Where did language come from?

Every spring we set our clocks one hour forward. Every fall we move them one hour back. It’s a strange ritual when you think about it, so why do we do it? Join Molly and co-host Ava as they explore the seasons and why days are shorter in the winter and longer in the summer. We’ll ... Show More

Exciting news! We’ve announced a bunch of new tour stops for this spring! Learn more about the show and get tickets here! Mar 7............MILWAUKEE Mar 8..................ST PAUL Mar 28..............ATLANTA Mar 29.....FT LAUDERDALE Apr 11......CHATTANOOGA Apr 12................. ... Show More

HARVEY, our omnipresent virtual voice assistant, gets a software update that makes him go bananas for bananas. And if we talk about anything except bananas, he turns the microphones off! We talk to geneticist Dr. Janina Jeff about how much DNA we share with a banana, find out why ... Show More

Mehr als 100 Millionen Menschen sprechen die deutsche Sprache. Vor allem in Deutschland, Österreich, Schweiz und Liechtenstein. Aber auch in Teilen von Belgien, Luxemburg, Dänemark und Italien wird deutsch gesprochen. Aber wie ist diese Sprache eigentlich entstanden? Reisen wir a ... Show More

<p>Almost half the people in the world speak at least two languages. And, it turns out, that includes a lot of <em>But Why</em> listeners! In this episode we talk about what it’s like to speak multiple languages and kids from around the world share phrases in many different langu ... Show More

<p>On But Why we let you ask the questions and we help find the answers. One of the things that many of you are curious about is language. How we speak, why we speak and what we speak.</p> 

How and why do we make assumptions based on the way people speak? What is considered “proper,” or “correct” language – and who decides that, anyway? 

Tai’s brother Kien thinks he can talk to ducks. We’ve taught our animals to sit and stay, but that’s not the same as us learning their language, you know? Do animals have language? And if they do, could we learn it? Can we ever really know what animals are saying to each other? F ... Show More

<p>Ab wann kann man sagen, dass man eine Sprache spricht?</p>