The Island of Explained

Sean Rameswaram: Boop-a-doo-doo-doo-doo-day! Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-explain! Sean Rameswaram: Hey, it's Sean. Usually at this point in the episode, I'd give you a bunch of news about the pandemic, but I'm not going to do that today because today's episode is for kids. Sean Rameswaram: Today, Explain producer-reporter Noam Hassenfeld has been working on a very special episode for the young ones. Noam, what do you got? Noam Hassenfeld: Yeah, I've actually been working with Vox podcast producer Bird Pinkerton. Noam Hassenfeld: And, you know, everyone's been stuck at home a lot lately, so we thought this would be a good time to take people somewhere magical. Noam Hassenfeld: So we're going to an island. An island? Bird Pinkerton: Yeah, the island of Explained. Bird Pinkerton: The island of Explained. Sean Rameswaram: How is it that we've made 550 episodes of this show and no one's ever invited me to the island of Explained? Bird Pinkerton: It's always been there, Sean. You just have to believe. Sean Rameswaram: Okay, well, I'm going to put on my Believe shirt and we're going to head there after a quick break. [Sound effects: Music transition] Sean Rameswaram: Support for this show comes from ServiceNow. Sean Rameswaram: AI is only as powerful as the platform it's built into, don't you know? Sean Rameswaram: That's why it's no surprise that more than 85% of the Fortune 500 use the ServiceNow AI platform. Sean Rameswaram: Didn't know that. Sean Rameswaram: While other platforms duct tape tools together, ServiceNow seamlessly unifies people, data, workflows, and AI, connecting every corner of your business. Sean Rameswaram: And with AI agents working together autonomously, anyone in any department can focus on the work that matters most. Sean Rameswaram: I've never met an AI agent. Sean Rameswaram: Learn how ServiceNow puts AI to work for people at servicenow.com. Sean Rameswaram: The following episode is intended for young audiences. Like, really young audiences. Listener discretion is advised. Sean Rameswaram: Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let's try something a little different. Today! Explain! Bird Pinkerton: What? Sean Rameswaram: Today! Bird Pinkerton: Oh. Explain! Sean Rameswaram: Okay. Today! Bird Pinkerton: I get it. Explain! Sean Rameswaram: Today! Bird Pinkerton: Explain! Sean Rameswaram: Explain! Bird Pinkerton: Today! Sean Rameswaram: Noam? Noam Hassenfeld: Noam Hasenfeld? Is that you? Bird Pinkerton: Bird Penderton! Nice to see you! Bird Pinkerton: It's nice to see you too, but where are we? Noam Hassenfeld: This is the island of Explained. Bird Pinkerton: I thought you might want to get out of the house for a bit, Bird Pinkerton: But even when you're out here, remember, you still should stay six feet away. Noam Hassenfeld: This place is incredible. Like, this massive tree, these pink clouds. Noam Hassenfeld: Kind of a weird number of crickets, but fine. Bird Pinkerton: Can I ask, though, why is there a door here inside of my bookshelf? Noam Hassenfeld: It's not just your bookshelf, Bird. Noam Hassenfeld: There are doors to the island of Explained anywhere you can find knowledge. Noam Hassenfeld: So bookshelves, museums, schools. Bird Pinkerton: Actually, this is where we get all our answers on Today Explained. Noam Hassenfeld: What? Bird Pinkerton: Where do the answers come from? Noam Hassenfeld: They're all over. Noam Hassenfeld: There's this history tree we're standing under. Noam Hassenfeld: It's got a million histories growing out of it. Noam Hassenfeld: There's Deep Dive Lake down there where you can really explore a topic. Noam Hassenfeld: And just past the forest in the distance, that's the ancient ruins of the food pyramid. Bird Pinkerton: This is so cool. Noam Hassenfeld: Are we going to go looking for some answers? Bird Pinkerton: Yeah. Noam Hassenfeld: Today, we've got a bunch of questions from kids who listen to the show. Noam Hassenfeld: And we're going to go on sort of a question answering quest. Bird Pinkerton: All right. I'm in. Noam Hassenfeld: What's question number one? Bird Pinkerton: Let me pull it up on my phone. Bird Pinkerton: Honestly, amazing you get service out here. Noam Hassenfeld: So this one is from Lucia Marvin. Noam Hassenfeld: Hi, I'm Lucia, and I'm calling from New York. Lucia Marvin: My question is, why did the camera ask to come here? Bird Pinkerton: Oh, that's a great question. Noam Hassenfeld: Yeah, it is. Bird Pinkerton: I kind of want to have Lucia here with us. Sean Rameswaram: Let's call her up. [Sound effects: Phone ringing] Lucia Marvin: Hello. Bird Pinkerton: Hi, Lucia. I'm Bird. Lucia Marvin: This is Noam. Bird Pinkerton: Hey, Lucia. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Lucia Marvin: I'm five years old. Lucia Marvin: And my favorite tiger is pink and purple and blue and also red. Lucia Marvin: And my favorite animals are unicorns and bears. Bird Pinkerton: Amazing. Bird Pinkerton: I also love bears. Lucia Marvin: Anyway, we called you because we want to answer your question about why coronavirus came here. Noam Hassenfeld: And we're now standing under this giant tree that apparently has a lot of histories in it slash on it, maybe? Bird Pinkerton: Noam, what is the deal here? Noam Hassenfeld: Do we just ask the tree questions? Bird Pinkerton: No, it's actually a little bit weirder. Noam Hassenfeld: The history tree has this kind of weird book fruit growing out of it, and the histories are written on those books. Bird Pinkerton: Wait, wait, wait. Does that mean we have to climb this giant tree to get an answer? Noam Hassenfeld: Well, I mean, I'm kind of not that into height, so I thought you might climb it. Bird Pinkerton: All right. I see how this is. Bird Pinkerton: Okay. Breathing in. Bird Pinkerton: This isn't so bad. Noam Hassenfeld: Be careful! Bird Pinkerton: Thank you, Noam. Bird Pinkerton: All right. Here's a book fruit. Bird Pinkerton: It is about the first person who made cheese, which is not what we want. Bird Pinkerton: The history of freckles. Also not what we want. Bird Pinkerton: Okay. This one says the history of Corona the virus. Bird Pinkerton: This looks like exactly what we want. Noam Hassenfeld: Read it. Bird Pinkerton: What? Bird Pinkerton: No, it's full of holes. Noam Hassenfeld: Oh yeah, that's fine. Noam Hassenfeld: Sometimes when history fruits aren't fully grown yet, they have holes. Bird Pinkerton: Those are the things we don't know yet. Bird Pinkerton: It's the holes in our knowledge. Noam Hassenfeld: Oh, all right. Noam Hassenfeld: Lucia, are you ready to see what's in here? Lucia Marvin: I'm ready. Bird Pinkerton: Hi. Bird Pinkerton: What was that? Corona: I'm a coronavirus, but most people just call me corona. Corona: I'm super tiny, and you can't see me without a microscope. Corona: If you do get to see me, I'm kind of weird looking. Corona: I'm a little ball and don't get too close because I'm covered with spikes. Corona: So maybe you're wondering where I came from. Corona: Well I tell you what I know Corona: I grew up inside of a bat Corona: I hung out there for a little while Corona: But the thing is I love going new places Corona: And you can't go very far if you stay in bats. Corona: So my dream was always to get into other species, especially people who travel all over the place. Corona: Actually, let me tell you how I got from bats to people. Corona: It's kind of a funny story. [Sound effects: Fuzzy noise] Lucia Marvin: What's that fuzzy noise? Bird Pinkerton: I don't know. Bird Pinkerton: No, Mom, do you know what the fuzzy noise is? Lucia Marvin: Oh, yeah, don't worry about that. Lucia Marvin: That's just one of the holes in the book fruit I was telling you about. Lucia Marvin: You know, the things we don't know yet. Corona: And that's how I got into people. Corona: Unfortunately, I started making some of those people really sick. Corona: I'm sorry, guys. Corona: I really just wanted to travel. Corona: But some people were getting much sicker than other people. Corona: That's because... Corona: But the important thing is, when people cough or kiss or maybe shake hands and then touch their face, I can move between them, riding tiny drops in the air. Corona: I think I started off in China, but I'm not really sure. Corona: I got into my first person in... Corona: From there, I traveled all over, inside of lots of different people. Corona: Some of them took buses or trains. Corona: Some of them took planes and cruise ships. Corona: A lot of people didn't even know they had me, and those people kept passing me to other people. Corona: I rode inside one person to South Korea. Corona: She coughed on some people at a hotel restaurant, so I hopped into them. Corona: Another person flew me all the way to France. Corona: I saw the Eiffel Tower, the Mona Lisa. Corona: Oui, oui, c'est magnifique. Corona: But also, I got to spread into other people in France, because this lady I was in kept coughing copies of me out. Corona: One of the people who got me actually traveled way out to Brazil. Corona: I got to see the Amazon rainforest from a plane, and then eventually I got to see it in person. Corona: I mean, inside a person. Corona: I traveled pretty much everywhere. Corona: Italy, Iran, Australia, and even here, the U.S. Corona: So that's my story. Corona: I started from a bat and now I'm here. Corona: I mean, started from a bat and now I'm here. Corona: Started from a bat and now I'm here. Bird Pinkerton: So, Lucia, I guess the most simple answer to why coronavirus came here is, oh, right here on page eight. Bird Pinkerton: When viruses can spread and travel all over, they do. Corona: It actually looks like there's a lot more book fruit to read also. Corona: Maybe I can look for specific stuff in here. Lucia Marvin: Do you have any more questions? Corona: What was it like when you were growing up in a bat? Bird Pinkerton: All right. Let me look for that. Bird Pinkerton: Here it is. Chapter three, growing up in a bat. Corona: It was fine. Corona: You know, it's pretty easy for me, a virus, to hang out in bats for a long time. Corona: In a bat, I don't really make the bats sick because the bats are kind of used to having me around. Corona: Unlike in people where, unfortunately, I made them sick. Bird Pinkerton: When am I going to go back to school? Corona: Well, it looks like that is here near the end of the story. Corona: Everyone was finally able to go back to school when... Bird Pinkerton: Oh, man. Bird Pinkerton: Lucia, it looks like this hole is really big. Bird Pinkerton: We might have to go somewhere else for this answer. Bird Pinkerton: I'm going to climb down to Noam, see if we can figure this out. Bird Pinkerton: But thank you so much for your question. Bird Pinkerton: We are going to do our best to find an answer. Bird Pinkerton: But for now, I think this is goodbye. Bird Pinkerton: Goodbye, Bird. Bird Pinkerton: Goodbye, corona. Corona: Virus, whatever you're called. Lucia Marvin: Lucia, we're going to try to answer your question after the break. Bird Pinkerton: Thanks. [Sound effects: Music transition] Bird Pinkerton: getting paid up to two days early with direct deposit. Bird Pinkerton: So much more. Bird Pinkerton: Chime says with qualifying direct deposits, you can be eligible for free overdraft, up to $200 on debit card purchases and cash withdrawals. Bird Pinkerton: Plus, they say you don't need to worry about monthly fees or maintenance fees. Bird Pinkerton: You can work on your financial goals through Chime today. Bird Pinkerton: You can open an account in two minutes at chime.com slash explained. Bird Pinkerton: That's chime.com slash explained. Bird Pinkerton: Chime feels like progress. Bird Pinkerton: Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Bird Pinkerton: Banking services and debit card provided by the Bank or Bank N.A. or Stride Bank NA. Bird Pinkerton: Members FDIC. Bird Pinkerton: Spot me eligibility requirements and overdraft limits apply. Bird Pinkerton: Timing depends on submission of payment file. Bird Pinkerton: Fees apply at out-of-network ATMs. Bird Pinkerton: Bank ranking and number of ATMs according to U.S. News and World Report 2023. Bird Pinkerton: Time checking account required. [Sound effects: Music transition] Bird Pinkerton: Support for this show comes from Macy's. Bird Pinkerton: It's almost fall, and that means it's time to cycle your wardrobe to the cold setting. Bird Pinkerton: Because while everyone loves a breezy summer outfit, let's be real, layering is even more fun. Bird Pinkerton: That's why Macy's Fall Fashion Guide has everything you need to piece together the perfect look for you. Bird Pinkerton: It's your one-stop shop for fall's latest trends and must-haves, curated by their experts. Bird Pinkerton: Add a statement shoe to your collection, like the calf-hair loafers from Steve Madden. Bird Pinkerton: Or tap into your romantic