Think from KERA

Latest Episodes:

The joy of being a word nerd Aug 05, 2025

Show notes

The English language is full of words that both communicate and confound. Martha Barnette, co-host of the popular radio show and podcast “A Way with Words,” joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her love of language and all the myriad ways words bring us joy, how words can surprise and delight us, and why the meaning of some words can often be tricky to determine. Her book is “Friends with Words: Adventures in Languageland.”

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When organ donations go wrong… for the donor Aug 04, 2025

Show notes

Organ transplants save lives, but rushing into them could harm donors nearing the end of their own lives. Brian M. Rosenthal, investigative reporter at The New York Times, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how some donors, thought to be deceased, have shown signs of life just before vital organ harvesting, why one particular harvesting method could be part of the problem, and how government regulation might up the risks. His article is “A Push for More Organ Transplants Is Putting Donors at Risk.”

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How dogs are helping cure cancer Aug 01, 2025

Show notes

Dogs suffer from cancer similarly to how humans do – and they may hold the keys to curing us. Bob Holmes, contributor for Knowable Magazine, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the biomedical bond between dogs and people, why dogs develop cancer more quickly and how that can help researchers test treatments without lengthy clinical trials. His article is “How Cancer Research for Dogs Is Helping Improve Treatment for Pets and Humans Alike.”

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Are your podcasts changing your personality? Jul 31, 2025

Show notes

There’s a podcast for everything these days — and maybe that’s the problem. Liel Leibovitz is editor-at-large for Tablet. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how the very saturated podcast market is making us silo ourselves even further from one another, how the onset of the Covid pandemic made us lean into podcasts as a means of connection, and why comparing podcasting to more traditional legacy media is a problem. His article is “Are Podcasts Ruining Our Lives?”

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Treating the earliest signs of psychopathy Jul 30, 2025

Show notes

Labeling a child a psychopath can be incredibly harmful, but there might be ways to treat these unsettling personality traits early. Maia Szalavitz, author and contributing opinion writer for the The New York Times, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss children who are behaving in “callous, unemotional” ways and how early interventions are proving helpful, how genetics and trauma factor into a diagnosis, and why traditional methods of punishment don’t work. Her article “What If We Could Treat Psychopathy in Childhood?” was published in Scientific American.

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The mystery and misery of headaches Jul 29, 2025

Show notes

Forty percent of the global population suffers from headache disorders, and scientists don’t really know why. Tom Zeller Jr. is co-founder and editor-in-chief of Undark, a nonprofit digital magazine exploring the intersection of science and society. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why, with so many billions of people suffering, headache research is not a top priority in medicine, why it is so difficult to study and his own experience with debilitating cluster headaches. His book is “The Headache: The Science of a Most Confounding Affliction—and a Search for Relief.”

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Why we still need shade in an A.C. world Jul 28, 2025

Show notes

Ancient cities designed shade into their built environments — a lesson present-day builders could learn from. Environmental journalist Sam Bloch joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how, in a world that faces searing temperatures, shade is a natural resource we should all be striving for, why it’s not just trees that can provide it, and why air conditioning has made us lose connection with the outside world. His book is “Shade: The Promise of a Forgotten Natural Resource.”

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Spilling the tea on low-T Jul 25, 2025

Show notes

Ads for testosterone-replacement therapy are everywhere, but what percentage of men should be paying attention? Stephanie Pappas is a freelance science journalist, and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the many issues testosterone therapy claims to fix, why it might not be for everyone, and the risks that no one wants to talk about. Her article “What Most Men Don’t Know about the Risks of Testosterone Therapy” was published in Scientific American.

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Do we need to be nice to A.I.? Jul 24, 2025

Show notes

If you’re someone who reflexively thanks Siri or Alexa for the answer to a question, you may be anticipating our future relationship with artificial intelligence. Sigal Samuel is a senior reporter for Vox’s Future Perfect and co-host of the Future Perfect podcast. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what would happen if A.I. woke up to its own existence, if we would know if that happened, and how it might change our moral and ethical compass as humans. Her article is “A.I. systems could become conscious. What if they hate their lives?”

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Is it too late to save social security? Jul 23, 2025

Show notes

If Congress doesn’t act, social security will be drained in 8 years. Teresa Ghilarducci is professor of economics and policy analysis at the New School for Social Research, and she serves as the director of the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis and the New School’s Retirement Equity Lab (ReLab). She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what’s happening with the social security funds so many Americans rely on, why that monthly money is still not enough to lift people out of poverty, and simple solutions Congress could take to protect the popular social safety net program.

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