PODCAST

The Wonder Podcast for Curious Kids

Wonder Audio

Extraordinary true stories for children and their parents. Listen whenever, and wherever, you are

kids & family

All Episodes

12:31

Women's Football: history makers, record breakers

The Wonder Podcast for Curious Kids ·

2025/07/17

Have you ever wondered why football is called the beautiful game, why male footballers are paid so much, and female footballers much less so?As the UEFA Women's EURO 2025 Championships are hosted in Switzerland we look at the rise and fall and rise again of the women's game. Why was the First World War a golden age? What was the impact of the ban from the FA in 1921? And can England's Lionesses retain their 2022 trophy? Today 2.3 million girls play football around the world - are you one of

23:10

S5, Ep7 Childhood reading: a conversation with Sam Leith

The Wonder Podcast for Curious Kids ·

2025/07/05

Why are naughty children so appealing as characters?Do you have to be a nice person to write children's books? Was Walt Disney a villain? We ask Sam Leith, the author of 'The Haunted Wood, A History of Childhood Reading' these questions, and many more Produced by Camilla Akers-Douglas and Henrietta McMicking Sound editing by Lou Sawdy Theme music by James Burrell Music Instagram @wonderpodcasts X @wonder_podcasts Facebook @wonderpodcasts TikTok @the.wonder.podcast Email

08:44

S5, Ep6 The Secrets of Stonehenge

The Wonder Podcast for Curious Kids ·

2025/06/20

It is one of the most famous, and mysterious, stone circles in the world but who built it, and why?Was it an ancient calendar? A place of worship, or pilgrimage? Or a burial ground? Or, as some people have even suggested, a landing pad for alien spaceships? Today we can only guess at Stonehenge’s original purpose. But what remains of this 5,000-year-old monument – which sits within a sacred landscape on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England – offers extraordinary clues. Narrated by Camilla

11:16

Ada Lovelace: the Countess of Coding

The Wonder Podcast for Curious Kids ·

2025/06/13

S5, Ep 5 Ada Lovelace: the Countess of Coding Have you ever heard of Ada Lovelace? You might have been told she wrote the first computer programme. But what does that mean and how can that be possible when she was an aristocratic Victorian lady and computers as we know them weren't built for another 100 years? We explore the life of the maths-whizz Augusta Ada Byron, who went on to become the Countess of Lovelace. We see how she became a digital pioneer who is celebrated as the creator of

08:21

S5, Ep 4 Taking the piss: pee, wee and piddle

The Wonder Podcast for Curious Kids ·

2025/06/06

Have you ever thought about the importance of wee? Urine, to give it its proper name, has flowed through human history. The Romans used it to whiten their togas as well as their teeth. Children in the Middle Ages worked as piss collectors because it was such a valued product in the leather and wool industries. In times of war wee has come into its own. Stale pee was used in the manufacture of gun powder. In the absence of clean water, it was used to disinfect wounds. And soldiers in the First

09:56

S5, ep3 Play to win: board games, card games, and...

The Wonder Podcast for Curious Kids ·

2025/05/30

Have you ever wondered why we love playing games – board games, card games, computer games, even playground games like It and Kick the Can?There are many wonderful, crazy games – card games like Pokemon and Whist, Exploding Kittens and Uno; games of dice like Perudo; pattern games with tiles like Rummicub; and board games such as Cluedo. Some are based around exciting stories: explorers settling a new land – Catan; an army at war – the game of chess; exploring, building and surviving in an

07:59

S5, Ep2 The lost city of Machu Picchu

The Wonder Podcast for Curious Kids ·

2025/05/23

What would it be like to discover a whole city hiding in the cloud forest? This podcast – for parents and their children – tells the thrilling story of the rediscovery of Machu Picchu, the Andean citadel built by the Incas in 1400. For hundreds of years, it was covered in undergrowth and known only to local people in a small corner of Peru. Then the American adventurer, Hiram Bingham, found it in 1911. The extraordinary mountaintop city has now been designated one of the New Seven Wonders of the

08:17

S5, Ep1 Pirates: not so jolly rogers

The Wonder Podcast for Curious Kids ·

2025/05/16

Are pirates daring adventurers of the high seas or simply ruthless thieves who plunder ships, attack innocent passengers and send shivers down the spines of ordinary sailors?This podcast – for parents and their children – reminds us that pirates can be dastardly and daring in equal measure, brave yet fuse-burningly terrifying, and not nearly so jolly as one might like to think. Narrated by Oliver Akers-Douglas Script by Camilla Akers-Douglas Produced by Henrietta McMicking Sound editing by Lou

12:09

Thinking Differently about dyslexia, dyscalculia,...

