Shows
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsWomen's Football: history makers, record breakersHave 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 them?
Narrated by Geo...2025-07-1712 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS5, Ep7 Childhood reading: a conversation with Sam LeithWhy 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
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Email camilla@wond...2025-07-0523 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS5, Ep6 The Secrets of StonehengeIt 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?
What remains of this 5,000-year-old monument – which sits within a sacred landscape on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England – offers us some extraordinary clues.
Narrated by Camilla Akers-Douglas
Script by Camilla Akers-Douglas
Produced by Henrietta McMicking
Sound editing by Lou Sawdy ...2025-06-2008 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS5, Ep5 Ada Lovelace: the Countess of Coding
Have you ever heard of Ada Lovelace? Or Augusta Ada Byron? Or the Countess of Lovelace, as she became?
One hundred years before the computer was even invented, Ada wrote the first-ever computer program. She was also a brilliant mathematician and an aristocratic Victorian.
We tell the remarkable true story of a digital pioneer, who was also the daughter of the poet Lord Byron. Every time we play a computer game, or listen to a podcast, we are a part of her legacy.
Narrated by Henrietta McMicking
Script by Henrietta McMicking
Prod...2025-06-1311 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS5, Ep4 Taking the piss: pee, wee and piddleHave 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 World War pl...2025-06-0608 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS5, Ep3 Play to win: board games, card games, and other gamesHave you ever wondered why we love playing games – board games, card games, computer games, even playground games like It and Kick the Can?
Games let us experiment and take risks in a safe, fun way. Many games involve luck – like the throw of the dice, the draw of the cards – but they also involve maths. And, sometimes, using maths can help you win…
Narrated by Camilla Akers-Douglas
Script by Camilla Akers-Douglas
Produced by Henrietta McMicking
Sound editing by Lou Sawdy
Theme music by James Burrell Music
2025-05-3009 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS5, Ep2 The Lost City of Machu PicchuWhat 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 World.
Narrated by Jamie Chetwood
Script b...2025-05-2307 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS5, Ep1 Pirates: not so jolly rogersAre 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 Sawdy
Theme music by James Burrell Music
Instagra...2025-05-1908 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS4, Ep8 Thinking Differently about dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADHD and autismDid 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 like a fingerprint we all have a brain that is individual to us. People think differently and proc...2024-06-1112 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS4, Ep7 Horsepower: how horses changed the worldHave 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 Tolstoy
Sound editing by Max Watson
Script by He...2023-07-1307 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS4, Ep6 Thomas Edison: seeing the lightHave 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. People had been making wires glow w...2023-07-0409 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS4, Ep5 The White Helmets: into the danger zone ⚠️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 side they are on. This is a true story about or...2023-06-2709 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS4, Ep4 Plastic: a complicated geniusHave 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 every corner of our lives.
Narrated by Henrietta McMicking
Sound editi...2023-05-1609 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS4, Ep3 The power of the moon: myths, legends, and the final frontierHave 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 Watson
S...2023-05-0909 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS4, Ep2 Potato crisps: the curious history of a salty snackHave 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 both a s...2023-05-0208 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS4, Ep1 The Crown JewelsHave 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 invaluable, literally and symbolically, to both...2023-04-2510 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS3, Ep4 How we see colourHow 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 from people...2021-06-0109 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS3, Ep3 Wise words about why we worryWhy 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 Henrietta McMicking, with special thanks to child and adol...2021-05-2509 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS3, Ep2 Poo: the inside storyHave 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 by Henrietta McMicking. Our theme musi...2021-05-1809 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS3, Ep1 Secret messages and cracking codesHave 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 messages but, as ever...2021-05-1108 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS2, Ep8 Christmas: a time of hope ✨🌟💫All around the world during the darkest months of winter people light candles and look forward to a time of new hope. Why do Christians celebrate Christmas at this time of year? Why do Jewish people, Hindus, Jains, Sihks and some Buddhists celebrate with festivals of light at this darkest time? And how does Christmas vary from country to country? No matter how hard Oliver Cromwell, the Grinch and Covid-19 try, it really is impossible to cancel Christmas.
