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Taking risks. Falling in love. Figuring out who we are. Adolescents are constantly learning and adapting—in ways that are often misunderstood. Join Dr. Ron Dahl, Director of the Institute of Human Development at UC Berkeley, and his guests as they explore the science of adolescence on Adaptivity, a podcast by the UCLA Center for the Developing Adolescent. Listen and rate us on Apple Podcasts!
Henry (age 13) When I think of asking someone out, I think about, if I actually do this and she says no, then like, what’s going to happen to me?
Ron Dahl Taking risks, trying new things, falling in love–these are integral parts of learning and growth during adolescence.
Henry (age 13) I guess the worst thing they could say would be no. Right? And then my social life would be mildly ruined.
Ron Dahl I’m Ron Dahl, and this is Adaptivity, a new podcast about the different ways our developing brains are primed for healthy and adaptive learning during this period of life.
Celia (age 16) When I, like, dance, I heard everybody, like, cheering my name and then people clapping. I felt like, wow, this feels good, like I can actually do this.
Jennifer Pfeifer There’s reward or there’s heartache or there’s just sheer excitement. Those things are what’s driving the tremendous amount of learning that adolescents do and that makes them really have the capacity to adapt to a new environment.
Teen Skateboarder There’s also an adrenaline aspect to it where your body gets supercharged and yeah, you’re just feeling it, you know.
Ron Dahl Join me in exploring the science of adolescence on Adaptivity.
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In this episode, Ron talks with psychologist and bestselling author Lisa Damour as well as Zach Gottlieb and Makayla Dawkins about how strong emotions during adolescence–good and bad–can be opportunities for youth to build positive coping strategies that can help them thrive as adults.
Host Ron Dahl talks with guests Thao Ha, Gustavo Carlo, and Yalda Uhls about how emotionally charged relationships during adolescence can help us learn to navigate personal relationships, find our role in our communities, and handle intense emotions throughout our lives.
In the third and last episode of “Our Youth’s Perspective,” a three-part miniseries of the Adaptivity podcast, YNSCA member Tomi Dugbo talks with Prof. Joanna Williams, Co-Director of the National Scientific Council on Adolescence, about developing our own values, goals, and identities separate from our parents and families.
In the second episode of “Our Youth’s Perspective,” a three-part miniseries of the Adaptivity podcast, YNSCA member Michael Nguyen talks with Adaptivity host and CDA founding director Dr. Ron Dahl about the importance of trying new things and taking risks during our adolescent years.
In the first episode of “Our Youth’s Perspective,” a three-part miniseries of the Adaptivity podcast, YNSCA member Mahisa Mannan talks with UCLA CDA Co-Executive Director Adriana Galván about learning to make difficult decisions and regulate our emotions during our adolescent years.
Host Ron Dahl talks with best-selling author and evolutionary biologist Barbara Natterson-Horowitz and anthropologist Rachna Reddy about how field studies of adolescence across the animal kingdom can help us better understand aspects of our own human adolescence.
The foster care system in the US wasn’t designed to support what we now know about positive adolescent development. But it could be. Host Ron Dahl talks with experts Sixto Cancel and Leslie Leve about how we could reimagine the system to align with what science tells us youth need to thrive.
We talk with Harvard physics major Jara Wilensky, high school math star Noor Harwell, and Dr. Joanna Lee Williams about being Black women in science and how we form our identities in our adolescent years.
We talk with adolescent climate activist Jayden Foytlin, Cornell Professor Anthony Burrow, and San Francisco youth making a difference for their peers about the hunger to matter during adolescence, and how adults can support youth to develop a sense of purpose that can carry through for a lifetime.
We talk to pro skateboarder and musician Tommy Guerrero about why adolescents need new and risky experiences—from skateboarding to asking someone out on a date.
Listen and rate us on Apple Podcasts!
We talk with bestselling graphic novelist Raina Telgemeier about feeling things deeply during adolescence—and why that’s so important. Listen and rate us on Apple Podcasts!
Experts weigh in on adolescents' tech use during COVID-19, and how families and educators can support well-being as time on screens increases. Listen and rate us on Apple Podcasts!
