Despite humans having read for thousands of years, we still don't understand everything about how it happens. It is still a mystery of how the eye, mind, and the brain are called upon to perform tasks that are fundamentally 'unnatural'. Dr. Adrian Johns, Chair of the Department of History at the University of Chicago, joins us to talk about how all this has been explored throughout history, laid out in his new book The Science of Reading: Information, Media, and Mind in Modern America.

Kids (and adults) sometimes have a hard time accepting unique characteristics in themselves and in others. But when a book lands just right, sometimes the simplest format – a picture book – can have the greatest impact on how we view ourselves, others, and the world. Author and illustrator Barney Saltzberg joins us to talk about how picture books invite us to embrace curiosity, vulnerability and new perspectives.

It's overwhelming to form a relationship with a new baby while your relationship with yourself as a new parent is in flux! Keeping it simple is one of the ways parents can get through a challenging but rewarding time. Dr. Joanna Parga-Belinkie, a clinical neonatologist and author of "The Baby Bonding Book", explains how one-on-one time and getting 'back to basics' can create the needed building blocks of bonding, safety, and attachment.

In Part 2 of our interview with Allison Pugh, professor of Sociology at Johns Hopkins University and author of "The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World", we talk about what "connective labor" means for early relational health, and can how physicians, practitioners, and caregivers can apply this theory to their everyday interactions with children.

How people connect to one another is something we sometimes don't think about, and how technology touches modern life is a key factor. Allison Pugh, Professor of Sociology at Johns Hopkins University and author of a notable book on this subject, joins us to talk about how, and why, the human connections now at risk in our tech-driven lives are worth fighting for.

Dr. Clare Crosh and Dr. Diogo Anyigbo join us to talk about what they have learned from families about how they view and practice shared reading and how that can inform messaging and resources that inspire and enable families to sing, tell stories and share books with their young children.

Addressing childcare and education in this country has been a challenge for decades, but according to our next guest, fixing it comes down to one thing - acknowledging that we're thinking about the whole system upside-down, and flipping it right-side-up. Dan Wuori, known globally for his uplifting and educational social media, joins us to talk about his new book, "The Daycare Myth: What We Get Wrong About Early Care and Education (and What We Should Do About It)".

What does early relational health have to do with getting your kids to put their shoes on? Julie King, co-author of "How to Talk So Little Ones Will Listen: A Survival Guide to Life with Children Age 2-7", offers a series of parenting tools that lean into emotional intelligence and foster early relational health.

For nearly 50 years, Lois Lowry's books have adeptly tackled friendship, loyalty, fear, comfort, family, war, political oppression, love, grief, racism, and so much more – and usually from the perspective of the children themselves. Lois Lowry joins us to share how, through writing, she tries "to convey her passionate awareness that we live intertwined on this planet and that our future depends upon our caring more, and doing more, for one another."

Every so often, a book comes along that allows parents and children to slow down together, engage, and experience the joy of reading a book that requires, and then rewards, looking closely at everything that book has to offer. Famed author and illustrator Loren Long joins us to talk about The Yellow Bus, a magical new children's book that does exactly that.