Advertise on podcast: The Brain Architects

Co-Executive Director of the Center on the Developing Child and podcast host Tassy Warren is joined by the Center’s Faculty Director, Dr. Stephanie Jones, and Dr. Junlei Li, Saul Zaentz Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, to explore the evolution of serve and return and what we’ve learned about the influence of relationships on early childhood development over the past 20 years. Drs. Jones and Li will share how the concept has helped shift our understanding of the importance of early relationships and how that thinking has evolved into more recent concepts such as “early relational health.” The conversation also looks beyond individual relationships to consider the broader ecosystem in which relationships develop—including the environments that shape caregivers’ ability to build strong, responsive relationships with young children—and how we can better support healthy relationships in policy and practice.

The Center on the Developing Child is excited to relaunch its podcast with a new name and a new season, exploring how understanding of early childhood development continues to evolve and what that means for children, caregivers, and the systems that shape their lives. As the Center celebrates its 20th year, co-Executive Director and podcast host Tassy Warren sits down with co-Executive Director Gillian Najarian and new Faculty Director Stephanie Jones to reflect on how the field of early childhood development has evolved and the Center’s role in helping to shift the narrative around early childhood over the last two decades. Their conversation explores the Center’s beginnings, its role in connecting research to policy and practice, and its impact on the broader field. Gillian will share memories from the Center’s earliest days and the factors that have shaped the Center’s success, while Stephanie reflects on her long history with the Center, its impact on the field of early childhood development, the opportunities that lie ahead, and the ways the field has changed over the past 20 years.

The Center on the Developing Child is excited to relaunch its podcast with a new name and a new season, exploring how understanding of early childhood development continues to evolve and what that means for children, caregivers, and the systems that shape their lives. As the Center celebrates its 20th year, co-Executive Director and podcast host Tassy Warren sits down with co-Executive Director Gillian Najarian and new Faculty Director Stephanie Jones to reflect on how the field of early childhood development has evolved and the Center’s role in helping to shift the narrative around early childhood over the last two decades. Their conversation explores the Center’s beginnings, its role in connecting research to policy and practice, and its impact on the broader field. Gillian will share memories from the Center’s earliest days and the factors that have shaped the Center’s success, while Stephanie reflects on her long history with the Center, its impact on the field of early childhood development, the opportunities that lie ahead, and the ways the field has changed over the past 20 years.

In this episode of the Brain Architects, we explore how stability across multiple domains shapes healthy development for young children and their caregivers. Drawing on insights from the latest working paper from the Early Childhood Scientific Council on Equity and the Environment, From Resources to Routines: The Importance of Stability in the Developmental Environment, this conversation examines how interconnected systems—including housing, employment, health care, education, and community supports—can help create, maintain, and restore stability. The webinar highlights complementary frameworks, including the Urban Institute’s Web of Stabilizing Supports and EMPath's Economic Mobility Bridge, to explore how families experience stability across different aspects of daily life. Panelists share examples of how organizations, systems, and communities can work together to strengthen stability, support economic mobility, and promote healthy development for children and caregivers.

In this episode of The Brain Architects, Lindsey Burghardt, MD, MPH, FAAP, moderates a conversation with Nathaniel Harnett, PhD, and Natalie Slopen, ScD, drawing on insights from the new working paper From Resources to Routines: The Importance of Stability in the Developmental Environment. The discussion explores how stability across children’s developmental environments shapes their well-being both in the moment and across the lifespan. They examine the science behind how predictable, supportive relationships and environments influence brain development, stress responses, and long-term health outcomes. Building on this understanding, this episode highlights practical strategies to promote stability for young children and their caregivers, from strengthening consistent, responsive relationships to advancing policies and systems that support stable caregiving environments.

In this episode of the Brain Architects, Nat Kendall-Taylor, CEO of the FrameWorks Institute, Lindsey Burghardt, our Chief Science Officer; Margot Brown, Senior Vice President of Justice & Equity at the Environmental Defense Fund; and Jaclyn Roessel, President and CEO of Grownup Navajo, dive into the findings and recommendations from this report as well as their own experience and expertise. This conversation explores a new report from the Center, created in collaboration with the Frameworks Institute and the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment--or C-CHANGE--at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The new report shows that, despite the risk of long-term harm for children, children are not a major focus of climate-related policy or media coverage. The report also provides evidence-based strategies for bringing children into the conversation to help ensure they can thrive in a changing climate.

In this episode of the Brain Architects, Dr. Nat Kendall-Taylor, CEO of the FrameWorks Institute, Dr. Lindsey Burghardt, our Chief Science Officer, and Dr. Leah Austin, President and CEO of the National Black Child Development Institute, dive into the findings and recommendations from the latest report, created in collaboration with the Frameworks Institute. This conversation explores research-based messaging strategies for talking about the connections between place, racism, and early childhood development. It includes actionable recommendations that communicators can use and adapt in their own work to help strengthen public understanding, shift outdated narratives, and help mobilize support for systems and policies that ensure children and their caregivers have what they need to thrive.

