Dad Brain

How Modern Fatherhood Is Changing Men’s Brains

Plain English with Derek Thompson, 9 June 2026. The book comes up at 2 min 55 sec in.

Derek Thompson interviews USC researcher Darby Saxby about her book Dad Brain, which examines how fatherhood varies across cultures and how it affects men's brains. Saxby discusses how fathers' roles depend on resource-gathering contexts in different societies, the rise of intensive parenting along class lines, mental load and maternal gatekeeping, and research suggesting fatherhood shrinks gray matter short-term but appears neurologically protective long-term. Thompson closes by enthusiastically urging listeners to read it.

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