Season 8 Episode 15: Kids vs Tech, Dogs vs Emotions, and Dr. Jen Golbeck author of Think like a Dog

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A pet medicine mishap kicks things off as we relive “Pilgate,” the moment Brik knocked arthritis meds off the counter and Bernoulli and Beaker ate a truly scary number of pills. Once everyone is safe, we shift to a bigger question that hits home for parents and teachers: are we asking kids to learn on devices that are built to distract them?

We break down the changing screen time recommendations in schools, including major limits like those adopted by Los Angeles Unified, and why the evidence keeps pointing in the same direction: excessive classroom screen use is linked with weaker attention, worse reading outcomes, less handwriting, and more off-task behavior. We’re careful about cause versus correlation, but we also get practical about what teachers see every day when an “entertainment machine” sits on a desk for hours. We talk about when technology actually helps, like targeted practice and the right science simulations, and why paper still wins so often.

Then it’s pet science time. A 2026 iScience study uses dog fMRI to test whether dogs can read emotion from human faces alone. The results are surprisingly sweet: happy faces light up reward-related brain regions, and dogs show different brain patterns for different negative expressions, even without voice, smell, or body language.

Finally, we welcome back Dr. Jen Golbeck, professor, social media and AI researcher, and author of Think Like a Dog. We explore positive psychology for dogs, whether dogs “laugh,” how scent work can give a dog purpose, and how understanding a dog’s perspective can improve behavior and well-being. If you like science, education, and pets, hit subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave us a review.

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