top of page
News and media 

This page documents media coverage of the Baby's First Years study since it began in 2018. In the interest of transparency, we include the full range of coverage. Our goal is to provide an accurate, complete record of how this research has been discussed publicly, not a curated highlight reel.

All media inquiries should be directed to info@babysfirstyears.com. Baby's First Years is an interdisciplinary effort, and press outlets will be asked to name all core principal investigators as a precondition for interviews.

Publication Date
Title
Outlet
Type
09/10/2025
Cash Grants to Poor Families Do Help Fight Poverty
Bloomberg Opinion
Op-Ed
08/21/2025
Mad Libs: Bruenig v. Piper
The Argument
Debate Column
08/19/2025
Study saying monthly cash won't help children's health is highly misleading — even irresponsible
STAT News
Op-Ed
08/19/2025
Giving people money helped less than I thought it would
The Argument
Article
07/28/2025
Study May Undercut Idea That Cash Payments to Poor Families Help Child Development
New York Times
Article
06/25/2025
Universal basic income has failed before, but can it help impoverished children?
The Washington Times
Commentary
07/15/2024
What a big experiment giving money to parents reveals
Vox
Article
11/07/2023
Mississippi program shows how giving mothers guaranteed income helps children
Youth Today
Article
10/09/2023
Evidence-Based Policy Newsletter #14
Evidence-Based Policy Newsletter
Newsletter
09/29/2023
Reducing Child Poverty - What Money Can Buy
JAMA Network
Article
01/25/2023
Budgeting for brain development
NY1
Article
09/06/2022
This Is Your Brain on Poverty: Omaha Is One Site in Nationwide Study
The Reader
Article
03/26/2022
Policies to reduce child poverty can help in their growth and development, study finds
PBS NewsHour
Video
03/17/2022
Does Giving Moms Cash Make Babies Smarter?
Medscape
Article
02/22/2022
Behind the scenes with researchers from the Baby’s First Years study
J-PAL
Article
02/15/2022
Poverty reduction alters infant brain activity
NIH
Article
02/02/2022
Développement cérébral : un peu d’argent ferait la différence
Le Monde
Article
01/27/2022
Study on child brain activity another reason for congressional activity on child tax credit
Bangor Daily News
Editorial
01/27/2022
Cash support for low-income families directly affects baby brains
Futurity (Duke University)
Article
01/26/2022
Citing Promising New Research on Babies’ Brain Development, Senators Renew Pitch for Expanded Child Tax Credit
The 74
Article
01/26/2022
All In with Chris Hayes — Interview with Dr. Kimberly Noble
MSNBC
Broadcast Interview
01/25/2022
Press Play with Madeleine Brand: Free cash is linked to babies’ brain development, study finds
KCRW
Podcast
01/25/2022
Study: Giving Cash To Low-Income Moms May Aid Babies' Brain Development
Romper
Article
01/25/2022
Giving Cash To Low-Income Families Helps Babies' Brain Activity: Report
V103
Article
01/25/2022
Cash benefits to low-income families may aid babies’ cognitive development
Niskanen Center
Article
01/25/2022
Extra Cash for Low-Income Mothers May Influence Baby Brains
Cheddar
Article
01/25/2022
Dr. Nathan Fox Co-Authors Baby’s First Years Study - Cash Support for Low-Income Families Impacts Infant Brain Activity
UMD College of Education
Article
01/25/2022
Money given to low-income mothers affects their infants’ brain activity, a study shows
Philadelphia Inquirer
Article
01/24/2022
Cash Aid to Poor Mothers Increases Brain Activity in Babies, Study Finds
New York Times
Article
01/24/2022
Can giving parents cash help with babies’ brain development?
Vox
Article
01/24/2022
Extra cash for low-income mothers may influence baby brains
AP News
Article
01/24/2022
Babies show more brain activity when their families get $300 a month, a new study finds — but Biden's $300 monthly check program just ended
Business Insider
Article
01/24/2022
Giving low-income families cash can help babies’ brain activity
NBC News
Article
01/24/2022
Giving Moms Money Can Boost Babies’ Brain Activity, Study Finds
Forbes
Article
01/24/2022
Guaranteed Income Is Linked to Higher Brain Activity in Infants in New Study
Bloomberg
Article
01/24/2022
When New Orleans moms in poverty got an extra $333 a month, their children benefited, study says
