Adaptivity: The Science of Adolescence
VitenskapFor unge lyttereTaking risks. Falling in love. Figuring out who we are. Adolescents are constantly learning and adapting—in ways that are often misunderstood. Host Dr. Ron Dahl, Director of the Institute of Human Development at UC Berkeley, and his guests explore the science of adolescence on Adaptivity, a podcast by the UCLA Center for the Developing Adolescent.
Siste episoder av Adaptivity: The Science of Adolescence podcast
- Sparking Engagement (01:03:19)
Ron talks with Jenny Anderson and Rebecca Winthrop, authors of The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better, about how we can harness adolescents’ natural motivations for agency and connection to spark authentic engagement in education. And how we can ensure that new technologies support healthy engagement, learning, and social development instead of hijacking youth engagement for profit.
- Our Youth's Perspective 2025: The Mind-Body Loop (00:29:01)
Youth Scientific Council on Adolescence members Liam Garcia, Merlot Ghadoushi, and Jaleon Nocentelli talk with UCLA Psychology Professor Ted Robles about the “mind-body connection,” and what the research says about how our developmental needs for caring relationships, contributing to others, belonging, and learning to navigate strong emotions can help us thrive emotionally as well as physically. This is the first of three episodes of “Our Youth’s Perspective 2025”—an annual youth-led miniseries of the Adaptivity podcast, hosted by Ron Dahl.
- Our Youth's Perspective 2025: Nature v. Nurture (00:25:22)
Youth Scientific Council on Adolescence members Abril Rodriguez Martell, Emily Zhu, and Sebastian Gaytan D’Amico talk with UCLA Professor Leanna Hernandez to get answers to their questions about “nature v. nurture,” or how genetics and environment interact to affect our development. This is the second of three episodes of “Our Youth’s Perspective 2025”—an annual youth-led miniseries of the Adaptivity podcast, hosted by Ron Dahl.
- Our Youth's Perspective 2025: AI and Public Policy (00:29:33)
Youth Scientific Council on Adolescence members Benjamin Olaniyi, Brynn Santos, Madison Cheungsomboune, and Stephany Cartney talk with University of Oregon professor of clinical psychology Nick Allen about how AI is likely to shape education for young people, and why it can be something we embrace… instead of fear. This is the last of three episodes of “Our Youth’s Perspective 2025”—an annual youth-led miniseries of the Adaptivity podcast, hosted by Ron Dahl.
- Social Media and Adolescents, part 2: Helping Youth Thrive in a Technocentric World (00:58:10)
Ron talks with researchers Nick Allen and Jacqueline Nesi about how developmental science could help us design social media and other technology to not only decrease risks, but also amplify new opportunities created by the digital world. Guests: Max, a 17-year-old student from the San Francisco Bay Area Nick Allen, PhD, professor of clinical psychology at the University of Oregon and the director of the Center for Digital Mental Health Jacqueline Nesi, assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University and author of the popular weekly newsletter TechnoSapiens Topics: What Max learned from his break from social media Three fundamental principles for evaluating social media How digital tech could be designed and used to promote health and wellbeing The main “yellow flags” of digital tech use by adolescents How tech could amplify benefits for young people who are struggling or facing other disadvantages
- Social Media and Adolescents, Part 1: "We Have the Whole World in Our Back Pockets" (00:35:00)
Former Youth Scientific Council members Dallas Tanner and Becker Chabaan talk with Ron about how they navigate the benefits and risks of social media—and offer their suggestions for improving the online world for younger adolescents. Guests: Becker Chabaan, a freshman at UC Santa Barbara, and Dallas Tanner, a freshman at UCLA, both former members of the Youth Scientific Council on Adolescence Topics: Benefits of social media for adolescents Disadvantages of social media, especially for younger adolescents Perspectives on government bans and other regulations How to improve social media for all young people Dallas and Becker’s experiences with breaks from social media
- Our Youth's Perspective 2024: Parenting Styles (00:28:57)
Youth Scientific Council on Adolescence members Dallas Tanner, Talya Soffer, and Kobe Wood talk with Professor Leslie Leve about parenting styles, and how we're affected by our relationships with our caregivers during adolescence. This is the second of our three annual "Our Youth's Perspective" episodes—an annual youth-led series of Adaptivity, hosted by Ron Dahl.
- Our Youth's Perspective 2024: Cultural Upbringing (00:22:24)
In the first of three youth-led episodes of "Our Youth’s Perspective," a special miniseries of Adaptivity, Youth Scientific Council on Adolescence members Becker Chaaban, Brandon Molina, and Namrata Poola, who talk with UCLA CDA Co-Executive Director Andrew Fuligni about how our cultural upbringing impacts development during our adolescent years.
- Our Youth's Perspective 2024: Sibling Relationships (00:18:09)
The third and final episode of our 2024 "Our Youth's Perspective" miniseries of Adaptivity is about our relationships with our siblings. Youth Scientific Council on Adolescence members Andrea Rodriguez, Faith Veenker, and Kaelyn Morales talk with Professor Kimberly Updegraff about the important role our sisters and brothers play in our development during adolescence.
- How Facing Big Feelings Can Help Build Mental Health (00:52:02)
In this episode, Ron talks with psychologist and bestselling author Dr. Lisa Damour 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.
- Social Adaptivity: Developing Positive Relationship Skills in a Rapidly Changing World (00:43:04)
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.
- Our Youth’s Perspective, part 3: Developing Values, Goals, and Identity (00:17:46)
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.
- Our Youth's Perspectives part 2: Exploration and Risk Taking (00:18:38)
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.
- Our Youth's Perspectives part 1: Decision Making and Emotional Regulation (00:19:19)
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.
- Epic Journeys: What we can learn from adolescence across species (00:52:33)
Host Ron Dahl talks with best-selling author and evolutionary biologist Barbara Natterson Horowitz and anthropologist Rachna Reddy about adolescence across the animal kingdom–and how a cross-species perspective can help us better understand, and support, the human journey from childhood to adolescence.
- Rooted in Connection: Reimagining the Foster System for Adolescents (00:45:17)
The foster care system in the US is not 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.
- This is Me: Race and Identity in Adolescence (00:49:06)
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.
- When Mattering Really Matters (00:24:40)
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. This episode of Adaptivity features the following songs: "The Offensive Line" by Alex Gross "Calling" (Instrumental) by Dexter Britain "Interest" by Ketsa "Buffering" by Tiny Music for Tiny Robots "Lullaby for a Broken Circuit" by Tiny Music for Tiny Robots All available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license.
- When Screen Time is the New Normal (00:20:14)
Experts weigh in on how tech use during COVID-19 is affecting adolescents, and what caretakers and educators can do to support their well-being.
- Guts, Drama, and the Swirl of Emotions (00:20:10)
We talk with bestselling graphic novelist Raina Telgemeier about feeling things deeply during adolescence—and why that’s so important.
- Scary but Thrilling: The Science of Taking Risks (00:26:14)
We explore why adolescents need new and risky experiences— from skateboarding to asking someone out on a date.
- Adaptivity Trailer (00:01:13)
Taking risks. Falling in love. Figuring out who we are. Adolescents are constantly learning, and adapting—in ways that are often misunderstood. Join developmental scientist and pediatrician Dr. Ron Dahl explore the science of adolescence on Adaptivity, a new podcast by the Center for the Developing Adolescent.