Make It a Great One with Dr. Dan: #1 Podcast for Inspiring Conversations to Live and Lead On Purpose

Dr. Dan interviews health journalist, author, parent Chelsea Conaboy about her book Mother Brain: How Neuroscience Is Rewriting the Story of Parenthood.  This interview - like Chelsea’s book - explodes the concept of “maternal instinct” and tells listeners a new story about what it means to become a parent.  Conaboy talks to Dr. Dan about the changing, parental brain – and offers revelations that will enlighten and educate. On today’s episode we learn that new parents undergo major structural and functional brain changes, driven by hormones and the deluge of stimuli a baby provides. These neurobiological changes help all parents—birthing or otherwise—adapt in those intense first days and prepare for a long period of learning how to meet their child’s needs. This provocative interview shatters many myths and changes the parenting paradigm. It’s a powerful listen for all parents and caregivers.Chelsea Conaboy is a health and science journalist. She was part of the Boston Globe’s Pulitzer prize–winning team for coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing. Chelsea lives in Maine with her husband, children, and her own changing maternal brain.  Visit Chelsea’s website  www.chelseaconaboy.com. Email your parenting questions to Dr. Dan podcast@drdanpeters.com (we might answer on a future episode!).Follow us @parentfootprintpodcast (Instagram, Facebook) and @drdanpeters (Twitter).Listen, follow, and leave us a review on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Wondery, or wherever you like to listen!Don’t forget, you can hear every episode one week early and ad-free by subscribing to Wondery+ in the @WonderyMedia App.For more information:www.exactlyrightmedia.com www.drdanpeters.comFor podcast merch:www.exactlyrightmedia.com/parent-footprint-shop Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Dan welcomes back parent and author Laura Zigman to discuss parental grief, Well-Child Syndrome, sibling loss, and her book Small World.Laura Zigman grew up in the shadow of her parents’ grief after her oldest sister died.  In her just released novel Small World, Laura fictionalizes and writes poignantly about her own childhood as a typical sibling of a disabled sister who died. Despite the fact that Laura Zigman (and her sister Linda Zigman barely knew Sheryl), Laura’s childhood and her entire life were defined by this loss.  Dr. Dan and Laura honestly discuss the many ways typical siblings experience disability, sibling loss, and parental grief.  The concept of Well-Child Syndrome and supporting “well” or typical siblings is still not widely discussed. Today’s episode reveals the desperate need for mental health support for siblings and entire families – not just parents - when dealing with disability, illness, death, loss, and grief.  This episode also addresses guilt, pain, and other complex emotions in order to shine a light on topics that many families are dealing with today in isolation. Laura’s interview with Dr. Dan today along with her recent essay in the New York Times will comfort listeners.Laura Zigman is the author of five novels, including Separation Anxiety (which was optioned by Julianne Nicholson and the production company Wiip (Mare of Easttown) for a limited television series); Animal Husbandry (which was made into the movie Someone Like You, starring Hugh Jackman and Ashley Judd), Dating Big Bird, Her, and Piece of Work. She has ghostwritten/collaborated on several works of non-fiction, including Eddie Izzard's New York Times bestseller, Believe Me; been a contributor to the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Huffington Post; produced a popular online series of animated videos called Annoying Conversations; and was the recipient of a Yaddo residency. Small World is her sixth novel.  Laura also founded and runs TALK THERAPY FOR YOUR WRITING™ for writers and authors. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  For more information visit her website: www.laurazigman.com and follow her on social media. Email your parenting questions to Dr. Dan podcast@drdanpeters.com (we might answer on a future episode).Follow us @parentfootprintpodcast (Instagram, Facebook) and @drdanpeters (Twitter).Listen, follow, and leave us a review on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Wondery, or wherever you like to listen!Don’t forget, you can hear every episode one week early and ad-free by subscribing to Wondery+ in the @WonderyMedia App.For more information:www.exactlyrightmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Dan interviews Deanna Singh, host of the Uplifting Impact podcast, Diversity Equity & Inclusion Expert, and champion for marginalized communities. Dr. Dan