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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.

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.

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.

Why did the dinosaurs go extinct? Many of you have learned about the meteorite that scientists say hit the earth 66 million years ago and killed off many dinosaur species. But some dinosaurs survived, and the birds you see flying around today are their direct descendants! In this episode we trace the connection between modern birds and prehistoric dinosaurs. Other questions include:Were any dinosaurs mammals?How did bird dinosaurs survive?Are crocodiles related to dinosaurs?Did dinosaurs have feathers? How do we know?Did all dinosaurs lay eggs?Our guest is Dr. Emily Bamforth, curator of the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum in Alberta, Canada.

Why are brothers and sisters so annoying? Why do siblings often look a lot alike? Why do siblings fight? Can your sister be your best friend? Why do we fight with our siblings even if we love them? But Why takes a look at the sibling relationship with Susan Dominus, author of The Family Dynamic.