side with flowy dresses from Cece and sheer pieces from INC. Bird Pinkerton: You can even throw in some textural layers for contrast, like a faux fur bomber jacket from Karl Lagerfeld Paris. Bird Pinkerton: Whether your old favorite sweater or coat is on its last threads, or you just craving a new vibe to switch things up Macy has got you covered this season Bird Pinkerton: Find the perfect layering pieces for you by exploring the Macy Fall Fashion Style Guide Shop in-store or online at macy's.com. Bird Pinkerton: Today, today I explained. Bird Pinkerton: Hey, Bird, we're back. Bird Pinkerton: Still on a magic island. Bird Pinkerton: I know, I'm still glad to be here and not bored in my boring house. Bird Pinkerton: And, you know, Lucia's question about going back to school, a lot of kids were wondering the same thing. [Sound effects: Phone ringing] Esty: Hi, my name is Esty. Esty: I'm 11 years old and I'm calling from Philadelphia. Esty: My question is, why can't we go to school with face masks and gloves and not do things that we have to be gross? AJ: Hi my name is AJ from New Jersey. AJ: my school's been out I can't see my friends and it's hard I've gone into video games found some new ones and I just wanted to talk Beatrice: Hi my name is Beatrice I live in Daejeon I really want to go to school but I've been out for school for 50 days I can't go to my friend's house anymore. Esty: Do you know the answer? Bird Pinkerton: Why can't kids go back to school right now? Bird Pinkerton: I mean, I think because teachers and principals said so. Noam Hassenfeld: Noam, did you hear that? Noam Hassenfeld: Yeah. It sounded like an echo or something. Noam Hassenfeld: I think it was coming from over there. Bird Pinkerton: Is your island haunted by ghosts? Noam Hassenfeld: No, there's no ghosts on the Island of Explained. Bird Pinkerton: Why don't we check it out? Bird Pinkerton: Oh, there's like a little, there's a little path down to that beach over here. Bird Pinkerton: Okay. Bird Pinkerton: Wow. The seashore is really beautiful. Bird Pinkerton: What am I looking at? Noam Hassenfeld: This is one of my favorite places on the Island of Explained. Noam Hassenfeld: This whole thing stretching around the corner there, this is the Gulf of Knowledge. Bird Pinkerton: Wow. And what's that, what's that rocky shoreline out there? Noam Hassenfeld: Well, you can see it curves around, and it actually, if you follow it all the way with your eyes, right at the end there, that's the point. Bird Pinkerton: Wow. It's almost like every place here has a really punny name. Bird Pinkerton: What about this beach that we're climbing down to? Bird Pinkerton: That's the beach. Bird Pinkerton: Not the under sands? Bird Pinkerton: Not the beach of contracts? Bird Pinkerton: Just the beach. Bird Pinkerton: Huh. Looks like some kind of very creepy cave. Bird Pinkerton: I think I heard someone inside, though. Bird Pinkerton: Should we check it out? Bird Pinkerton: I'm not going into the spooky ghost cave. Bird Pinkerton: I did the tree. I'm not up for a cave. Noam Hassenfeld: Okay, I will do the cave. Noam Hassenfeld: You stay here. Noam Hassenfeld: I'll report back. [Sound effects: Cave sounds] Noam Hassenfeld: Hello? Noam Hassenfeld: Hello? Noam Hassenfeld: Is there someone there? Noam Hassenfeld: Who's there? Brian: Yeah, hi. My name's Noam. Noam Hassenfeld: I just, I was walking here from the history tree. Noam Hassenfeld: I heard an echo and I found this cave. Brian: What is this place? Noam Hassenfeld: Oh boy, you've gotten yourself into something here. Brian: This is the cave of Batlai. Brian: Twy. Noam Hassenfeld: Hmm. How should I explain this? Brian: We're in a cave that judges answers. Brian: So when you ask a question, if it doesn't like the answer, if it doesn't think it was in-depth or satisfying, it whispers, But why? Brian: And why did you come here? Noam Hassenfeld: Well, you know, I'm just hanging out. Brian: Did you hear that? Brian: That's the cave whispering. Brian: It wasn't a good enough explanation. Brian: The real answer is that I love learning. Brian: And I came here and I've been listening to the cave. Brian: If I say something and the cave says, but why? I want to try harder. Brian: I want to get a better answer. Brian: I actually have a question that I'd love to get a good answer to. Brian: I was just listening to it out there with my friend Bird. Brian: It's from a kid named Esty. Brian: Let me see if I can call her up. Brian: Can you hear me? Esty: Yeah, I can hear you. Brian: This is Noam. Brian: Can you hear me? Esty: Yeah. Brian: You actually sound great. Brian: Where are you calling from? Esty: In my closet. Brian: Oh, Esty, I forgot to tell you, I've got you on speakerphone in this magic cave here. Brian: Basically, the deal is, if the cave doesn't think an answer is a good enough explanation, it'll just whisper, but why, over and over again. Brian: So you might hear some weird whispering. Brian: But why, but why, but why? Esty: Exactly. Brian: So now you've met the cave, but I'm also standing here with a new friend I just met, and I think he might be able to answer your question. Brian: Hey, Esty. Brian: I'm Brian. Esty: Hi Brian. Brian: So, Brian, let me just pull up Esty's question real quick. Brian: My question is, why can't we go to school with face masks and gloves and not do things that we have to be close? Brian: That's a great question. Brian: But let me ask you a question first. Brian: Do you think you're wearing a mask to protect yourself from getting sick? Brian: Or are you wearing a mask to protect other people from getting sick? Esty: I think it's more about, I think really both. Esty: Like, if we don't get sick, then other people won't get sick. Brian: So if we don't go out and we don't, like, touch things that might make us sick, and we don't touch other people, then not that much people will get sick. Brian: So it's protecting more people than just us. Brian: Exactly. Brian: I've been thinking about a little experiment here. Brian: Can I tell you about it? Esty: Yeah. Brian: Do you ever play with dominoes, like the tiles you stack up in a row and knock them over? Esty: I did sometimes, but not that much. Brian: What did you do with them? Brian: Do you remember? Esty: Once I made a circle, and then we pushed it, and then it went all the way around. Brian: It was really cool. Brian: Exactly. Brian: It's kind of like the way coronavirus spreads. Brian: If you take one domino... Brian: Oh, that makes so much sense. Brian: See, you're like steps ahead of us. Brian: Okay Esty you clearly got this figured out Brian: But I just want to make sure the cave gets it Brian: Think about the dominoes Brian: If one domino gets sick and falls over Brian: Then it'll just keep going. Brian: Yeah, and then... Brian: That is very sad and satisfying. Brian: Yeah, you know, when they're just tiles, it's satisfying, but when they're people, it's less good. Brian: Yeah. Brian: So if we're thinking about people like Domino's, what's the best way to stop more Domino's from falling over? Brian: By spreading them apart. Brian: Because, like, let's say, like, a kid gets sick. Brian: Like, even if they don't know it, then they're still sick. Brian: And then they're, like, going to someone who might have problems or they're old. Brian: Or someone like one of my cousins. Brian: And maybe if, like, I go to visit, then maybe he would get sick and then he would die. Brian: Yeah. Brian: And then all the dominoes, the people are falling down. Brian: Yeah. Brian: But you had another part to your question, right? Brian: Like, what if we just wore masks and gloves and then we went to school? Brian: Would that be okay? Brian: You know, you got the last one. Brian: Do you want to try thinking through this? Brian: Like, why that might not be a great idea? Brian: Well, I feel like even if we do have masks and gloves, we're still like touching things. Brian: And like, it's not protecting us. Brian: It's protecting other people. Brian: Like, if we sneeze, then it's not spreading somewhere else. Brian: Yeah. Brian: The masks here, they aren't perfect. Brian: They do help a little bit. Brian: So if you have to go somewhere and be around other people, wear a mask. Brian: But because they don't do a perfect job, the safest thing to do is just stay six feet away. Brian: So did we answer your whole question? Brian: Well, part of my question was if we could do things that we don't have to be so close. Brian: Like what? Brian: Like if we're sitting in class, then we're able to sit six feet apart technically. Brian: How good do your classmates follow the