Spock Talk: A Parenting Advice Podcast

This is our “Behind the Podcast” episode in which we talk about history crushes, library lessons, social media, influencer culture, information source evaluation, and obsolete audio technology. Listeners! Leave a review and let us know how Spock Talk compares to other conversational podcasts. References

• DeMott, Benjamin. “The Future of Children.” The Atlantic, April 1974.  
• Kozlowska, Hanna. “Why Are We So Obsessed with Momfl...

We discuss Dr. Benjamin Spock’s personal finances and the venture capitalists that brought Baby and Child Care to the World Wide Web. References

• Associated Press. “Dr. Spock’s Advice - 60 Years Later.” The Canadian Press. 25 Oct. 2004. 
• Carvajal, Doreen. “Dr. Spock, Old and Infirm, Needs Money, Wife Says.” The New York Times. 28 Feb. 1998, p. A6.
• “Digital Health and Human Rights Symposium.” Eventbrowse. 
• Dinzeo, Maria. “Dr. Sp...

We explore Spock in the spotlight. Did he have an irresistible, outsized personality? Or was he attention-seeking and fame-hungry? Public domain archival audio courtesy of the Iowa State University Archives. References

• Bloom, Lynn. Doctor Spock: Biography of a Conservative Radical. The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc.: 1972.
• Levey, Jane. “‘Spock, I Love Him.’” Colby Quarterly, v. 36, n. 4, December 2000, pp. 273-294.
• Maier, Thomas...

We explore Dr. Benjamin Spock’s political activism: Was he a hip protester? Or an anti-establishment pariah? Public domain archival audio courtesy of John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston. References

• Bates, Richard. “Democratic Babies? Francoise Dolto, Benjamin Spock and the Ideology of Post-ware Parenting Advice.” Journal of Political Ideologies vol. 24, no. 2, 2019, pp. 201-219.
• Bloom, Lynn. Doctor Spock:...

We explore Dr. Benjamin Spock’s personal relationships with women: sisters, co-workers, dance partners, mentors, wives, and daughters-in-law. Spock recording used with permission from WNYC Archive Collections. Listeners! Let us know your favorite piece of parenting advice. Leave it in a review or email us at spocktalkpodcast@gmail.com! References

• Cooper, D. “Dr. Benjamin Spock.” WNYC. 1 October 1973. 
• Goddard, Joanna. “Mothe...

We explore Dr. Benjamin Spock’s treatment of women in his books and magazine columns. Listeners! Let us know your favorite parenting advice book or website. Leave it in a review! Spock recordings used with permission from WNYC Archive Collections and Minnesota Public Radio. References

• Atkinson, V. Sue. “Shifting Sands: Professional Advice to Mothers in the First Half of the Twentieth Century.” Journal of Family History vol. ...

As the first baby doctor to blend pediatrics with psychology, Dr. Benjamin Spock infused The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care with Freudian psychoanalytic theory. Spock recording used with permission from WNYC Archive Collections. References

• “Add-Ons to Baby and Child Care: Page 285 Sterilizing Bottles.” www.drspock.com/page-285-sterilizing-bottles.
• Bernstein, Joseph. “Back to the Couch with Freud.” The New York Times...

What was Dr. Benjamin Spock’s role in the professionalization of the domestic sphere (i.e. the patriarchy’s long game)? Spock audio courtesy of the National Library of Medicine. References

• Atkinson, V. Sue. “Shifting Sands: Professional Advice to Mothers in the First Half of the Twentieth Century.” Journal of Family History vol. 42, no. 2, 2017, pp. 128-146.
• Backer, Kellen. Personal Correspondence. 21 April 2023.
• Beers, Carol...

Did a privileged upbringing, Yale legacy admission, and dapper fashion sense establish Dr. Benjamin Spock as a trustworthy authority on child rearing? Spock recording used with permission from WNYC Archive Collections. References

• Bloom, Lynn. Doctor Spock: Biography of a Conservative Radical. The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1972.
• Cooper, D. “Dr. Benjamin Spock.” WNYC. 1 October 1973.   
• Kaye, Judith. The Life of Benjamin Spock. Tw...

Was Dr. Benjamin Spock’s bestseller The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care popular because early twentieth century parenting guides were awful and harsh? Spock recording used with permission from WNYC Archive Collections. References

• Atkinson, V. Sue. “Shifting Sands: Professional Advice to Mothers in the First Half of the Twentieth Century.” Journal of Family History vol. 42, no. 2, 2017, pp. 128-146.
• Cooper, D. “Dr. B...

Spock Talk is a new conversational podcast about the history of parenting advice. Over ten episodes, we'll cover the life and legacy of Dr. Benjamin Spock, exploring his predecessors, privilege, medical training, written works, activism, and personal finances, as we try to answer: just who gets to tell parents how to parent?

Like Spock Talk? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or email us at spocktalkpodcast@gmail.com. And listen...