But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids

11/07/2025

Iceland highlights: you can’t go to Iceland and not see some hot springs and geysers! So at the tail end of a very busy second day of work, we stopped to do some filming here, a powerful and popular geothermal area with many hot springs and geysers. Strokkur erupts about every 10 minutes, providing a reliable and exciting burst of water for gathered visitors. But for a long time it was much less reliable until it was artificially “reawakened” more than 60 years ago. Strokkur’s neighbor, Geysir, no longer erupts but is arguably more famous, since it’s the geyser that gave its name to this geological formation!

07/07/2025

Still Say 2: After recovering from our ferry ride back to the mainland, we visited two stunning waterfalls, Seljalandsfoss and Gljúfrabúi. We even caught a peek of some stunning wedding pictures being taken. These waterfalls used to be seaside cliffs, like Skógafoss, during the last ice age.

07/07/2025

A few of our favorite puffin pics. Puffins don’t make much noise, even when they’re all gathered together on this steep hillside by the thousands!

03/07/2025

Our second work day started with a very choppy ferry ride to the Westman Islands. Two out of the three of us lost our breakfast, and we all felt very seasick!! For the ride back, we all had our strategies to survive. :)

03/07/2025

29/06/2025

We took a walk out to the snout of Sólheimajökull, one of the remaining glaciers in Southern Iceland. Glaciers are retreating worldwide and Iceland has already lost some, and seen significant decline in the mass of others, like this one. We’ll have podcast and video episodes answering questions about glaciers coming out later this summer!

29/06/2025

Our second stop was a quick detour to a picturesque cave and some friendly horses. The historical sign said this is one of about 200 man-made caves that can be found on farms dotting Southern Iceland. This one, called Rútshellir, and a smaller cave called Stúkan, were used as hay storage and a smithy, respectively. Melody particularly liked some intrepid sheep that were grazing on the steep hillsides.

26/06/2025

Our first stop was a solidified lava field, where lava flows from eruptions of Fagradalsfjall in 2021, 2022 and 2023 are easily accessible.

26/06/2025

We started our three-day Icelandic work adventure in Keflavik!

26/06/2025

But why is going on an epic field trip!! We’re in Iceland for a few days, collecting lots of audio and video to bring you all kinds of cool episodes later this summer. Follow along on our journey!! Let’s start! Jane and Melody flew over from Boston together and Jane even made sure her luggage proudly displayed a But Why sticker!!

16/06/2025

Puffins!!! These adorable birds are pretty fascinating and next week we’re visiting Iceland and recording an episode all about them. But we could use a few more questions!! So if you have kids who want to submit a puffin question, please send them our way! (Record your kiddo on your phone and send the file to [email protected].)

📷 , Iceland, 2012.

13/06/2025

It’s summer and that means slathering yourself with sunblock before you’re allowed to go run around outside. It’s cold and sticky and it gets in your eyes and on your clothes. But… WHY is wearing sunscreen so important? We get the scoop from pediatric dermatologist Dr. Jeff Yu.☀️☀️☀️

Listen to our new episode: Why do we need to use sunscreen?

It’s summer and that means slathering yourself with sunblock before you’re allowed to go run around outside. Not everyone loves that ritual: sunscreen can be cold or sticky. Sometimes it gets in your eyes, and it always feels like it’s time to reapply JUST as you’re about to jump in the wate...