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Inspirational Women

1/11/26 - Dr. Catherine Athans

·30 min·3 clips
Dr. Athens explains how cell phone radiation stops brain development and replaces empathy in kids.
The episode begins with host Kate Daniels introducing Dr. Catherine Athens, a licensed marriage and family therapist with over 25 years of experience. Dr. Athens discusses recent studies on adolescence and smartphone use, highlighting research from UCLA on magnetic fields interfering with brain development. She explains that developing brains are particularly vulnerable, leading to reduced empathy and language skills. Dr. Athens describes observing parents handing phones to young children and warns about radiation exposure. She shares a case of a young man with an attachment disorder who sabotages relationships due to childhood abandonment. Dr. Athens recounts personal stories, such as connecting with bored children in a store to emphasize the need for human interaction. She contrasts modern sedentary habits with her own childhood activities like climbing trees, which develop neural pathways. Dr. Athens mentions research on babies with small brains linked to mothers placing phones on their bellies. She discusses the difficulty of funding unbiased research, citing an example where R.J. Reynolds attempted to bribe researchers. Dr. Athens advocates for parental boundaries, suggesting landlines and limited phone use until driving age. She stresses the importance of reading to children and family conversations at dinner. The episode ends with Dr. Athens providing her website for further information and resources.

As heard by us

A warm, practical conversation about children, phones, connection, and the childhood devices can crowd out.

Children's smartphone use becomes a question of connection, movement, and what adults give up when they pass over a device. Dr. Catherine Athens frames the discussion around adolescence, parental limits, and the way a phone can hold a child's attention in place of conversation…

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Why you'd press play

You will hear a new-year conversation about kids, cell phones, and the quieter need underneath the screen: connection.

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