Big If True Podcast

OK, so Wow in the World! always wins in the Kids and Family division, but we'd still like to try! Will you take just a minute and nominate our show for the Discover Podcast Awards, if you've enjoyed listening to it?

There's another show that ceased production at the end of 2019 also called Big If True, so perhaps leave a link to our website as well as our name (that's bigiftrue.abbymullen.org, btw).

Thank you so much!

https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/6513735/2021-Discover-Pods-Awards-Nominations

We released a new episode yesterday, about a big thing that takes a lot of work to make (appropriate for Labor Day): wigs! We don't think of modern wigs as being particularly big, but in the past, people used false hair as a way to show off their power and status--and the more the better!

Our guest expert is Emma Markiewicz, who studies wigs and hair in the 18th century.

Don't miss our show notes at bigiftrue.abbymullen.org/wigs -- you really need to see some of these wigs to believe them!

Last chance! Wish Maggie a happy birthday before the 9yo host of the show becomes the 10yo host! You can leave her a message at https://bigiftrue.abbymullen.org/wish-maggie-a-happy-birthday/.

We're starting off the new school year with a blast! Going forward, we'll be releasing new episodes on Mondays instead of Thursdays so you'll have a new episode for the new week of commuting to school.

Today our episode is about the Saturn V rocket, the rocket that sent the Apollo astronauts to the moon. Michael Neufeld of the National Air and Space Museum takes us through what a rocket is, how big the Saturn V was, and what it was used for.

Listen on your favorite podcast platform, at the link in our bio, or here: https://bigiftrue.abbymullen.org/episodes/saturn-v/

Hey, check out our most recent newsletter, with some important updates about our production schedule!

https://buttondown.email/BigIfTrue/archive/a-quick-start-of-school-update/

Maggie's birthday is next week! Her co-host would love it if you wished her happy birthday and told her what you like about our show! It just takes a few moments. You can send her a message here:

https://bigiftrue.abbymullen.org/wish-maggie-a-happy-birthday/

We're trying to fit in a few adventures before school starts in a few weeks. So yesterday we braved the 95-degree heat to go apple picking! What about you? Do you have pre-semester plans?

Hey y'all! Maggie turns 10 in just over 2 weeks, and what she wants more than anything is for people to listen to our show. (She requested a Big If True birthday cake. She's serious.)

So we need your help! We need you to (a) listen if you haven't, and (b) tell ALL your friends! Will you help us spread the word about Big If True, a show for kids and kids at heart about big things in the world?

All you have to do is send a friend a link to the show in whatever podcast platform you use. You could also share one of our posts on your own social media platform, or write a post of your own and tag us.

However you want to do it, help us make Maggie's tenth birthday awesome by listening and sharing!

This week’s episode is full of hot air—because we’re talking about airships! Our guest Brett Holman tells us what airships are, why they didn’t really take off, and a peculiar time in history when some airships were truly larger than life.

You may think you know all about balloons, but have you heard the video footage from the wreck of the Hindenburg? Or heard of the phantom airships of 1909? If not, you won't want to miss this episode!

Get it wherever you get your pods, or at https://bigiftrue.abbymullen.org/episodes/airships/.

New episode coming out this week--this YouTube clip is a hint to the topic. Anyone want to take a guess?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRSQi97RRzk

Indiana Jones Tickets Please Scene

Are you watching the Olympics this summer? Whether you've watched them every time they happen, or you've never watched them before, our new episode will give you new insight into this huge sporting event!

Our guest, Matt Hodler, talks to us about what the Olympics are now, where they've come from, and how they affect the areas they happen in.

Find our new episode wherever you get your podcasts, or here: https://bigiftrue.abbymullen.org/episodes/olympics/

Happy moon landing day! This event was certainly big and true for space exploration!

Stay tuned: in a few weeks we've got a show coming out about the rocket that made Apollo 11 possible!

We're 22 downloads from 2000 downloads. How should we celebrate when we get there?

Big If True is a podcast for kids and kids at heart. It's hosted by Maggie and her mom, Abby. We talk to experts about big things in the world--all kinds of big things! Follow us now on your favorite podcast app so that you don't miss our next episode!

If you are a teacher, a parent, or just someone who gets to be with kids a lot, Big If True is a great listen! It's just the right length for driving to school, washing the dishes, or going to bed. It's also a great listen as a supplement to classroom or educational activities.

Big If True – A podcast for kids exploring the truth about big things Big things are everywhere… Welcome to the home of Big If True, a podcast exploring the truth about big things. This season, we’ll talk about everything from hurricanes to aircraft carriers to grizzly bears, and a whole lot of other things too! Join us for 10-20 minutes every two weeks as we talk...

