AI is getting better at sounding human. Better at conversation. Better at reassurance. Better at knowing exactly what we want to hear.

So what happens when our kids start building relationships with machines designed to remove friction?

In this conversation, Dr. Becky talks with former Wall Street Journal tech columnist Joanna Stern about AI toys, chatbot companions, creativity, learning, and the surprising role frustration plays in healthy human development.

Together, they explore why “helpful” technology can potentially short-circuit the skills kids most need to build: patience, resilience, independent thinking, and real connection.

Joanna also shares what happened when she spent time building a relationship with an AI chatbot herself... and why it left her more concerned about kids and companion bots than ever before.

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From the newborn days to the teen years, Good Inside now supports parents through every stage of childhood — with practical guidance for the moments that matter most.

Thank you to our partners for making this episode possible:

• Play-Doh: Shop Play-Doh at Walmart for a summer of imaginative play
• Coterie: Get 20% off with the code GOODINSIDEBABY20
• LMNT: Get a free 8-count sample pack with your purchase at LMNT.com/goodinside
• Oso & Me: Use the code OSOGOOD15 for 15% off clothes newborn through age ten

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

After kids, a lot of couples assume intimacy is supposed to disappear. You’re exhausted, touched-out, overwhelmed by logistics, carrying invisible mental load — and somewhere along the way, sex can start to feel complicated, distant, or impossible to even talk about.

But what if the story is more nuanced than that?

In this episode, Dr. Becky talks with board-certified OB/GYN, sexual wellness expert, and Chief Medical Officer at Hers, Dr. Jessica Shepherd, about new survey data exploring what actually happens to intimacy in long-term relationships and parenthood.

They discuss:

• why some married couples report better sex after kids
• how vulnerability changes intimacy
• the connection between mental load and desire
• hormones, perimenopause, and libido
• why “whose fault is this?” is often the wrong question
• what it means to approach intimacy from a same-team perspective

This conversation is honest, practical, funny at times — and ultimately hopeful. Because intimacy is about feeling seen, understood, connected, and able to locate yourself inside your relationship again.

Dr. Becky wrote up a few tips for talking to your partner about intimacy after kids. You can read those here.

Thank you to our partners for making this episode possible:

• Skylight: Get $30 off a 15-inch Skylight Calendar at myskylight.com/becky
• LMNT: Get a free 8-count sample pack with your purchase at LMNT.com/goodinside
• Oso & Me: Use the code OSOGOOD15 for 15% off clothes newborn through age ten

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dr. Becky recently had a run-in with a ... dubious ... purveyor of NeeDohs, the outrageously popular, notoriously hard-to-find squishy toys. And it made her think twice about why this craze has taken over our homes in the first place. So she did what any reasonable person would do: she recorded an emergency podcast episode in her closet.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.