The Wonder Podcast for Curious Kids ·

2024/06/11

Did you know that people with dyslexia can make very good spies? And people with autism are likely to have been the driving force of human creativity for the last 100,000 years?Dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADHD and autism are often misunderstood as negative conditions, when really they indicate strengths as well as struggles. This episode is narrated by the comedian Rory Bremner who has ADHD. He encourages children – parents and teachers too – to think differently about neurodiversity, reminding us that

07:54

S4, Ep7 Horsepower: how horses changed the world

The Wonder Podcast for Curious Kids ·

2023/07/13

Have you ever wondered why humans chose to ride horses? It was a moment in history which changed the future of both species forever.This relationship has endured for over five thousand years, and the horse has been described as one of the greatest technologies that man has ever harnessed. Horses are prized for their speed, strength and adaptability, and revolutionised transport, war, farming and more. But it hasn't always been a happy partnership. Listen and enjoy Narrated by Alexandra

09:38

S4, Ep6 Thomas Edison: seeing the light

The Wonder Podcast for Curious Kids ·

2023/07/04

Have you ever wondered who had the bright idea of inventing the light bulb? Well, it’s credited to a rather unusual man, Thomas Edison. An man who had a gift – not so much for inventing as for taking an existing idea, and finding ways to make it better, or cheaper, or both. During his lifetime Thomas Edison invented a truly extraordinary range of things – ideas that define our modern world – but he is best known for inventing the electric light bulb. And guess what? He didn’t even invent it

09:58

S4, Ep5 The White Helmets: into the danger zone ⚠️

The Wonder Podcast for Curious Kids ·

2023/06/27

There’s a group of almost 4,000 volunteers known as the White Helmets. They have become famous for their bravery in the Syrian civil war. They are famous too for the white hardhats they wear. Most of the volunteers are men but there are also around 200 women. Their proper name is the Syria Civil Defence. They have been trained to protect and help people during war and disasters. They are unarmed and neutral which means they have promised to help anyone no matter their religion, background, or which

09:52

S4, Ep4 Plastic: a complicated genius

The Wonder Podcast for Curious Kids ·

2023/05/16

Have you ever considered what an extraordinary invention plastic is? The word plastic means mouldable and therein lies its ingenuity, it can be moulded into every conceivable size shape and colour. It can be thick or thin, large or small, strong or delicate. Plastic is complicated: it has life saving medical uses but is life threatening to the natural world. Almost every piece of plastic ever made still exists today. Listen and explore how in just 150 years this synthetic material has got into

09:14

S4, Ep3 The power of the moon: myths, legends, and...

The Wonder Podcast for Curious Kids ·

2023/05/09

Have you ever wondered about the power of the moon? Craned your neck and stared, deep, into her mysteries? Like a wolf howling through the night, what questions would you ask of her, what secrets would you try to uncover? The moon has the power to conjure werewolves. It controls the tides of our seas and oceans, and it has inspired mankind to reach for a new frontier. Its power to capture our imagination and to keep us asking questions is legendary... Narrated by Ben Ellis Sound editing by Max

08:56

S4, Ep2 Potato crisps: the curious history of a salty...

The Wonder Podcast for Curious Kids ·

2023/05/02

Have you ever wondered what is actually inside a packet of crisps? Potatoes, obviously, you would think. Air, perhaps just as obviously – but it’s not the air you are expecting. There's history in there too, and rivalry. Who made the very first potato crisp? And, what exactly is a crisp? Or potato chip, as they say in America. To be a crisp, does it need to be literally a thin slice of potato? Or can it be a maize – or puff corn – snack, like a Wotsit? And have you ever noticed how eating a crisp is

10:38

S4, Ep1 The Crown Jewels

The Wonder Podcast for Curious Kids ·

2023/04/25

Have you ever wondered what exactly are the Crown Jewels, or why kings and queens wear crowns? We tell the extraordinary history of the British Crown Jewels, and how over the centuries they have been lost and stolen, melted down, and remade. Among the crowns, sceptres and orbs, there is even a single stone – the Koh-i-Noor diamond – which is believed to be so cursed that kings are afraid to wear it. You may well ask yourself, how are these things relevant to me? Well, as symbols of power they are

09:42

S3, Ep4 How we see colour

The Wonder Podcast for Curious Kids ·

2021/06/01

How do we see? And how do we see colour? Does the world look the same through another person's eyes? In this podcast discover how the human eye works and how it sees colour. You may be surprised to learn that not everyone sees colour in the same way: a few are colour blind; others are tetrachromats which means they have an extra type of cone cell in their eye, and can see as many as 100 million different colours. While dogs' eyes are quite similar to our own, insects have completely different eyes

09:12

S3, Ep3 Wise words about why we worry

The Wonder Podcast for Curious Kids ·

2021/05/25

Why do we worry? And what can we do about it? This episode explains to children that day-to-day worries are a normal part of life. In fact, sometimes worry is a positive, rather than negative, thing. When faced with predators, a sense of fear protected our ancient ancestors and, even today, it can push us out of our comfort zone. And when it all gets a bit too much, there are things we can do to relieve some of our worries, as we explain. This podcast is written, and read to you, by

09:05

S3, Ep2 Poo: the inside story

The Wonder Podcast for Curious Kids ·

2021/05/18

Have you ever wondered why poo is funny? It’s stinky. It’s perfectly revolting, but if you say the word poo a few times, children – and some adults – start to smile, even laugh. And it can, of course, be surprisingly useful – as a food source, a fertiliser and for marking animal territory. But adult humans don’t tend to like talking about poo so we thought we'd do just that instead. This podcast is written, and read to you, by Camilla Akers-Douglas, with sound editing by Max Watson. It was produced

08:33

S3, Ep1 Secret messages and cracking codes

The Wonder Podcast for Curious Kids ·

2021/05/11

Have you ever sent a secret message to a friend? Or tried to use a clever code to protect a secret? Have you ever tried to crack a code? There are many ingenious ways to conceal, and reveal, a secret message. Keeping secrets, and code breaking, can be a matter of life and death, as Mary, Queen of Scots found out to her cost. Alan Turing's work as a code breaker during WW11 may have shortened the war by two years and saved 14 million lives. Today super-fast computers give us new ways to encrypt

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