The Curious Kidcast

What if there was another planet, somewhere far out in space, that looked just like Earth? What if it had oceans, mountains, clouds, and maybe even its own version of pizza? In this episode of The Curious Kidcast, your host Charlie tackles one of the biggest questions curious kids ask: are there other Earths out there?

What Your Child Will Learn

• What scientists mean when they talk about "another Earth"
• What an exoplanet is and why they are so exciting
• Why liquid water is one of the most important ingredients for life
• What the Goldilocks Zone is and why it matters
• Real exoplanets scientists have discovered, including Kepler-452b and TRAPPIST-1
• How scientists find planets using the transit method and the wobble method
• What biosignatures are and how future telescopes might detect life
• Why the universe is probably too big for Earth to be completely unique

Episode Highlights

• Why a year on Kepler-452b is slightly longer than on Earth, which means waiting even longer for Christmas
• A star system called TRAPPIST-1 that has seven Earth-sized planets orbiting the same star
• Why "Earth-like planet" headlines can be a little sneaky, and what scientists actually know
• The wobble method, possibly the greatest name in all of science
• A three-question fun quiz to test what your kids have learned

Perfect For

• Curious kids aged 7 to 11
• Families who love learning together on car journeys, walks, or at home
• Homeschool science lessons on space, astronomy, and the solar system
• Parents looking for safe, funny, and genuinely educational content
• Teachers looking for a fun supplement to KS2 science topics
• Anyone who has ever looked at the night sky and wondered "is anyone else out there?"

Episode Quiz Questions

At the end of every episode, Charlie runs a fun multiple choice quiz. This episode's questions cover:

• What do scientists call planets outside our solar system?
• What is the nickname for the "just right" distance from a star?
• How does the transit method work?

Can your child get all three right? Listen and find out.

Fun Facts From This Episode

• Scientists have discovered more than 6,000 exoplanets outside our solar system
• On some planets, it rains molten iron
• The Goldilocks Zone is the region around a star that is not too hot and not too cold for liquid water
• Kepler-452b is often called Earth's cousin and takes 385 days to orbit its star
• TRAPPIST-1 has seven planets orbiting the same star, some in the habitable zone
• The Milky Way contains hundreds of billions of stars, many of which have their own planets

Keywords and Topics Covered

kids science

exoplanets

space for kids

homeschool science

family podcast

are there other earths

Goldilocks Zone

Kepler-452b

TRAPPIST-1

alien life for kids

fun science facts

nature and science

educational podcast

learning for kids

curious kids

parenting

KS2 science

biosignatures

transit method

wobble method

Got a question you'd like Charlie to answer?

Head to curiouskidcast.com and send it in. It could be about space, animals, the human body, food, weather, or why adults always say "we'll see" when they clearly mean no. We want to hear from you.

About The Curious Kidcast

The Curious Kidcast is a fun, funny, and properly researched science and nature podcast for kids aged 7 to 11. Each episode takes a real question asked by a real child and turns it into an audio adventure packed with facts, comedy, and a short quiz. It is completely safe for kids, loved by parents, and the perfect companion for families who love learning together.

New episodes are released weekly. Subscribe so you never miss one, and if your child has a burning question about the world, the universe, or anything in between, visit curiouskidcast.com to send it in.

What if a mouth the size of a school bus opened beneath you in the ocean and, WHOOOMP, you were inside a whale. Could you survive in there. This week Charlie dives deep into one of the wildest questions ever sent into the show, and the answers are even more surprising than you think.

About This Episode

In this episode, Charlie explores the science behind whale anatomy, finds out which whale could theoretically swallow a human and why it almost certainly never would, and investigates a famous 1891 sea legend that most historians think was made up entirely for newspaper headlines.

Along the way we discover just how staggeringly big blue whales really are, learn about the deep-sea battles between sperm whales and giant squid, and hear about the real-life lobster diver who ended up inside a whale's mouth in 2021 and lived to tell the tale. It is science, nature, history, and just a little bit of comedy all mixed together, which is exactly what The Curious Kidcast is about.

