In this episode, we’re unzipping the wild, confusing, and often misunderstood world of the adolescent brain — and what that can mean for risk-taking and decision-making between the ages of 13 and 25.

Dr. Sue shares what decades of teaching teens, college students, and future educators have revealed about how young people actually think about risk, pressure, and identity. (Spoiler: they are thinking — just with a brain that’s wired differently than an adult’s.)

We dig into why peers matter so much, why “bad decisions” often make developmental sense, and why adults tend to forget what it felt like to be in that stage themselves. We also unzip the mixed messages baked into our laws — from the variation in consent laws, driving at 16, joining the military at 18, renting a car at 25 — and how they fail to reflect what we now know about the developing brain.

This episode is all about compassion, clarity, and cutting through the judgment. Adolescence is messy. It’s emotional. It’s confusing. And it’s a phase every single one of us survived — even if we’ve conveniently romanticized our way out of remembering how chaotic it really was.

If you have a story, thoughts and/or a topic or question for Dr. Sue and Charlie please share your ideas here: ⁠Show suggestions

This week on Unzipping Taboos, we unzip the myths around the so-called “sexual revolution.” When one hears “sexual revolution” they tend to picture flower crowns, free love, and a big cultural exhale—but underneath all that was a much deeper fight for bodily autonomy, women’s rights, and freedom from patriarchal control.

Our conversation explores how the 1960s and 70s reshaped everything from access to birth control to who could open a credit card—and how, decades later, those same battles are still being fought in new forms. We unzip how power shows up in the way we talk about sex: who’s allowed to speak, who gets blamed, and how “morality” is often used to police women and marginalized groups.

We examine how controlling the story means controlling the truth—from how data on maternal health and STIs gets reported (or not reported) to the way headlines frame social change as “moral decline.” The result? A fascinating look at how progress and backlash are intertwined—and why allyship, curiosity, and critical thinking matter now more than ever.

If you have a story, thoughts and/or a topic or question for Dr. Sue and Charlie please share your ideas here: ⁠Show suggestions

“Stranger danger” has long been the go-to phrase for teaching kids about safety—but it’s outdated and misleading in many ways. In this episode of Unzipping Taboos, we talk about what really protects children—teaching them consent, trust, and situational awareness.

We talk about why giving children the correct names for their anatomy matters, how to create space for curiosity without shame, and what it looks like to empower kids with confidence rather than fear. Just as importantly, we explore how danger isn’t always about faceless strangers, but can come from people children know — which makes it even more critical that adults listen to kids when they say something feels off.

At the heart of this conversation is a shift from fear-based warnings to respect-based trust. Because when we empower kids to name their bodies, trust their instincts, and know they’ll be believed, we’re doing more than keeping them safe — we’re teaching them that their boundaries and voices matter.

If you have a story, thoughts and/or a topic or question for Dr. Sue and Charlie please share your ideas here: ⁠Show suggestions