06/13/2014

‘Do Fathers Matter?’ Explores Dad’s Influence

16:34 minutes

In his new book Do Fathers Matter? What Science is Telling Us About the Parent We’ve Overlooked, science writer Paul Raeburn writes of the surprising biological and genetic connections fathers have with their children. A father who’s depressed during his partner’s pregnancy, for instance, boosts the odds that his unborn child will be depressed. Even a grandfather’s diet can affect his grandchildren’s lifespan, Raeburn writes.

WEB EXCLUSIVE: In this web-exclusive interview, Ira Flatow and Raeburn talk in-depth about the effect fathers have on their children.

Segment Guests

Paul Raeburn

Paul Raeburn is author of Do Fathers Matter? What Science is Telling Us About the Parent We’ve Overlooked (Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014) and chief media critic at the Knight Science Journalism Tracker at MIT in New York, New York.

Heard on the Air

Read an excerpt from Do Fathers Matter?

Meet the Producer

About Christopher Intagliata

Christopher Intagliata was Science Friday’s senior producer. He once served as a prop in an optical illusion and speaks passable Ira Flatowese.

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Proving Dad’s Worth (With Science)

An excerpt from "Do Fathers Matter?" by Paul Raeburn.

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