Think from KERA

Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago, but Vladimir Putin’s provocations toward the West have been ongoing for decades. Frontline filmmaker Michael Kirk joins host Krys Boyd to discuss Putin’s relationship to not only President Biden, but to Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump. The PBS Frontline documentary “ Putin and the Presidents ” is now streaming at PBS.org. Learn about y...

In an era of increased sensitivity to everyone’s personal experience, anti-fat bias remains an openly pervasive form of discrimination. Aubrey Gordon writes under the pseudonym of “Your Fat Friend,” is co-host of the Maintenance Phase podcast and a columnist with Self magazine. She joins host Krys Boyd to debunk myths about fat people’s health and the ease of losing weight in order to further fat...

No matter how closely you stick to the truth, it only really matters if the person you’re talking to believes you. Dina Nayeri is on faculty at the University of St Andrews, and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how trust is codified in boardrooms, hospitals, the asylum process and elsewhere – and the relationship between trust and privilege. Her book is “ Who Gets Believed? When the Truth Isn’t...

Forging and maintaining adult friendships requires a lot of self-reflection and work. Author Christie Tate joins host Krys Boyd to discuss a dear friendship she developed in recovery as she examined her hang-ups and deepest fears, leading her to personal breakthroughs. Her book is “ B.F.F.: A Memoir of Friendship Lost and Found .” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Fifty years ago, a DJ spun some records in an unconventional way at a back-to-school party and created an art form that dominates pop music today. Hasan Jeffries is associate professor of history at The Ohio State University, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss hip-hop’s birth in the Bronx and its dual identities of both protest music and party music. Hasan was a consultant for and is featured...

Conversations about race, gender and sexuality can be tricky—but they don’t have to be. Kenji Yoshino is Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law at NYU School of Law and the faculty director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss practical tools for approaching discussions about equity and identity, with ideas to help mem...

P.T. Barnum said there’s a sucker born every minute — and we’re all worried we’ll be the next one. University of Pennsylvania Law School professor Tess Wilkinson-Ryan joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why our fear of being duped affects decision-making and how we can rethink our trust in one another. Her book is “ Fool Proof: How Fear of Playing the Sucker Shapes Ourselves and the Social Order―and W...

Punishing kids for being late to school often means students won’t show up to school again at all. Tara García Mathewson is a reporter covering inequality and innovation in K-12 education and oversees coverage for Hechinger en Español as the languages editor. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how suspensions for missing class have resulted in higher dropout rates, lower college attendance, even...

The Doomsday Clock , which counts down how close humanity is to total destruction, is now at 90 seconds to midnight. Rachel Bronson is president and CEO of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which recently updated the clock. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the factors that have ticked us closer to disaster – from the war in Ukraine to Covid and climate change – and the ways we can still in...

Cultural expectations for women run deep and are highly controlled. Sophie Gilbert is a staff writer at The Atlantic, and she joins host Krys Boyd to Western beauty standards and how the portrayal of women characters in books, movies and television affects the lives of women in the real world. Her book is called “ On Womanhood: Bodies, Literature, Choice .” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.pr...

What does the chaos surrounding Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter say about his approach to building cars at Tesla? Christopher Cox, an editor at New York magazine, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the risks Musk is taking as Tesla develops self-driving technology and what his management approach means for the rest of us. Cox’s article for The New York Times Magazine is “ Elon Musk’s Appetite for Des...

Between housetraining and playtime, the first year of a puppy’s life is also marked by a burgeoning personality. Alexandra Horowitz, senior research fellow and head of the Dog Cognition Lab at Barnard College, Columbia University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her observations of her own puppy, Quid, and the major milestones dogs make in the first year of their lives. Her book is “ The Year of t...

Long Covid has real symptoms but isn’t always detected by medical tests. Natalie Shure of The New Republic joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why long Covid is confounding doctors and may well have a psychological component that shouldn’t be overlooked. Her article is “ We Might Have Long Covid All Wrong .” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

In the quest for gender equality, it’s easy to overlook that many men have not fared well in recent years. Richard V. Reeves is director of the Boys and Men Project for the Brookings Institution. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss ground lost in the classroom and workplace for boys and men, and about how helping men doesn’t mean giving up on gender equality. His book is  “Of Boys and Men: Why the...

The idea that what’s good for corporations is what’s good for Americans has its roots in early 20th Century ideology. Naomi Oreskes is professor of the history of science at Harvard and author of “ The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market .” She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the public relations campaigns designed to crush regulations and unions...

The Jan. 6 committee hearings were a highly produced public display, but they largely left out how social media was used to organize the insurrection. Cat Zakrzewski is a technology policy reporter at The Washington Post. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the political pitfalls the committee faced when confronting the pivotal role of social media, and why it’s so hard to regulate big tech. Her a...

One emotion is unlike any other in that it can connect us with humans and nature alike: awe. Dacher Keltner is professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley and the faculty director of UC-Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss a relatively new field of research studying awe, how it can transform the mind and body, and his own personal experie...

The same traits that make autism a social and neurological challenge might also lead to great discoveries. Simon Baron-Cohen is professor of developmental psychopathology and director of the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why he believes innovation comes with certain brain patterns and why it’s time to celebrate those who think differently...

“To infinity … and beyond!” “To boldly go where no man has gone before.” The wonder of space has fueled movies and television shows for decades. Margaret A. Weitekamp is chair of the space history department at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, where she curates the Social and Cultural History of Spaceflight Collection. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how popular culture has tap...

Reducing the use of addictive opioids is a noble goal, but people in pain still need help. Maia Szalavitz is a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss policies that keep chronic pain patients from accessing their drugs and where they turn when prescriptions aren’t an option. Her article is “ Entire Body Is Shaking’: Why Americans With Chronic Pain Ar...

The U.S.-Mexico border is about much more than just heated immigration policy. Geraldo Cadava, professor of history and Latina and Latino Studies at Northwestern University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the many symbiotic ways the United States and Mexico work together and why misinformation is distracting from the bigger picture. His essay “The Border” appears in “ Myth America: Historians Tak...

A person’s sex designation on official documents has a lot to do with the state they live in. Paisley Currah is professor of political science and women’s & gender studies at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the category of “sex” on government documents and what that says about the future of transgender rights. His...

In the rapidly expanding solar industry, a lack of oversight has some crying foul. Harper’s contributor Hillary Angelo joins host Krys Boyd to discuss Nye County, Nevada, where 20,000 acres of public land have been earmarked for solar-farm construction—a potential weapon against climate change that also threatens the local ecology, and angers neighbors. Her Harper’s article is called “ Boomtown .”...

One lesser-discussed strategy to fight climate change: clean your plate. Susan Shain is a reporting fellow for Headway, a section of The New York Times. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how food waste is responsible for twice as many greenhouse gas emissions as commercial aviation, and how one public awareness campaign in Ohio is taking on the battle and winning. Her article is “ How Central Oh...

Social media can act as a sounding board for issues in American politics, and it can also add to those problems. Megan Garber, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the media landscape that has brought us to this divided point in American history, and how our desire to be constantly entertained feeds into the cycle. Her Atlantic Editions book is “ On Misdirection: Magic, Ma...