{"type":"doc","content":[{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"text":"","type":"text"}]}]}

How do synthesizers work?

Ever wondered how synthesizers make all those bleep-bloop-blorps? Well, this episode has got you covered.


Synthesizers are a very recent invention, especially when you compare them to acoustic instruments, like pianos and guitars. In this episode, we learn how these machines with keys, knobs, switches, buttons and sliders actually make sound. We’ll also travel back to the 1960’s and hear how synth pioneers like Bob Moog helped bring these sound making devices into the mainstream. Plus, we’ll check in with Suzanne Ciani, who has been using her synthesizer to create iconic sounds for movies, television and video games for over 50 years! All that plus a striking Mystery Sound and Moment of Um that answers the question: Do airplanes have a speed limit?

Suzanne Ciani | System 55

Why is it so hard to break a habit?

If habits are really stuck, we don't think much about them -- we just do them! Some habits are good (like brushing your teeth in the morning) and others are not so good (like biting your nails). Today we find out what parts of our brains help us form habits and why it's actually super useful to not have to think so hard about everything. 


If habits are really stuck, we don't think much about them -- we just do them! Some habits are good (like brushing your teeth in the morning) or not so good (like biting your nails). Today we find out what parts of our brains help us form habits and why it's actually super useful to not have to think so hard about everything. Gungador tries to break a bad habit, and we find out the best tips for ditching habits we want to leave behind. Plus: A brand new mystery sound and a Moment of Um that answers the question: "How do 3D glasses work?"

Smash Boom Best: Flowers vs Rainbows

We’ll be back with new episodes in January. But we wanted to share another show with you that we’ve been working on -- Smash Boom Best.


We’ll be back with new episodes in January. But we wanted to share another show with you that we’ve been working on -- Smash Boom Best!

It’s a debate show where we take two cool things, smash them together and let you decide which one is best. Today we’re going to share with you an excerpt from a heated, fierce debate featuring our very own Sanden Totten.

Sanden is repping team flowers and our good friend Joy Dolo, host of Forever Ago, is repping team rainbows.  To hear the rest of the debate, find Smash Boom Best wherever you listen to podcasts. There are over 30 debates ready for your binge listening this holiday season! Play along at home by yourself -- or with your family! You can find score sheets and other fun stuff at smashboom.org

Brains On Podcast

Julie and her daughter, children’s author and educator Emma Walton Hamilton, invite you into their library to read their favorite children's books. Every story comes to life with sound, music and activities. Authors, kids and other special guests chime in, too! 


Julie's Library

Smash Boom Best is a debate show for kids and families from the makers of the award-winning podcast, Brains On! Every episode takes two cool things, smashes them together and lets you decide which is best.


Smash Boom Best

A history show for the whole family! Every episode explores the origin of just one thing — like sandwiches, video games, clocks and more — while teaching listeners to think critically about history.


Forever Ago

Other APM Podcasts

Listen to all the episodes in our series on the coronavirus, get resources and more.


Coronavirus Episodes and Resources

Earlier this year, Brains On teamed up with the Science Museum of Minnesota, with funding from the National Science Foundation, to launch a study on how shows like ours can provide families with science-based information to help ease children’s worries during a pandemic.


Scrapbook to remember what it's like right now

Brains On Coronavirus Research!

Brains On teamed up with the Science Museum of Minnesota, with funding from the National Science Foundation, to launch a groundbreaking study looking at how families use podcasts.


PHASE 1: Analysis of Secondary Data (Click Here)

PHASE 2: Listener Survey (Click Here)

PHASE 3: Family Interviews (Click Here)

Brains On Research!

Brains On is an award-winning science podcast for kids from American Public Media.  Each week, joined by a different kid co-host, we ask fascinating questions about science and go wherever the answers take us.  Sometimes this means hearing skits about sound waves, songs about slime or interviews with astronauts.


Resources