Think from KERA

Latest Episodes:

Why singles are giving up on dating Nov 25, 2025

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There’s a record number of single people out there, but they aren’t finding each other. Jonathan Rosenthal, international editor for The Economist, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why young people are throwing in the towel on finding the perfect partner, what education levels have to do with it, and why those who do want to partner up might be misled by dating apps hiding datable matches. His article is “All over the rich world, fewer people are hooking up and shacking up.”

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When will A.I. want to kill us? Nov 24, 2025

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A.I. is becoming smarter without much help from humans, and that should worry us all. Nate Soares, president of Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI), joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what happens when A.I. brain power surpasses what humans are capable of, why we don’t have the technology yet to understand what we’re building, and why everything will be just fine … until it isn’t. His book, co-written with Eliezer Yudkowsky, is “If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All.”

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The U.S. has never had a common identity Nov 21, 2025

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In the story of the melting pot, the United States can integrate all peoples into one — but what if that’s more of a myth than a metaphor? Colin Woodard is an author, historian, journalist and director of Nationhood Lab at Salve Regina University’s Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why the civics lessons we’re taught about our country are sometimes overridden by regional cultures, why the origins of our divisions come from where we live, and how a new national story might bring us together. His book is “Nations Apart: How Clashing Regional Cultures Shattered America.”

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The wartime justification of deportations Nov 20, 2025

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Three of the 18th Century laws making up the Alien and Sedition Acts have expired, but the Alien Enemies Act is getting quite a workout today. Qian Julie Wang is managing partner of Gottlieb & Wang LLP, a firm dedicated to advocating for education and civil rights. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII was allowed, why students can be deported for supporting Palestine, and how this antiquated law is being used in public policy today. Her introduction appears in the new edition of “The Alien and Sedition Acts.”

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Why we need laws to be specific Nov 19, 2025

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Autocrats are famous for enacting vague laws with specific punishments – and if people preemptively overcorrect their behaviors, all the better. Matthew Purdy is editor at large and writer for The New York Times Magazine. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why the Trump administration has intentionally created vagaries around tariffs, D.E.I. and other areas so that it is difficult to know if one is breaking the law – and how that helps to consolidate presidential power. His article is “In the Trump Presidency, the Rules Are Vague. That Might Be the Point.”

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Can you trust generic drugs? Nov 18, 2025

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When you pop open your medication bottle and take your pills, you assume they are safe. But how do you know? Debbie Cenziper, investigative journalist for ProPublica, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how medicines made in overseas labs don’t always meet U.S. safety standards; why lawmakers, doctors and patients are often unaware of this problem; and why we can’t easily find out where our medication is made. Her article is “Is Your Medication Made in a Contaminated Factory? The FDA Won’t Tell You.”

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The man (or woman) behind the curtain of A.I. Nov 17, 2025

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It takes seconds for an A.I. chatbot to give you an answer – but many manhours went into getting you there. Varsha Bansal, tech reporter for The Guardian, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the grueling work of training A.I. to give answers that are fact checked and meet safety guidelines, and why, when it seems our future is digital, humans are still very much needed behind the scenes. Her article is “How thousands of overworked underpaid humans train Google’s AI to seem smart.”

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Women want testosterone, too Nov 14, 2025

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Muscle-bound bodybuilders may line up for testosterone replacement therapy – and increasingly, so do menopausal women. Susan Dominus, staff writer at The New York Times Magazine, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why middle-aged women are raving about its benefits — despite possible side effects — and why the FDA hasn’t approved any use of the hormone for women. Her article is “‘I’m on Fire’: Testosterone Is Giving Women Back Their Sex Drive — and Then Some.”

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The hidden history of ultra-processed food Nov 13, 2025

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From flavored yogurt to a package of Ding Dongs, Americans love ultraprocessed food. Alice Callahan is a New York Times reporter with a Ph.D. in nutrition, and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why our diets became so reliant on foods made in a factory, why farm subsidies and advertising are partially to blame, and why we can’t seem to put these foods down. Her article is “How Ultraprocessed Food Took Over America.”

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Everybody can read but nobody does Nov 12, 2025

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For many of us, reading involves mostly scrolling through content on our phones rather than picking up a book. James Marriott writes for The Times of London, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how high literacy rates have ushered in human rights and leaps in scientific understanding – and what happens to a society that stops thinking deeply and focuses on the doomscroll. His essay “The dawn of the post-literate society” was published in his Cultural Capital Substack.

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