Metamorphic caterpillars! Fungus farming ants! Digital bees? Oh my! -- how can these all be bugs? In this episode, Avery talks about bugs in computer code and how she built a pollination video game with a Raspberry Pi. Izaiah updates us about the worms in the compost pile on his farm. And our friends at Valle de Niños in San Francisco take us on a tour of the life cycle of caterpillars. (Entomolgist Chris Wheeler also gets some words in edge-wise1)

What IS a CRITTER? Andrew & Polly ask some friends around the world about the different critters that live in their neighborhoods. Ear Snacks is a free interactive experience centered around children’s voices & ideas. To support the work we’re doing for your kids (and all kids), become a supporter on Patreon or through Apple Podcasts Premium Subscription feature. Thanks for listening! Need more snacks? Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or TikTok!

An interview with a mermaid scientist!!! This Earth Week remix episode of Ear Snacks features the bright light of science communicator and mermaid, Danni Washington. Check out her amazing book, Bold Women in Science, and her podcast for kids, Genius Generation. Thanks again to our friends Arlo, Molly, Poppy, Opal, Sam, and Thiri (and their parents) for sharing what they know about lights! And thank you to all our listeners for your beautiful inner lights and for using them to help others see...

Happy Earth Week! What has 3 trillion trees and one kid named after a birch tree? Andrew & Polly's family tree has (at least!) 3 tree experts who give us just the tiniest glimpse into the wonder of all things arboreal. Thanks to Bay Area-based Plant Stars and Oakland Aesthetics for sharing what they love! To learn more or to be on the show, visit earsnacks.org - and thanks for listening!

What do you see during an eclipse? What does it feel like? What does it sound like? In 2017, we asked kids and families living in the path of totality to record their experience of the Great American Eclipse. If you're getting ready for the total solar eclipse on April 8th, 2024 that will stretch from Texas to Maine, check this out! More awesome eclipse- and science-related listening goodness, including… Our episode about Shadows where Mat Kaplan from Planetary Radio explains how eclipses...

Why ARE there so many songs about rainbows? Because there's SO MUCH TO SAY about them! Happy Holi! Andrew & Polly act as the prism for some awesome tangential concepts connected to ROY G BIV. Jazz piansit Charu Suri shares the connection between raga (Sanskrit for "color" or "dye") and the aura of music, as well as her love of the mischievously vibrant paint-throwing Festival of Colors, Holi! And Nina Silver takes us on a guided unpacking of flood myths and rainbows as symbols of hope in...

WHAT IS PIE? What about pi? Can I have 3.1415 pieces, please? Pre-heat your International Pi Day festivities! Andrew & Polly get granular with Molly Birnbaum from America’s Test Kitchen Kids who does all kinds of fascinating kitchen experiments and games on her new kids podcast, Mystery Recipe. Find more at ATKkids.com/mysteryrecipe and earsnacks.org — we hope family time can be filled with fun and learning and good food!

Do you ever make things in your house? Do you ever use YARN? Unwind the knotty world of knitting, coziness, and monster design with our friends Lilah, Gertie, Dot, and Andy Ferguson a.k.a. musician & puppeteer, Red Yarn! Andy shares a paper bag craft, using pantomime to create new puppetry characters, and how crafting can contribute to protest movements. Our pal Angela Diveglia shares about her time working with Bread and Puppet Theater and the giant protest puppets they've used in civic...

Do all hearts beat the same? We don’t know…unless we listen to them. With the help of four well-informed hummingbirds and renowned muralist Ruben Rojas, Andrew & Polly explore what they know about hearts – biological and metaphorical! Our friends Maya, Anders, Jackson, and Emmet share about how their hearts feel when they give and receive Valentines. And Polly shares about the little robot in her chest (her pacemaker-defibrillator) and the way it keeps her heart dancing to a steady...

Guest host extraordinaire Carly Ciarrocchi introduces you to the GRAMMY®-nominated artists for Best Children's Music Album in 2024: DJ Willy Wow! for HIP-HOPE FOR KIDS! 123 Andrés for WE GROW TOGETHER: PRESCHOOL SONGS Andrew & Polly for AHHHHH! Uncle Jumbo for TASTE THE SKY Pierce Freelon and Nnenna Freelon for ANCESTARS Congratulations to all the nominees for the 66th GRAMMY Awards! We hope you'll follow these artists and support their...

Ding ding! Andrew & Polly explore a world of bell sounds and sensations guided by blind author Andrew Leland and percussionist Abby Savell. Kora, Nora, Hazel, Max, Fortney and Berlin think about the use of bells in mindfulness and meditation, around the necks of cats and cows, and the language of fairies. Topics include the physics of sound, the spectrum of blindness, the British punk band Wire, and a vast array of bells including: Almglocken, Bell Trees, Bicycle Bells, Camel Bells, Cat...

Happy Happy Holidays! Let these completely original family-music tunes light up your holidays and upcoming home days. Thanks to these incredibly talented and generous musicians who fill our ears and hearts all year long - a great way to support their work is by sharing their music, adding their songs to your playlists and following them on social media! Happy Happy Holidays by Aaron Nigel Smith All I Want for Christmas is Used by Formidable Vegetable Coniferous Trees by Molly Ledford...