NOLA.com
Article
01/24/2022
Study: Cash aid could help boost babies’ brain development
MPR News
Article
01/24/2022
Cash support for low-income mothers enhances infant brain activity, study finds
UPI
Article
01/24/2022
Study shows that direct cash payments to families had meaningful impact on newborns’ brain activity
Morning Brew
Article
01/24/2022
Can extra cash help infant brain development?
LA Times
Article
01/24/2022
Do Cash Gifts for Mothers in Poverty Help Kids' Early Brain Activity?
MedPage Today
Article
01/24/2022
Giving low-income US families $4000 a year boosts child brain activity
New Scientist
Article
01/24/2022
Cash support for low-income families impacts infant brain activity
Medical Xpress
Article
01/24/2022
Le fait de donner de l’argent aux parents peut-il aider au développement du cerveau des bébés ?
News24 (France)
Article
01/24/2022
Researchers ‘surprised’ by what happened when low-income moms received regular cash payments with no strings attached
MarketWatch
Article
01/24/2022
Giving low-income families cash can help babies’ brain activity
Yahoo
Article
01/24/2022
New Study: Giving Mothers Cash Improves Children’s Brain Development
Early Learning Nation
Article
01/24/2022
Study Suggests Giving Cash Payments to Low-Income Mothers Could Help Brain Development in Babies
Complex
Article
01/24/2022
This guaranteed income pilot gives low-income New York mothers $1,000 a month
Fast Company
Article
09/15/2021
Why Does the Richest Country in the World Have So Many Poor Kids? (Ep. 475)
Freakonomics
Podcast
04/27/2021
A Novel Effort to See How Poverty Affects Young Brains
New York Times
Article
03/23/2021
Child Tax Credit Expansion Creates Opportunity To Improve Child Development
Forbes
Article
03/05/2021
Kimberly Noble: How Does Family Income Affect Child Brain Development?
NPR Ted Radio Hour
Radio/Podcast
09/24/2020
Trauma Disrupts Children’s Brains — but Researchers Are Finding New Ways Help Them Heal
Gizmodo Australia
Article
07/11/2020
BFY response to Washington Post article regarding the impact of Covid-19 on the BFY study procedures
Baby's First Years (site PDF)
Statement
06/10/2020
Sarah Halpern-Meekin: The crisis to come: Poverty after the pandemic
Madison.com (Cap Times)
Op-Ed
01/06/2020
Can Treating Poverty Change a Child's Brain?
Maclean's
Article
06/08/2019
Low-Income Moms In Four U.S. Cities Are Being Paid $4,000 A Year, With No Strings Attached
MarketWatch
Article
05/09/2019
100 Low-Income NYC Moms Will Get $13,320 To Participate In Child Development Study
PIX11
Article
05/08/2019
More Than 100 Moms Will Get Paid $12K For Poverty Study
New York Post
Article
05/08/2019
“Baby’s First Years” Offers First U.S. Study to Assess Impact of Poverty Reduction on Infant and Toddler Development
Early Learning Nation
Article
04/30/2019
National Anti-Poverty Study Will Pay New NYC Moms $4,000 A Year
The City
Article
04/29/2019
Can an Extra $333 a Month Improve a Baby's Brain? A Research Team Wants to Know
WSJ
Article
04/12/2019
¿Cómo La Pobreza Afecta El Cerebro Infantil?
La Tercera
Article
04/02/2019
Baby's First Years Lead Neuroscientist, Dr. Kimberly Noble, Discusses The Study's Background
TED
Talk
05/30/2018
Money For Moms
NPR Planet Money
Podcast
05/03/2018
Does Growing Up Poor Harm Brain Development?
The Economist
Article
10/27/2017
Chill Mal, Mama
Der Spiegel
Article
07/13/2017
The Neuroscience of Inequality: Does Poverty Show Up In Children's Brains
The Guardian
Article
07/03/2017
How Income Inequality Is Messing With Kids' Brains
Mother Jones
Article
03/13/2017
Comment La Pauvrete Maltreaite Le Cerveau [How Poverty Mistreats The Brain]
Le Monde
Article
03/01/2017
What Inequality Does To The Brain
Scientific American
Article
10/02/2015
How Poverty Affects Children's Brains
Washington Post
Op-Ed
04/15/2015
New Brain Science Shows Poor Kids Have Smaller Brains than Affluent Kids
Washington Post
Article
03/31/2015
Live Interview (20:20-22:55)
BBC News
Broadcast Interview
03/30/2015
Brain Development in Children could be Affected by Poverty, Study Shows
The Guardian
Article
03/30/2015
Being Poor Affects Kids' Brains, Study Finds
NBC News
Article
11/13/2013
Would $4,000 Make Poor Children Cleverer?
BBC News
Article
bottom of page