Kurt Andersen and his guest, historian Gary Cross, discuss our love-hate relationship with cuteness, and how biology and culture conspire to make us say “awwww…”
Gary Cross is the author of The Cute and the Cool, a study of how and why adults project cuteness onto their children — and how our children are constantly rebelling against it. His other books include Kids’ Stuff: Toys and the Changing World of American Childhood. He is a Distinguished Professor of Modern History at Pennsylvania State University.