In this episode of the Brain Architects, the Center’s Chief Science Officer, Dr. Lindsey Burghardt, talked with Jennifer B. Wallace, award-winning journalist, and founder of the Mattering Institute who has written extensively on the topic of mattering. The Center on the Developing Child recently collaborated with Jennifer on a new working paper: "Mattering in Early Childhood: Building a Strong Foundation for Life." You'll learn more about the science we explore in the new paper, including what mattering means, the powerful effects of mattering in early childhood, and strategies for building a sense of mattering in our children. We hope you enjoy this conversation.

In this episode of the Brain Architects, Lindsey Burghardt, MD, MPH, FAAP, moderates a conversation with Joseph G. Allen, DSc, MPH, associate professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and director of Harvard’s Healthy Buildings Program, and Sujeet Rao, Director of the Health and Wellbeing practice for USC’s Public Exchange, on how wildfire smoke is affecting children’s health and development. The discussion explores why wildfire smoke has become a growing concern for children across the US—not just in fire zones—and highlights what communities can do to reduce exposure and support healthy development in the face of this increasing environmental challenge.

In this episode of The Brain Architects, Lindsey Burghardt, MD, MPH, FAAP, moderates a conversation with Alison Lee, MD, MS, and Joseph Allen, DSc, MPH, on how air quality during pregnancy and early childhood impacts lifelong health and development. The discussion has a special focus on indoor air, where we spend more than 90% of our time. They cover science-informed, practical strategies to improve indoor air, from adopting pollutant-free products and ventilation systems to advancing policy changes and building designs that prioritize health. They also offer resources for taking action in your community to ensure children and their caregivers have cleaner air to breathe.

In this episode of the Brain Architects, Lindsey Burghardt, MD, MPH, FAAP, moderates a conversation with Michelle Kang, CEO of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and Jennifer Vanos, PhD, Associate Professor in the School of Sustainability and the College of Global Futures at Arizona State University, on how climate change is affecting the experiences and exposures that shape early childhood development. Building on this understanding, the episode explores practical, community-led solutions that are already helping to reduce harm and build resilience, from increasing access to shade and green space to implementing policy changes that support young children and their caregivers. Related Resources: Webinar: How Communities Are Addressing the Impact of Extreme Heat on Young Children At a Glance: Extreme Heat and Early Childhood Development Policy Q&A: How Boston Is Implementing Solutions to Protect Young Children from Extreme Heat A Guide to Extreme Heat and Early Childhood Development

In this episode of the Brain Architects, Lindsey Burghardt, MD, MPH, FAAP, talks with Rebecca Spencer, PhD, a researcher on the science of sleep, about why sleep is so essential during early childhood. From brain architecture and emotional regulation to the role of naps and the importance of creating cool sleeping spaces in our warming world, Dr. Spencer explains how sleep shapes early childhood health and lifelong well-being. With information for caregivers, educators, and policymakers, this conversation offers a deeper understanding of how creating environments that promote good sleep supports children’s learning, health, and resilience.

Access to clean water is too often determined by where we live and the political and economic influence we have to demand it. Yet water is a critical part of a child’s environment, and disruptions in its availability and quality can impact young children’s development and health, both in the moment and throughout their lives. We explore how communities are mobilizing to address disparities in water access and climate-related threats like flooding. Hear from our panelists, Kealoha Fox, PhD, Climate Change Commissioner for the City and County of Honolulu, and Dana Eness, Executive Director of the Urban Conservancy, as they share practical, community-driven solutions to support children’s development, health, and well-being.

Why are the early years of a child’s life so important for brain development? How are connections built in the brain, and how can early brain development affect a child’s future health? This episode of The Brain Architects dives into all these questions and more. First, Dr. Jack Shonkoff, director of the Center on the Developing Child, explains more about the science behind how brains are built—their architecture—and what it means to build a strong brain. This is followed by a panel discussion with Dr. Judy Cameron, professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh; Debbie LeeKeenan, an early childhood consultant and former director of the Eliot-Pearson Children’s School at Tufts University; and Dr. Pia Rebello Britto, the global chief and senior advisor for the Early Childhood Development Program Division at UNICEF. These panelists discuss the practical side of building brain architecture, and what any parent or caregiver can do to help give children’s brains a strong foundation.

What is toxic stress? What effects can it have on a child’s body and development, and how can those effects be prevented? What does it mean to build resilience? This episode of The Brain Architects explores what “toxic stress” means, and what we can do about it. Host Sally Pfitzer is once again joined by Center Director Dr. Jack Shonkoff as they dive into the different types of stress, including what makes certain stress “toxic,” while other stress can be tolerable or even positive for children. They discuss the effects that toxic stress can have on developing brains, as well as what it means to be resilient to sources of stress, and how parents and caregivers can help encourage that resilience in children. Dr. Shonkoff also emphasizes the point that, even for those who may have experienced toxic stress, “it’s never too late to make things better.” Then, listen to a panel discussion featuring Pediatrician Dr. Kathleen Conroy, Community Mental Health Worker Cerella Craig, Professor and Researcher Dr. Megan Gunnar, and Training Director for Rise Magazine Jeanette Vega, as they discuss the various ways in which they encounter toxic stress and its effects in their work. The panelists speak openly about how toxic stress can affect families and children—including ways in which the systems set up to help can be the cause of further stress—and how to talk about toxic stress in a way that doesn’t make things feel hopeless to those who have experienced it. They also dig into strategies they employ in their various fields to help children and families deal with stress, and move what might be toxic stress back to tolerable levels.