Think from KERA

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Stripping down America’s sexual history Oct 29, 2024

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The history of sexuality in America is not as straightforward as it might seem. Rebecca L. Davis, professor of history at the University of Delaware, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how gender has determined roles regardless of someone’s sexuality, why the Puritans weren’t so prude, and how our views changed in the 21st Century. Her book is “Fierce Desires: A New History of Sex and Sexuality in America.”

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The Russian dissident who terrifies Putin Oct 28, 2024

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Vladimir Kara-Murza is so dedicated to bringing democracy to Russia that it’s nearly cost him his life on multiple occasions. Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years in a Siberian prison colony for disparaging the invasion of Ukraine but was released as part of this summer’s historic prisoner swap that also freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. marine Paul Whelan. Host Krys Boyd talks with him and his wife, human rights activist Evengia Kara-Murza, about their ongoing work to free their homeland from Vladimir Putin’s grip.

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Rethinking Reagan Oct 25, 2024

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Ronald Reagan is an icon for conservative thought in America — but he didn’t always deliver on his lofty ideals. Max Boot is a historian and foreign-policy analyst, a senior fellow for national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and a columnist for the Washington Post. And he’s a lifelong conservative. He joins guest host John McCaa to discuss why Reagan’s policies weren’t always right-of-center as his legacy claims, and the lessons we can learn from his presidency decades later. His book is “Reagan: His Life and Legend.”

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John Grisham takes on wrongful convictions Oct 24, 2024

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Author John Grisham is known for his legal thrillers – but he’s recently turned his attention to real-life stories of justice that are often just as gripping. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss cases of wrongful convictions, miscarriages of justice and common oversights that permeate the justice system. His book, co-written with Jim McCloskey, is “Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions.”

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Local solutions won’t solve a housing shortage Oct 23, 2024

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The zoning debate between NIMBYs and YIMBYs is fueling a housing crisis felt nationwide. Jerusalem Demsas, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why she feels decisions about land need to be accountable to the public, why zoning boards and preservationists are hurting home affordability, and why the buck should stop at elected officials. Her book is “On the Housing Crisis: Land, Development, Democracy.”

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Flight attendants are barely scraping by Oct 22, 2024

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Along with dealing with airport security and disruptive passengers, flight attendants must also battle low wages. Natalie B. Compton, travel reporter for the Washington Post, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why even though being deemed essential workers, flight attendants struggle with living paycheck-to-paycheck. Plus, we’ll hear about the surprising rules that determine how much flight attendants are paid for each flight that don’t take into account how much work they actually do. Her article is “‘Barely surviving’: Some flight attendants are facing homelessness and hunger.”

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Not all childless women have a choice Oct 21, 2024

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Lost in the current conversations about reproductive rights and the value of motherhood are the voices of those who didn’t choose to be childless. Eugenia Cheng joins host Krys Boyd to yearning to be a mother while not being able to, why she feels pinned in by stereotypes and labels, and what she wants a broader public to understand. Her recent essay in The Wall Street Journal is headlined “I Am Childless, but Not by Choice.”

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Could animals possibly understand death? Oct 18, 2024

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The concept of death can trigger an existential crisis in humans. Do animals face the same fears? Susana Monsó is associate professor of philosophy in the Department of Logic, History, and Philosophy of Science at the National Distance Education University (UNED) in Madrid. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what animals know about dying – from mourning rituals to attempts at saving lives – and if this newfound understanding means we should treat animals differently. Her book is “Playing Possum: How Animals Understand Death.”

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Richard Dawkins on reading history through genes Oct 17, 2024

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The bodies and genes of organisms can be thought of as a history book detailing how other creatures lived long ago. Richard Dawkins, inaugural Charles Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why the bodies of animals resemble their environments from thousands of years ago, and why sequencing these genomes offers a time machine to previous stages of evolution. His book is “The Genetic Book of the Dead: A Darwinian Reverie.”

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The promise of carbon-capture technology Oct 16, 2024

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One method for combating harmful CO2 emissions in the environment is to suck it right out of the air. Climate journalist Alec Luhn joins host Krys Boyd to discuss “direct air capture,” the challenges for pulling it off, and why it could offer an excuse for some of our biggest polluters to go on polluting. His article in Scientific American is “Can Pulling Carbon from Thin Air Slow Climate Change?”

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