This podcast is read by Henrietta McMicking with sound editing by Max Watson. The script was written by Henrietta...2020-12-2109 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS2, Ep7 The Vikings: did they really go berserk?Wherever they sailed, they plundered, pillaged and stole, so the story goes. But were the Vikings really the fierce invaders of the history books who ransacked our monasteries and captured human slaves? Or where they simply peaceful traders with an interest in travel?
The clue is in the names: the word Viking did not originally mean a single group of people. It meant a pirate or raider. And with names like Thorfinn Skullsplitter, Eric Bloody Axe and Hairy Breeches, could they really have just been traders?
In this podcast we look at the clues left b...2020-12-0808 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS2, Ep6 Thanksgiving: from Plymouth to Pumpkin PieIt is exactly 400 years since a ship called the Mayflower arrived on the east coast of America, bringing 102 English settlers to the New World. Today some 35 million people all over the USA claim to have had an ancestor on the Mayflower.
As they built their colony on the Massachusetts coast, the so-called Pilgrims encountered the Wampanoag people who were unsure about the threat the new arrivals posed. The settlement became known as Plymouth, or Patuxet to the local tribes.
This podcast is read by Pandora Colin with sound editing by Max Watson. The script was written by Henrietta McMicking, and...2020-12-0109 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS2, Ep5 Chocolate: a truly delicious storyHave you ever wondered why chocolate tastes so good, why it is so completely and utterly scrumdiddlyumptious?
In fact the raw cocoa bean tastes horrible, and it takes a lot to turn this tropical rainforest nut into chocolate.
Humans have loved it for longer than you might think, and the Aztecs drank it before going into battle. But only about 120 years ago, after a young Swiss company called Nestlé started adding milk and sugar to chocolate, did we really fall in love with it.
Besides eating it, and drinking it, we have also used it as cur...2020-11-2408 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS2, Ep4 The Magic of NumbersHave you wondered if zero is actually a number?
Or if infinity is a number or a concept?
What is an imaginary number?
And how do numbers explain the shape of the ancient pyramids?
Why is the number 60 so interesting?
Just how large is the number Googol, the number that gives a certain search engine its name?
And how does maths make our world more beautiful?
Listen, and discover.
This podcast is read by Luke Irwin with sound editing by Max Watson. The script was written by Tomáš Klička and Ni...2020-11-1709 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS2, Ep3 Christine Granville: an extraordinary female spyHer real name was Krystyna Skarbek.
She was Polish but spied for the British during WW11.
She was brilliant and daring in a male-dominated field.
And a law unto her self.
She took risks few others would have done.
And saved lives with her rare ingenuity.
Codenames and pseudonyms, she had many: Madame Marchand, Jacqueline Armande or just plain Pauline. And, of course, Christine Granville.
She was a real-life female James Bond.
And, it is said that she was Ian Fleming’s inspiration for Vespar Lynd, the female double agent in his firs...2020-11-1008 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS2, Ep2 How did humans learn to fly?Once the heavens were the domain of just gods and angels – which is one of the reasons why Icarcus fell back to earth. Humans only really mastered flight when they developed their understanding of two crucial concepts: lift and thrust.
In the early 1900s, with the invention of the petrol engine, the Wright brothers took to the sky in a biplane, albeit for only 59 seconds at first. By 1949, when the first commercial jet-engine airliner crossed the Atlantic Ocean, 44 passengers were considered a lot. Today the world’s largest airliner – the mighty Airbus A380 – can hold more than 600 people a...2020-11-0309 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS2, Ep1 Who stole the Mona Lisa? And why?Welcome to Season 2 of The Wonder Podcast. This episode tells the true story of a thief who stole the Mona Lisa. Every year 10 million visitors come to the Louvre museum in Paris to see this portrait of a 16th-century Italian noblewoman by Leonardo da Vinci. But it was not until she was stolen on 21 August, 1911 that the Mona Lisa achieved global fame.
So who took her, and why wasn't she found for over two years? Did you know that Pablo Picasso was even a suspect?
This podcast is read by Henrietta McMicking with sound editing by Max Watson. The script was wr...2020-10-2708 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS1, Ep8 How does the human body fight diseases?The new coronavirus has had a huge impact on our daily lives, and has made some people very sick but others who caught it haven’t been ill at all. You might be wondering how we fight off illnesses like coronavirus.
This week’s episode is about the immune system and how it works to protect humans from diseases caused by viruses and bacteria. Using the garden as an analogy, we explain the difference between red and white blood cells, and the innate and adaptive immune system.
In order to make this serious but relevant subje...2020-07-0708 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS1, Ep7 The magical films of Studio GhibliWhat do we love about a good film? Is it that they transport us to a different world? To places where our imagination can take flight?
The films of Studio Ghibli are full of strange creatures and extraordinary flying machines; places where sprites live and incredible transformations are possible; and lots of cats – even a cat that looks like a bus. They celebrate the beauty of nature, daring invention, and explore the idea of unlikely gods and spirits that lie just beyond our understanding.
The Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki set up Studio Ghibli in 1985. Since th...2020-06-3008 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS1, Ep6 The Empire Windrush: the ship that defined a generationSeventy two years ago over 800 passengers arrived in the UK from the Caribbean aboard the Empire Windrush. This episode tells the story of their journey: from their initial optimism to the difficulties they faced adapting to life in Britain.
The Empire Windrush lent its name to the 'Windrush generation', the people that came from the West Indies to live in the UK over a period of 25 years. Not only did they helped rebuild Britain after the Second World War but they enriched its culture too. These people were the parents, and grandparents, of British comedian Lenny Henry, writ...2020-06-2307 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS1, Ep3 Carnivorous plants: meet the murderersHello Wonder!
Carnivorous plants are awfully strange, and strangely awful. They may sound like the stuff of nightmares, or science-fiction, but they are most definitely real and ready to commit murder to survive. They attract, then trap, their victims and devour the bodies. These deadly assassins grow in every remote region of the world, except Antartica. And lurk underwater too.
In episode three of The Wonder Podcast we discover how these plants have evolved their murderous tendencies, and why they grow into weird and wonderful shapes – jaw-shapes, urn-shapes or even toilet-shapes, complete with loo seat and...2020-06-1708 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS1, Ep5 Why sport is so much more than just a gameHello Wonder!
Have you ever wondered, what is the point of sport?
Of kicking a ball? Hitting a ball? Serving a ball?
Of running a race? Of cycling? Or swimming?
Or which jockey, on which horse, finishes first?
Why bother counting the number of runs made by a bat striking a red leather ball?
Why does both playing and watching sport obsess us so? Is it just a game? Or is sport a quest of perfection from which we learn lessons that stay with us forever?
...2020-06-1607 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS1, Ep4 Malala: the girl who survivedHello Wonder!
The fourth episode of The Wonder Podcast tells the story of a schoolgirl from Pakistan who stood up for girls’ rights to an education. To silence her, the Taliban, a group of religious extremists, shot her.
Malala Yousafzai did not just survive: she became the youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Her journey began in the Swat Valley, a remote corner of Pakistan, and even she does not know where it will end.
After Malala was airlifted to the UK for life-saving surgery, she made a remarkable recovery and...2020-06-0908 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS1, Ep1 Buzz Aldrin: the astronaut with a cool nicknameHello Wonder!
Welcome to the first episode of The Wonder Podcast. It tells the story of Buzz Aldrin – fighter pilot, astronaut and member of the first manned space mission to another world – and how he lent his name to a famous Space Ranger superhero. You guessed it, Buzz Lightyear.
Most of us can only dream of adventures to far-off places but on 20 July, 1969 two men stepped onto the moon. Back on earth some 600 million people watched, spellbound, as together Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong planted the American flag on the lunar surface. The world was mesme...2020-06-0207 min
The Wonder Podcast for Curious KidsS1, Ep2 Mary I: the first queen of EnglandHello Wonder!
The second episode of The Wonder Podcast tells the story of Queen Mary I who has been called a 16th-century Greta Thunberg – she was passionate, clever and very determined.
She was also the first proper queen of England. Her father Henry VIII once called her ‘the greatest pearl in the kingdom’ yet today she is remembered as ‘Bloody Mary’ since she had hundreds of her Protestant enemies burned at the stake.
All the Tudor kings and queens were ruthless killers. Her father executed some 50,000 people – about two percent of his subjects. And Mary’s s...2020-05-1908 min
Christian Apologetics ProjectChristian Prayer is now “Islamophobic”?PODCAST: function wonderaudio_22_appendcss(csscode) {var head=document.head || document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0];var style=document.createElement("style");head.appendChild(style);style.type="text/css";if (style.styleSheet){style.styleSheet.cssText=csscode;} else {style.appendChild(document.createTextNode(csscode));}};wonderaudio_22_appendcss("@import url(https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Open+Sans|Oswald); #wonderpluginaudio-22 { box-sizing: content-box; } #wonderpluginaudio-22 div { -webkit-box-sizing: content-box; -moz-box-sizing: content-box; box-sizing: content-box; } #wonderpluginaudio-22 .amazingaudioplayer-image { display: block; position: relative; float: left; margin: 4px; overflow: hidden; -webkit-box-shadow: 0 8px 6px -6px black; -moz-box-shadow: 0 8px 6px -6px black; box-shadow: 0 8px 6px -6px black; -webkit-border-radius: 4px; -moz-border-radius: 4px; border-radius: 4px; } #wonderpluginaudio-22 .amazingaudioplayer-image-clear { } #wonderpluginaudio-22...2019-03-2730 min
StarShipSofaStarShipSofa No 457 Shane Halbach"Main Fiction: The Story of Daro and the Arbolita" by Shane Halbach
Originally appeared in Analog
Shane Halbach lives in Chicago with his wife and three kids, where he writes software by day and avoids writing stories by night. His fiction has appeared in Analog, Escape Pod, The Year's Best YA Speculative Fiction, and elsewhere. He blogs regularly at shanehalbach.com, or can be found on Twitter @shanehalbach
Fact: Science News by J J Campanella
Narrated by: Mark Nelson
Mark Nelson (aka Harry Shaw) has been recording audiobooks since 2006, starting as a Librivox volunteer and later for such producers as...2016-10-2652 min
StarShipSofaStarShipSofa No 457 Shane Halbach"Main Fiction: The Story of Daro and the Arbolita" by Shane HalbachOriginally appeared in AnalogShane Halbach lives in Chicago with his wife and three kids, where he writes software by day and avoids writing stories by night. His fiction has appeared in Analog, Escape Pod, The Year's Best YA Speculative Fiction, and elsewhere. He blogs regularly at shanehalbach.com, or can be found on Twitter @shanehalbachFact: Science News by J J CampanellaNarrated by: Mark NelsonMark Nelson (aka Harry Shaw) has been recording audiobooks since 2006, starting as a Librivox volunteer and later for such producers as Audible, Audible Frontiers, Hachette, Wonderaudio...2016-10-2652 min
SFFaudioThe SFFaudio Podcast #023
The SFFaudio Podcast #023 – Jesse and Scott are joined by Rick Jackson (aka The Time Traveler) and talk to him about his podcast (The Time Traveler Show) and audiobook company (Wonder Audio).
Talked about on today’s show:
The Time Traveler Show podcast, Scott Brick, William Dufris, Mark Douglas Nelson, Sam Mowry, Arthur C. Clarke, Stefan Rudnicki, Wonder Audio, Mac Kelly, Status Civilization by Robert Sheckley, Audible.com/wonderaudio, ebook, Frank Herbert, Alfred Bester, Pat Bottino, The Cimmerian blog, Pride And Prejudice And Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, Chronicle Book...2009-02-021h 19