Volcanoes have been erupting on Earth for BILLIONS of years, and they’re still creating new landscapes today! Volcanoes can seem mysterious and scary, but people all over the world have learned to live in close proximity to active volcanoes. Today we answer questions you’ve sent us about how they form, how they erupt, what magma/lava is, and how volcanologists work to predict when they might erupt. Our guest is Freysteinn Sigmundsson, a volcanologist and professor at the University of Iceland.

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But Why went somewhere really cool - literally - and we’re taking you along! We visited Sólheimajökull, a glacier in southern Iceland and then talked with University of Iceland glaciologist Guðfinna Aðalgeirsdóttir to discover how glaciers are formed, why they can be different colors, and how they shape the land. (Do you know the difference between a V-shaped valley and a U-shaped valley? Glaciers!) Plus we’ll talk a little bit about why glaciers around the world are retreating at such a fast pace.

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Have you noticed especially hazy skies where you live over the last few summers? While many parts of the world are experiencing more frequent and intense wildfires, even places that are nowhere near the fires are being impacted by the smoke from fires hundreds or thousands of miles away. Wildfire smoke gets so high in the atmosphere, it can be blown across a continent in a matter of days. In this special bonus episode, we’re going to learn the how and why of wildfire smoke that drifts around the world. And we’ll talk a little bit about how to stay safe when air quality goes down. Our guests are Professor Joel Thornton of the University of Washington and Dr. Gregg Furie of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

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