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Brains On! Science podcast for kids

How do oysters make pearls?

Brains On! Science podcast for kids

Lemonada Media

Education For Kids, Kids & Family

4.514.8K Ratings

🗓️ 7 July 2026

⏱️ 33 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Pearls are shiny little things that look great on a bracelet or necklace. They’re made by shell-dwelling creatures called oysters, but how? Dive in as Molly and co-host Katherine explore the underwater world of oysters and other mollusks. They’ll talk with researcher Priya Shukla and producer Menaka Wilhelm to learn how these squishy creatures make pretty pearls. Plus, a game show and a Mystery Sound! Want to support the show? Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Smarty Pass⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to listen to ad-free episodes or donate! Click here for a transcript of this episode.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Lemonado

0:02.0

Brains on Universe

0:10.0

You're listening to Brains on, where we're serious about being curious.

0:16.0

Sometimes wonderful things have surprising beginnings.

0:20.0

Like how scoopable, delicious ice cream starts out as milk soup.

0:24.6

Or how some really fun songs start out all twinkly and then bring in a bunch of bass.

0:33.6

And pearls, their smooth, hard, shiny white balls. And they come from something squishy and slimy that lives in a shell.

0:41.3

A sea creature called an oyster.

0:43.3

It's not the most attractive thing. It kind of looks like a giant bugger.

0:47.3

So how does a booger that lives in a shell create something pretty enough to sell?

0:51.3

We're going to find out. Keep listening.

1:07.5

Hey, Mark and I have been on tour a lot this year doing our live show.

1:13.6

And every city we go to, we meet the coolest kids.

1:16.6

Before the show, I like to do magic tricks.

1:18.6

And more often than not, the second I finish a trick, these kids are trying to figure out exactly how it works.

1:23.6

Sometimes they even do figure it out. But that doesn't bother me. It shows me they're

1:28.5

curious, they have questions, they want to understand everything. And that's the attitude

1:34.2

we hope to encourage here at Brains-On. When you join Smarty Pass, you're supporting this and helping

1:40.2

us build shows that feed that sense of curiosity in countless brains.

1:45.2

Plus, we give you bonus episodes, online hangouts with us.

1:49.0

You can even get a special message from me, Molly, Mark, or Joy.

1:53.3

So help us keep spreading curiosity.

...

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