You're listening to Brains On, where we're serious about being curious.
Brains On is supported on part by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
Easy, Humpty. Easy. Just got to back one more thing.
Hey, Mark. Um, what's with the camel?
And what's with that mountain of stuff strapped to the camel?
Oh, hey, Molly and Lyndon.
This is Humpty. He's just carrying my supplies for our phone-free picnic.
All that for one picnic?
I'm just bringing chips in a sandwich.
Oh, no. This isn't my food carrying camel.
That's dump-dee over there.
Hey, dump-dee. Humpty here is carrying all the old school versions of the things on my phone.
So I won't miss them during our phone-free picnic.
That seems like a lot for just one picnic.
I know. So fun, right? I brought a record player and a hundred of my favorite records.
So we have music, see? Plus maps in case we need directions, a compass, a calculator, a thermometer, a parameter, a alarm clock, board games, photo albums, a list of all my friends, a typewriter.
In case I suddenly want to draft a letter to my friends, and a homing pigeon to deliver that letter to my friends.
Fly my wing and wonder fly.
You know, Mark, I don't think you'll need all this stuff.
Why not just hang out and be in the moment?
Yeah, it's fun to do things analog, but it's also fun to just experience things with your senses.
Feel the sun, hear the birds, smell the grass.
You're right. I may have overdone it.
And besides, Humpty looks a little strained.
Yeah, I think he wants you to unpack him.
Is a camel even supposed to be carrying that much stuff?
Good question. I don't actually know the weight limit of a camel.
Let me check the set of Encyclopedias dropped to Humpty's hindquarters.
Let's see here. Cafftons, crafts, oh, oh, camels.
Oh, sorry Humpty. Unpacked first.
Look up fact second. Your listening to Brains on from APM Studios.
I'm Molly Bloom and my co-host today is Lyndon from Bend, Oregon.
Hi, Lyndon. Hi, Molly. That phone-free picnic was so fun.
I know. I just wish Humpty and Dumpty would have left some chips for the rest of us.
Who knew camels love cool ranch so much?
If I knew, I would have brought more.
Yeah, well, Hump site is 2020.
Speaking of the phone-free picnic, today's episode was inspired by some questions you sent us.
Yeah, I wanted to know why phones and screens are so hard to put down.
And are they bad for you?
So this is a big topic. There are lots of screens in our lives, but phones are the most common.
So we're just going to focus on those today.
So Lyndon, what got you thinking about this?
Um, I honestly, like for a long time, I've just really been interested in having a phone.
There's like a lot of cool stuff that you can do with it.
My mom's not super keen on it.
And so I was wondering, is it bad for you?
And yeah. So you are 11 years old?
Yes, I am 11 years old. And what grade are you going into?
Sixth grade. And so why do you want a phone?
Um, I want a phone. I already have a watch where I can make calls and texts, but I want a phone to be able to play games, and use social media, and watch stuff.
Mm. And so your watch, is it a watch that like has the internet on it or is it one of those watches that's kind of more limited in what it can do?
It has the internet, but my mom can set parental controls on it.
Got it. And so do your friends have phones?
Yes, some of my friends do have phones, but some of them do not.
So like what would you say it's like half and half or like more with, more without?
I think more of them have without, but the kids that are without phones are getting them soon, I think.
Do you know they're getting them?
Or is it just like the talk of your friends is kind of like figuring out when everyone's going to get a phone?
It's just kind of what they're saying.
I don't know if it's true or not.
Mm, excellent. So one reason this topic is tough is because kids get a lot of mixed messages.
Yeah, our parents sometimes spend a lot of time on their phones, but then they say they don't want us to have one.
What's up with that? This is a hot topic in a lot of families, including mine.
So today we're going to look at this tricky subject and explore what we know and don't know about it.
So since this is a discussion happening in lots of families, we thought it made sense to start by bringing in your mom.
Hi, Corey. Hi. So Corey, Lyndon was just telling me that she wants a phone.
How do you feel about that?
This is a tough one for us because I actually work in the tech industry and I make apps for phones.
And so I have a lot of inside understanding of how apps work and what keeps people drawn to them and using them.
So when Lyndon says, Mom, I want a phone.
What is your initial reaction?
No. So Lyndon, how do you feel about your mom's phone use?
How much does she use her phone?
She uses her phone a lot, but I know it's mostly for work, but she also uses her phone to read the news and go on social media too.
So Corey, how do you feel about your own phone use?
I know I personally feel like I would love to use my phone less and I know I need to and I feel like I use it too much.
And my daughter is always calling me out on it being like, Mom, put your phone down.
So I'm working on that. And I'm just wondering how you feel about your own.
Do you feel like you've got to under control?
I feel like I use my phone a lot for sure.
I don't feel like it is in any way getting in the way of my life in any negative way, except that it is, you know, presenting a double standard to our kids who we tell them they can only have a certain amount of screen time and when they use screens for too long, it changes their behavior.
So Linda, you heard what your mom thinks.
What do you think about, you know, her thoughts about you guys having phones?
I definitely, I know she works with them.
So she knows what she's talking about.
But I also sometimes feel left out not having a phone and I wish I could have one.
And I know if I did get one now, there would be a lot of rules around it.
And I think I would be okay with it.
And Linda, do you feel like if you had a phone that you understand what it would be like to have that thing there all the time, type saying, use me, use me.
Like you feel like you are prepared to say no to it sometimes.
I feel like if I got a phone, I would be able to say no to it because I like, I would used to be part of the group that didn't have it and know what it felt like when the other people were on their phones.
But then I also would be like, oh, like, I just got a notification, I want to check it.
Yeah, those notifications are sneaky.
So Corey, what is your favorite thing about your phone?
Ooh, good question. I think my favorite thing about having a phone is just the immediate access to any information I want at any moment.
I think that's what gets me most excited is, any question I have, I can just ask my phone and then I have the answer right away.
And what's your least favorite thing about your phone?
I think, well, the least favorite thing is just how much public life has changed and I can't help but notice that when I'm out and about and seeing how many people just have their heads down and they're on their phone.
Or anytime there's like an awkward situation socially people to get out of it just to like instinctively take out their phones.
And so I just remember a time before we had phones when things were different, when people got together and now it feels like everyone's face is just buried in their phones all the time.
So one of the experts we spoke to for this episode had an interesting way to think about this.
Her name is Julius Storm and she helps families work through issues around tech.
She said for parents, a kid getting a phone is sort of like having a stranger move into your house.
And not only did they move in, but to us sometimes it feels like they moved into your room and they started giving you advice and they started telling you it was cool and they started to take on more of the role that we used to take on.
And so for us that device which feels in some ways like all these other people's thoughts and opinions and ideas coming at you, it makes us nervous because we don't know what you're learning on there and we don't know always how to keep you safe on there.
So does that ring true to either of you?
Definitely rings true to me.
That's one of the reasons that I don't want Lyndon to have a phone is because I know from my own experience, we all know, right?
You're on your phone, you see all of the different information coming at you, all of the different opinions, the different tones people are using on there.
And as adults, we have the tools and the context to understand what to listen to and what to ignore and who to trust and how to be skeptical.
And I just don't think that kids are capable of that yet.
So there's just so much information coming at them and they might choose to believe the wrong thing or the hurtful thing and that really scares me.
What do you think, Lyndon?
Do you think you have a sense of like, if you were to see stuff online, like how to understand if it's true or not?
Like is that something they teach you in school or your parents tell you about?
They definitely teach that to me in school and my mom has talked to me about it a lot.
I feel like I would know, but I would still remember like the negative stuff.
So listeners at home feel free to pause this episode and talk about whether anyone said anything today that you hadn't thought of before.
Was there anything the other side said that stood out to you?
How about you, Lyndon Corey?
Anything the other one said that stood out to you?
I definitely, I agree with my mom.
I agree with the part where she said kids might not have the right mindset to choose what to listen to and what not to.
How about you, Corey? The thing that stands out and really resonates with me, honestly, about where Lyndon's coming from is I still remember vividly what it's like to be a kid and to think that my parents don't understand, especially when they made rules that meant that I didn't get something that I wanted until I was older when I felt like I was ready for it right now.
So that really resonates with me and I empathize with that.
And I don't want to be that parent, but at the same time, I feel like this one's really important.
Yeah. Being a parent's hard.
Yeah, it is. Well, thank you so much for talking about this with us, Corey.
You're welcome, my pleasure.
Yeah, thanks, Mom. We are!
Today, we're talking about phones and how kids and parents feel about them.
One reason we use phones is because they are super useful.
We can use them to look up cool camel facts.
Like, did you know that camels have three sets of eyelids and two rows of eyelashes to keep sand out of their eyes?
Well, we can also use phones to look up directions, chat with our friends, or take photos.
But some scientists think there's another reason why it's easy to get glued to a phone, which brings us back to one of your questions, Lyndon.
Why are phones so hard to put down?
We actually did an episode about this a while back, had to brainson.org and search Smartphones to find it.
Turns out one reason why phones are tough to put down has to do with a chemical in your brain called dopamine.
I've heard of dopamine.
It's like a little messenger your brain uses to send signals and it does a lot from motivating us to helping us move.
To help us understand how dopamine and phones work together, let's bring in our favorite talking brain, Duane.
Duane, the brain here, ready to crank this episode up to 11.
Duane is going to help us with a little demonstration.
Of cartwheels, you got it.
Watch me go. That was broken when I got here.
Actually, I thought you'd just help us by demonstrating a brain's perspective in all of this.
Oh, gotcha, can do. Dopamine is sometimes called the reward chemical or pleasure chemical.
Dopamine has lots of jobs, but one of them is to make us feel good when we do something that's good for us, like eating, being social, or trying something new.
Like if we're playing a fun game of soccer with friends, right Duane?
Oh yeah, big time dopamine rush, especially when I score this goal.
Wait, where'd you get that soccer ball?
Duane shoots and scores.
Oh, clean that up later.
We also get a boost of dopamine when we eat delicious foods, like this avocado bacon cheeseburger.
Yum, don't mind if I do. Mmm.
Mmm. Our brains like dopamine.
When we do something that gives us dopamine, our brains say, hey, let's do that thing again.
Yeah, like this. Hey, give me another burger.
Please. Here you go. Mmm.
We often get dopamine when we use our phones, too.
Maybe it's because we got a message from a friend.
Or we saw a funny meme. Or played a video game we love.
All these things can give your brain a dopamine boost, which will make your brain want to keep using the phone.
It becomes a cycle. It does, if I were there in your head saying, do it again, do it again, and again, and again.
Please. Exactly. And unlike a soccer game with friends or a cheeseburger, a phone is almost always nearby.
So your brain is reminded of it all the time.
Yeah, us brains will see a phone and think, ooh, let's just check it real quick and get some more dopamine.
Come on, just one little screw.
And next thing you know, you've been staring at the screen for half an hour.
Sorry about that. Exactly.
So phones give us enough dopamine to keep our brains asking for more.
Thanks for helping us explain this from a brain's perspective, Dwayne.
No problem. Now if you'll excuse me, I got some important strength training to do.
You will have to wait. What?
No, Sadoku. The weights of the mind.
Bye-bye. Wait, I thought you were going to clean up.
Never mind. Stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it.
Brain's on. We're talking about why phones are often hard to stop using.
One reason is that we use them for so many practical things.
But they also give us a brain chemical called dopamine.
Dopamine can make us feel good.
And that makes us want to use our phones more.
It's a big circle. Yeah, but it's not the whole story.
Lots of games and apps are also specially designed to keep you plugged in.
Like maybe it's a page where you scroll and scroll but never reach the bottom.
Or it's a game where as soon as you beat one challenge, another immediately starts up.
Then there are apps that send super-important sounding alerts.
They pop up like text messages.
Look, now. New post from your friend Humpty.
Breaking news. Camels, love chips.
Important thing. OK, not really.
But since you looked, why not keep scrolling?
While some of these may actually be important, a lot of them are just ways to grab your attention and suck you back in.
Fones are also hard to put down because it's often how we connect with friends.
We keep checking to see what everyone else is doing.
And everyone else is on their phone checking in to see what we are doing.
Speaking of friends, this looks like one of Mark's homing pigeons with a message.
What does it say? It's from Mark and it says, urgent.
I'm bored. Oh, another one.
This one says, what's she doing?
Huh? What's going on? Huh?
Huh? Wow, there's more.
A lot more. This one says, hey, you free.
And this one says, sorry to bird you again.
But do you know if anything's going on today?
Looks like Mark could use some tips on what to do without his phone.
Yeah. Let's invite him over and we can come up with some ideas.
Let me just write him a note.
OK, come here, Pidgey. Let me put this down on your leg.
Now fly, my feathered friend.
In the meantime, what should we do about the rest of these pigeons?
I think that one just pooped on a chair.
Yep, it definitely did.
Yeah, maybe using pigeons as a messaging service wasn't as good an idea as Mark thought.
Oh, well, bird sight is 2020.
OK, this next thing requires no screens, no plugs, not even a battery.
Just your ears. It's the...
Shhh. Mystery sound. Are you ready for the Mystery Sound London?
Yes. All right, here it is.
Oh, let me think about this for a sec.
It kind of sounded like someone biting into a big raw piece of broccoli.
Ooh, yummy broccoli. Yeah, it sounded like eating for sure to me.
I don't know what this is either.
Well, we'll hear it again, get another chance to guess, and hear the answer at the end of the show right after the credits.
Stick around. We are working on an episode all about animal leadership, and we want to hear from you.
What animal do you think would make an excellent leader?
What qualities do you think are important for a leader to have?
What could our human leaders learn from this animal?
So, in my mind, I think a sloth would make an excellent leader.
It might be a controversial choice, but I think their slowness makes them thoughtful, and they use their farts to swim, which I think shows resourcefulness, and they only poop once a week, so I think they wouldn't be distracted by stuff.
So I think they're focused, efficient, and thoughtful.
London, what animal do you think would make a great leader?
Um, I think wolves would be good leaders because they're in packs, always taking care of each other, and they also pick their own leaders already.
Nice. Excellent answer.
I love it. Listeners, we want to hear from you.
Record your answer and send it to us at brainson.org slash contact.
While you're there, send us your mystery sounds, drawings, and questions.
Like this one. How does a permanent tattoo stay forever?
You can find answers to questions like these on the moment of unpodcast, a short dose of facts and fun every weekday.
Find moment of arm and more at brainson.org.
So keep listening. Brainson Universe is a family of podcasts for kids and their adults.
Since you're a fan of brainson, we know you'll love the other shows in our universe.
Come on, let's explore.
And during brainson universe.
To find my favorite podcasts.
Brainson. Smash boom best.
Forever ago. Picking up signal.
Smash boom best. The smart funny debate show.
Skitters, skitters, skitters, skitters, tail, tails, tail turn.
Is that a rat noise I hear?
That is a rat noise. You know a classic rat noise.
Tail, tail, tail. Tail, tail, tail.
Oh, Delta, Delta, turn, turn, turn, skitters.
And now a public service announcement from kids.
Hey grownups, we see you on your phone.
Like a lot. And honestly, it's kind of annoying.
Sometimes we want to talk to you or show you something like this cool rock.
Have you seen this cool rock?
I have. Or maybe just be around you without feeling like a third wheel to that phone.
We get it. You have important things to do there.
Work, emails, looking up dinner recipes, group text with people from college you haven't seen in like 20 years but feel too guilty to stop replying to.
But sometimes we see you just mindlessly scrolling.
It's hard to stop scrolling.
Especially for you, a full grown adult.
Because let's face it, you grew up before phones were everywhere.
You didn't see how they can eat up all the persons free time.
But as kids, we've been told about the problems with overusing phones are entire lives.
So let us help you. One thing to try is to make time each day that's totally phone free.
Like meals and evenings.
Maybe put your phone to charge in another room.
Or take the most distracting apps off your main phone, keep them on only your tablet or computer so you aren't as tempted.
That way you'll have more time to be present.
To take after dinner walks with us or sit on the porch and feel cool breeze.
Or tell fart jokes. It's not easy to cut back on phones.
But we know you can do it grown ups.
And if it helps, we can even make you a sticker chart.
You love stickers. Here listening to Brains on, I'm Molly.
And I'm Lyndon. So far we've explored why phones are so hard to put down.
A lot of it has to do with a brain chemical called dopamine.
But the apps on phones are also carefully made to grab our attention and keep us staring at the screen.
It was easy to get hooked.
But the weird thing is, and I say this from experience, even if you are using your phone a lot, it doesn't mean you're always enjoying it.
