Decisions about parenting–when to parent, whether to parent–have been in the news a lot lately. Mary Thompson says that stories about reproductive choices aren’t just newsworthy–they’ve also made their way increasingly into art. And: Janice Hawkins has been administering the covid vaccine to children. She shares why she believes it’s so important to get even the youngest vaccinated.

Later in the show: It’s estimated that there are 3,500 sleep-related infant deaths in the United States each year. The American Academy of Pediatrics has updated their sleep guidance to keep infants safer, with the help of UVA Health doctor Fern Hauck. Plus: Being a working parent is tough no matter the job. But academic parents face a particular set of challenges. Kerry Crawford and Leah Windsor are political scientists, mothers of young children, and authors of the new book The PhD Parenthood Trap: Caught Between Work and Family in Academia.