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 to our other podcast, It's My Screen Time Too!

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Copyright 2023 Deborah Copperud + Katie Curler

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. Benjamin Spock.” WNYC. 1 October 1973.
• Maier, Thomas. Dr. Spock: An American Life. Harcourt Brace & Company, 1998.
• Needleman, Robert and Benjamin Spock. Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care, 10th edition. Gallery Books, 2018.
• Spock, Benjamin. The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care. Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1957.
• ---. The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care. Duell, Sloan and Pearce, New York, 1946.
• Spock, Benjamin, M.D. and Mary Morgan. Spock on Spock: A Memoir of Growing Up with the Century. Pantheon Books, New York, 1985.

Keywords
Baby doctor, celebrity doctor, celebrity M.D., pediatrics, pediatrician, pediatricians, baby expert, baby whisperer, attachment parenting, attachment parent, koala parenting, gentle parenting, gentle parent, elimination communication, potty training, toilet training, hospital birth, homebirth, home birth, infant feeding, baby led weaning, behaviorism, hygienists, history, history research, history pod, history podcast, pasteurization, louis pasteur, infant mortality, food safety, formula feeding, formula, baby formula, united states history, american history, U.S. history, housewife, tradwife, traditional wife, house work, mother love, baby food, toddlers, fresh air, Healthy kid, healthy kids, spoiled milk, summer complaint, scarlet fever, malaria

Like Spock Talk? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or email us at spocktalkpodcast@gmail.com. And listen to our other podcast, It's My Screen Time Too!

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Copyright 2023 Deborah Copperud + Katie Curler

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. Twenty-First Century Books, 1993.
• Maier, Thomas. Dr. Spock: An American Life. Harcourt Brace & Company, 1998.
• Needleman, Robert and Benjamin Spock. Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care, 10th edition. Gallery Books, 2018.
• “Scroll and Key.” Wikipedia. Accessed 21 April 2023.
• Spock, Benjamin. The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care. Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1957.
• ---. The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care. Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1946.
• Spock, Benjamin, M.D. and Mary Morgan. Spock on Spock: A Memoir of Growing Up with the Century. Pantheon Books, 1985.

Keywords
Gentry, spock, spaak, outdoor school, new haven, new haven connecticut, connecticut, crew, rowing, crew team, yale grad, yale graduate, ivy league, ivy, rowing team, olympic, olympics paris, yale rowing, olympian, gold medal, olympic gold, olympics, olympic rowing, olympic crew, usa olympics, parenting influencer, skull and bones, skull + bones, legacy admission, white privilege, scroll and key, scroll + key, wolfs head, secret society, yale secret society, english major, yale undergrad, yale med, yale medical school, med school, medical school, medical school admission, ivy diploma, college diploma, college admission, yale gpa, louise farnam, lady doctor, nepo baby, columbia university, columbia medical school, columbia med, columbia medical school, new york, 1929, pediatrician, pediatrics, pediatrics practice, navy doctor, navy medicine, dapper, blue suit, blue striped suit, white coat, clotheshorse, fashion focused, fashion, vintage fashion, mens fashion, male fashion, book deal, baby book, parenting book, pocket books, baby clothes, baby and child care, fresh air

Like Spock Talk? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or email us at spocktalkpodcast@gmail.com. And listen to our other podcast, It's My Screen Time Too!

Logo design by Creative Cookie Jar.

