Raising Us: A Parenting Podcast

When sharing life lessons with our kids, parents can often only hope that these lessons stick. Comedian, actor, and dad Roy Wood Jr. joins Elise Hu to talk about how humor, humility, and honesty has helped navigate parenting and giving his son the tools to thrive in a world without him. Roy shares the most impactful lessons he’s learned, the ones he hopes to teach, and what makes life lessons truly meaningful for families.

Kids’ mental health is becoming an increasingly important topic for families, as the CDC reports rising rates of anxiety, depression, and substance use. Host Elise Hu is joined by mental wellness advocate and founder of The SonRise Project, Kelli Joy Richardson, to explore how parents can support children navigating mental health challenges. Kelli opens up about her personal journey with her son’s mental health, and how that experience reshaped her parenting. Together, Elise and Kelli discuss balancing resilience with compassion, creating safe spaces, and practical advice for starting honest conversations with your kids that might lead to more openness later.

What does the research actually say about screen time and video games? After we received more questions about regulating kids’ screen time for both school and play, author and gaming expert Dr. Rachel Kowert joined us for a conversation on video games and how they affect kids’ behavior, mental health, and relationships. She helps break down the science behind kids and video games, and outlines the real impact of gaming from decades of research. Together, Dr. Kowert and host Elise Hu discuss what setting a healthy video game balance can look like, and practical advice for getting involved in your kids’ video gaming lives.

History isn’t just a subject in school – kids are already absorbing it in real time through news, culture, and everyday life. How parents talk about historical events at home can shape how kids understand the world, think critically about the past, and apply learnings to their present day. Journalist, historian and creator Garrison Hayes joins host Elise Hu to share how families can make history feel human, engaging, and relevant to current events. Garrison shares what helped him connect with history as a kid, and how he incorporates those learnings into his retellings of historical moments on social platforms today. Together, Elise and Garrison offer practical advice for nurturing curiosity, tackling those “but why?” questions, and helping kids see history as relevant to their present, rather than just facts and figures.

Artificial Intelligence is everywhere — from ChatGPT to TikTok algorithms, AI is transforming childhood, parenting, and everything about how we live today. Creator and co-host of podcast Life With Machines Baratunde Thurston chats with Elise Hu about the ways we can help kids and ourselves navigate this new technology with curiosity and care. Learn how kids are engaging with AI today, and why adults and grownups need to learn alongside kids rather than just supervise them. By approaching an understanding with humility and setting practical and healthy boundaries with AI, parents can confidently help navigate using AI as a tool, instead of something to stay away from.