and Deanna discuss how and why we should approach the topic of diversity, equity and inclusion in a positive light with our kids. Deanna’s enthusiasm, curiosity, drive, and passion will energize listeners.Deanna is the author of American Girl's first-ever advice book on race and inclusion,  A Smart Girl's Guide: Race and Inclusion: Standing up to racism and building a better world, and she has written several other children's books showcasing accurate reflections of what we see in our homes and communities by highlighting children of color. Deanna Singh offers enlightening advice today for all ages and explains why she released her newest book Actions Speak Louder: A Step-by-Step Guide to Becoming an Inclusive Workplace. Today’s episode is an essential discussion about marginalized communities and ways to speak to our children about race, building a better world, and much more. It’s a chance to grow and learn – and change.Deanna Singh is business consultant, speaker, author, and podcaster.  Find more information on her website  www.upliftingimpact.com.Email your parenting questions to Dr. Dan podcast@drdanpeters.com (we might answer on a future episode).Follow us @parentfootprintpodcast (Instagram, Facebook) and @drdanpeters (Twitter).Listen, follow, and leave us a review on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Wondery, or wherever you like to listen!Don’t forget, you can hear every episode one week early and ad-free by subscribing to Wondery+ in the @WonderyMedia App.For more information:www.exactlyrightmedia.com www.drdanpeters.comFor podcast merch:www.exactlyrightmedia.com/parent-footprint-shop Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Originally aired on December 27th, 2022.Welcome to the last Bonus Episode of 2022 of Sitting Down With Dr. Dan – exclusively for Wondery + subscribers.  On this December episode, Dr. Dan and Phil Rossi (Dad and the podcast’s audio engineer) answer your listener questions about self-advocacy, New Year’s Resolutions for tweens, and Gentle Parenting. Dr. Dan also gives parents great advice for 2023.Every month Dr. Dan answers your questions about parenting (and adulting, too!) on our “Sitting Down With Dr. Dan” bonus episodes. The virtual mailbag is filled with listener questions every month. Please email us at podcast@drdanpeters.com or DM us on social media. We will consider your question for a future episode.Follow us @parentfootprintpodcast (Instagram, Facebook) and @drdanpeters (Twitter).Listen to Special Episodes on Wondery Plus https://wondery.com/shows/parent-footprint-with-dr-dan/ Please leave us a review on Wondery, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.For more information www.exactlyrightmedia.comDr. Dan’s expertise and wisdom is not a diagnosis or treatment. The information provided on the Parent Footprint podcast should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. Anyone seeking medical advice should consult with a licensed physician.  Please reach out to your doctor for advice or a qualified health provider regarding medical conditions, questions, or situations. The information provided on Parent Footprint and by Dr. Dan is for entertainment purposes only, and does not substitute for professional medical advice. Dr. Dan does not know your child, is not your child’s doctor, and has not treated your child.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

*TRIGGER WARNING: SUICIDE AND RELATED TOPICS DISCUSSED*Today Dr. Dan is in conversation with Jill Bialosky to discuss suicide and the 10 year anniversary edition of her extraordinary memoir History of a Suicide: My Sister’s Unfinished Life.This episode offers an essential, sensitive, and very intimate discussion about suicide with a survivor. In 1990, Jill Bialosky’s 21-year-old sister committed suicide after fighting with her boyfriend. In this interview, Jill discusses her stunning book which recreates her sister’s inner life in order to make sense of it. As a result of writing History of a Suicide, Jill weaves a larger tapestry of what suicide looks like in other families and what it has meant culturally. Throughout this episode Dr. Dan and Jill discuss her sister Kim’s suicide as well as grief, loss, fear, shame, and guilt. Additionally, Jill explains how bewilderment and her unanswered questions inspired this book. Ten years since the publication of History of a Suicide, Jill also shares insight into her research and findings and why she wrote the book. Dr. Dan and Jill are hopeful their conversation resonates as a survivor’s guide and grief companion.  