Now I Get It, with Dr. Andy

In this episode of Now I Get It with Dr. Andy, I'm joined by Angela MacEwen, a veteran child development expert who helped design San Francisco's citywide childcare plan during COVID-19. Angela shares how she applied the concepts from my upcoming book, Love Quotient: Stop Dying of Thirst in an Ocean of Love, inside her preschool classroom — identifying each child's love language through body language and personality cues, and even rethinking classroom chore charts so only the kids who genuinely love them get to do them.We also explore one of the most surprising truths Angela has observed across 30 years: it's rarely the big, expensive experiences that become a child's core memories. It's the quiet moments — a worm remembered, a truck ride to the dump, a teacher who played dinosaurs on the floor. Angela offers practical strategies for parents who want to create a more intentional emotional environment, including a personal story about breaking a generational cycle of yelling in her own family. In this episode, you will learn: (00:04) Angela's background as San Francisco's pandemic childcare plan architect (01:41) How love languages apply not just to partners, but to children in the classroom (02:45) Why rotating chore charts don't work — and what to do instead (04:57) How to read preschoolers' personality types through their movements and behaviors (06:00) Practical ways to speak each love language in an early childhood setting (08:40) Why children's favorite vacation memories are almost never what parents expect (10:45) How to reframe everyday routines so they become positive core memories (12:30) Angela's personal story of breaking a generational pattern — and what her kids said about itLet’s connect!linktr.ee/drprandy

Welcome to Now I Get It with Dr. Andy. In this episode, I sit down with Angela MacEwen, a lifelong child development expert and former site supervisor at Friends of St. Francis — a distinguished San Francisco preschool specializing in the care of traumatized children. Angela made headlines during the COVID-19 pandemic when her plan for safely reopening childcare for essential workers became the citywide model. Today, she's bringing an even more urgent message: after decades of working with young children, she has never seen anything like what's happening right now. For the first time in her career, not a single one of the 38 children at her school can summarize a story that has just been read to them. Not one.Angela and I explore what twenty years of unchecked screen exposure has done to children's developing brains — from the erosion of the critical cognitive "pause," to the collapse of both auditory and visual processing, to kids who can decode words on a page but have no idea what those words mean. We also discuss why this generation's problems are showing up even in children born after the pandemic, what the looming rise of AI means for kids who are already struggling, and the surprising solution some schools are already using to fight back. If you are a parent, educator, or anyone who cares about the next generation, this conversation is one you simply cannot afford to miss.In this episode, you will learn:(01:53) Why screens can't replace real-world sensory input for developing brains (03:35) How the disappearance of the cognitive "pause" set the stage for today's focus crisis (08:03) The "Goldilocks test" — and why zero out of 38 preschoolers could pass it (12:34) Why both auditory and visual processing are now being affected (13:08) What toddlers mimicking phone behavior tells us about screen culture (16:55) Why kids are learning to read words without understanding them (18:51) What embodied intelligence is and why screens can't replicate it (22:08) Why the solution isn't eliminating technology — it's protecting kids until their brains are readyLet’s connect!linktr.ee/drprandy

Today, I tackle one of the most critical and challenging conversations we need to have in America right now—the intersection of law enforcement heroism and accountability. While there are truly heroic police officers who risk their lives to protect and serve and deserve our deepest gratitude, recent events have forced us to confront systemic issues that threaten the safety of everyone, including the good officers themselves.Welcome to this important episode of Now I Get It with Dr. Andy. I'm exploring the legal concept of brandishing weapons, examining why the official response to questionable shootings is so dangerous, and explaining how normalizing violence by officers in uniform puts every single law enforcement officer at greater risk. I'll also discuss why systemic cover-ups exist, how senators are responding, and why we must maintain perspective while demanding full accountability. This isn't about being anti-police—it's about protecting the integrity of law enforcement and ensuring the safety of both officers and citizens.In this episode, you will learn:(00:00) Why there are truly heroic cops who deserve our deepest gratitude and support (01:30) How systemic cover-ups work, including medical examiners answering to sheriffs(03:11) What brandishing means legally and why it's both illegal and dangerous(04:20) Why we don't fear for our lives when police brandish weapons—and why that presumption is now threatened(06:06) The details of what happened in Minnesota and why it was clearly murder(06:45) How normalizing police violence creates deadly danger for every officer(08:30) Why senators holding up ICE funding is an important accountability measure(09:02) How to maintain perspective: these incidents are still rarities among thousands of honorable officersLet’s connect!linktr.ee/drprandy

In this episode of Now I Get It, I'm diving into a 2012 government report that's been sitting on the Customs and Border Patrol website, and what it reveals is deeply disturbing. This report examines patterns in border shooting incidents, particularly those involving motor vehicles, and uncovers a troubling practice where agents may be intentionally positioning themselves in the path of vehicles to create justification for using deadly force. The findings suggest that rather than employing defensive tactics like getting out of the way, some agents are shooting at drivers of non-violent suspects who pose no threat beyond a moving vehicle.What makes this particularly relevant right now is how these patterns mirror what we've witnessed in recent high-profile incidents. I walk you through the specific language in the report that describes how agents create pretexts for shootings, the ineffectiveness of shooting at moving vehicles, and the policy violations that continue to occur. This episode challenges us to pay closer attention to law enforcement practices, recognize dangerous patterns, and demand greater accountability when deadly force is used under questionable circumstances.In this episode, you will learn:(00:00) The context behind disturbing border patrol shooting patterns and why I'm examining this government report now (01:19) What the 2012 Customs and Border Patrol report reveals about shootings at motor vehicles (02:46) The pattern of agents positioning themselves in vehicle exit paths to justify deadly force (02:46) Why shooting at a moving vehicle is ineffective and creates greater danger (03:18) The actual CBP policy on discharging firearms at moving vehicles and how it's being violated (04:36) How conflicting commands can create pretexts for non-compliance and justify lethal action (05:35) Frame-by-frame analysis findings from a recent incident and the denial of medical aidLet’s connect!linktr.ee/drprandy