Fones can be boring or annoying or frustrating, even if they're hard to put down.
Yeah, we wanted to know more.
So we asked some teenagers to tell us how they really felt about their phones.
And it turns out the reviews are mixed.
I like that I can use my phone to communicate with friends and make plans as well as contacting my parents in case I get lost.
I mean also because I'm a kid, I like playing games and stuff on it and obviously social media and stuff.
And I can see like cool art and stuff.
I don't like how I can't be without it for too long.
Like otherwise it feels like I'm missing something or I'm just like going to be bored.
I have a lot of trouble just like being able to just like turn off and scream and like stop scrolling and it gets really annoying.
I don't like that if someone's not included in a group chat then they could become left out of things and also not what know what's going on.
You have like certain apps like social media or games like you can get addicted to it and then it can turn to you just being on your phone like all day.
I had friends that started getting into phones like in late elementary school like fourth or fifth grade.
It was always like so cool and mysterious.
I don't know. It felt like an adult space to be inhabiting.
I am an advocate for getting off screen but I am not one of those people who will actually get off screens.
Hmm. So Lyndon anything in there from those teenagers surprised you?
But nothing really surprised me but I definitely heard of them talking about like all the things they like to do.
But then they started talking about all the negative aspects of the phone and they were saying they were actually giving tips out so you don't get addicted to it and it seemed like a lot of them said that they got addicted to it.
Yeah I personally have a lot of feelings about my phone.
I really kind of don't like how my brain feels when I've been scrolling and scrolling on social media or when I go down a rabbit hole, googling random celebrities and going on their Wikipedia pages and finding out where they went to college and what their summer job was as a teenager.
You know what? I don't need that information.
But feelings aside, let's get back to your question.
Yeah, ultimately our phones bad for us or could they be good for us?
What's the answer? Yeah I mean I think that parents everyone what we're looking for is just a straight answer.
You know like what should I do?
And can you just give it to me straight like yes or no good or bad what age?
That's Jacqueline Nesey.
She's an assistant professor at Brown University and a clinical psychologist focusing on kids and teens.
She's read dozens and dozens of research studies about how phones affect kids and teens.
She's looked at how the studies were done, how strong the findings were and she says the answer to your question Lyndon is… Here it comes.
We don't know. We don't really know if phones are ultimately good or bad for us.
Boo, no I wanted an easy answer but honestly I figured as much.
It turns out it's a very hard thing to study.
People usually want to know if phones will hurt our mental health so let's stick with that.
Jacqueline says for starters it's nearly impossible to design a good study looking at this.
Ideally if we wanted to understand whether phones were having a negative impact on say kids in general we would take one group of kids from the time they were babies, say expose them to phones and then follow them for the rest of their lives and see how they do.
We would take another group of kids, no exposure to phones whatsoever for their entire lives until they got to adulthood and then we would see how they did and we would compare those two groups and we would say hey were the kids who got phones worse off than the kids who didn't get phones.
But obviously that is impossible to do.
Yeah that would never happen.
What if instead you just compared kids who already have phones with kids of the same age who haven't gotten one yet and see who is happier?
Good thought. But Jacqueline says even here it's hard to say if it's the phone that's making a difference or some other thing.
Kids who have phones might have less rules in general than kids who don't have phones and that third thing like the number of rules that they have might be the thing that actually impacts their well-being.
Instead she says it's more useful to look at what a person is doing on a phone than just the act of having a phone itself.
Right. One thing a lot of people are worried about these days is social media.
Those are apps where people can post pictures or videos or news articles and message with friends or leave comments.
Studies have found social media can be a problem for some kids.
The time kids spend using social media can get in the way of doing other things.
So sometimes kids are bullied there or they might see stuff that's totally inappropriate.
All of this can make kids feel worse.
So it's important to be very careful with social media.
Right. But it doesn't mean that every teen who uses social media will have problems.
It can depend on the person, the app, so many things.
Some teens may even thrive on social media because they find a supportive community there.
So how are kids and parents supposed to make sense of all this?
Yeah, I come to brains on for cold hard truths.
This is more of a lukewarm, flabbery mess.
Sorry, Lyndon. Sometimes answers are less like a carrot and more like oatmeal, at least until we have better information.
Every family needs to think about these things and make their own decisions.
But Jackman says there are some things that we definitely know are good for us because there's lots of good, strong research on them.
There's like connecting socially with other people, getting outside, physical activity or exercise, sleep, and there is a risk with phones if they get in the way of connecting in person with friends or sleep.
Then that is going to have a negative impact.
We have resources on our website to help families trying to figure out how to use phones responsibly.
Just head to brainson.org and look for the page for this episode.
We've been thinking about our phones a lot here at brainson, so we decided to start a new thing and we're super excited about it.
It's called Drumroll Please.
Analog August. It's our month-long campaign to do more things on plug and out in the world.
Yeah, we could all use a chance to step back from our tech.
That's what analogue August is all about.
We've got ideas for fun, phone-free adventures and tips on how to find a healthy screen life balance.
Like this tip, try setting times when it's okay to use tech and then putting it all away at the rest of the time.
If you have to use a phone or tablet for something important, tell everyone what you're doing.
Like this. I'm checking the weather and then I'm putting my phone away.
That way everyone around you can make sure you just do that one thing and you don't get stuck in a scroll hole.
Honestly, I'm excited to see what happens to my brain when I use my phone less.
The world is so cool and there's so much to do and see that doesn't involve a thing.
Though, they are great tools.
I'll probably still need it for driving directions to get to some of these fun things.
And that's okay. Do your best to use it less.
Yes. Do your best to use it less.
So join us for Analog August.
Go to brainson.org to learn more.
Lyndon, Molly, I got your homing pigeon message.
Thanks for inviting me over.
Hey, Mark. We're glad you made it.
It seemed like you were getting a little antsy without your phone.
But boy, do we have some ideas for you?
Yeah. It's easier to use your phone less when you replace it with other fun things.
Whoa. I love fun things.
How did you know? How to hunch.
Now. Get ready for. Rapid fire ideas are fun.
Make a boredom box and fill it with cool stuff to do, like puzzles, board games, gazoos, stickers, or sculpting play.
Go to the box whenever you don't know what else to do.
Pick up new hands on a hobby, like juggling, solving ruby cubes, magic tricks, or knitting.
Hide cool stuff around your house or yard and make a map.
Give someone else the map and see if they can find the treasure.
Try to draw your family members without looking down at the paper.
Go outside and find five different bugs.
High five those bugs. Carry a book around with you.
Read books. Write books.
Eat books. Wait, no, don't eat books.
Big treats. Eat treats.
Yes. That one works. Or write up a letter or postcard full of silly drawings, knock dark jokes, or whatever else, and send it to brains on.
Find our mailing address at brainson.org slash about.
If you send us something in August, we'll send you a very special postcard in return.
Just make sure your return address is on it somewhere.
How fun is that? So fun. But actually, I came to tell you I already found a fun phone-free thing to do.
You did? Oh, I guess we made this huge list for our friend without checking if our friend needed this list.
Yeah, well, as they say, friendsite is 2020.
So, what's the fun-free thing you're gonna do?
Oh, my camel's Humpty and Dumpty and I?
We all got into acting. Whoa, really?
That's cool. Yeah, here's a flyer for our first show, The Humpback of Notre Dame.
Dumpty here is playing Camel Motto.
Wait, your camel's act?
Yeah. They started out a little nervous, but after they got past the first hump, it was a cinch.
Oh, and next month we're doing the musical Camelot.
You know what Camelot is famous for?
It's Nightlife. Get it?
Night, like night's a medieval night.
Anyway, it's gonna be great.
We've also been working on a musical review.
Oh Camel, oh ye faithful, joyful and tri-hump-fent.
Screens are fun, in part, because they get our brains to release dopamine.
But that also makes them very hard to put down.
Lots of apps and games are also designed to keep you clicking away.
There's tons of research looking at how phones might affect us, but it's hard to say for sure if they're ultimately good or bad.
But there seems to be strong evidence that spending lots of time on social media can be a problem.
We do know that sleep, exercise, and seeing friends and family in real life is good for us.
So it's important to make sure phones don't get in the way of that stuff.
That's it for this episode.
This episode was written by...
Sandin Totten... And edited by...
Shayla Farrison... Fact checking by...
Jess Miller... We had engineering help from Tim Underwood with Sound Design by...
