Brains On! Science podcast for kids · Brains On Universe

Tree, Myself and I: All about our leafy green friends

May 20, 2025·28 min·2 clips

A talking sapling reveals how trees level up from seed to leaf in a video game-style adventure.

The episode opens with a playful framing device involving a science lab, a cheese ray, and a talking sapling named Sapina who inserts herself into a rock-paper-scissors game by declaring that trees beat everything. Host Molly Bloom invites Sapina to help co-host the tree episode alongside Julius, a listener from London who wrote in with questions about tree communication. Julius opens by sharing that trees fascinate him, particularly the question of how they communicate, and offers his favorite tree as maple for the obvious reason of maple syrup. He also notes that his primary thought when imagining a tree is the climbing route, and dispenses practical climbing advice about upper body strength. Sapina introduces the core educational framework for the episode: tree growth as a video game with distinct levels, each representing a different phase of development. Level one is the seed stage, characterized almost entirely by luck — avoiding being eaten or destroyed long enough to land in a suitable spot. Level two involves germination, when the seed has enough internal stored energy and instruction to begin active growth. Subsequent levels cover the development of the root system, the formation of the trunk and bark, the emergence of branches, and the reproductive stage of producing seeds to begin the cycle again. The episode draws on listener questions from children named Malcolm, Oliver, Sarah, Claire, and Julian, all asking variations of how trees grow and how branches form, giving the content a participatory quality that is characteristic of Brains On. The communication section addresses Julius's original question by explaining the mycorrhizal fungal network that connects trees in a forest underground, allowing them to share nutrients and chemical signals — a system sometimes called the wood wide web. The episode is produced by APM Studios and is part of a live tour season, with Molly mentioning upcoming show dates across American cities including Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale, Kansas, and Ohio. The combination of the Sapina character, Julius's genuine curiosity, and the video game metaphor makes technically complex botanical content accessible to the intended audience of elementary school-aged children.

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