We hope Jill’s path will light the way for many listeners.Jill Bialosky is a poet, novelist, essayist, and editor. She is the author of five acclaimed collections of poetry, three critically acclaimed novels, including The Prize and most recently, The Deceptions and a two memoirs, Poetry Will Save Your Life and New York Times bestselling memoir History of a Suicide: My Sister’s Unfinished Life. Her volume of poetry Asylum: A Personal, Historical, Natural Inquiry in 103 Lyric Sections, was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award. In 2014 she was honored by the Poetry Society of America for her distinguished contribution to poetry.  Jill is an Executive Editor and Vice President at W. W. Norton & Company.   For more information visit www.jillbialosky.com. Are you in a crisis? Are you thinking about suicide? Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255.  Please call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.  Or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.  Email your parenting questions to Dr. Dan podcast@drdanpeters.com (we might answer on a future episode).Follow us @parentfootprintpodcast (Instagram, Facebook) and @drdanpeters (Twitter).Listen, follow, and leave us a review on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Wondery, or wherever you like to listen!Don’t forget, you can hear every episode one week early and ad-free by subscribing to Wondery+ in the @WonderyMedia App.For more information:www.exactlyrightmedia.com www.drdanpeters.comFor podcast merch:www.exactlyrightmedia.com/parent-footprint-shopThis week on... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today Dr. Dan interviews journalist Lisa Lewis about her important book The Sleep-Deprived Teen: Why Our Teenagers Are So Tired, and How Parents and Schools Can Help Them Thrive.  Dr. Dan and Lisa hope to provide listeners with the critical information they need right now about teens and sleep. This episode addresses crucial questions including: How much sleep do teens need? What happens when teens don't get enough sleep?How does social media and technology use sleep? and more.Today’s episode is an urgent call to action for all parents and caregivers.Lisa L. Lewis, MS, is a freelance journalist who covers the intersection of parenting, public health, and education. Lisa helped get California’s landmark legislation on healthy school start times passed. For more information about Lisa’s work and her book visit her website www.lisallewis.com.  Email your parenting questions to Dr. Dan podcast@drdanpeters.com (we might answer on a future episode).Follow us @parentfootprintpodcast (Instagram, Facebook) and @drdanpeters (Twitter).Listen, follow, and leave us a review on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Wondery, or wherever you like to listen!Don’t forget, you can hear every episode one week early and ad-free by subscribing to Wondery+ in the @WonderyMedia App.For more information:www.exactlyrightmedia.com www.drdanpeters.comFor podcast merch:www.exactlyrightmedia.com/parent-footprint-shop Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Originally aired on November 29, 2022.Welcome to the November Bonus Episode of Sitting Down With Dr. Dan exclusively for Wondery + subscribers. ***Trigger warning: this bonus episode discusses mass shootings including the November 2022 University of Virginia campus shooting and deaths.Dr. Dan and Laura Rossi (our producer and twin expert) answer your virtual mailbag listener questions about the holidays and also provide advice for parents about mass shootings.Every month Dr. Dan answers your questions about parenting (and adulting, too!) on our “Sitting Down With Dr. Dan” bonus episodes. Email us at podcast@drdanpeters.com. DM us on social media. We will consider your question for a future episode.Follow us @parentfootprintpodcast (Instagram, Facebook) and @drdanpeters (Twitter).Listen to Special Episodes on Wondery Plus https://wondery.com/shows/parent-footprint-with-dr-dan/ Please leave us a review on Wondery, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.For more information www.exactlyrightmedia.comDr. Dan’s expertise and wisdom is not a diagnosis or treatment. The information provided on the Parent Footprint podcast should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. Anyone seeking medical advice should consult with a licensed physician. Please reach out to your doctor for advice or a qualified health provider regarding medical conditions, questions, or situations. The information provided on Parent Footprint and by Dr. Dan is for entertainment purposes only, and does not substitute for professional medical advice. Dr. Dan does not know your child, is not your child’s doctor, and has not treated your child.