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Episode details

Radio 4,05 Nov 2025,29 mins

Series Series 2

1. Happiness

Child

Available for over a year

India Rakusen dives into the emotional lives of toddlers, starting with the complex and often misunderstood emotion of happiness. Through giggling games of peekaboo, insights from neuroscientists, historians, and global perspectives on parenting, the episode unpacks how toddlers experience joy and how early emotional development shapes who we become. Experts reveal the science behind brain plasticity, the importance of caregiver connection, and the myths we hold about emotions. India also explores how society pressures parents to 鈥渒eep kids happy鈥 and how that links to broader cultural ideas鈥攍ike the pursuit of happiness in politics and history and challenges us to rethink what happiness really is, for our children and for ourselves. Presented by: India Rakusen. Producer: Ellie Sans Assistant Producer: Charlotte Evans-Young Executive producer: Alex Hollands Commissioning Exec: Paula McDonnell Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts Original music composed and performed by The Big Moon and Eska Mtungwazi Sound Design by Charlie Brandon-King Child is a Goldhawk production for 麻豆社 Radio 4

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