Podcast Summary

Something You Should Know with Mike Carruthers

Episode: The Serious Problem of Picky Eaters & Will AI Make Us Dumber?
Release Date: February 26, 2026

Episode Overview

Host Mike Carruthers explores two central topics in this episode:

• The historical rise and real consequences of picky eating among American children with historian Helen Veidt.
• The evolving role and impact of artificial intelligence on human intelligence and society with former OpenAI executive and author Zach Kass.

Both conversations probe cultural myths, real-world outcomes, and actionable advice for listeners navigating these challenges in their homes and workplaces.

Segment 1: The Origins and Impact of Picky Eating

Guest: Helen Veidt, historian, Michigan State University, author of How American Children Became the Fussiest Eaters in History

Key Discussion Points

[05:52] Are Today's Kids Really Pickier Eaters?

• Carruthers observes: Modern parents often prepare separate meals for picky kids, a departure from previous generations who ate what was served.

  “When I grew up, that was not the case... this is what’s for dinner. And you were expected to eat it or try it.” – Mike Carruthers (05:52)

• Helen Veidt response:
  • Picky eating on a mass scale is a modern phenomenon.
  • In the 19th and early 20th century, children commonly enjoyed diverse foods—spices, bitter flavors, vinegary pickles, even coffee and oysters.
  • It wasn't scarcity or harsh parenting; even affluent kids ate varied diets, and discipline around food was rarely a major topic.

  “The richest kids in America were eating really diverse, broad diets... [parents] assumed that children would eat like themselves.” – Helen Veidt (06:26, 07:20)

[09:24] How Did Picky Eating Become Normalized?

• Shifts in hunger & eating habits:
  • Past generations’ kids were hungrier at meals due to less snacking and more physical activity.
  • The rise of snack culture, processed foods, and government nutrition advice (like large quantities of milk) dulled children’s hunger for meals.
• Parental indulgence:
  • Parents began providing alternatives if children didn’t like family meals, disrupting the natural process of acquiring taste.

  “When parents did start regularly saying, ‘If you don’t like it, I’ll make you a peanut butter and jelly,’... it really prevented kids from having the opportunity of learning how capable they were of learning to like a broad range of foods.” – Helen Veidt (09:24, 11:32)

[13:11] Why Is This a Health Problem Now?

• Consequences of increased pickiness:
  • Childhood obesity has quadrupled since the 1970s.
  • Diets low in fiber and plant foods contribute to heart disease and type 2 diabetes (previously rare in children), and can even limit children’s growth potential.

  “Childhood obesity was really rare just a few decades ago. It’s more than quadrupled in this country since the 1970s... limited amount of fiber that many kids get, the limited amount of plants that they’re eating is leading to problems.” – Helen Veidt (13:26–15:01)

[17:32] Why Don’t Parents Push Back?

• Psychological fears:
  • Parents fear psychological harm (trauma, eating disorders, “inauthentic preferences”) if they insist on certain foods.
  • These ideas trace back to mid-20th-century Freudian psychology, particularly Dr. Benjamin Spock.

  “Parents have heard that they could really mess their child up psychologically... but there was absolutely no research.” – Helen Veidt (17:51, 19:28)

• Reality check:
  • There’s no evidence that offering only the family meal led to eating disorders or obesity in earlier generations.
  • On the contrary, those methods produced healthy, adventurous eaters.

[21:43] Hiding Veggies & Reclaiming Parental Wisdom

• Carruthers critiques: Sneaking vegetables into food doesn’t teach appreciation for those foods.
• Veidt counters: Children are capable of liking vegetables openly.
  • The issue is more about rebuilding parents’ confidence in guiding food choices, paralleling how they enforce other non-negotiables (bedtime, tooth-brushing).

  “Parents used to believe that they were wiser than preschoolers when it came to food. And we lost that confidence.” – Helen Veidt (21:43)

[23:39] The Fragmentation of Family Meals

• Fast food, processed foods, marketing of personalized diets fractured communal eating habits.
• Broader cultural change: Families used to see shared meals (and tastes) as natural; that's broken down in modern times.

[25:34] Exposure Builds Taste—For Kids and Adults Alike

• Practical advice: Exposure is key—offer foods repeatedly, not just 7, 11, or 15 times (“no culture pinned a number on it”).
• Adult examples: Even aversions like cilantro can be overcome in cultures where it’s common, regardless of genetic predisposition.

  “If you try enough times, the kid eventually learns to like it. And this... has just been the pattern that we see over and over again.” – Helen Veidt (25:34) “You can learn to really enjoy things, not just to tolerate it, but to like it.” – Helen Veidt on learning to eat cilantro (28:11)

[28:16] Picky Eating and the Obesity Puzzle

• Carruthers sums up: Picky eating is a major (and underdiscussed) driver of long-term dietary and health problems.

Segment 2: Will AI Make Us Dumber—or Trigger a New Renaissance?

Guest: Zach Kass, former OpenAI executive, author of The Next AI and the Expansion of Human Potential

Key Discussion Points

[31:47] Why AI Might Signal a Renaissance, Not a Decline

• Examples of recent breakthroughs (2023-24):
  • First new antibiotic in 60 years discovered via AI.
  • Custom gene therapy for a baby developed using AI and CRISPR.
  • AI solving novel math problems, with mathematicians like Terence Tao acknowledging its capabilities.

  “We discovered our first antibiotic in 60 years because of AI... AI started solving mathematical equations that are novel and open ended.” – Zach Kass (32:02)

[33:43] Bridging the Perception Gap

• Public view: AI is often seen only as a “better Google” (e.g., ChatGPT for writing emails).
• Reality: Top professionals (engineers, scientists) are using AI as a tool for complex problem-solving, scientific discovery, and engineering.
  • There’s a rapidly growing gap between public perception and what’s already possible.

[36:15] Not Just Information, But Computation

• Critical shift:
  • AI ≠ just accessing information (“a better search engine”)
  • AI = “computational partner” with unmetered cognition and modeling capability

  “The AI opportunity is not to know more, it’s to compute more. And this breaks people’s brains.” – Zach Kass (36:15)

[38:20] Will AI Make Us Dumber?

• Kass’s view: No—AI isn’t dumbing us down; economic abundance and lack of challenges are to blame for stagnant skills.
  • Gen Z’s lower averages in some areas predate generative AI.
  • The difference: Highly motivated individuals now achieve more than ever, while unmotivated individuals can do less than ever.

  “It’s not an AI problem, that’s an agency problem. That’s a personal responsibility problem.” – Zach Kass (38:45) “If you want to do a lot, you can do a ton, way more than your parents... If you want to do nothing, you can do less than almost anyone in human history…” (39:50)

[41:21] The Job Loss Debate

• Concerns about automation: Not yet widely reflected in unemployment data.
• Psychological vs. economic impact: The transition may cause emotional disturbance more than immediate economic distress.

  “Humans want humans to do a lot of stuff... This is a time where we’re going to reboot the economy and probably redefine work.” – Zach Kass (41:37)

[42:53] Should We Automate Everything?

• Societal threshold: It’s not just what machines can do, but what we want them to do that shapes the future.
  • Some automation (e.g., autonomous cars) delivers clear public good.
  • Others (e.g., online dating excess) may erode aspects of humanity.

  “There is a very important line... between things we should automate, that preserve or enhance our humanity, and things we should not that destroy it.” – Zach Kass (43:48)

[44:16] Surprising, Powerful Uses of AI on the Horizon

• AI for personal growth & democratizing access:
  • AI can prompt deep introspection, almost like a diary or mirror—though not a replacement for therapy.
  • AI levels the playing field for access to traditionally “elite” knowledge (e.g., tax law, legal advice).

  “These machines are not meant to be therapists, but they can unearth incredible understanding that you can then work on with another human.” – Zach Kass (44:37) “You now have a very good attorney, probably a better attorney than any of your wealthy friends have.” (45:41)

[47:03] Privacy: Who Can See My AI Conversations?

• Kass: Privacy concerns are real—but not new, and not unique to AI. Subscribing to paid services typically means stronger privacy.
• Be as mindful with AI as with all internet data sharing.

[49:11] How Accurate Is AI—Can You Trust It?

• Use AI as a “computational partner” or complex calculator; fact-check its outputs.
  • Hallucination/error rates are dropping, especially for closed-problem domains.

  “It is best used not as a search partner, but as a machine to better compute information that you can factually verify.” – Zach Kass (49:11)

Segment 3: Bonus Intel — Profile Photos & First Impressions

[51:04]

• First impressions from online profile photos (e.g., LinkedIn) happen in milliseconds.
• Controlled, gentle warmth in your photo (not too stern or toothy) makes you appear more trustworthy and competent.

  “Your face is your headline, so make sure it says the right thing.” – Mike Carruthers (51:51)

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “Children ate what, you know, sound to us today like just incredible things... They loved coffee. And that’s really the thing.”
  — Helen Veidt (07:02)
• “When parents did start regularly saying, ‘If you don’t like it, I’ll make you a peanut butter and jelly’... it really prevented kids from having the opportunity of learning how capable they were of learning to like a broad range of foods.”
  — Helen Veidt (11:32)
• “There is no good evidence that it’s true. None of these claims were originally based on robust comparative studies.”
  — Helen Veidt (19:28, on psychological harm of enforcing family meals)
• “The AI opportunity is not to know more, it’s to compute more. And this breaks people’s brains...”
  — Zach Kass (36:15)
• “If you want to do a lot, you can do a ton, way more than your parents... If you want to do nothing, you can do less than almost anyone in human history...”
  — Zach Kass (39:50)
• “There is a very important line... between things we should automate, that preserve or enhance our humanity, and things we should not that destroy it.”
  — Zach Kass (43:48)

Takeaways & Actionable Insights

• For Parents:
  • Don’t fear holding the line on family meals—history shows it builds broader taste and healthier habits.
  • Ignore unproven psychological advice about food trauma; focus on gradual, repeated exposure to new foods.
• For All:
  • AI isn’t just a fancier search tool—start exploring how it can help you model, compute, or solve complex personal and professional problems.
  • Be deliberate about what you automate; ensure tech enables, rather than erodes, your humanity.
  • Guard your privacy by choosing providers carefully and understanding data use policies.

For more:

• How American Children Became the Fussiest Eaters in History by Helen Veidt
• The Next AI and the Expansion of Human Potential by Zach Kass

Compiled and summarized by [Your Podcast Summarizer] for listeners seeking a comprehensive, actionable recap.