Think from KERA

The Trump administration has frozen funding for foreign aid, putting workers out of jobs and threatening the future of USAID in doubt. Brett Murphy is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter on ProPublica’s national desk, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the rapid dismantling of the humanitarian agency and what will happen to the people around the world who rely on its help. His article, written w...

Ozempic is the hot drug for weight loss, but its original purpose was to help diabetics – putting its creator in a bit of a bind. Wired contributor Virginia Heffernan joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk is stretched thin as demand for the drug skyrockets – and how President Trump’s designs on Greenland might actually affect supply. Her article is “The King of Ozempic...

To get the price of eggs under control, we first need to address bird flu. New York Times science and global health reporter Apoorva Mandavilli joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the H5N1 virus that has virologists concerned with its rapid evolution. And we’ll hear why poultry producers and dairy farmers are nervous about the future of their livelihoods and their ability to feed the nation. Learn abo...

  If America is in the throes of a loneliness epidemic, why do we keep casting aside established friendships for minor infractions? Vox senior reporter Allie Volpe joins host Krys Boyd to discuss a new trend toward cutting out “toxic” friends —even if the toxicity is easily overcome with dialog — and why we’re shying away from the hard work of interpersonal relationships in the digital age. Her ar...

President Trump has made it a goal to end birthright citizenship, a fight that is putting the Constitution to the test. Hiroshi Motomura is the Susan Westerberg Prager Distinguished Professor of Law and faculty co-director of the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at UCLA. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how birthright citizenship came to be, what the Trump administration’s challenge looks l...

We’ve heard a lot about the loneliness epidemic in this country, but it might be worth asking: Do we even like spending time with people anymore? Derek Thompson, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the phenomenon where we’re on our phones but digitally surrounded by people, and how this isolation is rewiring us to be more anti-social – including in both our personal relat...

In order to better understand why racism still exists, it helps to study it like a science. Keon West, social psychologist at Goldsmiths at the University of London, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss his rigorous research into racist beliefs, the results of social experiments that show how far we’ve moved the mark since the Civil Rights era and what we can definitively say about prejudice today. His...

Psychologists and philosophers have debated what makes a good life, traditionally focusing on the search for happiness and meaning. Recently, though, the quest for another sensation has entered the conversation: fulfillment. Shigehiro Oishi, Marshall Field IV Professor of Psychology at the University of Chicago, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss his concept of “psychological richness,” where curiosi...

For Black identity, the color blue goes beyond the sky and water and speaks to the fabric of daily life. Imani Perry is a National Book Award–winning author, Henry A. Morss Jr. and Elisabeth W. Morss Professor of Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University, and a 2023 MacArthur Fellow. She joins host Krys Boyd to talk about the signific...

President Trump says he wants to buy Greenland — the Danish say it’s not for sale. Joshua Keating is a senior correspondent at Vox covering foreign policy and world news with a focus on the future of international conflict. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the idea that the U.S. could take Greenland – possibly by force – and why that has international leaders worried about the potential for futu...

To build affordable housing you need land — and the federal government has an ample supply. Michael Albertus, professor of political science at the University of Chicago, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the plusses and minuses of an idea that’s been floated in many administrations: selling federal lands to cities and developers to address the affordable housing crisis. His article “The U.S. Govern...

Earlier this month, then U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for alcoholic beverages to feature cancer-warning labels similar to the ones on packs of cigarettes. Dr. Ernest Hawk is vice president and head of the division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and holds the T. Boone Pickens Distinguished Chair for Early Prevention of C...

The California wildfires are a stark example of how climate change is making its presence known. Author John Vaillant joins host Krys Boyd to discuss these fires – plus other recent outbreaks in Texas, Canada and Australia – and to explore what it will take to keep densely populated areas safe. His book is “Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx....

The American diet consists mostly of ultra-processed foods — and it’s time we take a closer look at those nutrition labels. Jancee Dunn is the Well columnist for The New York Times, and she joins host Krys Boyd to offer simple ways we can identify the worst offenders in our diets and break our reliance on these foods. Her series is “The 5-day Well Challenge.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail....

 The quickly shifting political landscape in the Middle East has Iran recalculating its place in the global order. Council on Foreign Relations president emeritus Richard Haass joins host Krys Boyd to discuss Iran after Israel’s crippling blows to the leadership of both Hamas and Hezbollah — and the possibility of inroads for U.S. diplomacy. His article “The Iran Opportunity” was published in Fore...

For the conflict-averse among us, just agreeing to something is often the easiest path. Sunita Sah is a trained physician and professor at Cornell University. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why it’s so hard to go against the grain in our lives, strategies for putting your foot down and why we should look at defiant teenagers in a new and positive light. Her book is “Defy: The Power of No in a...

 Telehealth is everywhere, and both doctors and patients are adjusting to its ubiquity. Helen Ouyang is an emergency physician and an associate professor at Columbia University, and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why she initially objected to telehealth shifts but now believes the tool can further public health objectives – plus, she’ll offers tips on how to get the most out of a remote docto...

For a brief period, colleges and universities suspended the use of standardized tests; now they’re bringing them back in the name of equality. New York Times senior writer David Leonhardt joins host Krys Boyd to discuss using the SAT and ACT to asses students, why grade inflation and test-prep courses make admissions harder for institutions hoping to diversify their student bodies, and why test sc...

You may have signed a petition online, but what about actually meeting in-person with your representative to advocate for a public policy change? Sam Daley-Harris founded Results, a citizen lobby committed to creating the political will to end hunger and the worst aspects of poverty. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss effective strategies for advocating for change that won’t leave you frustrated b...

North, South, East and West — the cardinal directions have a surprising history of cultural and social significance. Jerry Brotton, professor of English and history at the University of London, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how something as simple as a compass has come to define our world — from how “the West” defines political power, what we mean by “the Global South,” and why cardinal directio...

When choosing a charity, the go-to idea is to give to an entity that helps the most people/pets/places, etc. But is that always the right move? New York Times business features writer Emma Goldberg joins host Krys Boyd to discuss hyper-efficiency in philanthropy — attracting donors by promising the most bang for their buck — and why this leaves smaller nonprofits behind. Plus, we’ll ponder the que...

Coincidences may seem like random occurrences to many of us – but not to a mathematician. Sarah Hart is professor of geometry at Gresham College and professor emerita of mathematics at Birkbeck, University of London. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why we so often look for coincidences in our lives — and why that’s a mathematically futile endeavor — why the blind luck behind lottery wins might...

There’s good news: Opioid deaths are down. The caveat: Marginalized communities aren’t seeing the benefits. Maia Szalavitz is a contributing Opinion writer for The New York Times. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss age and race gaps in opioid death statistics, how naloxone is helping to prevent overdoses, and why people of color aren’t seeing the same results as their white peers. Her article is...

The conversation about limited government has morphed from looking at ways to reduce bureaucracy to an effort to eliminate large pieces of the government all together. Russell Muirhead is Robert Clements Professor of Democracy and Politics at Dartmouth College, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why non-elected workers in “the administrative state” find themselves in the crosshairs from both t...

It took 3,000 years for our brains to develop to this point — and about 30 for it to get scrambled by screentime. Richard E. Cytowic, professor of neurology at George Washington University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how our attention is now pulled in multiple directions, how that affects our neurotransmitters and dopamine levels, and to offers tips on how to get our habits back on track for...