Welcome to Nobody Told Me. I'm Jan Black.

And I'm Laura Owens. We're excited to talk with psychologist Michael Reichert on this episode.

Michael is the founding director of the Center for the Study of Boys and Girls' Lives at the University of Pennsylvania.

And Michael has been described as a leading researcher of the journey from boyhood to manhood.

He's the author of a new book on that topic called How to Raise a Boy, the Power of Connection to Raise Good

Men. Michael, thank you so much for joining us.

Hi, Jan. Hi, Laura. Glad to be with you and your listeners.

Why did you feel compelled to write How to Raise a Boy?

Yeah, you know, it really is the convergence of my personal journey as a man, a father,

and now a grandfather to a grandson, my professional work, and my commitment to social justice.

I think that it is high time we were honest with ourselves about the boyhood that we've built and maintained, which was never

designed particularly well for boys' well-being. And, you know, I think in these times when

we're all quite thrilled with the progress of women and girls and wondering what to do about

boys, it seems like we're questioning masculinity

itself instead of looking at the architecture of boyhood, the kind of conditioning of boys

that we continue to perpetuate despite the fact that there have always been routine losses

and casualties. So I guess the answer to

question, short answer your question is, I just think it's high time. We applied a rigorous lens

to how we are helping boys in our nurture of them. How has boyhood changed from my mom's generation

and from your generation to mine?

Yeah, it's a great question. I actually think that the gender equality movement has disrupted the sort of easy transmission of masculine norms from one generation to the next. You know, the reproduction of traditional masculinity

has been disrupted. But despite that fact, most boys will tell you in surveys that they hear

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