Adaptivity: The Science of Adolescence
This podcast explores the science of adolescence, covering topics like risk-taking, identity formation, and social adaptation. Hosted by Dr. Ron Dahl, director of the Institute of Human Development at UC Berkeley, each episode features conversations with researchers and experts. The show aims to demystify adolescent behavior and highlight the adaptive nature of this developmental stage. It is produced by the UCLA Center for the Developing Adolescent.
Episodes
Adolescence, AI, and the Future of Authentic Human Connection
In this panel discussion, recorded live at SXSW EDU 2026, Ron talks with researchers Nick Allen, Thao Ha, and Alison Lee, and with app creator and student Elle Liemandt, about the social and emotional experiences young people need—in real life and digital spaces—to become contributing, collaborative, and connected humans in a rapidly changing world.
Sparking Engagement
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
Our Youth's Perspective 2025: AI and Public Policy
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 yout
Our Youth's Perspective 2025: Nature v. Nurture
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 Adaptiv
Our Youth's Perspective 2025: The Mind-Body Loop
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. T
Social Media and Adolescents, part 2: Helping Youth Thrive in a Technocentric World
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
Social Media and Adolescents, Part 1: "We Have the Whole World in Our Back Pockets"
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 Top
Our Youth's Perspective 2024: Parenting Styles
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 "Callin
When Screen Time is the New Normal
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
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
We explore why adolescents need new and risky experiences— from skateboarding to asking someone out on a date.
Adaptivity Trailer
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.
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