Copyright 2023 Deborah Copperud + Katie Curler

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, Carole. “Dr. Rothenberg was UW Innovator, Helped Dr. Spock and Mr. Rogers.” Seattle Times. 22 Jan. 2000.
• Bloom, Lynn. Doctor Spock: Biography of a Conservative Radical. The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., 1972.
• Cooper, D. “Dr. Benjamin Spock.” WNYC. 1 October 1973.
• Dann, Joanne. “Wanted: A Dr. Spock for Black Mothers.” The New York Times. 18 April 1971.
• Hulbert, Ann. Raising America: Experts, Parents, and a Century of Advice About Children. Knopf, 2003.
• Maier, Thomas. Dr. Spock: An American Life. Harcourt Brace & Company, 1998.
• Marquard, Brian. “Steven Parker, 62, Wrote Baby Guide with Dr. Spock.” The Bulletin (Bend, OR). 18 Apr. 2009.
• Needleman, Robert and Benjamin Spock. Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care, 10th edition. Gallery Books, 2018.
• Olson, Renee. “Book Expo ‘98: Plush Toys, a New PBS Show, and a Pediatrician.” School Library Journal, vol. 44, no. 7, July 1998, p. 15.
• O’Neill, Therese. “‘Don’t Think of Ugly People: How Parenting Advice Has Changed.” The Atlantic. 19 April 2013.
• Public Health Service, United States. “For Children Because We Care.” 1965.
• “Robert Needlman.” Case Western Reserve University.
• “Robert Needlman, M.D.” MetroHealth.
• Spock, Benjamin. The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care. Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1957.
• ---. The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care. Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1946.
• Spock, Benjamin, M.D. and Mary Morgan. Spock on Spock: A Memoir of Growing Up with the Century. Pantheon Books, 1985.

Keywords
Parenting books, parenting advice, attachment parenting, patriarchy, topple the patriarchy, industrialization, industrial age, urbanization, Barbara Ehrenreich, shiplap, baby mattress, crib mattress, pigs hair mattress, baby care, red cross babysitter, red cross certification, pediatrician, pediatrics, grandma, grandmothers, grandmother, grandmotherly, aunties, systemic racism, matriarchal

Like Spock Talk? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or email us at spocktalkpodcast@gmail.com. And listen to our other podcast, It's My Screen Time Too!

Logo design by Creative Cookie Jar.

Copyright 2023 Deborah Copperud + Katie Curler

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. 26 March 2023.
• Cooper, D. “Dr. Benjamin Spock.” WNYC. 1 October 1973.
• Ehrenreich, Barbara and Deirdre English. For Her Own Good: 150 Years of the Experts’ Advice to Women. Doubleday, New York, 1978.
• Gilman, Richard. “The FemLib Case Against Sigmund Freud.” The New York Times, 31 Jan 1971.
• Maier, Thomas. Dr. Spock: An American Life. Harcourt Brace & Company, 1998.
• Needleman, Robert and Benjamin Spock. Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care, 10th edition. Gallery Books, 2018.
• Roti, Rosemary. “Review: The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care by Benjamin Spock.” The American Journal of Nursing, vol. 47, no. 2, 1947, pp. 139.
• Spock, Benjamin. The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care. Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1957.
• ---. The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care. Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1946.
• Spock, Benjamin, M.D. and Mary Morgan. Spock on Spock: A Memoir of Growing Up with the Century. Pantheon Books, 1985.
• Sullivan, James. “Dr. Freud and Dr. Spock.” The Courier, v. 328, pp. 75-89.

Keywords
readability, writing style, pop psychology, popular psychology, freud, freudian, anna freud, sigmund freud, modernism, midcentury, feminism, feminists, mother advice, parenting advice, parent education, virginia woolf, to the lighthouse, psychoanalysis, psychoanalytic theory, psychology, psychotherapy, cbt, talking cure, talk therapy, analyst, analysts, analyst couch, paternalism, carnegie libraries, carnegie library, philanthropy, pediatricians, pediatrics, pediatric psychology, psychiatry, psychiatric residency, pediatrics residency, sando rado, bertram lewin, margaret mead, caroline zachry, laura spelman rockefeller foundation, rockefeller foundation, parenting literature, jane spock, benjamin spock, syphilis, childhood, childhood memories, repression, penis envy, castration anxiety, thumb suckers, thumb sucking, oral stage, pacifiers, toilet training, potty training, on demand feeding, formula feeding, breast feeding, sexism, sexist, repressed memories, bottle feeding, formula scum

Like Spock Talk? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or email us at spocktalkpodcast@gmail.com. And listen to our other podcast, It's My Screen Time Too!

Logo design by Creative Cookie Jar.

