My new essay is about why Pete Hegseth's new military testosterone screening initiative is dumb and reflects a poor understanding of hormones. darbysaxbe.substack.com/p/pete-hegse...

Pete Hegseth doesn't understand hormones

Testosterone is not the measure of a military man

darbysaxbe.substack.com

New dads often imagine that they are not biologically “wired” to care for their kids in the same way that moms are. In Dad Brain, @darbysaxbe.bsky.social shows nothing could be further from the truth. An amazing, necessary book!

Everyone is obsessed with testosterone these days - politicians call their opponents "low-T," RFK brags about his HRT, & the market for T supplements has exploded. But men's testosterone drops naturally around the transition to fatherhood, and that's adaptive. I unpack the research in a new essay.

I’m in NYC for just a couple days on book tour and look who I just happened to meet- @bradlander.bsky.social ! I told him I was a fan and we had a nice chat about fatherhood.

For many men, fatherhood is deeply transformative. It can rewire empathy and priorities, changing how they relate to the wider world. Dads matter, and their unique strengths deserve real recognition. Listen to my full podcast with @darbysaxbe.bsky.social here: open.spotify.com/episode/5Fxa...

Darby Saxbe on the Evolution of Fatherhood

Frames of Space · Episode

open.spotify.com

Being on @ologies.bsky.social was a total blast and Alie Ward is the coolest!

Ologies with Alie Ward@ologies.bsky.social · 2mo ago

PATERNOLOGY. Dad bods. Modern fatherhood. Ancient pops. Division of labor. Dad jokes. Shitty dads. Good ones. And why it matters. Lauded research psychologist Dr. @darbysaxbe.bsky.social, who wrote "Dad Brain," chats all about it. Her work's changing the world: www.alieward.com/ologies/pate...

Such a fun conversation with the super smart @dkthomp.bsky.social

Derek Thompson@dkthomp.bsky.social · 2mo ago

new pod: HOW FATHERHOOD CHANGES MEN'S BRAINS I talked to @darbysaxbe.bsky.social about: - how men tripled childcare time since 1960s - why women still dominate (ie: men don't do) "invisible labor" and "mental load" - the neuroscience of becoming dad www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDbB...

TODAY is release day! Congratulations @darbysaxbe.bsky.social, @ccfamilies.bsky.social board member, on publishing "Dad Brain: The New Science of Fatherhood and How It Shapes Men's Lives." Read how fatherhood changes men's bodies, brains, relationships, and purpose below. ⬇️ tinyurl.com/sv7p8ejk

Dad Brain

A groundbreaking exploration of the science and significance of fatherhood that shows great dads are made, not bornOver the last decade, we’ve learned more...

tinyurl.com

Check out @darbysaxbe.bsky.social's new book, Dad Brain, and some other parenting writers I love: @corinnelow.com @lydiakiesling.bsky.social

I was SO petrified of experiencing PPD. I never thought my husband could be the one to struggle. thecut.com/article/fathers-paternal-postpartum-depression.html

Postpartum Depression is Coming for Fathers

Men are more involved parents than ever, and it’s leading to a crisis no one warned them about.

thecut.com

Want to Change Your Life? Become a Dad. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/06/o...

Opinion | Want to Change Your Life? Become a Dad.

nytimes.com

I loved talking to @npr.org's Meghna Chakrabarti for On Point this summer. They re-aired the interview this weekend if you're curious to give it a listen! Link in comments.

I have a new essay up today on how the brain changes with second-time motherhood, featuring research by the @pregnancybrainlab.bsky.social

You've heard of "mom brain" - but what about "dad brain"? @ccfamilies.bsky.social Board Member @darbysaxbe.bsky.social and her research were featured extensively in a BBC article on the profound brain and body changes men experience in preparation for fatherhood. www.bbc.com/future/artic...

Dad brains: How fatherhood rewires the male mind

From before their babies are born, men undergo serious hormonal changes that can powerfully influence their behaviour – with consequences for their child's wellbeing.

bbc.com

My lab asked pregnant couples to discuss their plan for sharing infant care. After birth, we brought them back to the lab. We discovered that couples did not accurately predict their division of baby care, and parents fare better when dads do more. More here: darbysaxbe.substack.com/p/can-couple...

Can couples forecast a fair future?

Inside our study of how couples talk about their baby care futures

darbysaxbe.substack.com

Sharing this screen grab from a friend at NIH (with permission). This is a checklist program officers have to complete before a grant can be awarded. The first question: "Is this grant All Clean/Clear in the NIH Text analysis Tool?" 🧵1/3

DAD BRAIN by @darbysaxbe.bsky.social PhD comes out 6/9/2026 from @flatironbooks.bsky.social @macmillanlib.bsky.social #nonfiction #science #fatherhood #parenting #BookSky get your @libraryreads.bsky.social votes in by 5/1!

Contrary to the heteropessisism online, there's good news about egalitarian marriage in the latest time diary data: men's housework contributions are converging with women's and the gender gap is smaller than it's ever been. darbysaxbe.substack.com/p/in-defense...

In defense of husbands

The great housework convergence is here

darbysaxbe.substack.com

Session 2:"Paternal instincts and fathers' brain" with @darbysaxbe.bsky.social , Wendy Saltzman and Marian Bakermans-Kranenberg

Here's an irony of contemporary society: Most of us who work and socialize in adult spaces get very little time with babies and young children, while parents are isolated and overwhelmed. In my Substack this week, I advocate for more babies in public spaces and more baby time for all!

New essay about alloparenting, religion, & daycare. There's a strange energy swirling around motherhood in far-right circles, asserting the primacy of mothers as the only possible "natural" caregivers, but this ignores our evolution as cooperative breeders. darbysaxbe.substack.com/p/daycare-is...

Daycare is not evil

Why motherhood isn't a solo project

darbysaxbe.substack.com

Scott Galloway recently told Derek Thompson on his podcast that childbirth is “disgusting” and “unnatural” for dads. I’ve studied fathers' experience of childbirth in my lab for years, and I think Galloway is wrong. darbysaxbe.substack.com/p/scott-gall...

Scott Galloway is wrong about dads and childbirth

He called it “disgusting” for fathers, but that’s not what my research has found

darbysaxbe.substack.com

My newsletter this week is about whether it's more fun to be a dad. I report on research finding that fathers enjoy parenting more than mothers do, and that millennial men are increasing their childcare time. darbysaxbe.substack.com/p/dads-reall...

Dads really do have more fun

Why fathers seem to enjoy time with kids more than mothers do

darbysaxbe.substack.com

New essay about feminism, family formation, and why a lot of feminism is better than some feminism when it comes to the welfare of kids and parents. darbysaxbe.substack.com/p/has-femini...

Has feminism weakened the family and crushed the birth rate?

Linking women's advancement to family formation

darbysaxbe.substack.com

Don’t let Russell Vought trick Congress into destroying science by removing multiyear funding limits from the NIH funding bill.

My newsletter this week is about whether feminism has hurt men’s economic prospects, led to discriminatory hiring, and increased inflation. Lots of spicy stuff to unpack! Link in comments

In my newsletter this week, I shared my starting-a-Substack tips and told the true story of being trolled by my 14-year-old son. darbysaxbe.substack.com/p/how-to-win...

I have an essay in @theargument.bsky.social today, diving into the science on gender differences and making the case that, Mars and Venus style arguments aside, biological essentialism isn't well-supported by the evidence. www.theargumentmag.com/p/the-forbid...

The forbidden truth about sex differences

Mars and Venus in retrograde

theargumentmag.com

I wrote a newsletter this week about how I used to get panic attacks, but then I went to clinical psychology graduate school and figured out how to deal with them. darbysaxbe.substack.com/p/how-to-cur...

How to cure anxiety and fix your life

My long history of panic and how I fought it

darbysaxbe.substack.com

New essay on monogamy: why it evolved, why marriage is good for stable societies, and why young people (especially young women) might be losing interest in it. open.substack.com/pub/darbysax...

Monogamy is good, actually

How marriage evolved and why it stabilizes societies

open.substack.com