Brains On!

The show most families start with, and for good reason. Each episode is built around a question a kid actually wants answered, usually introduced by a kid co-host, and then worked out with real experts, comic characters and music. The Mystery Sound segment is the car-ride secret weapon: a strange audio clip plays, the kid co-host guesses what is happening, and everyone in the car joins in. The vocabulary can run technical for the youngest listeners, so it suits roughly eight and up best, with younger siblings happily along for the jokes. Bonus episodes from its sister shows Forever Ago and Smash Boom Best turn up in the same feed, which makes it an easy one to set and forget.