The Myth of a Gendered Brain

08/28/20 • 22 min

It’s no secret that men and women are different — it’s the punchline of a hundred jokes. But does our sex really show in our brains, or is there something else at play?

Gina Rippon, a neuroscientist at Aston University in the U.K. and author of “Gender and Our Brains,” argues that sex doesn’t play nearly as big a role in influencing our brains as we might think. Rather, she says, social cues likely start to influence children at very, very young ages - and it is those cues that account for many of the differences we see.

It’s no secret that men and women are different — it’s the punchline of a hundred jokes. But does our sex really show in our brains, or is there something else at play?

Previous Episode

The Story of Leland Stanford: an American Disruptor

When you hear the name “Stanford,” chances are a certain university in Palo Alto, CA will come to mind. But you may be less familiar with the story of Leland Stanford, the university’s founder. As a railway entrepreneur and key player in West Coast politics, Stanford lived a controversial life that changed the history of California, strengthened a divided nation, and planted the seeds for the rise of Silicon Valley.

Next Episode

Reopening Colleges, Reopening Society

Young adults have often been criticized during the coronavirus pandemic. Now, as some colleges and universities open up their campuses for in-person and online classes, complaints and warnings to students are ratcheting up. But Julia Marcus, an infectious disease epidemiologist and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, doesn’t believe that a punitive approach is the best way to reopen schools. She discusses a holistic public health strategy that she says will support students, instead of shaming them, and enlist their help in the fight against the spread of COVID-19.