Birth of a Parent

Early Childhood Matters with Michael Feigelson
  • 4.6 (7)
  • Parenting
  • Weekly Series

When a baby is born, a parent is born too. But what if that's more than a metaphor? Birth of a Parent explores the emerging science of how parenthood transforms the human mind. Host Michael Feigelson speaks with leading scientists, writers, and thinkers to investigate whether becoming a parent is one of life's most profound – and least understood – developmental stages.  By following the podcast, you support our message and never miss an episode. Production by Studio Becq, sound design and mixing by Felix Richel, theme by Daniel Galili. This podcast is part of the Early Childhood Matters platform by the Van Leer Foundation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

  1. Jul 8

    Trailer - Birth of a Parent

    When a baby is born, a parent is born too. But what if that's more than a metaphor? Birth of a Parent explores the emerging science of how parenthood transforms the human mind. Host Michael Feigelson speaks with leading scientists, writers, and thinkers to investigate whether becoming a parent is one of life's most profound – and least understood – developmental stages.  By following the podcast, you support our message and never miss an episode. The first episodes will be available from 22 July. Follow the podcast here so you never miss an episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Trailer - Birth of a Parent

  2. 1d ago

    Ep. 1 - A Human Metamorphosis (with Oren Harman)

    Three quarters of animal species undergo metamorphosis. Why are we so sure humans don't? Historian of science Oren Harman takes us from butterflies to starfish in search of an answer, and toward a surprising way of thinking about what happens when a baby turns someone into a parent. Shownotes: Much of the conversation draws on Oren Harman's exploration of metamorphosis across the natural world in his book Metamorphosis: A Natural and Human History.Long before founding psychoanalysis, a young Sigmund Freud spent weeks dissecting hundreds of eels in an unsuccessful search for their reproductive organs at the Zoological Station in Trieste. Oren reflects on Ludwig Wittgenstein's famous proposition: "Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent," from Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus.This podcast is part of the Early Childhood Matters platform by the Van Leer Foundation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Ep. 1 - A Human Metamorphosis (with Oren Harman)

  3. 1d ago

    Ep. 3 - The Dad Bod Theory (with Lee Gettler)

    Why would evolution redesign a man's body after he has children? Anthropologist Lee Gettler helped uncover a surprising answer. His research on hormone changes including testosterone suggests that fatherhood doesn't just change how men think and feel, it changes their biology too. Shownotes:  Lee’s landmark study Longitudinal Evidence that Fatherhood Decreases Testosterone in Human Males showed that men's testosterone levels decline after becoming fathers, helping reshape our understanding of paternal biology.The Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey (CLHNS) is one of the world's longest-running birth cohort studies, following thousands of families in the Philippines. Many of Lee's landmark findings on fatherhood are based on this dataset.Ruth Feldman's pioneering research on oxytocin, caregiving and parent–infant bonding is discussed during the episode.Explore Lee Gettler's research on fatherhood, hormones and human development.This podcast is part of the Early Childhood Matters platform by the Van Leer Foundation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Ep. 3 - The Dad Bod Theory (with Lee Gettler)

  4. 1d ago

    Ep. 2 - The Mom Brain Revolution (with Susana Carmona)

    For centuries, scientists studied what pregnancy does to the body. Almost nobody studied what it does to the brain. Neuroscientist Susana Carmona helped change that, uncovering evidence that motherhood reshapes the human brain in ways scientists are only beginning to understand. Shownotes: Susana's book A Mother’s Brain brings together the latest research on how pregnancy and motherhood reshape the brain, body and identity.Susana leads the NeuroMaternal Lab in Madrid, where much of the research discussed in this episode is conducted.Browse Susana's scientific publications on pregnancy, the maternal brain and parental neuroplasticity.One of the world's largest biomedical databases, the UK Biobank, was used in studies showing that pregnancy leaves measurable, long-term signatures in the brain.Several of Susana's findings relate to changes in the brain's Default Mode Network, a network involved in self-reflection, memory and understanding other people.The London Taxi Driver Study is the classic neuroscience study showing that the adult brain changes in response to experience.This podcast is part of the Early Childhood Matters platform by the Van Leer Foundation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Ep. 2 - The Mom Brain Revolution (with Susana Carmona)

Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

4.6
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

When a baby is born, a parent is born too. But what if that's more than a metaphor? Birth of a Parent explores the emerging science of how parenthood transforms the human mind. Host Michael Feigelson speaks with leading scientists, writers, and thinkers to investigate whether becoming a parent is one of life's most profound – and least understood – developmental stages.  By following the podcast, you support our message and never miss an episode. Production by Studio Becq, sound design and mixing by Felix Richel, theme by Daniel Galili. This podcast is part of the Early Childhood Matters platform by the Van Leer Foundation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Early Childhood Matters with Michael Feigelson
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    4
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Van Leer Foundation
  • Show Website
    Birth of a Parent