Rachel Grease... Original theme music by...
Mark Sanchez... We had production help from the rest of the brains on Universe team.
Molly Bloom... Rosy DuPont...
Anna Goldfield... Nico Gonzalez Whistler...
Ruby Guthrie... Lauren Krumpert...
Joshua Ray... Charlotte Traver...
Anna Weigel... And... Aron Waldo Salassi...
Beth Promen is our executive producer and the executive's in charge of APM Studios are Chandra Cavati and Joanne Griffith.
Special thanks to Corey Lesti, Julia Storm, Devorah Heitner, and Jacqueline Misi.
Brains on this non-profit public radio program.
There are lots of ways to support the show.
Subscribe to Brains on Universe on YouTube where you can watch animated versions of some of your favorite episodes.
Or head to BrainsOn.org.
While you're there, you can send us mystery sounds, drawings, and questions.
Okay, Lyndon, are you ready to listen to the mystery sound again?
Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Let's hear it.
Okay, last time you thought someone biting broccoli, what do you think now?
It still definitely sounds like broccoli, but maybe it's like...
Cool, it kind of sounds like a bike tire running over like a couple rocks on the concrete or something.
I don't know. Fascinating.
Okay, so it's either someone eating broccoli or running over rocks.
Yes. Very different. Both could be right.
Should we see what the answer is?
Yes, we should. All right, here's the answer.
This is Peter and Ben from Cleveland, Ohio.
And this sound is, Armand taking a bite out of corn on the cob with butter.
Oh. Okay, so you were close with broccoli.
Yeah. It's something that grows.
It's a plant. Except this one is corn and with butter, very important detail.
Mm-hmm. Do you eat corn on the cob?
Yeah, I do. It's really good.
Do you put butter on it? Yes, definitely.
I'm a butter-free corn on the cob kind of gal.
Really? Yeah, I know. I don't even put salt on it.
I just like that delicious sweet corn.
It's really good. Now it's time for the brains honor roll.
These are the incredible kids who keep the show going with their questions ideas, mystery sounds, drawings, and high fives.
Esther from Coldchester, Vermont, Caleb from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Cooper, Carter from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, Gavin from Arlington Heights, Illinois, Owen and Theo from Brunham, Texas, Diptanshu from Wayne, Pennsylvania, Charlotte from Wickliffe, Ohio, Rosalind, Violet and Theo from Ketterino, Ohio, Emma and Aiden from Minneapolis, Everett
and Arty from Lexington, Kentucky, Declan from Isacquell, Washington, Avery from Menifee, California, Clara and June from Richmond, Virginia, Olly from San Mateo, California, Wallace from Vineyard, Utah, Tony from Madison, Wisconsin, Madison from Urbana, Ohio, Tess Zoe and June from Concord, North Carolina, Brianna from Birmingham, England, Cove from Little
Rock, Arkansas, Angelina from New York, California, Jacob and Jeremiah from Long Beach, California, Oscar from Los Angeles, Anath from Cambridge, Massachusetts, Patrick from Penang, Malaysia, Madu from Tennessee, Florida, John from Illinois, Alexandra from Athens, Greece, Kennedy from North Fort Myers, Florida, Natalie from Pittsburgh, Melani and Cali
from Ann Arbor, Michigan, Lewis Emma and Henry from Minneapolis, Jackson from Falls, Church, Virginia, Angelina and Kepler from Scarborough, Maine, William from Calgary, Alberta, Abigail from Petaluma, California, Connor and Orion from San Francisco, Laura Kate from Meridianville, Alabama, Emily from Loudoun County, Virginia, Beckett and Jackson from Elcerito,
California, Addie from Yorktown, Virginia, Eloise from Irlinger, Kentucky, Asher from Johnson Creek, Wisconsin, Adrian from San Francisco, Abigail from Eastern Pennsylvania, Ian from TN, New Jersey, Zeke from Denver, Marron from Los California, Milan from Duluth, Georgia, Norman from New London, Minnesota, Vera from Oakland, California, Arthur and Lewis from Dublin, Ireland, Niddy from Chicago, James from River, Tin,
Wyoming, August from Rockaway, and New Jersey, Jacob from Gainesville, Florida, Lucy and Edison from Buffalo, New York and Noah from South Korea.
