Think from KERA

Malcolm X, John F. Kennedy, James Baldwin —1963 brought great minds together to work on the common goal of Civil Rights. Peniel Joseph is Barbara Jordan Chair in Political Values and Ethics at the LBJ School of Public Affairs and professor of history and founding director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at the University of Texas at Austin. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how...

Humans have an extraordinarily high genetic mutation rate — which just means we’ll never be perfect. Laurence D. Hurst is professor of evolutionary genetics in the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why imperfection is baked into our genetic code, why other species can get rid of “junk” DNA better, and what this means for human evolution....

 We’ve all had moments of blind rage, but the science says we can be wide-eyed and alert even in our most emotional moments. Ethan Kross is a professor in the University of Michigan’s psychology department and its Ross School of Business and he is the director of the Emotion and Self-Control Laboratory. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the newest research into controlling our emotions so they do...

The high cost of living combined with a modest bank account has young people asking if they should save or splurge? And many of them are choosing to splurge. Journalist Claire Lampen joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why Gen Z is taking on second jobs and side hustles to pay for meals out, elaborate vacations and other treats that might more prudently be skipped. Her article in The Cut is “Is Everyb...

It was first thought schools would close for only a few weeks during Covid, but that stretched into a year. Was it too long? Journalist David Zweig joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what we can learn from school closures during the pandemic and to look at the reality that decisions were based on scientific guesswork. His book is “An Abundance of Caution: American Schools, the Virus, and a Story of B...

The early 2000s preached “girl power” to the masses — but that often looked like sex and plastic surgery. Sophie Gilbert, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what coming of age in the early aughts meant for young women in an atmosphere of highly sexualized body image, how porn manifested itself into pop culture, and what society had to say about powerful women. Her book i...

 Grandparents raising their grandchildren have taken on a “second shift” of parenting — and it’s exhausting them. Faith Hill, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how lack of childcare is reshaping what used to be the golden years of grandparenting, how it’s changing what retirement looks like, and why saying “no” to family is so difficult. Her article is “Grandparents Are...

 Ed Helms is known as a comedian, actor and writer—and also as an investigator of history’s biggest gaffes. The host of the podcast SNAFU joins host Krys Boyd to talk about the cats that were trained for the CIA, a plan to nuke the moon, and other bad ideas that never saw fruition (thankfully). His book is called “SNAFU: The Definitive Guide to History’s Greatest Screwups.”   Learn about your ad c...

 José Andrés joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the hope and nourishment food brings to those in desperate need, how he built his humanitarian mission, and the types of people he surrounds himself with to make the world a better place.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

By the 1920s, 76% of the Native American population was forced to attend boarding schools. Mary Annette Pember is national correspondent for ICT News, and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the legacy these schools left behind, from generational trauma to tribes working even today to reclaim their languages and ceremonies, and why the U.S. took this route to assimilate Native populations in the f...

The Signal leak from the Department of Defense is just another reason American allies are worried about sharing sensitive intelligence with our country. David V. Gioe is British Academy Global Professor and Visiting Professor of Intelligence and International Security in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London and Director of Studies for the Cambridge Security Initiative and is co-c...

The friendly, neighborhood library actually came about by centuries of rebellious acts. Director Dawn Logsdon joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how the public library came to be so ubiquitous in American life— and so loved, and the age-old efforts to limit the books they distribute. The documentary “Free for All: The Public Library” airs on PBS. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choic...

Harvey Weinstein is once again in a Manhattan courtroom defending himself against sex crimes charges – allegations that came to light after deep investigative work by New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor. The best-selling co-author of “She Said” joins host Krys Boyd to talk about her work uncovering consequential stories, when she knows a story is ready for print, and what attracts her to stories t...

The Russia-Ukraine war has dragged on for more than three years, but the depths of the U.S.-Ukrainian coordination in the war effort are only now coming to light. New York Times investigative reporter Adam Entous joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the dramatic secret U.S. military missions to Ukraine. And we’ll speak with the mayor of Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, about his appeal to Americ...

It’s not every day a serious academic espouses belief in the unexplained — maybe more should? Jeffrey Kripal holds the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss UFOs, souls, déjà vu and how these universal concepts make us more human. His book is “How to Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief, and Everything Else.”...

It was a 900-page policy paper that President Trump disavowed during the campaign, but now Project 2025 is changing life in America. David Graham, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the document that offers a blueprint for the second Trump administration, how it wants to align the DOJ with the oval office’s desires, and how it envisions the country changing socially and...

The Trump administration is deporting alleged violent gang members to a prison in El Salvador — often with little evidence. New Yorker staff writer Jonathan Blitzer joins host Krys Boyd to discuss cases of men mistaken for members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and deported anyway, efforts to get them back, and how the U.S. court system seems one step behind the fast-moving orders from the...

Pope Francis has been recently hospitalized with respiratory problems, and now Catholics worldwide watch for news from the Vatican. Christopher White is the Vatican correspondent for National Catholic Register, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the current pontiff’s health and history – and what being the first pope from Latin America means for his legacy and the church going forward. Learn a...

Though they are located at the ends of the Earth, glaciers really do affect your daily life. As part of a conversation on the mysteries and importance of glaciers, host Krys Boyd talks with Dr. Twila Moon, deputy lead scientist and science communication liaison at the National Snow and Ice Data Center, part of the University of Colorado Boulder’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental...

A decision as simple as deciding what to wear in the morning can be stressful — what will people think? But our brains are wired this way for a reason. Emily Falk is professor of communication, psychology and marketing at the University of Pennsylvania and the vice dean of the Annenberg School for Communication, where she directs the Communication Neuroscience Lab and the Climate Communication Div...

Authoritarian regimes sometimes take power all at once – but other times they chip away at societal norms bit by bit. Aziz Huq teaches law at the University of Chicago, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss specifically how the Nazis rose to power and began to persecute Jews in part because the rest of German society just went about its business without objection. His article published in The Atl...

Deep DOGE cuts to the FAA have hit the agency hard. Is the public still safe to fly? Isaac Stanley-Becker, a staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why DOGE layoffs mean safety technicians and other critical roles are understaffed – and why a smoothly running airport system in America is beneficial for the nation’s bottom line. His article is “ The FAA’s Troubles Are More Se...

D.E.I. may be on the way out, but there are still tools out there for those who want to address structural inequality. Nilanjana Dasgupta is provost professor of psychology and inaugural director of the Institute of Diversity Sciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss our status quo cultural norms — from the way we speak to who ends up in the C-suite...

Feminist author Roxane Gay has put together a compendium of notable feminist works, but even she says it’s not the last word. The contributing opinion writer for The New York Times joins host Krys Boyd to talk about editing a new collection that looks at hundreds of years of feminist writers and why the ideas around women’s rights are always evolving. She’s the editor of “The Portable Feminist Rea...

It might not exactly look like a game, but the economy has winners and losers and there are ways to beat the system. Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what she calls the game of economics and why it’s set up for those who are already financially well off to continue winning – and how using game theory can help level the playing field. Her book is “Hate t...