In this episode of Now I Get It, I take a hard, compassionate look at one of the most tragic patterns I see in relationships: what I call the death spiral. It’s the painful process where two people genuinely love each other, yet slowly drift apart—not because love is gone, but because it’s never truly felt. I explain how our personalities shape the way we give and receive love, and why so many couples unknowingly miss each other despite constant effort.I walk through how this spiral begins with good intentions, escalates through frustration and withdrawal, and often ends quietly—when the fighting stops and hope fades. But this episode isn’t about blame or despair. It’s about awareness and repair. By understanding personality-driven love expressions and learning to recognize what truly resonates with your partner, it’s possible to reverse the cycle, rebuild connection, and restore the mutual affection that brought you together in the first place.In this episode, you will learn:(00:00) Why loving someone deeply isn’t enough to sustain a relationship(01:10) How personality shapes the way we give and receive love(02:17) Why both partners often feel they’re giving more than they get(03:15) How “trying harder” can accelerate relational breakdown(04:00) The stages of the relationship death spiral—from criticism to silence(05:11) How understanding love languages tied to personality can reverse the spiral(05:45) How mutual appreciation and attraction can be restored over timeLet’s connect!linktr.ee/drprandy

In this episode, I break down what really happened during the recent government shutdown—and why it matters far beyond the headlines. I walk you through how the standoff between Republicans and Democrats over healthcare funding put millions at risk, and how the political maneuvering behind closed doors quietly determined the fate of those lives. From the targeted removal of Obamacare subsidies to deep cuts in Medicaid, I unpack how these policy choices translate into real-world consequences, including tens of thousands of preventable deaths.I also shed light on the lesser-known tactics lawmakers use to avoid accountability—like strategically assigning votes to retiring politicians or those far from reelection. And I grapple with the moral dilemma at the heart of this crisis: When one side is willing to let children go hungry or deny medical care to exert political pressure, how does a functioning democracy respond? It’s a conversation about power, ethics, and the cost of political gamesmanship on human lives.In this episode, you will learn:(00:34) How the shutdown exposed the realities of U.S. healthcare politics(01:10) Why cutting Obamacare subsidies put millions at risk(02:00) How both parties pushed competing plans to reopen the government(02:55) Why eight Democrats crossed party lines at the decisive moment(03:40) How lawmakers hide behind “just enough votes”(04:05) How political timing shields certain legislators from backlash(05:15) The moral dilemma behind letting 50,000 people die vs. starving children(06:30) Why negotiating with political extremism mirrors dealing with a psychopath(07:45) How this same dynamic shows up in war and global conflict(08:20) What the end of the shutdown really means for public healthLet’s connect!linktr.ee/drprandy

In this episode of Now I Get It, I take you into the subtle—but dangerous—world of paltry: the art of lying by telling nothing but the truth. Through stories pulled from literature, current events, and political reporting, I show how selective truth-telling can create powerful false impressions without ever crossing the line into an outright lie. It’s a communication tactic hiding in plain sight, and once you see it, you start noticing it everywhere.I share examples from Pride and Prejudice, the Ghislaine Maxwell/Jeffrey Epstein media coverage, and recent reporting on healthcare legislation and government shutdowns. Together, we unpack how missing context can distort public understanding, why accountability in storytelling matters, and how we as consumers of information can learn to recognize when we're being told “the truth”—but not the whole truth.In this episode, you will learn:(00:30) How “paltry” allows someone to lie while saying only true things(01:05) How Wickham misleads Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice(02:30) How media reporting on Epstein and Maxwell omitted essential context(03:45) Why “repeal and replace Obamacare” was always a misleading claim(05:30) How government shutdown coverage distorted both parties’ roles(07:20) How to spot selective truth-telling in everyday newsLet’s connect!linktr.ee/drprandy

In this episode of Now I Get It, I explore the fascinating intersection of language, culture, and gender identity—and how our words shape the way we perceive human difference. I dive into how languages like Chinese, English, and German handle gender differently, showing that grammatical gender often has nothing to do with biological sex. What started as simple sound harmonies and linguistic structures in ancient languages evolved into the gender categories we use today, even though the roots were never about “male” or “female” at all.From there, I take a closer look at the biological complexity of sex differentiation—and why the tidy binary of “male” and “female” doesn’t capture the real diversity of human biology. Through examples like androgen insensitivity syndrome and variations in the SRY gene, I show how genetics and hormones don’t always align neatly with societal definitions of gender or sex. The result? A compelling case for rethinking how we talk about identity and embracing the spectrum that actually exists.In this episode, you will learn:(00:45) How language structures gender—and why some languages don’t even have it(02:30) The origins of grammatical gender and how it accidentally became tied to sex(03:50) Why English mostly lost grammatical gender (and what remains of it today)(04:20) What the SRY gene is and how it determines sex differentiation(05:10) The role of androgen insensitivity and how it challenges binary assumptions(06:30) Real-world examples of chromosomal diversity beyond XX and XY(07:40) Why our cultural obsession with binaries doesn’t match biological or linguistic realityLet’s connect!linktr.ee/drprandy