{"podcast":{"title":"The Reading Bug Podcast - Original Adventures, Bedtime Stories and Music for Kids","slug":"the-reading-bug-podcast-original-adventures-bedtime-stories-and-music-for-kids-590759","podcast_index_feed_id":590759,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/ARML4367050167","website_url":"http://www.thereadingbug.com/adventures","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/eafbefea-648f-11ee-a501-67c7bb4c65b5/image/3db44b1230b54616a841582e2585d333.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Brandon Savage","episode_count":267,"summary":"Love our podcast and bookstore? Get the app — available for Apple or Android. Go to thereadingbug.app 🌟 Let’s fly! ✨ The Reading Bug Podcast is a collection of original audio stories for kids, featuring immersive adventures, cozy bedtime stories, bite-sized story snacks, and curious science questions. Brought to life with original music and vivid storytelling, every episode is designed to help kids fall in love with stories, music, and learning. Perfect for car rides, quiet time, and bedtime! 🚗 📚 What listeners can explore: Reading Bug Adventures: Cinematic, two-part story journeys filled with music and listener participation. Lauren’s Little Bedtime Stories: Calming tales and gentle songs perfect for winding down. Story Snacks with The Book Worm: Short, immersive stories designed for quick listening and big imaginations. Fact Fly’s One Big Question: Fun, kid-friendly science discoveries answering curious “why?” questions. Every episode is proudly created, written, and produced by The Reading Bug, an award-winning, family-owned, independent children’s bookstore. Learn more at: readingbugadventures.com","last_synced_at":"2026-06-11T22:20:37.365265+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-reading-bug-podcast-original-adventures-bedtime-stories-and-music-for-kids-590759"},"episode":{"title":"Fact Fly: Why Does Spicy Food Burn?","slug":"fact-fly-why-does-spicy-food-burn","published_at":"2026-06-11T10:30:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-reading-bug-podcast-original-adventures-bedtime-stories-and-music-for-kids-590759/fact-fly-why-does-spicy-food-burn","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-reading-bug-podcast-original-adventures-bedtime-stories-and-music-for-kids-590759","url":"https://thereadingbug.com/podcasts/onebigquestion","audio_url":"https://mgln.ai/e/211/traffic.megaphone.fm/ARML7173523588.mp3","summary":"The Fact Fly's One Big Question Why does spicy food actually burn — and why does black pepper make you sneeze when you haven't even touched it? Join Lauren and the Fact Fly as they investigate the fiery science behind everyone's favorite fake emergency! From the TRPV1 receptor — your mouth's built-in biological fire alarm — to the committed molecular prank that capsaicin has been pulling on mammals for millions of years, this episode reveals that spicy food isn't burning you at all. It's just very convincingly lying to your brain. You'll climb the Scoville Scale from diplomatic bell pepper to the terrifying Carolina Reaper, find out exactly why water makes spicy food worse (and milk makes it better), and discover the remarkably clever reason peppers evolved to be spicy in the first place — a millions-of-years-old plot twist involving birds, squirrels, and some very strategic seed distribution. Plus: why do some people actually enjoy the heat? The answer involves endorphins, context, and what the Fact Fly is now calling \"collecting the prize for surviving a fake emergency.\" Perfect for spice lovers, cautious eaters, and anyone who has ever reached for a glass of water and made everything significantly worse!","meta_description":"The Fact Fly's One Big Question Why does spicy food actually burn — and why does black pepper make you sneeze when you haven't even touched it? Join Laure…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1712,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-reading-bug-podcast-original-adventures-bedtime-stories-and-music-for-kids-590759/episodes/fact-fly-why-does-spicy-food-burn/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-reading-bug-podcast-original-adventures-bedtime-stories-and-music-for-kids-590759/fact-fly-why-does-spicy-food-burn.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}