We're taking a week off this week because we have a special Big If True episode for you next week, just in time for the start of the Tokyo 2020/2021 Olympic games! Yep, you got it: we're talking about the Olympics!

So before we release our episode next week, we want you to tell us: what's your favorite Olympic sport? It can be winter or summer!

Next week we're interviewing the curator of rockets at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum about the Saturn V rocket, the rocket that sent the Apollo missions into space.

So we want you to tell us: what do you want to know? Please share with your friends too!

Maggie just realized that when people purchase Big If True swag, we get a cut of the money to use for doing more fun podcast stuff. She's now ready to start knocking on doors selling Big If True merch. Rather than be subjected to that, just a reminder that you can buy Big If True merch here: https://bigiftrue.abbymullen.org/support-us/

Happy Independence Day! If you're looking for something to listen to while you prep your July 4 cookout, or you want to do something fun with your kids in between eating and fireworks, we've got you covered!

You should start with our episode from this week, fireworks! It will change the way you experience these amazing colorful explosions. Then you should check out Crafty Morning's salt fireworks craft to make some colorful explosions of your own!

https://www.craftymorning.com/salt-fireworks-craft-kids

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Yesterday we watched the animated Mulan for family movie night and we saw fireworks used for war and peace! What movies have you seen fireworks in?

media.giphy.com

Our July Fourth celebration episode is explosive! Today our episode is all about fireworks. Americans often associate fireworks with the Fourth of July, but they've been around a lot longer than the United States has been! Listen to our expert, Simon Werrett, tell us all about the history and science behind these colorful sky explosions.

You can find the new episode wherever you get your podcasts, at the link in our bio, or here: https://bigiftrue.abbymullen.org/episodes/fireworks/

(P.S. With the incredibly heat and dry air over the past few weeks in much of the USA, shooting off fireworks yourself might not be the best idea, so maybe just listen to our episode instead of potentially starting a wildfire!)

Hurricane season is heating up again, so it's a perfect time to revisit our hurricanes episode, with expert Matthew Cappucci of the Capital Weather Gang!

Find it wherever you get your podcasts, at the link in our bio, or at https://bigiftrue.abbymullen.org/episodes/hurricanes/.

Ordinarily, you'd be getting new Big If True content this week. But we're taking the week off so that we can release a special episode for the week of July 4. So this week is a great week to catch up on any episodes you've missed, and we'll be back next week with a show about fireworks!

Our newest episode is about Aida, a grand Italian opera. We talk to Maestro Steven White, who has conducted the opera multiple times and has some pretty funny stories to tell us! If you think opera is too long and boring, we've condensed the whole story into just 5 minutes for you. So why not give it a listen?

We want so many people to listen to this episode that we could fill an opera house with you all! But we can't do it without your help. We need you to share the episode with all of your friends!

You can find the new episode wherever you get your podcasts, or at bigiftrue.abbymullen.org.

New episode!

In this episode of Big If True, we travel to ancient Egypt—or a fictional version of ancient Egypt, which is the setting for Aida, an opera by Giuseppe Verdi. Today we’re talking to Steven White about this grand opera, and what it takes to make such a production.

This episode is for you even if you don’t know anything about opera, or you think you don’t like opera! It's really all about the story--and how to tell it. There's love, hate, betrayal, fighting, and of course a lot of dumb choices.

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Steven White is a renowned conductor, who has conducted at the New York City Opera, L’Opera de Montréal, Vancouver Opera, Opera Colorado, Pittsburgh Opera, Michigan Opera Theater, Baltimore Opera, New Orleans Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

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Find Big If True wherever you find your podcasts, or at bigiftrue.abbymullen.org.

We need your help! We're looking to do lots of interviews this summer, but people aren't returning our calls! Will you help us by spreading the word and sharing this post? Or signing up to talk to us yourself?

https://bigiftrue.abbymullen.org/news/summer-interview-extravanganza/

It's ! We've got a lot of great episodes for you to listen to in celebration! If you prefer the natural side of ocean exploration, check out Giant Clams or Whale Sounds; if you're interested in how we get around on the ocean, check out Aircraft Carriers or Ever Given!

Let us know what you listen to and what you learned!

You can find these episodes anywhere you get your podcasts, or at bigiftrue.abbymullen.org.

New episode alert! We're releasing a special episode today for Memorial Day weekend. We talked to Kim Guise of the National World War II Museum about World War II! Specifically, we focused on American service members and how they got to where they needed to go.

Check it out wherever you get your podcasts, at the link in our bio, or here: https://bigiftrue.abbymullen.org/episodes/world-war-ii/

If you follow the geology news (who doesn’t?), you’ll know that there have been a lot of interesting volcanic eruptions over the past year. One of them is a volcano in the Caribbean that’s erupting right now: La Soufriere in St. Vincent. We wanted to know more about this volcano, and about volcanoes in general, so we talked to a volcano expert: Charlie Mandeville, the program coordinator for the US Geological Survey’s Volcano Hazards Program.

This episode is a little bit longer than our usual, but believe us when we say we cut about half of the interesting things Charlie told us. We guarantee you’ll learn some amazing new things!

You can get the new episode in your favorite podcast player, or you can get it here: https://bigiftrue.abbymullen.org/episodes/la-soufriere/.

Even if you do listen in your favorite podcast player, you should still check out the show notes: we’ve got a full transcript, vocabulary word callouts, and a list of amazing additional resources.

We're planning an episode for American Independence Day on July 4 about fireworks! We're talking to a historian who has studied the history of fireworks. So tell us: what should we ask him? What do you want to know about fireworks?

Hey, we're gearing up for our summer interview extravaganza, and we want to hear from you! We're booking interviews now for topics that will keep us going all summer long and into the fall. So, please tell us:

What topics do you want us to talk about?

Did you hear the story about the ship that got stuck in the Suez Canal? Did you find the story super confusing because it seemed so improbable? Today's episode is about the Ever Given, the ship that got stuck in the Suez Canal at the end of March. Our expert, Sal Mercogliano, talks us through what container ships are, why they're so important, and what in the world happened to the Ever Given!

You can find our newest episode wherever you get your podcasts, at the link in our bio, or here: https://bigiftrue.abbymullen.org/episodes/ever-given/

Leo D. took up our Minecraft challenge and made a Minecraft version of our logo! Great job, Leo!

If you want to get a Big If True sticker, you too can make a version of our logo in Minecraft. Send us a screenshot (to [email protected]), along with your address, and we'll send you a sticker!

! Today we’re talking about a BIG GAME–it’s big because you can build big things in it, and it’s big because a huge number of people play it. It’s Minecraft! Guided by our expert, Anne Ladyem McDivitt, we explore why Minecraft is so cool, and how big it really is. Plus we got some help from you, our listeners! (Even cooler: we’ve got actual Minecraft music, from C418. Thanks, C418!)

Listen carefully at the end, because we've got a Minecraft challenge for you--and you could win a Big If True sticker!

Listen wherever you get your podcasts, at the link in our bio, or here: https://bigiftrue.abbymullen.org/episodes/minecraft/

Special thanks to our listeners who told us why they love Minecraft! We may have more opportunities to tell us what you think about our topics, so stay tuned!

Minecrafters, young and old! We want to hear from you about why you play! We're planning to feature 3-5 of your voices on our upcoming Minecraft episode, so we need to hear from you!

To give us your thoughts, use a phone's voice memo recorder to talk for 30-60 seconds about why you play Minecraft. Then DM us and we'll tell you where to send it! Your voice could be in our show!

This is open to anyone who plays Minecraft, no matter how old or young, no matter what you look or sound like!

You did it! You listened to our show 1,000 times! Thanks so much for coming along for the ride for the past 10 episodes. It means the world to us that, of all the podcasts you could listen to, you choose to hang out with us for 15 minutes every two weeks.

We'd love for you to tell us what your favorite moment of the show has been so far! Give us a comment here.

We're SO CLOSE to 1,000 total downloads. Will you do us a huge favor and tell just ONE friend they need to listen to our most recent episode about Yellowstone? It's a really cool episode, we promise!

https://bigiftrue.abbymullen.org/episodes/yellowstone/

Yellowstone – Big If True Categories Episodes Yellowstone Post author By admin Post date April 8, 2021 No Comments on Yellowstone In this episode, we visit one of the most iconic national parks in the United States: Yellowstone. Megan Kate Nelson talks to us about how Yellowstone came to be a park, as well as how all the ama...

alert! Today we're traveling to the western United States to learn about a very unique place: Yellowstone National Park ! Our expert, Megan Kate Nelson, tells us all about the history and science of the park, including giant jets of water that shoot into the air, bison, bears, and explorers!

Find our show wherever you get your podcasts, or check out the link here to see our show notes: https://bigiftrue.abbymullen.org/episodes/yellowstone/

By the way, if you guessed a place in our contest from earlier this week, our cover art should reveal the answer: our closeup was of the Prismatic Hot Spring!

National Park Service

Let's play a game! This is a blurry closeup of something that's going to be in our episode on Thursday! Take a guess about what it is, and if you get it right, we'll send you a sticker!

Let the games begin!