Fun and funny songs to inspire the next generation of scientists! On this episode, we're sharing the growing-things (biology) part of our Spotify playlist Science Class Soundtrack featuring these radically thoughtful artists: The Scientific Method by Andrew & Polly feat. Mista Cookie Jar The Dichotomous Key by Billy Kelly & Molly Ledford Trees by Ozomatli Presents Ozokids Micro Biome by Formidable Vegetable Little Mushroom by Pierce Freelon & Nnenna Freelon The...

Wheeeee! How do slides work? What makes something slippery? And what happens when one person wants to go down a slide and another person wants to go up? Andrew & Polly think about the physics of playgrounds, sledding, trombones, and outer space. Our friends Oscar, Alexis, Calvin, Monroe, Tenney, Ainsley, and aerospace engineer Frankie help us make friends with gravity and friction. Plus we turn a playground structure into a percussion instrument. You can hear the full version of the song...

On this episode of Ear Snacks, Andrew & Polly play some of their favorite songs from family music artists about BIG feelings -- and how it's okay to notice them and be with them for a while. This is just a small selection of the great music made for kids we're curating on Spotify playlists, so check 'em out! On this episode of Ear Snacks, you'll hear: Tiger in a Hammock by You and Us Wild Thing by Hot Toast Music Company Let's Get Mad by Andrew & Polly feat. Alphabet...

When you need a little pep talk, these songs will reassure you - you can do it! We're celebrating our new album “AHHHHH!” by playing our new songs along with awesome songs from some other amazing family music artists – all about positive self-talk. Worthy Mantra by Tiptoe Giants Soy Yo by Bomba Estereo Powerful, Wonderful by Andrew & Polly (feat. Raye Zaragoza) Smardi Gras by Secret Agent 23 Skidoo I Am Enough by Miss Julieann & Propel Schools Performing Arts Academy I Can...

Today on Ear Snacks we're celebrating our new album “AHHHHH!” by playing our new songs along with awesome songs from some other amazing family music artists – all about joy and resilience. Resilience is that thing kids need to help them get through tough stuff, and allowing joyfulness is one of the ways we can fill our tanks when we're feeling on empty. So get ready to bounce - and practice how to bounce back! Many thanks to these awesome music-makers for sharing their songs: All We Can Be...

New Yorker cartoonist Tom Toro (Home Free, Back to School Backpack) talks cartoons of all shapes and sizes on this episode of  Ear Snacks! Andrew & Polly avoid anvils, consider political cartoons, think about how it feels to STOP watching your favorite stories, and sing a brand new song by Eilis Cahill. Thanks for listening! A big thank you to Leo, Solomon, Hannah, Seamus, Leon, Waylan and Izzy — and their parents — for sharing what they know about cartoons. To learn more or to be on the...

Sloths on motorcycles. Stereo sound. Ball bearings left over from WWII. We're talking about Moves, people. Independent ride operator Bruce Perlman talks about how he got into the carnival industry, how his friend Sergio designs gigantic moving attractions, and how boats and 22-wheelers move these carnival rides from place to place. Ramona, Hank, Willa, Colin, Bella, Desmond, and Charlie also make their Ear Snacks debut pondering what they know about movement.

Math and art intersect in this super-fun episode of Ear Snacks! Andrew & Polly invent awesome shape games with author illustrator Carter Higgins, who shares about her awesome book Circle Under Berry and our friends Emmet, Milena, Phoenix and Gertie dish on things with more than three sides. For more information or to be on the show, visit earsnacks.org.

Put these hot beats in your hot feets! Ear Snacks is back and Andrew & Polly are sharing some of the sunniest, most funniest tunes for your family to enjoy. Feast your ears on: Ear Snacks Summer Mixtape 2023 “Rainbow Shoppe” by Andrew & Polly feat. Lucy Kalantari “Be You You You” by Uncle Jumbo “Start the Discussion” by Esther Crow feat. Strawbitty Yops “Beautiful You” by Mista Cookie Jar feat. Fyütch, Genevieve Goings, Orbit Dean “ABC You A G” by Nnenna & Pierce Freelon...

Are you human? Meet the 90 trillion non-human friends that each one of us carries around every day (plus a couple of goats) with one of our new music friends from down under, Formidable Vegetable's Charlie Mgee. Charlie's music and ideas take us on a journey to consider our relationship to the environment and think about how to be a good friend to the whole world. 100 trillion thanks to Charlie Mgee for popping back on the grid to speak with us and sharing 3 songs from their most recent...

GRAMMY-Award-Winning Artists, Alphabet Rockers, join us in a heart-centering conversation about feeling alone. Along with friends Harlow, Alex, Miles, Maya, Jacob & Isabel we think a more about friendship and the vocabulary around sharing and noticing alone feelings. Many many thanks to Kaitlin McGaw and Tommy Shepherd of Alphabet Rockers. On this episode you heard two of their songs - "You are Not Alone" which is a song AND NOW A BOOK! Their song "Get You a Friend" is on their new...

Get to know some of the family music artists nominated for a 2023 GRAMMY Award for Best Children’s Album: Divinity Roxx from NYC (@diviroxx and @diviroxxkids) plays bass for Beyoncé, writes children’s books, and loves mini-kayaking adventures. She shared “Be Yourself” from her GRAMMY-nominated album “Ready, Set, Go!” Justin Roberts from Evanston, IL (@justiroberts) plays pinball, complex faming-based board games, writes children’s books illustrated by Christian Robinson, and advocates for...