Michaeleen Doucleff
Michaeleen Doucleff, PhD, is a correspondent for NPR's Science Desk. For nearly a decade, she has been reporting for the radio and the web for NPR's global health outlet, Goats and Soda. Doucleff focuses on disease outbreaks, cross-cultural parenting, and women and children's health.
In 2014, Doucleff was part of the team that earned a George Foster Peabody award for its coverage of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. For the series, Doucleff reported on how the epidemic ravaged maternal health and how the virus spreads through the air. In 2019, Doucleff and Senior Producer Jane Greenhalgh produced a story about how Inuit parents teach children to control their anger. That story was the most popular one on NPR.org for the year; altogether readers have spent more than 16 years worth of time reading it.
In 2021, Doucleff published a book, called Hunt, Gather, Parent, stemming from her reporting at NPR. That book became a New York Times bestseller.
Before coming to NPR in 2012, Doucleff was an editor at the journal Cell, where she wrote about the science behind pop culture. Doucleff has a bachelor degree in biology from Caltech, a doctorate in physical chemistry from the University of Berkeley, California, and a master's degree in viticulture and enology from the University of California, Davis.
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Going to the gym is a great way to get exercise — once you get into your gym duds and motivate yourself to start working out. But in other parts of the world, there's a different way to stay fit. -
Over the past few decades, psychologists have begun to understand how parents across many cultures teach their children to build deep, fulfilling relationships with their siblings. -
Kids have too much screen time and not enough autonomy, says author Jonathan Haidt. His book The Anxious Generation argues this has caused an epidemic of mental illness and suggests ways to fix it. -
A case in Oregon is a rarity in the United States. It is not expected to spread. But this ancient and deadly disease remains a threat around the world. -
"Allo" is Greek for "other." Alloparents are helpful relatives and neighbors. In a study from Congo, babies had 8 alloparents on average. Perhaps the self-reliant nuclear family is a societal misstep. -
Modern parents are told to TALK with an agitated kid to improve their mood. But in many cultures, mom and dad opt for a soothing caress to induce tranquility. Neurologists explain why it works. -
Popular weight-loss drugs mimic GLP-1, a hormone the body makes naturally after eating. Turns out some foods trigger GLP-1 better than others, making us feel full and eat less. -
People taking weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy report a dampening of the urge to drink. Here's how the drugs curb cravings and what that could mean for helping treat addiction. -
When's the right time to start your child with a phone? Is 12 too young? Here's what a professional screen time consultant tells parents about the risks kids face online. -
Dopamine is a part of our brain's survival mechanism. It is also part of why sugary foods and social media hook kids. The latest neuroscience can help parents help their kids manage behavior.
