing towards them. They may not have had the time to react or say their goodbye to their loved ones. But man is greedy. He would like to avert such disasters as much as he can.So he sends missions to asteroids to study them and figure out ways to avoid colliding with them. NASA's Osiris-Rex is one such mission. The mission recently brought back dust and pebbles from Bennu the asteroid, and landed recently in the desert s...
Sep 26, 2023•16 min
A photo released by NASA - is a refreshing course in science. It show an underwater volcano erupting near the Solomon Islands and a group of sharks swimming near these volcanoes. Sharks have always been understood to prefer the cold deep water of the ocean. So this photo of sharks near the Kavachi volcanoes was quite the mystery.In this conversation with 8-yr old Aniket from Bala Vidya Mandir, Chennai, you'll find why sharks and volcanoes are fascinating to all - young and old!Do you like to ...
Sep 22, 2023•10 min
Bears love honey, climbing trees, and pouncing on their pound of fish in lakes and rivers. But after a while, as the snow begins to set in, the fun times stop as they quietly lie down. What happens in the weeks before they start to hibernate? They have to eat a LOT!The Fat Bear Week helps all of us from anywhere in the world see these bears in action just before they hibernate.If you'd like to read the blog version of this podcast, click here To vote for this Fat Bear contest, you can cl...
Sep 18, 2023•6 min
Whoever would have thought that a faraway continent (one that sees more whales and penguins, than humans) is home to a new English accent. If you are one to enjoy making out the differences between the American, British and the Australian accents, you'll enjoy listening to 13-yr old Meher from Dubai, explaining what she sees as a trend amongst her school-friends.Also, why is this new accent even important? Think Space and Mars!Listen to Meher's recommended podcast series on India's spac...
Sep 14, 2023•14 min
The Chennai airport saw a crowd milling with flowers and sweets, waiting to welcome one of the city's greatest heroes. This was the kind of welcome commonly found for cricketing heroes & heroines or movie superstars. This time though, it was the turn of a chess grandmaster, arriving from his FIDE Chess Championship at Baku.Listen to this episode to discover the fascinating origin story of Pragnananndha (or Prag) as he is fondly referred to. It's also got an interesting trivia / story abou...
Sep 11, 2023•9 min
In a cricket-crazy country, a javelin thrower to have the most number of Instagram followers amongst all the athletes in the world is saying something. Neeraj Chopra's recent gold win at the World Athletics Championship has won him hearts, both for his win as well as his gesture towards the silver medal winner from Pakistan - Arshad Nadeem.Find out what exactly happened in this episode.Youtube credit for Athletics Championship press coverage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qCZq-Dlrso&t=...
Sep 04, 2023•10 min
ISRO began its interstellar journey in the 21st century. Lunar mission (Chandrayaan) and Mars Orbiter mission (Mangalyaan) saw the light of the day. The triumphant successes of both these missions brought India to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the space superpowers - the US, Russia and China.The episode begins with a quick backstory into the cold war between the US and the Soviet Union.If you'd like to look at all the pictures we spoke about, here's a blog with all the pictures plugged into...
Sep 01, 2023•15 min
What happens during a liftoff? Why is there so much smoke and fire? How do people in nearby towns and villages not go deaf?How does a satellite enter the orbit of the moon or the Mars?Curious co-hosts in this episode: Anina, a fourth-grader from BengaluruIf you'd like to look at all the pictures we spoke about, here's a blog with all the pictures plugged into them Do you like to read stories? Read our newsletters hereGet Whatsapp alerts here Follow us on Instagram Email your comments at...
Aug 28, 2023•21 min
Seeing rockets go up in a billowing cloud of smoke from Sriharikota is more often than not, associated with success. It was not so, in the 1980s and 1990s. Scientists at ISRO struggled with many failures and had to face growing criticism from the press for nearly a decade. Unfazed by all this, today, ISRO can proudly stake claim to having built one of the most powerful satellite launch vehicles in the world - this powerhorse is called Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)Listen on to find wha...