Key Facts Covered in This Episode

Blue Whale Fast Facts

• The largest animal that has ever lived on Earth, bigger than any dinosaur
• Can grow up to 30 metres long, about the same as three buses parked end to end
• Can weigh around 150 tonnes, heavier than 25 elephants
• Its tongue alone can weigh as much as an entire elephant
• Can scoop up around 70,000 litres of water in a single gulp
• Throat is only about the size of a grapefruit, because they eat tiny krill
• Filters food through comb-like structures called baleen

Sperm Whale Fast Facts

• Has a much larger throat than a blue whale, large enough for a human to technically fit through
• Can dive more than 2,000 metres below the surface, deeper than four Eiffel Towers stacked up
• Hunts squid and fish in the deep, pitch-black ocean
• Does not eat humans, we are simply not part of their diet
• Often found with round scars from giant squid suction cups after deep-sea battles

Why You Could Not Survive Inside a Whale's Stomach

• Almost no oxygen inside the stomach, you would pass out very quickly
• Powerful stomach acids designed to dissolve fish and squid
• Complete darkness, extreme warmth, and an indescribably bad smell

What Kids Will Learn

This episode is a brilliant entry point into marine biology and ocean science for curious kids. Alongside the comedy and storytelling, listeners come away understanding the difference between baleen and toothed whales, how filter feeding works, why animal size does not always equal danger, and how scientists use physical evidence like scars to learn about behaviour they cannot directly observe. For homeschooling families, this episode pairs well with topics on marine ecosystems, food chains, animal adaptation, and scientific scepticism when evaluating historical claims.

Something to Think About

At the end of the episode, Charlie poses a bonus question to think about: whales are mammals just like us, which means they need to breathe air. So how do they sleep in the ocean without drowning.

Science for Kids

Nature

Ocean

Whales

Marine Biology

Fun Facts

Family Podcast

Homeschooling

Learn

Parenting

Kids Ages 7-11

Animals

Education

Got a big, weird, wonderful question you want answered on The Curious Kidcast? Maybe something about space, animals, history, or how things work. Send it in and it could be the next episode.

You can also subscribe on all major podcast platforms so you never miss an episode.

The Curious Kidcast  ·  curiouskidcast.com  ·  Science, nature and fun facts for curious kids aged 7–11  ·  Hosted by Charlie

What if your morning school run meant lifting off from your driveway, soaring above the traffic, and landing at school in minutes. In this episode, Charlie answers the big question: when will flying cars actually exist. From the world's first attempt in 1917 to electric flying taxis already being tested in Dubai today, this episode is packed with science, laughs, and a quiz to test how much your curious kid has learned.

What Your Family Will Learn

This episode is a brilliant companion for homeschool science lessons, long car journeys, or bedtime listening. By the end, kids aged 7 to 11 will be able to explain the core science and history of flying cars in their own words.

• ✓   Why lifting a heavy car off the ground is so difficult (physics of flight)
• ✓   The four main types of flying car and how each one works
• ✓   Real companies building real flying vehicles right now
• ✓   Why safety, power, and air traffic rules all have to be solved first
• ✓   A realistic timeline for when flying cars might arrive in our lives
• ✓   How flying cars could save lives in emergencies and help remote communities

Flying cars have been a dream for more than a century. The very first attempt, the Curtiss Autoplane, was built in 1917 and mostly just hopped along the ground. Since then, inventors have tried hundreds of designs. The idea was even immortalised in the classic 1960s cartoon The Jetsons, which showed an entire futuristic city of airborne vehicles. The year 2000 came and went without them, but the dream, and the engineering effort, has never stopped.

The Science Behind the Challenge

Charlie breaks down the four big problems engineers are working to solve. First, weight: cars are thousands of kilograms heavy and lifting that requires enormous power. Second, energy: flying uses far more fuel or battery than driving, and running out mid-air is not an option. Third, safety: every computer, sensor, and backup system must work perfectly every time. Fourth, air traffic: thousands of flying vehicles over a city need a whole new kind of management system, much like the one already used for commercial aircraft, but far more complex.

The Timeline

Experts estimate flying taxis could be operating in major cities by around 2040. Private flying cars affordable to families may follow by 2050 or beyond. Rules, infrastructure, battery technology, and public trust all need to develop in parallel. A child who is eight years old today could well be riding a flying taxi to work in their twenties.

Homeschool & Classroom Ideas

This episode pairs naturally with science topics on forces, flight, energy, and the future of transport. Here are some simple activities to extend the learning after listening.

• Paper aeroplanes: Experiment with wing shapes and weights to explore lift and drag.
• Design challenge: Draw or build a model of your own flying car and explain how it would work.
• Map activity: Find Dubai, Birmingham, Slovakia, and Germany on a world map and discuss what connects them to today's episode.
• Debate: Should flying cars be allowed over cities. What rules would your child put in place.
• Timeline: Create a visual timeline from 1917 to 2050 and plot flying car milestones on it.

Got A Question For The Curious Kidcast?

Every episode starts with a question from a real curious kid. If your child has something they have always wondered about, we want to hear it. Their question could be our next episode.

And if you enjoyed this episode, please share it and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.