Radiolab | Boy Man | Radiolab Podcast @Radiolabpod | Uploaded December 2023 | Updated October 2024, 7 hours ago.
From the Radiolab podcast: Could puberty get any more awkward? Turns out, yes.
Writer Patrick Burleigh started going through puberty as a toddler. He had pubic hair before he was 2 years old and a mustache by middle school. All of this was thanks to a rare genetic mutation that causes testotoxicosis, also known as precocious puberty. From the moment he was born, abnormally high levels of testosterone coursed through his body, just as it had in his father’s body, his grandfather’s body, and his great-grandfather’s body.
In this episode, Patrick’s premature coming of age story helps us understand just why puberty is so awkward for all of us, and whether and how it helps forge us into the adults we all become.
Special thanks to Craig Cox, Nick Burleigh, and Alyssa Voss at the NIH.
EPISODE CREDITS:
Reported by Latif Nasser, with help from Kelsey Padgett, Ekedi Fausther-Keeys and Alyssa Jeong Perry.
Produced by Pat Walters, Alex Neason and Alyssa Jeong Perry, with help from Ekedi Fausther-Keeys.
With mixing help from Arianne Wack.
Fact-checking by Diane A. Kelly.
And edited by Pat Walters.
EPISODE CITATIONS:
Articles:
To read Patrick’s own writing about his experience with precocious puberty and to see photos of him as a child, check out his article in The Cut, “A 4-Year-Old Trapped in a Teenager’s Body” — thecut.com/2019/01/precocious-puberty-patrick-burleigh.html
In her spare time, our fact checker Diane Kelly is also a comparative anatomist, and you can hear her TEDMED talk, “What We Didn’t Know about Penis Anatomy” — ted.com/talks/diane_kelly_what_we_didn_t_know_about_penis_anatomy
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Our newsletter comes out every Wednesday. It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up here: radiolab.org/newsletter
Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab today: radiolab.org/the-lab
Photo illustration Jared Bartman
Video by W. Harry Fortuna
From the Radiolab podcast: Could puberty get any more awkward? Turns out, yes.
Writer Patrick Burleigh started going through puberty as a toddler. He had pubic hair before he was 2 years old and a mustache by middle school. All of this was thanks to a rare genetic mutation that causes testotoxicosis, also known as precocious puberty. From the moment he was born, abnormally high levels of testosterone coursed through his body, just as it had in his father’s body, his grandfather’s body, and his great-grandfather’s body.
In this episode, Patrick’s premature coming of age story helps us understand just why puberty is so awkward for all of us, and whether and how it helps forge us into the adults we all become.
Special thanks to Craig Cox, Nick Burleigh, and Alyssa Voss at the NIH.
EPISODE CREDITS:
Reported by Latif Nasser, with help from Kelsey Padgett, Ekedi Fausther-Keeys and Alyssa Jeong Perry.
Produced by Pat Walters, Alex Neason and Alyssa Jeong Perry, with help from Ekedi Fausther-Keeys.
With mixing help from Arianne Wack.
Fact-checking by Diane A. Kelly.
And edited by Pat Walters.
EPISODE CITATIONS:
Articles:
To read Patrick’s own writing about his experience with precocious puberty and to see photos of him as a child, check out his article in The Cut, “A 4-Year-Old Trapped in a Teenager’s Body” — thecut.com/2019/01/precocious-puberty-patrick-burleigh.html
In her spare time, our fact checker Diane Kelly is also a comparative anatomist, and you can hear her TEDMED talk, “What We Didn’t Know about Penis Anatomy” — ted.com/talks/diane_kelly_what_we_didn_t_know_about_penis_anatomy
🎧 Subscribe to Radiolab wherever you listen to podcasts: bit.ly/3trXDLe
🔎 Subscribe to Radiolab on YouTube: bit.ly/3I9KI53
🖋 Subscribe to Radiolab’s Newsletter: radiolab.org/newsletter
🌱 Check out Radiolab's Starter Kit Playlist: bit.ly/3sX8f4P
👍 Like this video ✏️ and leave us a comment!
Follow Radiolab:
Instagram — instagram.com/radiolab
Twitter — twitter.com/Radiolab
Facebook — facebook.com/Radiolab
Our newsletter comes out every Wednesday. It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up here: radiolab.org/newsletter
Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab today: radiolab.org/the-lab
Photo illustration Jared Bartman
Video by W. Harry Fortuna
