Parents: Keep Out!
Psychologist Peter Gray argues that modern societies have dramatically reduced children's opportunities for independent, self-directed play, replacing it with constant adult supervision, structured activities, and academic pressure. Drawing on anthropological work with hunter-gatherer societies, his own research, and personal stories, he explains how free, age-mixed play builds social skills, problem solving, independence, and psychological resilience, and links the loss of such play to rising anxiety and depression in young people. He and host Shankar Vedantam also discuss practical ways for parents, schools, and communities to restore more autonomy and unstructured play to children's lives.
How to raise confident kids in an age of anxiety | Lenore Skenazy
Journalist and free-range parenting advocate Lenore Skenazy discusses why children's independence has dramatically shrunk over recent decades and how this shift is linked to rising anxiety and depression among kids. She explains the cultural and media forces that fueled overprotective parenting, outlines concrete steps for parents, schools, and communities to safely restore age-appropriate freedom, and describes legal reforms like the Reasonable Childhood Independence Law. The conversation emphasizes how letting kids do things on their own builds competence, confidence, and resilience while revitalizing neighborhoods and preparing young people for adult life and work.
The Anxious Generation with Jonathan Haidt
Neil deGrasse Tyson, Gary O'Reilly, and Chuck Nice interview social psychologist Jonathan Haidt about his book "The Anxious Generation" and the mental health crisis among Gen Z. Haidt argues that a combination of overprotected, low-risk real-world childhoods and underprotected exposure to smartphones and social media has driven sharp rises in anxiety, depression, self-harm, and loneliness, especially among girls. He outlines evidence for the crisis, explains developmental brain mechanisms, details platform-specific harms, and proposes four social norms and policy changes to roll back the "phone-based childhood," while warning about emerging AI chatbot toys aimed at children.
Sunday Pick: Mexico City | Far Flung
TED Talks Daily shares an episode of the TED Audio Collective podcast Far Flung, hosted by Salim Reshemwala, that explores how Mexico City channels the creativity of its 21 million residents. Through interviews with pedestrian activist-turned-public-servant Jorge Canes (a.k.a. Peatonito) and former head of the Laboratorio para la Ciudad, Gabriela Gomez-Mont, the episode shows how citizens and government collaborate to improve pedestrian safety, map chaotic bus routes, crowdsource a city constitution, and create play streets for children. The conversation highlights how viewing crowds as sources of imagination and talent can transform a megalopolis' approach to governance and public space.