rules? Brian: If you were to think about what would happen if your teachers told you all to stay six feet apart, do you think it would happen? Esty: No. Brian: It's really hard to be perfect at this. Brian: And if you feel like it's hard, it is because it is hard. Brian: And that's okay. Brian: You know, Esty, you came here with your own question, but you've been pretty good at answering them, too. Brian: Esty, you're awesome at answering questions, and we haven't even heard the cave ask for a better answer in a while. Brian: Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye. Bird Pinkerton: All right, we're going to let you go before we start any more Batwai chain reactions here, but thanks so much for the question, Esty. Brian: Goodbye. Bird Pinkerton: Goodbye. Brian: It was nice to talk to you. Bird Pinkerton: And Bird's probably worrying about me, Bird Pinkerton: So I'm going to go find her. Bird Pinkerton: Thanks again, Brian. Brian: Bye, Noam. Noam Hassenfeld: Noam, you're alive. Noam Hassenfeld: I'm alive and I learned a lot. Noam Hassenfeld: Like what? Noam Hassenfeld: Like this cave it judges answers. Noam Hassenfeld: If they're bad, it says, but why? Noam Hassenfeld: But why? Brian: Exactly. Noam Hassenfeld: And the schools they shouldn't let the kids inside. Noam Hassenfeld: But why? Brian: To keep the children safe and their families safe as well. Noam Hassenfeld: But why? Brian: Isn't it obvious why we want to keep families safe? Noam Hassenfeld: Yeah. Brian: Sorry, I got totally carried away. Noam Hassenfeld: No problem. Noam Hassenfeld: So, kids keep other people safe if they stay home from school. Noam Hassenfeld: But why? Noam Hassenfeld: They can't cough on each other. Noam Hassenfeld: They can't sneeze or spit or drool. Noam Hassenfeld: But why not masks? Noam Hassenfeld: Those are pretty good, but perfect they are not. Noam Hassenfeld: A cough might still get through, so it's best to stay apart. Bird Pinkerton: Well, rats. Bird Pinkerton: Sorry, bird. Noam Hassenfeld: You can't argue with the facts. Noam Hassenfeld: Noam, thank you for taking me here. Noam Hassenfeld: You genuinely made my day a lot better. Bird Pinkerton: I was happy to, and maybe we can come back sometime. Bird Pinkerton: I'd love that. Bird Pinkerton: That's Today Explains, Noam Hasenfeld Kids. Bird Pinkerton: Sorry, he's not available for birthday parties at this time, but Bird Pinkerton might be. Bird Pinkerton: She produced this episode with Noam. Bird Pinkerton: Thanks, Bird. Bird Pinkerton: Noam and Bird had a ton of help today from Vox's editorial director of podcasts, Liz Kelly Nelson, Bird Pinkerton: as well as our old pal Jillian Weinberger and our new pal Rachel Giannini. Bird Pinkerton: Vox's science editor, Eliza Barkley, played Corona. Bird Pinkerton: Vox's Brian Resnick played Brian. Bird Pinkerton: Thanks to Lauren Katz and Alexa Lee from Vox for keeping it social. Bird Pinkerton: And big ups to our extended Vox Media family, Amanda Northrup, Alex Medina, and Alex's son, Luca. Bird Pinkerton: The Today Explained team includes Ifeem Shapiro and sometimes his son, Harvey, Bird Pinkerton: Bridget McCarthy, Halima Shah, and Amina Alsadi. Bird Pinkerton: Cecilia Lay checks the facts. Bird Pinkerton: Breakmaster Cylinder brings the beats. Bird Pinkerton: Today Explained is a part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Bird Pinkerton: and you can spend more time on the Island of Explained with a set of activities we've put together for you to do with your grownups and to do with your kids. Bird Pinkerton: Go to vox.com slash today explained learning to find four fun activities from testing how far snot travels to coloring in your very own map of the Island of Explained. Bird Pinkerton: Again, that site is vox.com slash today explained learning. Bird Pinkerton: Thanks. Bird Pinkerton: We all have moments where we could have done better, like cutting your own hair. Bird Pinkerton: Oh, yikes. Bird Pinkerton: Or forgetting sunscreen, so now you look like a tomato. Bird Pinkerton: Ouch. Bird Pinkerton: Could have done better. Bird Pinkerton: Same goes for where you invest. Bird Pinkerton: Level up and invest smarter with Schwab. Bird Pinkerton: Get market insights, education, and human help when you need it. Bird Pinkerton: Learn more at Schwab.com.