Think from KERA

Latest Episodes:

Marco Rubio is pulling the strings in Caracas Jul 31, 2026

Show notes

On top of his responsibilities as Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, Marco Rubio is running Venezuela. Tyler Pager, White House correspondent for The New York Times, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how and why Rubio is making big economic and political decisions for the country, the role interim president Delcy Rodriguez plays in this arrangement, and how long the White House sees this model of governance playing out. His article is “How Marco Rubio Is Running Venezuela From Afar.”

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Bad parents need elder care, too Jul 30, 2026

Show notes

For millions of caregivers, taking care of parents is a matter of love. But caregiving gets complicated when relationships are estranged. Katie Engelhart, contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the children who must decide whether to care for aging parents who abused them, the pressures they feel from outsiders, and how to make peace with bitter memories. Her article is “The Pain of Caring for a Parent Who Abused You.”

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What Jefferson really thought about race Jul 29, 2026

Show notes

Thomas Jefferson wrote passionately about individual freedoms, yet he enslaved hundreds. How did he square the two? Annette Gordon-Reed, Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss Jefferson’s own words on race, what it meant to be “progressive” in pre-Revolutionary Southern America, and what his political aspirations meant for abolishing slavery altogether. Her book is “Jefferson on Race: A Reader.”

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The cultural evolution of your face Jul 28, 2026

Show notes

We use our faces more than any other part of our body to communicate with others and that communication has evolved a lot over the centuries. Fay Bound-Alberti founded the Centre for Technology and the Body at King’s College London where she leads Interface, a project examining technologies of the face. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how facial understanding is tied to where and when people live, what happens when someone is “face blind,” and why the Mona Lisa’s smile is still so beguiling. Her book is “The Face: A Cultural History.”

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How to live with uncertainty (you don’t have a choice) Jul 27, 2026

Show notes

There is comfort in certainty, but there is resilience in embracing the uncertain. Simone Stolzoff joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why striving for certainty cuts off creative thinking, why building tolerance for uncertainty helps prepares us for life’s pitfalls, and why someone who claims to know it all might actually be dangerous. His book is “How to Not Know: The Value of Uncertainty.”

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Consumer protection is on the decline… you’ve probably noticed Jul 24, 2026

Show notes

Consumers are mad as hell, and they’re not going to take it anymore. Heather Timmons writes about consumer rights for The Guardian. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why American shoppers are fed up with higher prices, inflation, private equity and A.I. customer service (among other things) and just navigating daily life is costing us billions of dollars a year in time and fees.

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The trend in global entertainment: hyperlocal Jul 23, 2026

Show notes

Taylor Swift’s world tour was a huge hit, but will there be like it? Tom Wainwright, media editor at the Economist, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the rise of “local” entertainment, where artists want to appeal to a smaller segment of the population and not go “global,” and what that means for the United States’ hold on shaping culture. His article is “Entertainment is being deglobalized.”

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She created space for women astronauts Jul 22, 2026

Show notes

Training to blast off in a rocket is one thing, but being the first mother in space turned out to be much harder. Anna Fisher was a NASA astronaut from 1996 to 2002, the chief of the Space Station branch of the Astronaut Office and the first mother in space. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her record as the longest serving astronaut at 36 years and 9 months, the ways her space flight became controversial and political, and about the trail she blazed for women today. She’s part of the new PBS documentary “Once Upon a Time in Space.”

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There’s a dad bod and a dad brain Jul 21, 2026

Show notes

Motherhood changes a woman’s brain in many ways and now we know dad’s minds are impacted, too. Darby Saxbe is a clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at the University of Southern California. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the changes fathers go through when a baby is born from hormones to attention span the important role grandfathers play, and why there’s a pretty good reason for a “dad bod.” Her book is “Dad Brain: The New Science of Fatherhood and How It Shapes Men’s Lives.”

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The new mission of the DOJ Jul 20, 2026

Show notes

The Department of Justice traditionally operated with a certain level of independence until President Trump took office. Devlin Barrett writes about the Justice Department and FBI for The New York Times, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss evidence that Trump is using the department to exact revenge on his enemies, new orders DOJ employees have been given, and why cases about civil rights and tax fraud are being abandoned. His book is “The Department of Revenge: How Trump Took Control of American Justice.”

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