Copyright 2023 Deborah Copperud + Katie Curler

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. 42, no. 2, 2017, pp. 128-146.
• Bloom, Lynn. Doctor Spock: Biography of a Conservative Radical. The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc, 1972.
• Broder, Sherri. “Child Care or Child Neglect? Baby Farming in Late-nineteenth-century Philadelphia.” Gender and Society vol. 2, no. 2, 128-148.
• Cooper, D. “Dr. Benjamin Spock.” WNYC. 1 October 1973.
• Dobris, Catherine, et. al. “The Spockian Mother: Images of the ‘Good’ Mother in Dr. Spock’s The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care” Communication Quarterly, vol. 65, no. 1, 2017, 39-59.
• Hulbert, Ann. Raising America: Experts, Parents, and a Century of Advice About Children. Knopf, 2003.
• Maier, Thomas. Dr. Spock: An American Life. Harcourt Brace & Company, 1998.
• Needleman, Robert and Benjamin Spock. Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care, 10th ed. Gallery Books, 2018.
• O’Reilly, Jane. “Raising Children In a Difficult Time.” The New York Times. 14 April 1974.
• Potter, Bob. “Benjamin Spock Discusses Baby and Child Care.” 21 September 1984. Minnesota Public Radio.
• Spock, Benjamin, M.D. and Mary Morgan. Spock on Spock: A Memoir of Growing Up with the Century. Pantheon Books, 1985.
• Spock, Benjamin. The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care. Duell, Sloan + Pearce, 1957.
• ---. The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care. Duell, Sloan + Pearce, 1946.
• ---. Decent and Indecent: Our Personal and Political Behavior. The McCall Publishing Company, 1969.
• ---. “Male Chauvinist Spock Recants: Well, Almost.” The New York Times. 12 September 1971, p. 98
• Talbot, M. “A Spock Marked Generation.” New York Times Magazine. 3 January 1999, pp. 20-21.

Keywords
Sexism, domestic labor, mom guilt, pronouns, gender roles, fathers, dads, mothers, moms, mommy, pediatrician, parent advice, feeding children, baby food, baby development, child development, baby milestones, patriarchy, spoiled children, helicopter parents, babytalk, husband, wife, marriage, mental load, co-parents, co-parent, baby blues, postpartum depression, self care, breastfeeding, formula feeding, baby formula, weaning, marxism, second wave feminism, working moms, working mothers, working parents, working dad, housework, betty friedan, gloria steinem, feminine mystique, gender equality, apology, apologies, child rearing, redbook, magazine publishing, caregiver, wages, capitalism, daycare, dual income, dual incomes, breadwinner, preschool, baby farm, twentieth century, resume gap, 1900s, history, american history, neuroses, neurotic, comics, comic strips, screen time

Like Spock Talk? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or email us at spocktalkpodcast@gmail.com. And listen to our other podcast, It's My Screen Time Too!

Logo design by Creative Cookie Jar.

Copyright 2023 Deborah Copperud + Katie Curler

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. “Motherhood Mondays: Sleeping in Denmark (This Made My Jaw Drop!).” Cup of Jo, 19 September 2011.
• “Jane Cheney Spock.” Significant Others: A History Podcast. 6 Sept. 2022.
• Klemesrud, Judy. “The Spocks: Bittersweet. Recognition in a Revised Classic.” New York Times. 19 March 1976.
• Kochakian, Mary Jo. “Public vs. Private: Dr. Spock, Mr. Hyde.” Washington Post, 14 June 1998.
• Maier, Thomas. Dr. Spock: An American Life. Harcourt Brace & Company, 1998.
• Massie, Robert K. “‘Not the Dr. Spock!’” Saturday Evening Post, vol. 239, no. 10, May 1966, pp. 80–86.
• Needleman, Robert and Benjamin Spock. Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care, 10th edition. Gallery Books, 2018.
• Ryan, Jeff. “How Ben Spock Became Dr. Spock.” Contemporary Pediatrics, vol. 26, no. 11, November 2009, p. 88.
• Spock, Benjamin. The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care. Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1957.
• ---. The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care. Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1946.
• Spock, Benjamin, M.D. and Mary Morgan. Spock on Spock: A Memoir of Growing Up with the Century. Pantheon Books, 1985.
• Whiting, Sam. “Sailing Through Life / Menlo Park Educator on Her 25 Years with Dr. Spock.” San Francisco Gate. 15 August 2004.