Aug 25, 2023•21 min
The 1990s saw an explosion of TV shows, including superheroes like Shaktimaan and detectives like Byomkesh Bakshi. A lot of this was aided by the presence of colour TV sets in many Indian homes.India's space journey played a huge hand in making these childhood staples for the 90s kids. The story of the satellite - Insat 1a, its launch and subsequent performance forms the basis of this episode.Curious co-hosts in this episode: 11-year old Dhruv from Bengaluru and 11-yr old Pranshi from MumbaiI...
Aug 18, 2023•12 min
If you lived in the 1980s and 1990s in India, Sunday mornings were often quiet affairs. Not because the families wanted to dine together, but because the TV brought them all together for wholesome entertainment.India's space journey had much to do with TVs becoming a reality in Indian homes. Listen to this episode (part 4) of this series and find out how an experiment with NASA bring TV shows to the average man in villages.Curious co-hosts in this episode: 9-year old Saatvik from Mumbai and 1...
Aug 18, 2023•13 min
This episode is the third part in our series on the Journey of ISRO. Click here to listen to Parts 1 and Part 2, before you listen to part 3.Dr. Vikram Sarabhai and Dr. Homi Bhabha's deaths at the prime of their lives, robbed India of two of its greatest science and technology visionaries.The baton passed onto a scientist Prof Satish Dhawan, who not only nurtured the infant space mission, but also put together able structures and procedures that helped ISRO reach greater heights.Curious co-ho...
Aug 10, 2023•19 min
Dr.Vikram Sarabhai was not a man to stop at sending a few sounding rockets from a beach town in Kerala. He had grander visions. He wanted India to launch its own satellite from its own satellite launch vehicle.Where would he find his suitable satellite launch pad? Listen to the episode to find stories of the jungles he and his team trudged and reach the ideal island.Curious co-hosts in this episode: 11-year old Dhruv from Bengaluru and 11-yr old Pranshi from MumbaiIf you'd like to look at all...
Aug 07, 2023•22 min
The feverish excitement of watching the launch of Chandrayaan 3 is hard to be matched. On second thoughts, it could be matched by India winning a world cup in cricket (esp. if the finals were against Pakistan).We delved back 75 years to look into the stories that chronicled India's space journey. These stories brought us goosebumps and left us in awe of the father of India's space program - Dr. Vikram Sarabhai. When the rest of the world was busy fighting wars to send humans and pets into spa...
Aug 04, 2023•19 min
What colour is the sun?Should you be placing toilet paper on toilet seats in public bathrooms?Why are some eggs easy to peel while others are not?To find answer to these 3 questions, listen to the 12-year old who has 'scientifically researched' these points.Do you like to read stories? Read our newsletters hereGet Whatsapp alerts here Follow us on Instagram Email your comments at hello@wsnt.in.
Aug 02, 2023•9 min
Every month as part of our happy kidpod, we feature news stories that bring a smile to our faces. In this episode, we share three news stories about the Amazon Rainforests, schools for children in Madagascar and interesting health routines of elephants in the USA. Anmol, Vilaksh and Tamanna from BOSCO Public School, Delhi have curated these positive news stories and share their perspectives in this episode.Trivia- If the lion is the king of the jungle in Africa, what is the king of the Amazon...
Jul 27, 2023•13 min
How many tigers can you find in Africa?Is the tiger bigger than a lion?What record has India created in the Guiness Book of World Records with respect to conserving wildlife?What would a 9 or 10-year old do, if faced with the task of saving tigers that are declining in population?8-year old Lavysha Saraf from DPS (Hyderabad), identical twins 10-yr old Dhruv Gandhi and Dhyan Gandhi from Children's Academy group of schools, share their thoughts on these questions and more. Project Tiger has bee...
Jul 20, 2023•19 min
What are some of the common ways by which children use the internet to bully their peers? What are the simple steps that parents and teachers can take to protect children?A 12-year old from S.East Asia shares his experiences of how he and his family dealt with cyber-bullying.Ms.Mildred Lobo (Principal of Bunt Sangha's S.M.Shetty International School, Mumbai) shares how she has dealt with such cyber-bullying instances in her school.Do you like to read stories? Read our newsletters hereGet What...
Jul 18, 2023•14 min
