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Latest Checkup Podcast: Teen Zombies, From Sleep To Porn To Impulsive Choices

News bulletin: Teens are ... different. They're caught betwixt childhood and adulthood, but they're no simple hybrid of the two — they can sometimes seem more like a separate species.

In the latest episode of The Checkup podcast, we explore three important aspects of the adolescent mind:

• Do you beg your teenager to go to sleep earlier so he or she can function? Well, it turns out they physically can't do that, explains Dr. Marvin Wang, a pediatrician at Massachusetts General Hospital on a mission to make school start times later.

• Also, why adolescent brain development is the culprit behind so much bad (and sometimes law-breaking) decision-making and reckless behavior.

• And, a sex therapist talks about how Internet porn can sabotage a teenager's ability to have a normal romantic relationship.

In case you missed other recent episodes: "Power to the Patient" looked at ways we can all feel in more control of our health care; "High Anxiety" explored hormones, parenting and fear of flying; and "Sexual Reality Checks" examined penis size, female desire and aging.

But lists get tedious — why not just subscribe?

Each week, The Checkup features a different topic — previous episodes focused on college mental health, sex problems, the Insanity workout and vaccine issues.

If you listen and like it, won't you please let our podcasting partner, Slate, know? You can email them at podcasts@slate.com.

Headshot of Carey Goldberg

Carey Goldberg Editor, CommonHealth
Carey Goldberg is the editor of WBUR's CommonHealth section.

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