But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids

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.

In the United States, voters in each state elect a governor every two or four year terms. The governor is the top official in the state government. But did you know five U.S. states also elect a Kid Governor? It’s a part of a civics education program that helps kids learn about democracy while focusing on a community issue that’s important to them. But Why recently hosted Vermont’s Kid Governor and cabinet for a kid press conference and in this episode, we’ll listen in on that event. Plus we’ll hear from kid governors in Connecticut and Nebraska about what they hope to accomplish in their terms.  
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Some questions are so big they’re existential, meaning that they get right to the heart of human existence. These are also sometimes called philosophical questions, so for this episode we called up a professor of philosophy, Scott Hershovitz, who teaches at the University of Michigan. He’s also written a book about how adults and kids can have philosophical discussions together. It’s called Nasty, Brutish and Short: Adventures in Philosophy with My Kids.

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