Child

In the final episode of the series India looks into love. From an exploration into the oxytocin driving the parent infant bond to the pressures of unconditional love and the importance of receiving love on a child’s development, this is the story of a big, beautiful, often pressurised emotion. Presenter: India Rakusen Producer: Charlotte Evans-Young Series Producer: Ellie Sans Executive Producer: Alex Hollands Commissioning Executive: Paula McDonnell Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts Original Music: The Big Moon and Eska Mtungwazi Sound Design: Charlie Brandon-KingA Goldhawk Production for Radio 4

A moment of pure panic - losing a child in a park - begins India Rakusen’s exploration of anxiety: what it is, how it begins, and how it shapes both children and parents. Through science, history and culture, she learns how early sensory experiences, food battles, and modern parenting pressures feed our fears. And she explores how play, freedom, and the simple act of letting go might be our best cure. A story about holding on, and learning to release, in a world that asks us to protect what we cannot contain.Presented by India Rakusen. Producer: Ellie Sans Assistant Producer: Charlotte Evans-Young Executive Producer: Alex Hollands Commissioning Executive: Paula McDonnell Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts Original music composed and performed by The Big Moon and Eska Mtungwazi Mix and Mastering by Charlie Brandon-KingA Goldhawk production for BBC Radio 4

India Rakusen explores the awe-inspiring world of awe. Discover how narratives and storytelling, as well as the awesome natural world, have the power to inspire the feeling in all of us - and find out what happens when we let it into our lives. From an increased sense of optimism and connection to prosocial tendencies and reduced anxiety and depression, join India as she reveals what we can learn from the little people in our lives who reach for awe instinctively. And let her take you on a journey that features a Maori storyteller, an expert on childhood amnesia, and a doctor trying to get the youngest in society out in nature.Presented by: India Rakusen Producer: Charlotte Evans-Young Series Producer: Ellie Sans Executive producer: Alex Hollands Commissioning Exec: Paula McDonnell Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts Original music composed and performed by The Big Moon and Eska Mtungwazi Sound Design by Charlie Brandon-KingA Goldhawk production for BBC Radio 4

India Rakusen examines why humans cry, what tears mean and why we might want to question our ability to read the mind in the face. Taking a look at the science and psychology behind crying, from infancy through adulthood, and how tears connect to empathy and emotional development, experts explain how crying signals helplessness, invites support, and shapes social bonds. The programme also explores how culture, gender, and upbringing influence how we express and understand emotions.Presented by India Rakusen. Producer: Ellie Sans Assistant Producer: Charlotte Evans-Young Executive producer: Alex Hollands Commissioning Exec: Paula McDonnell Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts Original music composed and performed by The Big Moon and Eska Mtungwazi Sound Design by Charlie Brandon-KingA Goldhawk production for BBC Radio 4

India Rakusen reaches the wild storm of toddler anger - once feared as fairy mischief, now often misunderstood by science and society alike. We move from ancient changeling tales to modern myths of the “lizard brain”, unravelling how culture, gender, and language shape the way we see emotion. Could anger, so often cast as dangerous or shameful, also be a vital force - something to be named, held, and guided, not silenced. A tender look at the fire in every small soul.Presented by India Rakusen. Producer: Ellie Sans Assistant Producer: Charlotte Evans-Young Executive producer: Alex Hollands Commissioning Exec: Paula McDonnell Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts Original music composed and performed by The Big Moon and Eska Mtungwazi Sound Design by Charlie Brandon-KingA Goldhawk production for BBC Radio 4

Emily Oster, an economics professor and data-driven parenting author, shares insights on potty training and the emotional surprises it brings for parents. Karen Walker, a psychology associate professor, explores how surprise stimulates curiosity, pushing children into their optimal learning zone. Shaddai Tembo highlights how workforce diversity in early education introduces children to unexpected encounters, broadening their perspectives. Together, they discuss the vital role of surprise in fostering resilience, adaptability, and deeper understanding in young learners.

In this conversation, Lisa Feldman Barrett, a renowned psychology expert, and Dr. Mara Guba, a children’s literature scholar from MIT, delve into the intricate role of fear in childhood. They discuss how cautionary tales like Heinrich Hoffmann's gruesome stories have historically shaped children's understanding of fear. Barrett shares insights on the amygdala's function in emotion and fear, while Guba highlights the appetite for dark stories in young minds. Together, they unravel how parental reactions influence children's perceptions of safety and threat.

Denny Marichal, Director at the Birkbeck Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, sheds light on studying toddler brains in natural settings. They delve into how toddlers experience joy through games like peekaboo, emphasizing emotional intensity. The conversation explores the critical role of caregivers in shaping emotional development and the societal pressures on parents to ensure constant happiness. Insights on historical interpretations of happiness challenge modern obsessions, prompting a rethinking of what it means for families today.

India Rakusen returns with the second series of Child for the next chapter of the story of us all. The series will capture the joy and the pain of toddlerhood, the history of infancy and innocence, and, of course, the minefield of parenting a toddler. Because toddlers are on a life ride like no other, deep in the trenches of figuring out how to be a person in our world. In this deep dive into the mind of a toddler we explore what we really know about emotional and brain development in infancy, how it influences the whole of our lives, and how beliefs and understandings of emotions have shaped our world.Presented by: India Rakusen Series Producer: Ellie Sans Producer: Charlotte Evans-Young Executive producer: Alex Hollands Commissioning Exec: Paula McDonnell Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts Original music composed and performed by The Big Moon and Eska Mtungwazi Sound Design by Charlie Brandon-KingA Goldhawk Production for Radio 4

We get inside the mind of a one year old with Professor of psychology and baby expert Alison Gopnik. What can babies teach us, and how are they influencing their future. We also take a moment think about the village we need to survive that first year and beyond. It’s a cliche, but we know it’s true. The community around a child is one of the most fundamental factors for its development.Presented by: India Rakusen. Producer: Ellie Sans. Series producer: Ellie Sans. Executive producer: Suzy Grant. Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts Original music composed and performed by The Big Moon. Mix and Mastering by Olga Reed.A Listen Production for BBC Radio 4.