Birds & Bees

Some information is so big and so complicated that it seems impossible to talk to kids about. This week, stories about the vague and not-so-vague ways we teach children about race, death, and sex. Prologue: This American Life producer Chana Joffe-Walt sits in for Ira Glass, because Chana has kids, two young sons. And her oldest, Jacob, has some complicated ideas about people, that Chana wants to straighten out, but doesn’t know exactly how. (4 1/2 minutes) Some Like it Not (On the Neck): Workshops on sexual assault and consent are hugely popular on college campuses around the country. Chana visits one of these workshops to find out what’s being taught, and more importantly, what college boys in particular have already learned about sex, back when they were kids. (13 1/2 minutes) If You See Racism Say Racism: Comedian W. Kamau Bell has two daughters, and tries to figure out just how much about the violent history of racism and oppression his four-year-old can handle. W. Kamau Bell hosts the CNN show United Shades of America. (22 minutes) About that Farm Upstate: While it’s hard to explain to kids how babies come into the world, it might be harder to explain that people leave the world too — especially to a kid whose mom or dad or brother or sister has died. There are grief counseling centers all over the U.S. that cater specifically to children. Reporter Jonathan Goldstein visited one in Salt Lake City.  Jonathan is the host of Heavyweight from Gimlet Media. (22 minutes)