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Reach Out and Read is On the Air

Engaging conversations with experts in childhood health and literacy.

An award-winning podcast centered on the belief that children’s books build better brains, better family relationships, and happier, healthier children and societies. Join us as host Dr. Dipesh Navsaria, a pediatrician with a children’s librarianship degree dives into a wealth of varied early childhood health and literacy topics with expert guests examining the many facets of supporting the parent-child relationship as key to early success.

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Latest Episode

“Understanding the FAN: Clinical Approach to Relationship-Building” | August 20, 2026

We often understand why building strong relationships in pediatric clinical care is important, but the details of how matter. Linda Gilkerson, Ph.D. — founder and executive director of the Fussy Baby FAN Network at the Erikson Institute — joins us to talk about reflective practice and how strengthening the provider-parent relationship helps parents become attuned to their infants and ready for trying new relational approaches.

View the transcript here.

  • Linda Gilkerson, Ph.D

    Linda Gilkerson, Ph.D., is a professor at Erikson Institute where she led the development of the graduate training programs in infancy, infant mental health, and infant mental health in social work. She founded Erikson’s first clinical initiative, Fussy Baby Network, and is the developer of the FAN (Facilitating Attuned Interactions). The FAN is an approach to relationship building and reflective practice used widely across child- and family-serving systems in the U.S. and internationally. Prior to this, she worked in hospitals for 12 years developing and directing family support programs in pediatrics and neonatal intensive care. Currently, Dr. Gilkerson is collaborating with the American Academy of Pediatrics to bring the FAN to resident education and pediatric practices to support Early Relational Health. Her research and publications focus on relationship-based approaches and reflective supervision.

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Research shows reading physical books together brings the strongest benefits to children. That’s why we’re happy to have Boise Paper – a responsible paper manufacturer – sponsor this podcast. Through their Paper with Purpose promise, Boise Paper looks for ways to make a difference in local communities. Thank you to Boise Paper for investing in our Reach Out and Read community.

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Award Winning
Two-time winner of an Anthem Award in the Health category.
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Meet the Host

To the best of our knowledge, there is only one pediatrician anywhere who got a master’s in library science in the middle of his medical training, all to learn more about children’s literature. That is our host, Dr. Dipesh Navsaria. A practicing pediatrician in Wisconsin, Dr. Navsaria is the Medical Director of Reach Out and Read Wisconsin, Chair of the Early Literacy Subcommittee of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Council on Early Childhood, and many other initiatives involving the psychosocial world of children, their families, and society, from policy to parenting support. A professor of pediatrics and of human development and family studies at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, he lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with his wife, two children, two cats, a dog, and backyard chickens. He has a deep-seated dependence on wearing bowties, of which he owns far too many…but all of which he can tie without a mirror, in under a minute!

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Meet the host of the ROR Podcast