The Family Dinner Project Podcast

In this episode, Bri and Annie sit down with Dr. Steve Wengel, Geriatric Psychiatry Division Director at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. We’re exploring the importance of shared eating experiences in older adulthood, as well as what families need to know about supporting their loved ones through age-related physical and cognitive changes that may impact family meals. Episode Highlights:...

The NY Times reports dinner delivery is on the rise. On this episode, we're unpacking what's gained and what's lost with family dinner by DoorDash. Bri and Annie dive into a recent article, "Freedom with a Side of Guilt: How food delivery is reshaping mealtime," to examine how the opportunity to have dinner dropped at your door is changing the face of family meals. They talk about the economic, so...

In the first weeks of the New Year, how can you leverage family time to help you beat the post-holiday blues and stay connected to each other, without retreating to individual screens? We're talking with special guest Betsy Bozdech, Editorial Director of Common Sense Media, about celebrating a tech-smart New Year with family film recommendations, cautions about AI, and guidelines parents need to k...

As the holiday season ramps up, there’s more and more online chatter about switching up celebrations this year. Many families are turning to the idea of a simpler, less commercial celebration. In this final episode of Season 2, Bri and Annie talk about why a more handmade holiday may appeal to different families, and share lots of ideas for ways to lean into a low-shop season. They also discuss ho...

On this episode of The Family Dinner Project Podcast, we invite Leslie Kimball of Responsibility.org to talk with us about the research demonstrating that family dinners can help prevent substance use, and how she and her team recommend parents and kids communicate about risk behaviors. Bri, Annie, and Leslie delve into the findings suggesting that a routine of connected, welcoming family meals is...

Grocery prices are a hot topic these days. With prices on some items, like beef, at an all-time high, it's becoming more challenging to afford family meals. On this episode of The Family Dinner Project Podcast, Bri and Annie invite their colleague, Dr. Lauren Fiechtner, to share her perspective as a pediatrician and the Senior Health and Research Advisor at the Greater Boston Food Bank. Together,...

It's Back to School season, and we're talking about how to get back into the swing of family dinners during the busy nights ahead! In this episode of The Family Dinner Project Podcast, Bri and Annie tackle back to school family dinners: How to plan them, what to eat, and how to manage everyone's big feelings with smart conversation ideas. Plus, Annie gives advice on easing back into the routine, a...

This mini-episode is a special edition! We're answering a tough question submitted to us by a Family Dinner Project follower on Instagram: “I have a partner who feels dinnertime is time to eat and not talk. I do my best to see his perspective. Our littles have trauma related to foster care, so they tend to talk so much that it takes them over an hour to eat. One has sensory processing and has been...

A groundbreaking global study has just shown what we suspected all along: Eating together does make us happier! On this episode of The Family Dinner Project Podcast, Annie and Bri sit down with one of the study's co-authors, Micah Kaats, to dive deep into what he and his team learned about happiness and shared meals. Key Takeaways: Go to 1:50 for Micah's overview of the key findings Go to 9:54 for...

We tend to think of family dinners as being about the kids. But all families start with two people, and some families stay that way. What does the research tell us about the benefits of shared meals for adults? And how can couples use their dinners together as a way to strengthen their bond and connect with one another, no matter how many children are at the table, or what phase of life they're in...

It's a New Year, and we're not talking about resolutions. In this episode, Bri and Annie explore the idea of setting intentions for the family dinner table, to help families get the most out of their shared meals. They delve into the recent research on how families adapted their mealtimes during COVID , and how those experiences have shaped attitudes and ideas about eating together ever since. The...

In this episode, Bri and Annie talk about the consequences of the 2024 US Presidential Election on family Thanksgiving and holiday dinner plans. Whether families are planning to spend the day together and try not to talk about politics at all, or are finding themselves in the midst of rupture and canceled plans, there are feelings to sort through and ways to make the day easier for everyone. Bri a...

We talk a lot about the positive aspects of family meals, but in reality, eating dinner together isn't always the safe, warm experience we want it to be. For many people, trauma is an unwelcome guest at the table. To find out why that might be, and how to make dinner feel safer, Bri and Annie talk with therapist, author, and trauma expert Dr. Marti Straus . Marti begins by explaining that trauma i...

Bri and Annie dive into the difficulties of domestic labor -- who's doing what, who bears the brunt of making family dinners happen, and what can be done about uneven distributions of labor in our households. Taking on the cultural criticism of family meals as anti-feminist, Annie points out that the role of The Family Dinner Project has always been to try to encourage people not to create perfect...

On this episode of The Family Dinner Project Podcast, Bri and Dr. Anne Fishel are joined by Dr. Evelyna Kambanis for a deep dive into the world of picky eating, ARFID, eating disorders, and more. Dr. Evelyna Kambanis is a Clinical & Research Fellow at the Eating Disorders Clinical and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. Her research and clinical interests focus on avoidant/rest...

In Episode 3, "Family Dinner During May Madness," we're talking about one of the busiest times of year - the end of the school year, when family calendars overflow and dinner is the last thing on anyone's mind. Bri and Dr. Fishel chat about some of the concerns with overscheduling, as well as the benefits of allowing kids to explore extracurricular activities and interests, and how this time of ye...

In Episode 2, "Is it the Family, or the Dinner?" we dive into one of the trickiest topics in family dinner research: How to tell whether it's really eating together that offers a variety of physical, mental, social, and academic benefits, or whether it just so happens that families who eat together already practice healthy habits. Dr. Fishel outlines the various types of research that have been do...

On the first episode of The Family Dinner Project Podcast, Bri DeRosa and Dr. Anne Fishel dig into the tricky question of what to do when gathering with family for the holidays feels complicated. Will there be tension at the dinner table? Political or ideological differences that make it hard to stay merry? Does it even feel safe to go home for the holidays? Dr. Fishel shares strategies and advice...