Think from KERA

Stress can change the physiology of the body, but there are ways to fight back. Alia Crum is associate professor of psychology at Stanford University and the principal investigator of the Stanford Mind & Body Lab, and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss research into mindset, how we can process distress, and how new findings are changing the way we understand medicine, health and even organiza...

Fourteen years after the disappearance of American journalist Austin Tice in Syria, there are still efforts to find him. Josh Baker and Sara Obeidat are investigative journalists with the podcast “ Embedded: Where is Austin Tice? ” and they join host Krys Boyd to discuss the life and work of Tice – who went to Syria to be a war correspondent – their dogged attempts to trace his last steps, and the...

Sleepless nights nursing a baby can make any mother frantic for a solution — and big corporations know that. Chabeli Carrazana, economy and child care reporter for The 19th News, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why women’s social feeds — more than men’s — are set up to pitch baby products to expectant and new mothers, how Big Box stores track purchases to target ads, and why a lack of a federal pa...

While there’s no stopping Alzheimer’s disease, there are new treatments to slow it down. Dylan Scott covers health for Vox, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss hopeful new breakthroughs in understanding the disease, what’s different between the new drugs and previous ones that ultimately failed, and if GLP-1s can help ward off cognitive decline. His article is “ Alzheimer’s treatment is advanci...

A decisive blue wave swept across the country on election night, and nowhere was it more surprising than Texas. Nick Miroff, staff writer for The Atlantic, and Lauren McGaughy, Texas politics correspondent for The New York Times, join host Krys Boyd to discuss the Democrats’ sweep of the Texas ballot from senator to governor on down, whether this signals a new era of governance for the state, and...

His selection was seen as a longshot, but now the first American Pope has been a clear voice on immigration, poverty and A.I. Scott Detrow, co-host of All Things Considered, and Daniel Burke, senior editor of religion and spirituality at NPR, join host Krys Boyd to discuss the life and the health of the man born Robert Prevost, his rise in the Augustinian order to advise Pope Francis, and his push...

Some people are convinced A.I. can let them connect to a supernatural world. Sam Kestenbaum is a journalist covering religion in America, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the issue of A.I. delusions – when people believe whole-heartedly their chatbot can see the future or commune with the dead – and what this new technology says about the ways emerging tech is encroaching on our analog world...

Passionately pursuing one goal might lead to an accomplishment – but it may not make us any happier. In fact, sometimes we have to be so-so at something to be happy. Amy Berg, associate professor of philosophy at Rice University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the simple joys of mediocrity, about the benefits of being pretty good at a lot of things, and why striving for excellence is a well-trod...

Polls might get you excited that your preferred candidate is on the path to victory – but we’ve all been burned before. Marc Novicoff is a staff writer at The Atlantic, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why polling has gotten election results so wrong in the past, about how polls are conducted in an age when no one wants to take part, and about if we should brace for more surprises. His artic...

The integration of public schools meant deep cuts to Black teacher jobs – and restoring the pipeline of Black educators potentially means better outcomes for Black students. Emmanuel Felton, investigative journalist and author, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why representation matters in the classroom and to tell the story of a man who has started a school to train and deploy Black educators. His...

Open caskets used to be fairly standard, but we’re losing the artists who make that possible. John Semley joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the history, culture and economics of morticians, why their particular trade is quickly going out of fashion, and how losing this restorative mortuary science is changing the way we grieve. His article “ A Dying Art: The last of the morticians ” was published in...

President Trump has said the Iran War will end after the mid-terms, but there is no sign either side is willing to come to the table. Ali Vaez, deputy program director for the Middle East and North Africa at the International Crisis Group, joins guest host Paige Phelps to discuss why both Iran and the U.S. have dug into a war that seems indefinite and unwinnable, how the conflict is changing our p...

 Thirty percent of the Centers for Disease Control staff has either resigned, retired or been laid off. Apoorva Mandavilli, science and global health reporter for The New York Times, joins guest host Paige Phelps to discuss the once-revered CDC that is now a skeleton of its former self, what that means for both domestic and international public health responses, and what that means for the general...

The search for life outside our planet can be seen as a yearning to find out what makes us human. Adam Kirsch is a poet, literary critic and senior editor at The Atlantic, and he joins guest host Paige Phelps to discuss the search for life in the cosmos —both UFOs and the scientific hunt for biological matter outside our universe — and what happens to our collective trust when we don’t find it. Hi...

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a landmark bill. So why has a conservative Supreme Court been so willing to knock it down? Kevin Morris, senior research fellow and voting policy scholar at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what the Voting Rights Act did for representational democracy across the country, why it’s fallen out of fav...

Companies looking to expand in the Chinese market face a looming problem: intellectual property theft. Wall Street Journal reporter Jon Emont joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the example of Driscoll’s berries, which sought to corner the Asian market with a new fruit there but found its plant cuttings stolen and greenhouse growing methods copied. His article is “ Driscoll’s Gave China Its Blueberrie...

In September, Anthropic blocked attempts to create a biological weapon with A.I., but biosecurity experts have been alarmed ever since. Carl Zimmer writes the Origins column and covers news about science as a freelance contributor to The New York Times. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why scientists are concerned about the potential for chatbots to make pathogens more deadly, the race to safegu...

Whether you notice it or not, you speak with an accent. Valerie Fridland, professor of linguistics in the English Department at the University of Nevada, Reno, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how accents from the Southern drawl to the California Valley Girl came to be, why accents are key to culture, and why, in our mass media world, some are fading away. Her book is “ Why We Talk Funny: The Real...

In dating, finding “the one” might be easier if you stop assuming “the one” will be a perfect match. Paul Eastwick is professor of psychology at UC Davis, where he serves as the head of the Social-Personality Psychology program and the director of the Attraction and Relationships Research Laboratory. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why we need to look past imperfections when choosing a mate, wh...

When DOGE slashed and burned the federal workforce, those who stood up to the carnage were called “Blockers.” Best-selling author Michael Lewis joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the people who called out illegality and were punished for it, the haphazard ways DOGE went about cutting jobs, and why he feels all of it was a distraction from a larger power grab by the White House. His book is “ Blockers...

If the definition of “green” is yellow plus blue, how do you define “yellow” and “blue”? Kory Stamper is a lexicographer who has written dictionaries for nearly 30 years at Merriam-Webster, Cambridge Dictionaries and Dictionary.com. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the difficulty of defining colors, why they are nearly indescribable, and why it took the help of scientists to create descriptions...

Grammar hounds might despise it, but “like” is both ubiquitous and necessary in our everyday speech. Megan C. Reynolds, editor at Dwell magazine, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss one little word that defines so much of modern speech: like – from approval on social media to, like, the way we all casually talk today – and why we should all give it a second look. Her book is “Like: A History of the Wo...

Ever feel embarrassed about oversharing at a cocktail party? Turns out, you might’ve been on the right track. Leslie John, James E. Burke Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why sharing our feelings garners trust, why we’re so often reluctant to let people into our lives, and why there is a cost to undersharing. Her book is “ Reveali...

If you were given thousands of dollars in free money to gamble, would you find yourself a little — or a lot — addicted to the games? McKay Coppins, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how his magazine gave him $10,000 to use as seed money as he explored the rise of online sports gambling, why he was surprised at how much the gambling interfered with his family life and sl...

As President Trump threatens Iranian annihilation today, there was actually another nuclear threat there in the 1980s, thwarted by a Russian spy. Ben McIntyre, writer-at-large for The Times (UK), joins guest host John McCaa to discuss the man with the code name “Redwood,” how he was key to avoiding nuclear disaster when the Russians and Americans were strategizing what to do after the Iranian Revo...