The Conversation's Curious Kids

Why do some trees lose their leaves and others don't?

The Conversation's Curious Kids

Show Notes

As spring started springing, and leaves started to reappear on the trees, Robi-Jo wanted to find out why some trees lose their leaves and others don't. He joined our host Eloise to ask Paul Ashton, a botanist at Edge Hill University in the UK, who took them into the secret life of our big, leafy friends! The Conversation's Curious Kids podcast is published in partnership with FunKids, the UK's children's radio station. It's hosted and produced by Eloise and Gemma Ware is the executive producer. Full sound credits available here. If you have a question for an expert, email us at [email protected] or record it and send your question to us directly at funkidslive.com/curious. And explore more articles from our Curious Kids series on The Conversation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More from The Conversation's Curious Kids

Jul 28, 2026

When all we have left of dinosaurs is their fossilised bones, how do we know what they looked like on the outside? That’s what nine-year-old Kara from London wanted to know. She joined our host Eloise to get some answers from paleobiologist Neil Gostling at the University of Southampton in the UK and find out all the ways scientists work out what dinosaurs looked like – from the way they walked, to their muscles and even what colour they were. A podcast from The Conversation, the independent not-for-profit news organisation that brings you news and analysis straight from academic experts. Full credits available here. This season is supported by the University of Southampton in the UK, a world-leading research-intensive university with a global network of international students and campuses in Malaysia and Delhi. Are you a curious kid with a question? Pop it in an email, or record it and send us the audio to [email protected]. Curious Kids: what was the biggest dinosaur that ever lived? If an asteroid hit Earth and all the humans died, would the dinosaurs come back? The Conversation’s Curious Kids podcast Curious Kids: could dinosaurs evolve back into existence?

Jul 21, 2026

Nine-year-old Eva was watching an episode of the children’s show Horrible Histories about the stone age recently when a question popped into her head. The cave men were speaking a broken form of English, but Eva thought that didn’t sound right and she wondered: how was the first language formed? She joined our host Eloise to get some answers from anthropologist April Nowell from the University of Victoria in Canada. A podcast from The Conversation, the independent not-for-profit news organisation that brings you news and analysis straight from academic experts. Full credits available here. This season is supported by the University of Southampton in the UK, a world-leading research-intensive university with a global network of international students and campuses in Malaysia and Delhi. Are you a curious kid with a question? Pop it in an email, or record it and send us the audio to [email protected]. Curious Kids: who was the first person to speak English? Curious Kids: how did humans think about things, before they had language to think with? Curious Kids: are some languages more difficult than others?

Jul 14, 2026

There are currently 118 chemical elements on the periodic table. The last one added was oganesson, which was first created by scientists in 2002. Seven-year-old Robyn wants to know whether scientists will be able to make any more new elements to add to the periodic table, and how they'll do it! He joined our host Eloise to ask biochemist Mark Lorch from the University of Hull in England. A podcast from The Conversation, the independent not-for-profit news organisation that brings you news and analysis straight from academic experts. Full credits available here. This season is supported by the University of Southampton in the UK, a world-leading research-intensive university with a global network of international students and campuses in Malaysia and Delhi. Are you a curious kid with a question? Pop it in an email, or record it and send us the audio to [email protected].

Jul 7, 2026

Have you noticed that something you find absolutely delicious might taste disgusting to someone else? Well nine-year-old Leo from Wigan in the UK wanted to know why that is – and why our taste for certain foods changes? Leo joined our host Eloise to put his question to taste researcher Linda Bartoshuk from George Washington University. If you'd like to join in with the experiment in this episode, make sure you have packet of jelly beans or jelly babies to hand! A podcast from The Conversation, the independent not-for-profit news organisation that brings you news and analysis straight from academic experts. Full credits available here. This season is supported by the University of Southampton in the UK, a world-leading research-intensive university with a global network of international students and campuses in Malaysia and Delhi. Are you a curious kid with a question? Pop it in an email, or record it and send us the audio to [email protected]. Curious Kids: how do tongues taste food? Why does orange juice taste bad after you brush your teeth?

Jun 30, 2026

itA few years ago, 10-year-old Guy was driving along the Australian coast when he saw whales, spouting water up into the air. He was amazed. “Then my brother farted, and then I wondered if whales fart,” says Guy. Guy joined our host Eloise to put his question to Vanessa Pirotta, a wildlife scientist at Macquarie University in Australia on this episode. A podcast from The Conversation, the independent not-for-profit news organisation that brings you news and analysis straight from academic experts. Full credits available here. This season is supported by the University of Southampton in the UK, a world-leading research-intensive university with a global network of international students and campuses in Malaysia and Delhi. Are you a curious kid with a question? Pop it in an email, or record it and send us the audio to [email protected]. Curious Kids: why do elephants have tusks? Curious Kids: which is smarter – a blue whale or an orca? Curious Kids: How did some animals evolve wings to fly? Curious kids: do whales fart and sneeze?

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