The Bedtime Scientist

Episode guide

Dolphins: Riding the Waves

Dolphins name themselves with whistles and sleep with half a brain at a time. This episode rides alongside the pod through play, echoes, and rest.

The science, gently

  • Each dolphin invents its own signature whistle, a name it keeps for life.
  • Dolphins sleep one half of the brain at a time, so they can keep rising to breathe.
  • They see through the dark ocean with sound, reading the echoes that come back.

Wonder together

  • What would your signature whistle sound like?
  • What would it be like to rest half of yourself at a time?
  • Who is in your pod?

Tonight's calm-down

You get to do what dolphins cannot: rest both halves at once. Let the left side of you grow heavy, then the right, and sink together below the waves of the day.