In North America - the United States in particular - males are regularly circumcised at birth. Over the years, various arguments have been made leading up to a shift in the American Academy of Pediatrics suggesting that the benefits of male infant circumcision outweigh the risks. In this episode - the first of two - I had the chance to talk to Brian Earp, an outspoken critic of the arguments often made in favour of non-therapeutic male infant circumcision. He approaches this topic with logic and science and we start today by looking at these arguments regarding benefits versus risks and how this relates to a child's right to bodily autonomy. I know this is a topic that can be hard for some people, but it's an important one that we need to discuss.

Brian Earp: https://philosophy.yale.edu/people/brian-earp

Relevant Articles:

https://jme.bmj.com/content/39/7/418.short

https://wchh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/tre.531

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brian-Earp-2/publication/316527603_Cultural_Bias_in_American_Medicine_The_Case_of_Infant_Male_Circumcision/links/59bed6d1458515e9cfd228c4/Cultural-Bias-in-American-Medicine-The-Case-of-Infant-Male-Circumcision.pdf

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17441692.2016.1184292

https://philpapers.org/rec/EARFGM

To learn more about the Evolutionary Parenting Podcast visit https://evolutionaryparenting.com/evolutionary-parenting-podcast-2/

This is a special episode of the podcast because it's focused on something highly relevant to us today. At this moment, we're faced with a global pandemic that we are trying to overcome. Over the past few months, vaccinations have become a crucial step in this process, but there are still questions and concerns that people have, especially around those who are breastfeeding or chestfeeding. I had the chance to talk with Dr. Rebecca Powell, an immunologist who has been at the forefront of the research trying to understand the impact of covid infection and vaccination on breastmilk and in turn, the impact for babies. Join me for this special episode that will hopefully alleviate any worries people have and help inform on this unique issue.

Dr. Powell's Lab: https://labs.icahn.mssm.edu/rebecca-powell-lab/

Articles of Interest:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004220309329

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.16.21253731v1

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.03.22.21253831v1

If interested in sending a milk sample (listen to the episode), you can email Dr. Powell at [email protected].

To learn more about the Evolutionary Parenting Podcast visit https://evolutionaryparenting.com/evolutionary-parenting-podcast-2/

A common view today is that when we are born, we are somehow born on even footing when it comes to the effects of how we are raised and what this means for us developmentally. We believe this despite the emergence of epigenetic theories that tell us otherwise, but the problem becomes how to actually study this given the myriad variables that are at play. This week I had the pleasure of talking to a leader in this field - Dr. Amanda Dettmer - and her work studying rhesus macaques to explore this very issue of not only intergenerational effects, but how our early life experiences impact so many facets of our lives. We also got talking about anti-animal research perspectives if that's something you're interested in. I hope you'll enjoy this conversation as much as I enjoyed having it.

Dr. Dettmer: https://medicine.yale.edu/profile/amanda_dettmer/

Dr. Dettmer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/amanda_dettmer

Relevant Articles:

https://www.nber.org/papers/w27737

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ajp.22969

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/dev.21916

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17470919.2016.1176952

https://academic.oup.com/ilarjournal/article/55/2/361/645985

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3196800/

To learn more about the Evolutionary Parenting Podcast visit https://evolutionaryparenting.com/evolutionary-parenting-podcast-2/

We're all told that we need to be good parents, but what does this mean? Is it universal for all people of all walks of life? In this episode, I talk with my ongoing guest Dr. Levita D'Souza about a paper that piqued our interest looking at the relationship of parenting styles with emotion regulation in a predominantly lower-SES and African American sample. Through understanding the effects of parenting on emotion regulation, we can better understand the implications for child development in these marginalized communities. And yes, we need to consider the intersection of parenting and race and economics because these have profound impacts for what we might consider "a good parent". So let us take a look at this important work and what we can glean from it.

The Paper: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/dev.21965

Dr. Joanna Wu: https://healthandhumansciences.fsu.edu/human-development-family-science/faculty-staff/wu/

Dr. Levita D'Souza: https://www.centreforperinatalpsychology.com.au/psychologists/levita-dsouza/

To learn more about the Evolutionary Parenting Podcast visit https://evolutionaryparenting.com/evolutionary-parenting-podcast-2/

When we explore our human evolutionary histories as they've been told so far, the central theme is often on the male experience. The hunter. The conqueror. How did male fertility traits impact relationships? And yet, what is most central to human survival? Procreation and raising the next generation which inherently should involve mothers and children. It is under this lens that Drs. Lesley Newson and Peter Richerson approach a new way of thinking about our collective evolution in their new book A Story of Us: A New Look At Human Evolution. I had the chance to have a wonderful conversation with them about this new story, what it involves, and what it means for us all moving forward. If nothing else, it should get you thinking.

Dr. Peter Richerson: http://www.des.ucdavis.edu/faculty/richerson/richerson.htm

Dr. Lesley Newson on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lesleynewson?lang=en

'A Story of Us': https://amzn.to/3ehKYmE

To learn more about the Evolutionary Parenting Podcast visit https://evolutionaryparenting.com/evolutionary-parenting-podcast-2/

Despite a lot of talk about breastfeeding in our culture, very little discussion happens about the various ways that lactation and provision of breast milk is shared amongst nursing parents. We often think about lactation between one mother and one child and yet that is not how it presents for all families or for all children. From allomaternal nursing to breast milk banks, the world of cooperative lactation is diverse and reflects the needs of various communities and families, but many barriers remain. This week I had the utmost joy in talking about this with Dr. Aunchalee Palmquist, someone who I have admired for ages. I was so thrilled to be able to talk to her. I don't doubt you'll join me in that assessment of her work and her by the end of this interview. So without further ado... let's talk cooperative lactation!

Dr. Aunchalee Palmquist's Faculty Page: https://sph.unc.edu/adv_profile/aunchalee-palmquist-phd-ibclc/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AunPalmquist

Anthrolactology Podcast: https://anthrolactology.com/anthrolactology-podcast/podseason-1/

Some of Dr. Palmquist's articles on cooperative lactation:

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-27393-4_7

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/mcn.12221

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0890334419850820

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277953614006893

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/mcn.12606

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27664771/

https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315145129-3/consuming-immunities-aunchalee-palmquist

To learn more about the Evolutionary Parenting Podcast visit https://evolutionaryparenting.com/evolutionary-parenting-podcast-2/

This week we delve into the world of breastfeeding advocacy with none other than the Badass Breastfeeder herself, Abby Theuring. It feels like no matter where you turn today, breastfeeding has become politicized beyond belief, and the voice of those whom breastfeeding directly impacts is left out. Whether it's women sharing stories of feeling shamed or bullied into breastfeeding or the polar opposite of the fed is best movement that moves us away from the support that individuals need to reach their breastfeeding goals, advocacy today is a landmine. Luckily it's one Abby is willing to enter and one that we explore in this hour. Join me as we get talking about breastfeeding advocacy.

The Badass Breastfeeder: https://www.thebadassbreastfeeder.com/

The Badass Breastfeeding Podcast: https://www.thebadassbreastfeeder.com/podcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBadassBreastfeeder/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebadassbreastfeeder/

To learn more about the Evolutionary Parenting Podcast visit https://evolutionaryparenting.com/evolutionary-parenting-podcast-2/

Most people conceptualize dyslexia as an intellectual disorder, but that simply isn't the case. Although dyslexia is a struggle with reading, reading isn't all there is to our intelligence, just one component of our neurological profile. And as with most things in the brain, if one area is less reactive, chances are other areas are even more reactive. This week, we explore research into the emotional world of children with dyslexia with Drs. Virginia Sturm and Christa Watson, co-authors of a new paper examining how children with dyslexia process emotional stimuli and what this might mean socially for them. The findings might just surprise you.

The Paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0010945220304081

Dr. Virginia Sturm's Page: https://profiles.ucsf.edu/virginia.sturm

UCSF Clinical Affective Neuroscience Lab: https://canlab.ucsf.edu/

Dr. Christa Watson's Page: https://profiles.ucsf.edu/christa.watson

The UCSF Dyslexia Center: https://dyslexia.ucsf.edu/

To learn more about the Evolutionary Parenting Podcast visit https://evolutionaryparenting.com/evolutionary-parenting-podcast-2/

For years we have assumed that babies were incapable of complex empathy. We thought they could react to others' distress through emotion contagion but that was it. It turns out, we were wrong. This week we explore the empathic life of infants through the amazing work of Dr. Maayan Davidov who has been showing the world exactly how capable of empathy infants are. Join us as we talk about these discoveries and what it means for us parents.

Papers Discussed:

https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/bjop.12402

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/desc.13016

Dr. Maayan Davidov's Lab: https://www.davidovlab.com/

Dr. Davidov's University Page: https://en.sw.huji.ac.il/people/maayan-davidov

To learn more about the Evolutionary Parenting Podcast visit https://evolutionaryparenting.com/evolutionary-parenting-podcast-2/

Most parents are led to believe that something is wrong with their babies (or toddlers) because they are waking at night, requiring assistance from parents to settle, or taking a while to fall asleep at night. The common solution is to "sleep train" to "fix" these problems. But what if these aren't actually problems? In this episode, Dr. Levita D'Souza and I discuss the reality of infant sleep and why parents need not be worried about many of these common infant behaviours. Knowing what is a sleep problem and what isn't - and why sleep training still isn't the answer to real problems - can help families make the right choices for everyone involved.

To learn more about the Evolutionary Parenting Podcast visit https://evolutionaryparenting.com/evolutionary-parenting-podcast-2/