Keywords
lingerie, shopping, anthroposophy, waldorf, childhood trauma, daughter-in-law, clothes, apparel, divorce, marriage, yoga retreat, family therapy, milltown, depression, schizophrenia, alcoholism, recovery, mental illness, toxic masculinity, sexism, history, women's liberation, feminism, feminists, typist, may december romance, age gap, fresh air, baby care, outdoor naps, mayo clinic, minnesota, western reserve, secretary, daycare, child care, babies, parents, parenting, parenting advice, pediatrician, celebrity doctor, influencer, publishing, baby book, sailing, wealth, income, personal finance, health care

Like Spock Talk? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or email us at spocktalkpodcast@gmail.com. And listen to our other podcast, It's My Screen Time Too!

Logo design by Creative Cookie Jar.

Copyright 2023 Deborah Copperud + Katie Curler

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: Biography of a Conservative Radical. The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., 1972.
• “IFP:135-F-142-5M Jacqueline Kennedy Talks to Dr. Spock.” John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. 13 Jul. 2010.
• Maier, Thomas. Dr. Spock: An American Life. Harcourt Brace & Company, 1998.
• Massie, Robert K. “‘Not the Dr. Spock!’” Saturday Evening Post, vol. 239, no. 10, May 1966, pp. 80–86.
• Needleman, Robert and Benjamin Spock. Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care, 10th edition. Gallery Books, 2018.
• Potter, Bob. “Benjamin Spock Discusses Baby and Child Care.” 21 Sept. 1984. Minnesota Public Radio.
• Spock, Benjamin. “Active Pursuit of Peace 1968.” Benjamin Spock and Mary Morgan Papers, Box 481, Syracuse University.
• Spock, Benjamin. The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care. Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1957.
• ---. The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care. Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1946.
• ---. “March on Washington 1965.” Benjamin Spock and Mary Morgan Papers, Box 399, Syracuse University.
• ---. “Manifesto 1968.” Benjamin Spock and Mary Morgan Papers, Box 399, Syracuse University.
• Spock, Benjamin, M.D. and Mary Morgan. Spock on Spock: A Memoir of Growing Up with the Century. Pantheon Books, 1985.
• “Spock Would End Candidacy if Rep. Chisholm Would Run.” The New York Times. 5 Dec. 1971.
• Thompson, Bill. “Benjamin Spock.” Now I’ve Heard Everything. 16 August 2021.

Politics, political ideology, political activism, republicans, democrats, conservatives, columbia medical school, memoir, socialists, socialism, debate, political debate, liberals, progressives, new deal, depression, franklin roosevelt, political radicals, american labor party, prohibition, alcoholism, alcohol, speech, political speech, political endorsements, adlai stevenson, vice president, POTUS, presidential election, veep, nepo baby, pediatrician, pediatrics, white house, john f. Kennedy, jackie kennedy, jacqueline kennedy, political ad, campaign, political campaign, washington d.c., campaign promise, presidential candidate, fdr, lyndon b. Johnson, vietnam, vietnam war, lbj, rebellion, oedipal complex, cold war, nuclear arms, ussr, united soviet socialist republic, anti-nuclear, nukes, nuclear testing, nuclear weapons, nuclear winter, nuclear power, nuclear leak, nuclear power plant, radiation exposure, child development, imposter syndrome, civil rights, martin luther king jr., mlk jr, march on washington, allies, ally, anti-war, feminism, partisan politics, peace vigil, civil disobedience, indictment, indicted, boston five, boston 5, draft resisters, people’s party, activism, activists, syracuse university, archives, parent advice, parenting advice, foreign policy, united states foreign policy, democracy, world power, baby boomers, spock generation, joan didion, political language, coded language, economic superpower, household appliances

Like Spock Talk? Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or email us at spocktalkpodcast@gmail.com. And listen to our other podcast, It's My Screen Time Too!

Logo design by Creative Cookie Jar.

Copyright 2023 Deborah Copperud + Katie Curler