Talking About Kids

Send us Fan Mail

This episode is being released on Indigenous Peoples Day or Columbus Day, depending on which you observe. Humans have always migrated. Out of desperation, ambition, and captivity, individuals and groups of individuals have and continue to try to start their lives anew. Sometimes the humans in one location benefit from the newcomers, and sometimes they are irreparably harmed. What is certain is that migration changes the migrants and the residents. I believe that helping kids understand migration and the myriad cultural and historic consequences of it can help future generations realize the advantages and avoid the damages. I encourage you to teach the kids in your life about the people who lived where you live now. Teach them about previous generations and prior civilizations. To help with that, Native Land Digital has an online tool that you can use to explore the peoples that might have lived in your community in the past and the languages they spoke. A link to Native Land Digital is at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return next week (October 19, 2026).

Send us Fan Mail

My guest for the second part of Talking About Kids’ miniseries on children and plastics is Imogen Napper. Imogen is a Post Doctoral Researcher at The University of Plymouth, where she studies plastic pollution in the environment. Imogen is a National Geographic Explorer and Sky Ocean Rescue Scholar. Her influential research has been reported by news outlets like The Guardian, cited in government testimony, and criticized by Chris DeArmitt (my guest for the first part of this miniseries). Imogen and I discuss her interpretation of the research on plastics in the environment and what that research might mean to kids. More information about Imogen and her research is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail

As people who care about kids, we are ripe for exploitation by all sorts of bad actors who use fear to peddle products, sell books, and get clicks. Countering such exploitation with research and science is one of the guiding principles of Taking About Kids, so I listened when Chris DeArmitt – materials scientist; author of Shattering the Plastics Illusion: Exposing Environmental Myths; and Founder of the Plastics Research Council – offered to replace “‘plastic panic’ with evidence-based peace of mind.” I listened, and I read. I read Chris’s research, many of the papers he cites, and the research cited by the scientists and public health officials most worried about plastics. I even interviewed one of the researchers whose work Chris regularly critiques, Imogen Napper. My discussion with Imogen is the second part of this mini-series on plastics. I encourage you to listen to both episodes before drawing any conclusions. I am confident that you will emerge with a healthier understanding of plastics. More information about Chris, his books, and the Plastics Research Council is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail

Business taglines featuring phrases like “AI” and “AI powered” are everywhere, as are stories about AI errors, its harmful impact on education, its bad counsel, and the natural resources it consumes. This is why I was excited to talk to Sol Kennedy. The app Sol founded, BestInterest, uses AI to improve communication between co-parents in ways that benefit their children and their own mental health. I am not alone in thinking that BestInterest in amazing. Therapists, mediators, family law attorneys, and judges are recommending it to their clients. Sol and I discuss what BestInterest does and how AI helps make it happen. More information about Sol and the BestInterest app is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, Curtis White returns to discuss his latest book, On Resistance: A Manifesto, and to explain why his advice to “make yourself useless,” “take back your emptiness,” and “live better stories” might be the best advice we can give kids today. More information about Curtis and his book is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail

When Lawrence C. Harris was 14, he was failing in school, playing videogames all day, and existing on junk food. He was unhappy and unhealthy, and, as Lawrence recalls, he felt like he “didn’t deserve to feel better.” Then Lawrence decided to turn his life around, and (spoiler alert) he did. Now, at the ripe old age of 20, Lawrence is a successful author, personal coach, and public speaker. Lawrence chronicled his transformation in his book Think Feel Live Different, which is one of the clearest case studies of a growth mindset in action that I have ever encountered. Lawrence and I discuss his book, his transformation, and what he hopes other young people might learn from him. More information about Lawrence and how you can bring him and his insights to your community is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail

Jeremy Heffner is a successful trauma surgeon, entrepreneur, and self-described systems thinker. To vet some of his ideas about complex systems, Jeremy started a dialogue with an AI chatbot. What happened next is chronicled in great detail and with supporting documentation in Jeremy’s book Proof of the Impossible: What the AIs Are Really “Thinking.” It is a cautionary tale, one Jeremy and I believe we need to learn from as more and more young people are turning to AI chatbots for advice or to deal with isolation or mental health concerns. More information about Jeremy and Proof of the Impossible: What the AIs Are Really “Thinking” is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail

Today on Talking About Kids, I am joined by Veronica Moya, a children's emotional wellness expert, mindfulness educator, author, and entertainer. Veronica and I explore her journey into teaching mindfulness, meditation, and intuitive learning; we clarify common misconceptions about these practices; and we discuss how they support children's well-being and family relationships. Veronica also shares tips for bringing mindfulness and meditation to the kids in your life. More information about Veronica is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail

When Daniel Shapiro’s son demonstrated a passion for chess, Dan found himself learning alongside his son, playing games, attending tournaments, and exploring the rich history of chess and its champions. The result is his new book, Decoding Genius:  The Unexpected Lessons of After-School Chess Club, which is an exploration of how chess develops the mind and why its lessons extend far beyond the chessboard. Dan and I discuss those lessons and some of the fascinating players and matches that exemplify them. For a limited time, Decoding Genius is available for just 99 cents on Kindle at amazon.com. A link to that and more information about Dan also are at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us Fan Mail

Although it is difficult to admit, most of us need help with our kids at one time or another. Thankfully, there are trained professionals. I am not just talking about therapists or pediatricians. I am talking about speech-language pathologists. Through her firm, Kidology, Luba Patlakh is bringing the speech-language pathologist lens to issues that disrupt families but might not require the intervention of a doctor or psychologist. Luba and I discuss exactly what she and her colleagues do to support parents and where these services fall in a continuum of care. More information about Luba and Kidology is at talkingaboutkids.com.