Think from KERA

Couples desperate to adopt often turn to underregulated for-profit adoption agencies. Filmmaker Gabrielle Glaser joins host Krys Boyd to discuss a system ripe for abuse, where “baby brokers” target pregnant women and play on the emotions of hopeful families. The Frontline documentary is called “ Baby Brokers .”  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The most reluctant politician we’ve ever had just happens to have been our first president. H.W. Brands is Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss George Washington who saw himself as a solider and not a politician why he felt it was paramount for a president to defer to Congress, and the grievances he had against the crown...

Founding Fathers Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton fought for independence and they also fought each other. Jeffrey Rosen, former president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the battles Jefferson and Hamilton had over concepts of liberty and freedom, where they landed on states’ rights vs. a powerful federal government, and why their arguments still...

America’s history is a mix of pride and shame so how should we square those conflicting feelings? Yoni Appelbaum, deputy executive editor at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what it means to be a patriot when scholars argue about the American story, how we can get back to a shared understanding of who we are as a nation, and whether that’s even possible. His article is “ How to tell t...

 The Declaration of Independence might’ve been written by men, but history was being made by women outside Independence Hall. Denise Kiernan, author, journalist, and producer, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the publishers, spies, and other extraordinary women that powered the American Revolution, why they are almost lost to history, and we’ll get the real story of the woman known as “Molly Pitche...

 George Washington may have set the standard for American presidents, but those precedents wouldn’t have mattered if John Adams hadn’t followed through on them. Lindsay Chervinsky, executive director of the George Washington Presidential Library, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the second U.S. president, how he solidified many of the functions of the chief executive we still know in the 21st Centu...

On July 4th, 2025, devastating floodwaters ripped through the Texas Hill Country, killing more than 130 people. After the Flood, a new podcast from the Texas Newsroom and PBS’s Frontline, has followed survivors over the last year and tries to find out why this happened – and whether it could happen again. In this first episode, you’ll hear what happened during those harrowing early morning hours o...

From our little fur babies to “Herbie” the car, we imbue the world around us with wonderous human-like qualities. Justin Gregg is senior research associate with the Dolphin Communication Project and an adjunct professor at St. Francis Xavier University, where he lectures on animal behavior and cognition. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the benefits of anthropomorphism and the detriments of its...

Originally, America’s 250th birthday celebration was a bipartisan effort. Then President Trump took it over. Michael Scherer is a staff writer at The Atlantic, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss a newly rebranded celebration called America250, which has led to frustration among lawmakers over breakdowns in communication. Plus, we’ll get an update on where the $150 million allocated for the eve...

Hospice care is a good option for dying loved ones so why not pets? Dr. Sunita Puri is the author of “ That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour .” She’s also the program director of the Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship at the University of Massachusetts Chan School of Medicine, where she is an associate professor of clinical medicine. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss en...

India has claimed the world’s largest population since 2023 but that is going to change fast. Tom Sasse, South Asia Bureau Chief for The Economist, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why a decline in birth rates will hinder future growth, why India might not be able to achieve the wealth of other industrialized countries, and why attracting new immigrants might be the solution. His article is “ India...

How do you write satire about an administration that is already over the top? Award-winning author Ben Fountain joins host Krys Boyd to discuss his wild new novel in which a pro-wrestler holds almost magical powers that captivate crowds. And that puts him at odds with a very narcissistic, bombastic president. We’ll hear how the current political moment is both sad and funny Fountain’s book is “ Ra...

 After the promises of Reconstruction began to wither, Black Americans searched for freedom in radically different locales. Caleb Gayle is a journalist, author and professor at Northeastern University, and he is also a contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine. He joins guest host John McCaa to tell the story of Edward McCabe, who made it his life’s work to set up a Black state in Oklahom...

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has again blocked promotions for Black servicemen a pattern within the administration. Clint Smith, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss his interviews with dozens of enlisted and civilian Black servicemembers who feel the accomplishments of Black servicemembers are being erased by the military and what that means for the how we tell the stor...

Dating should be fun, but single, straight people are finding it a drudgery or even worse cringe. Magdalene J. Taylor, senior editor at Playboy, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss “heteropessimism” where straight people don’t have positive feelings about playing the field why men label women as self-absorbed and women call men “toxic,” and why we need to turn these ideas on their heads. Her essay “ T...

The common evolutionary question centers around nature vs. nurture, but maybe we should be asking if we are designed to cooperate or compete? Jonathan R. Goodman is a social scientist based at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and the University of Cambridge and is the author of “ Invisible Rivals : How We Evolved to Compete in a Cooperative World.” He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss Darwinian surviva...

Imagine what you can learn about a city by picking up the garbage of the people who live there. Simon Paré-Poupart, a sociologist and garbageman in Montreal, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss his life on the back of a garbage truck, why he prefers the term G-men to garbagemen, and the people who are called to do this dirty job well and with pride. His book is “ Trash!: A Garbageman’s Story ,” and hi...

In many Black households of yesteryear, portraits of Martin Luther King, Jr. hung alongside pictures of John F. Kennedy and Jesus. Sharron Wilkins Conrad, fellow at Southern Methodist University’s Center for Presidential History, joins guest host John McCaa to discuss how Black families viewed martyred leaders who advocated for change and how that respect didn’t extent to President Johnson, who wa...

Soccer has a massive following around the world. So why do teams lose money? Stefan Szymanski is professor of sport management at the University of Michigan and a leading sports economist. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why, with all the money and sponsorships and hype around professional soccer teams, they operate on thin margin and how “moneyball” style analytics could change the game. His b...

The new American pope has been a very vocal critic of American foreign and domestic policy. Victor Gaetan, senior international correspondent for National Catholic Register, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss Pope Leo’s policies which have been met with ire by President Trump why he is orienting the church away from Europe and the West to be more global, and what Catholics think of him so far. His ar...

Microbes have lived on this planet since long before humans, and they’ll be here long after we’re gone. Shayla Love is a journalist who writes about science, health and the mind. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss these masters of evolution that can mutate in a single generation, why climate change is making harmful microbes adapt even faster, and the good news about how these organisms are good...

The damage caused by alcohol costs Americans billions of dollars, and it largely goes unnoticed. Isabella Cueto, chronic disease reporter for Stat, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the harms of alcohol from elevated cancer risk to liver damage to its impact on violent crime and why public health officials don’t seem to have a cohesive strategy to combat its very real consequences. Her series, writt...

For two-time National Book Award winner Jesymn Ward, the deep South is the only place she can call home. The author talks with host Krys Boyd about the pain and heartbreak she’s felt in rural Mississippi, why the draw of family keeps hope alive, and why she writes for anyone experiencing loss or grief. Her book of essays is “ On Witness and Respair .” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/...

Creativity knows no bounds but it’s best captured within set limits. Author and journalist David Epstein joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why too many choices make it hard to start a project, how to avoid leaning on the status quo when we don’t know where to start, and how we can unlock our unlimited potential. His book is “ Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better .” Learn about your ad choi...

To really understand the nuts and bolts of economics, look to the black market. Alvin E. Roth is Craig and Susan McCaw Professor of Economics at Stanford University and the George Gund Professor of Economics and Business Administration Emeritus at Harvard University. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2012. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss his work on organ donation which led him to...