Here in the U.S., we’re gearing up for the 2024 election! We’re about to vote to pick a new president and choose other leaders too. Maybe you’ve seen yard signs for different candidates around your neighborhood or campaign commercials on TV. All this election fever got us wondering: how do different animals pick their leaders?

Join Molly and cohost Emily as they get to know some of the wildest leaders in the animal kingdom, from tiny ants to orca whales. Plus, they’ll learn about a special group of monkeys that vote! And as always, a new mystery sound!

Subscribe to Smarty Pass for ad-free feeds, bonus episodes, and ticket discounts!

Today’s episode is sponsored by:

- Indeed.com/brainson - Receive a $75 sponsored job credit with code brainson

- Help your kids learn to earn, save, spend wisely, and invest with Greenlight, the debit card and money app for teens. Visit Greenlight.com/inclined.

Ahoy, avast, and welcome aboard the good ship Iris, captained by the host with the most in all of the Seven Seas, Molly Bloom! Molly’s brought producer pals Sanden and Jess on board to play a game of EYE-EYE, CAPTAIN! Sanden and Jess will have to guess the answers to some fiendish questions about EYES. Can they navigate their way to the answers, or will their trivia timbers be shivered? YAAARRR!

The internet can feel like magic. You send a video of a squirrel eating an acorn to your friends and BOOM! A few seconds later, they can watch it! But how does the internet actually work?

In today’s episode, Molly and co-host Kayson take a tour of the internet. They find out where information on the internet is stored and how that information moves around the world using long skinny cables on the ocean floor! They also call on Shark Manchez the computer hacker to explain the secret language computers speak. Plus, another tricky mystery sound!

Subscribe to Smarty Pass for ad-free feeds, bonus episodes, and ticket discounts!

Today’s episode is sponsored by:

- Indeed.com/brainson - Receive a $75 sponsored job credit with code brainson

- Help your kids learn to earn, save, spend wisely, and invest with Greenlight, the debit card and money app for teens. Visit Greenlight.com/inclined.

About 1 out of 13 kids has a food allergy. Some are allergic to peanuts, others can’t eat dairy or shellfish or – you name it! So, why do some of us have food allergies and others don’t?

Join Molly and co-host Gemma as they learn all about food allergies. First, they’ll explore the immune system, the tiny army inside our bodies that fights off things that can make us sick. Turns out, these fighter cells sometimes think certain foods are a threat! Then they’ll chat with Dr. Adora Lin about why some people are allergic to certain foods and others aren’t — and visit a cafeteria to hear from kids with food allergies! Plus, a new mystery sound you won’t want to miss.

Subscribe to Smarty Pass for ad-free feeds, bonus episodes, and ticket discounts!

Today’s episode is sponsored by:
- Indeed.com/brainson - Receive a $75 sponsored job credit with code brainson
- Help your kids learn to earn, save, spend wisely, and invest with Greenlight, the debit card and money app for teens. Visit Greenlight.com/inclined.

Eyes are incredible. But sometimes they need a little help to see clearly. Enter: glasses! In this episode, we'll hear how eyes take in light and paint a picture of the world around us. We'll take a peek inside the eye to see why sometimes vision can be blurry and how glasses help. Then, we'll learn all about eye exams with a visit to the eye doctor! All that, plus a brand new mystery sound!

Subscribe to Smarty Pass for ad-free feeds, bonus episodes, and ticket discounts!

Today’s episode is sponsored by:
- Indeed.com/brainson - Receive a $75 sponsored job credit with code brainson
- Help your kids learn to earn, save, spend wisely, and invest with Greenlight, the debit card and money app for teens. Visit Greenlight.com/inclined.

Have you ever wondered how things in space get their names? Us, too! In this week’s episode, Molly and co-host Cassie hear the story of a funky little moon with a very strange name.

It all started when Radiolab co-host Latif Nasser noticed something unusual on his son’s map of the solar system: a moon next to Venus called Zoozve. He’d never heard of Venus having a moon – and he’d definitely never heard of a moon named Zoozve. So, he called up his friend at NASA, and a wild space quest began!

Plus, Latif will share how YOU can enter a contest to name one of Earth’s quasi-moons. And of course, a new mystery sound that we’re really mooning over!

See the quasi-moon’s orbit here!

Featured experts:
Radiolab co-host and host and executive producer of Connected: The Hidden Science of Everything, Latif Nasser.

Resources:
Learn more about the Name a Quasi-Moon! contest at radiolab.org/moon — and submit your own idea!

Subscribe to Smarty Pass for ad-free feeds, bonus episodes, and ticket discounts!

Today’s episode is sponsored by:
- Indeed.com/brainson - Receive a $75 sponsored job credit with code brainson
- Greenlight - Help your kids learn to earn, save, spend wisely, and invest with Greenlight, the debit card and money app for teens. Visit Greenlight.com/inclined

Smash Boom Best producers Rosie duPont and Aron Woldeslassie are a little early for the BIG game. Looking to kill some time they decide to play Impression Sound. Just like the great Brains On game Mystery Sound, Impression Sound has players guessing sounds. BUT unlike Mystery Sound, Aron and Rosie will be making the sounds with their mouths -- like an impression. Hence the very appropriate name for this game: Impression Sound!

Ping! Another episode of Brains On just dropped! And it’s all about phones: how they help us, why they’re so hard to put down – and how to have a balanced relationship with them.

In this episode, Molly and co-host Linden do a deep dive on phone use. They’ll chat with an expert about whether screens are bad for us and hear from some teenagers about how they really feel about their phones! Meanwhile, Marc takes his camels Humpty and Dumpty to a phone-free picnic, and Dwayne the Brain demonstrates the powerful connection between phones and dopamine. All that, plus a stumper of a mystery sound!

We’ve been thinking about our phones a lot here at Brains On – so we started this new thing called Analog August, a month-long campaign to unplug our phones and get out in the world. If this episode inspires, we hope you and your family will join in the fun, and do your best to use your phones less! Parents can attend our virtual event about kids and phones on Thursday, August 15th from 12pm PT / 2pm CT / 3pm ET and sign up for our newsletter of ideas for phone-free adventures and tips on finding a healthy screen-life balance. Read more here.

Featured experts:

Julia Storm is a digital wellness specialist, educator, and advocate. She helps families work through issues around tech.

Jacqueline Nesi is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University and a Clinical Psychologist at Rhode Island Hospital. She specializes in issues affecting kids and teens.

Subscribe to Smarty Pass for ad-free feeds, bonus episodes, and ticket discounts!

Today’s episode is sponsored by:
- Indeed.com/brainson - Receive a $75 sponsored job credit with code brainson