How men's brains change when they become dads
The Story
The Times
3.9 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 12 March 2025
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
‘Baby brain’ is real. Increasing evidence suggests having kids causes big changes in our grey matter, and not always for the worse. Sunday Times science editor and frazzled father of two, explains.
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Guest: Ben Spencer, Science Editor, Sunday Times.
Host: Manveen Rana.
Producer: Emily Webb.
Further reading: How being a parent physically alters your brain (dads included)
Further listening: We need to talk about what motherhood does to women
Photo: Alamy/Sunday Times illustration
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is 40-year-old Kathy, mother of two and self-confessed tele-addict. |
| 0:06.2 | Oh, look at you, that's brilliant. |
| 0:08.9 | Well done. |
| 0:09.8 | This is also Kathy, working as part of a team to keep things calm at her local prison. |
| 0:14.7 | Come on. |
| 0:16.5 | Listen, speak to me. |
| 0:18.4 | And helping someone's son write his first letter home in eight months. |
| 0:22.4 | Well done, you should be really proud. |
| 0:24.4 | Thank you, miss. |
| 0:25.1 | An extraordinary job done by someone like you. |
| 0:28.4 | Search prison jobs now. |
| 0:32.5 | This episode of the story is sponsored by Nat West Cushion. |
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| 1:03.1 | events like getting on the housing ladder, children's tuition, alongside planning for retirement. |
| 1:09.7 | And the NatWest Cushion app is a game changer for connecting your employees to their pension. |
| 1:15.9 | A massive upgrade from dusty paper statements that nobody reads. |
| 1:21.2 | The slick app fits seamlessly into everyday digital life. |
| 1:25.1 | It was designed for real people |
... |
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