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Dan interviews Kurt Braunohler -- Dad, comedian, and co-host of Exactly Right’s Bananas podcast – about parenting, humor, and his just released streaming special PERFECTLY STUPID.Dr. Dan and Kurt’s conversation today is funny, sometimes bananas(!), and will make listeners laugh out loud. They discuss comedy, kids, Dad humor, parenting, Dad-ing, and how laughter really is the best medicineKurt Braunohler has two children. Kurt can be seen in Judd Apatow’s feature “The Big Sick” and Lionsgate's "Long Shot" as well as the upcoming horror film “Barbarian.” He’s appeared in "The Good Place," "Bob's Burgers," "Black Monday," "Lady Dynamite," "American Housewife," and more. Kurt regularly appears on late-night sets on "Conan," "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon," "The Late Show with Seth Meyers," and "The Late Late Show with James Corden" and is co-host of the continuously sold-out variety show “Hot Tub” for 17 years with Kristen Schaal.  Follow Kurt on Instagram @kurtbraunohler.Email your parenting questions to Dr. Dan podcast@drdanpeters.com (we might answer on a future episode).Follow us @parentfootprintpodcast (Instagram, Facebook) and @drdanpeters (Twitter).Listen, follow, and leave us a review on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Wondery, or wherever you like to listen!Don’t forget, you can hear every episode one week early and ad-free by subscribing to Wondery+ in the @WonderyMedia App.For more information:www.exactlyrightmedia.com www.drdanpeters.comFor podcast merch:www.exactlyrightmedia.com/parent-footprint-shop Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Dan talks to Einat Nathan (parenting expert, public speaker, bestselling author, parent) about her magical book My Everything: The Parent I Want to Be, The Children I Hope to Raise.  The message of today’s episode is simple and powerful:  “No parent is perfect and that is ok!” because parenting requires courage, energy, and love. Parenting is not about being perfect.  Parenting is messy. Listeners will connect with Einat’s honesty and passion – and learn from her personal parenting journey.A mother of five children (including a child with autism), Einat shares her wisdom on being patient, calm, and loving.  She explains that all children, in their own way, have their own specialness and needs. Einat teaches us all how to appreciate and accept each child as an individual, with their own quirks, gifts, and flaws.Dr. Dan and Einat’s conversation is for parents who wish to teach their children to be strong and independent. Today’s episode (internationally recorded from Tel Aviv) will transform how listeners think about raising children, resonating across cultures.For more information about the book and Einat Nathan visit her website: https://einatnathan.com/en/.Email your parenting questions to Dr. Dan podcast@drdanpeters.com (we might answer on a future episode).Follow us @parentfootprintpodcast (Instagram, Facebook) and @drdanpeters (Twitter).Listen, follow, and leave us a review on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Wondery, or wherever you like to listen!Don’t forget, you can hear every episode one week early and ad-free by subscribing to Wondery+ in the @WonderyMedia App.For more information:www.exactlyrightmedia.com www.drdanpeters.comFor podcast merch:www.exactlyrightmedia.com/parent-footprint-shop Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Dan and parent, advocate, author Kayla Taylor speak about National Bullying Prevention Month (October) as well as the journey (now a book Canaries Among Us: A Mother’s Quest to Honor her Child’s Individuality in a Culture Determined to Negate It) of her own child who was bullied at an elite private school and officials turned a blind eye to the cruelty and tried to hide it. Today’s necessary discussion on the intersections of neurodivergence and bullying asks provocative and essential questions including: What happens when the people entrusted to care for our kids and prevent bullying look the other way? What can parents do? This interview is about the quest to find out why so many American schools are ill-equipped to deal with issues like learning differences, bullying, and mental health. It will open eyes and shock listeners.For more information and bullying resources please visit Kayla’s website: www.kaylataylorwrites.com.Email your parenting questions to Dr. Dan podcast@drdanpeters.com (we might answer on a future episode).Follow us @parentfootprintpodcast (Instagram, Facebook) and @drdanpeters (Twitter).Listen, follow, and leave us a review on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Wondery, or wherever you like to listen!Don’t forget, you can hear every episode one week early and ad-free by subscribing to Wondery+ in the @WonderyMedia App.For more information:www.exactlyrightmedia.com www.drdanpeters.comFor podcast merch:www.exactlyrightmedia.com/parent-footprint-shop Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices