Why do cats purr?

We fly up into a fluffy cumulus cloud with Ayesha Tandon, and learn about where clouds come from - and what they’re made from. The rhythm of the rain on the window leads us into our song of the week. Maddie's Sound Explorers is brought to you by Magic Star. Maddie’s Sound Explorers makes use of the works from Freesound.org, modified by length or other processing for use in this episode. All of these are available at Freesound.org. Under a CC-BY 3.0 licence: “Light Rain” by babuababua,  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Charlotte Corney, zookeeper extraordinaire, travels with us to watch big cats in the wild - and we learn how they communicate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Professor Carolyn Ross jumps into a bowl of cereal to answer this important question - and we learn about how useful food science can be for young children. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Weather presenter Alex Deakin joins us at the heart of a thunderstorm as we learn how thunder and lightning are created. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We learn about what an echo is - and how bats use echoes to get around, visiting a bat cave with Biologist Professor Kate Jones. Our batty music uses the singing of bats with a jazz twist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Professional Space Nerd Dr Jen Gupta takes us to the beginning of the universe - the moment before the big bang - and we learn about the signs of the big bang that are still with us today. Our big banger uses the sound of the birth of the universe to make a party anthem. Maddie's Sound Explorers is brought to you by Magic Star. Reproduction of the sound of the Big Bang by John G. Cramer - 2013 (http://faculty.washington.edu/jcramer/). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stefan Gates guides us on the rocky journey that our food takes - starting with the mouth and stomach and all the way through the intestines. We also find out whether farting is bad for you! We have some Big Bowel Beats this episode to round off our journey. Maddie's Sound Explorers is brought to you by Magic Star. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We travel into the past, present and future with Dr Alice Bell to learn about the history of the car engine - from steam power to the electric cars of the future. The cranks, steam and motors of the past and electric hum of the future gives us our song of the week. Maddie's Sound Explorers is brought to you by Magic Star. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Maddie talks to her mum, beekeeper Sabra Moate, and we travel into a hive to hear some busy bees doing their waggledance - and at the end of the episode, we’ll be doing a busy, buzzy waggledance of our own. Maddie's Sound Explorers is brought to you by Magic Star. Maddie’s Sound Explorers makes use of the works from Freesound.org, modified by length or other processing for use in this episode. All of these are available at Freesound.org. Under a CC-BY 3.0 licence: “Beating Wings” by Justkiddink. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Urban Birder David Lindo joins us to do some birding close to home - and to learn about what their calls mean. Maddie's Sound Explorers is brought to you by Magic Star. This episode uses the following audio from YouTube modified under a CC-BY 3.0 licence: “Woodpecker on a ladder” by bugsyboat. Thanks also to Suzy Buttress from the Casual Birder Podcast for her permission to use her bird recordings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices