This week, psychologist and author of “The Emotional Lives of Teenagers: Raising Connected, Capable, and Compassionate Adolescents,” Lisa Damour addresses one of the toughest challenges in parenting - communicating and connecting with teenage children. When it comes to exactly what that means, Damour suggests that parents typically see communicating with their teens as an opportunity to impose their ideas or agendas and that’s a mistake.  What most kids want is to be able to share what they enjoy with their parents - like music. Day to day, teens communicate best when there is a steady presence and when parents communicate with comfort and empathy and without an agenda.

David Whyte, poet and author of “Consolations II: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words,” reflects on the transformative power of the poetry and its ability to rekindle our emotions - from anguish and anxiety, to death, humor and joy. Whyte shares personal experiences, time spent in the Himalayas, and the vital role that humor, laughter and a daily blessing have on his life.

This week, writer and author of Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story, Leslie Jamison reflects on her childhood marriage fantasy and says when it comes to love and marriage we all want that perfect Hollywood ending. However all too often marriages don’t actually work like that but Jamison points out that even when the love is gone from a marriage - as she saw with her own parents, the mutual respect and friendship remained..and that too can be an equally wonderful gift. 

Episode description: Jonathan Bastian talks with Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, professor of psychology and neuroscience and director of the Emotion Regulation Lab at Hunter College, about the anxiety epidemic and her book “Future Tense; Why Anxiety Is Good for You (Even Though It Feels Bad).”

“Anxiety is a feature of being human,” Dennis-Tiwary says. “It’s not a bug, it's not a malfunction. We can learn and work through it.” 

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This week, cognitive scientist and professor of psychology at Yale University Lori Santos explains that negative emotions are very much part of the human experience and essential to leading a happy life. Leaning into these emotions and accepting them is better for us than trying to dismiss or suppress them. 

Baratunde Thurston, comedian, writer and host of the TV series “America Outdoors,” on PBS reflects on life growing up in Mount Pleasant, Washington DC and how his mother instilled a passion for all things outdoors. Thurston explains why there’s such a misconception around the outdoors being a “white space,”  the complex relationship Black people have to the land and the influence Indigenous communities had on teaching us how to live with one another and in harmony with nature.

This week, Kenneth Miller, writer and author of "Mapping the Dark; The Visionary Scientists Who Unlocked The Mysteries of Sleep," offers a practical approach for insomniacs. Instead of investing in expensive gadgets, technology, pillows or pharmaceuticals, which can have the side effect of making us even more anxious, examine the root of your sleep problem. The key to getting a good night's rest may lie in simple and cost effective solutions- like regular sleep habits, exercise or reducing caffeine.

Ruha Benjamin, sociologist and professor of African American Studies at Princeton University discusses the concept of "us topia" as an alternative between dystopia and utopia, which accomodates shaping the future through collective agency. Benjamin says technology also can play a role in representing the public good and shares the example of Barcelona’s Decidim app which promotes democratic participation in city governance. Aaron Robertson, author and writer talks about the utopian ideal and how it influenced a group of Black thinkers, artists and political leaders in the 1960’s.

Guests:

Ruha Benjamin

Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, Founding Director of the Ida B. Wells JUST Data Lab, and author of Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code,"  Other books include  Imagination: A Manifesto, Viral Justice, People’s Science 

Aaron Robertson

Writer, editor, and author of “The Black Utopians:Searching for Paradise and the Promised Land in America.”  

This week, Amir Levine, associate professor of psychiatry at Columbia University and co-author of Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find—and Keep—Love, explains why people with secure attachment styles are not only more loving, trusting and easier to live with but why choosing to be around ‘secures’ can modulate our own behavior and help us in turn become more secure.   

Lewis Cohen, a psychiatrist and dementia researcher and Jeff Zesiger, a hospice specialist, discuss the complexities of end-of-life decisions for dementia patients. Cohen, talks about the subject of his book “Winter’s End: Dementia and Dying Well,” Dan Winter who decided to end his life at 61 due to early-onset dementia. Zesiger highlights the challenges of making end-of-life choices with dementia, noting the conundrum in that the six month requirement for medical aid in dying does not apply. Dan’s husband, John Forsgren, talks about Dan’s certainty and uncompromising approach to life and says it was Dan’s wish to share his story and advocate for great patient autonomy.  

Guests:

Lewis Cohen : Psychiatrist and dementia researcher at Tufts University School of Medicine in Springfield, Massachusetts and author of “Winter’s End: Dementia and and Dying Well" 

Jeff Zesiger: Hospice & palliative specialist in Springfield, Massachusetts.  Serves on the board of the Massachusetts Death with Dignity Committee. 

Jon Forsgren: spouse of Dan Winter