Dr. Niobe Way is an internationally-recognized Professor of Developmental Psychology, the founder of the Project for the Advancement of Our Common Humanity (PACH) at NYU, and the Director of the Science of Human Connection Lab. She is also a Principal Investigator of the Listening Project, funded by the Spencer Foundation, the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative and the Rockefeller Foundation. When she was a student, Niobe studied with Carol Gilliganâif you read my newsletter or listen to this podcast, you know Carol is a hero of mine and will be wrapping up this series as a guest. Niobe has done for boys what Carol has done for girlsâand their research intersects and Venn diagrams in fascinating ways. While Carolâs research shows that girls come to not know what they know, Niobe traces how boys disconnect from their caring and often enter a period of irrevocably devastating and dangerous loneliness. Niobe is the author of Deep Secrets: Boysâ Friendships and the Crisis of Connection as well as the just-released, Rebels with a Cause: Reimagining Boys, Ourselves, and Our Culture, which offers fascinating insight into our culture at large. Along with historical context, Niobe offers beautiful case studies from her researchâfollowing and interviewing boys as they grow upâalong with notes from boys who have gone on to wreak havoc on the culture, in homicidal and suicidal ways. These notes speak to disconnection, extreme loneliness, and feeling like nobody cares. As I talk about my book in living rooms around the country, I often cite Niobe and Carol Gilligan, specifically the insight that at a certain pointâaround 8 for boys, and 11 for girlsâthe word âdonâtâ enters childrenâs vocabulary. For girls, itâs âI donât know.â For boys, itâs âI donât care.â And of course, girls knows. And of course, boys care. We need to repair our culture so itâs safe for them to stay connected. As you can tell, Iâm very excited for this conversation.
MORE FROM NIOBE WAY, PhD:
Rebels with a Cause: Reimagining Boys, Ourselves, and Our Culture
Deep Secrets: Boysâ Friendships and the Crisis of Connection
The Crisis of Connection: Roots, Consequences, and Solutions
Niobe Wayâs Website
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices