Think from KERA

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How Trump’s tariffs could work Jul 08, 2025

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While the Trump administration enacts hefty tariffs on other nations, U.S. businesses are worried about how these taxes might affect them, too. Emily Kilcrease is a senior fellow and director of the Energy, Economics, and Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the state of limbo U.S. business owners find themselves in, why global trade policy did, in fact, need an overhaul, and who absorbs the cost of international trade wars. Her article “Tell Me How This Trade War Ends” was published in Foreign Affairs.

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Should pseudoscience be taken seriously? Jul 07, 2025

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There is a growing number of people who think studying ghosts or alien abductions should be serious science. Journalist Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling joins host Krys Boyd to discuss a pushback against the scientific establishment, what our affinity for storytelling has to do with our long-held beliefs, and why the paranormal might need to be taken seriously in the future. His book is “The Ghost Lab: How Bigfoot Hunters, Mediums, and Alien Enthusiasts Are Wrecking Science.”

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Philanthropist chef José Andrés gives hope through food Jul 04, 2025

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Working as a chef, José Andrés fed restaurants full of diners, but his dream was to take that mission to a wider world. The chef, Emmy Award-winning television personality, author, educator, and founder of World Central Kitchen 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. His book is “Change the Recipe: Because You Can’t Build a Better World Without Cracking Some Eggs.”

This episode originally aired May 1st, 2025.

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Actor Ed Helms on history’s biggest screw ups Jul 03, 2025

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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.”

This episode originally aired, May 2nd 2025.

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Roxane Gay on 500 years of feminism Jul 02, 2025

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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 Reader.”

This episode originally aired April 11th, 2025.

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Why coincidences are more math than magic Jul 01, 2025

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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 not be so blind after all, and why revealing this magic with numbers makes the phenomenon all the more interesting. Her article, “The surprising maths that explains why coincidences are so common,” was published in New Scientist.

This episode originally aired January 15th, 2025.

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The best life may not be the most comfortable Jun 30, 2025

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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 curiosity and spontaneity provide the stimulation we need, and how this outlook can carry us even through the hardest patches of our lives. His book is “Life in Three Dimensions: How Curiosity, Exploration, and Experience Make a Fuller, Better Life.”
This episode, originally aired, February 4th, 2025.

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The substance inside you inspiring new medicine Jun 27, 2025

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It’s slimy, sticky and gross, but scientists are working hard to better understand the many important roles mucus plays in our bodies. Grace Wade is a health reporter for New Scientist, and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the new world of mucus research, how it’s both a chemical and physical barrier to disease, and how our understanding of a healthy gut might be due to this substance. Her article is “Discovering the marvels of mucus is inspiring amazing new medicines.”

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Are we thinking about the wealth gap wrong? Jun 26, 2025

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Rising inequality is a concern for governments and everyday people – but it might be useful to put the current situation into historical perspective. Daniel Waldenstrom is professor of economics and program manager for the research program Taxes and Society at the Research Institute of Industrial Economics in Stockholm. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why understanding the metrics of measuring inequality is critical to understanding that not all people — or even countries — are being as hard hit as we might believe. Plus, we’ll talk about what might actually work to address poverty. His article in Foreign Affairs is “The Inequality Myth,” and his book published last year is “Richer and More Equal: A New History of Wealth in the West.”

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Why it’s hard to make stuff in the U.S. Jun 25, 2025

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President Trump is determined to shift manufacturing jobs back to American soil — but that’s a monumentally difficult task. Rachel Slade joins host Krys Boyd to discuss challenges small businesses face when they want to source American-made products, how regulation gets in the way, and why labor unions might help bring jobs back. Her book is “Making It in America: The Almost Impossible Quest to Manufacture in the U.S.A. (And How It Got That Way).”

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