Think from KERA

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This is your brain on aging Jul 23, 2024

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With President Joe Biden in the White House at 81 and Donald Trump at 78 running to replace him, plenty of Americans are wondering how people at advanced ages handle high-pressure jobs. Stacy Vernon is program manager, head of adult assessment at the Center for Brain Health at the University of Texas at Dallas. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what makes a “super ager,” common health ailments for senior citizens, and if age makes a demanding job more difficult.

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The global supply chain is so messed up Jul 22, 2024

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The pandemic exposed plenty of systematic flaws – including in the patchwork structure that is the global supply chain. Peter S. Goodman, global economics correspondent for The New York Times, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how the supply chain changed after WWII, how labor practices and shipping routes revealed deep-seeded problems in the system, and what needs to happen to ensure economic certainty during the next global disaster. His book is “How the World Ran Out of Everything: Inside the Global Supply Chain.”

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Meet the million-year-old microbes living deep underground Jul 18, 2024

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Science has a mystery on its hands: Did life begin on the surface of the earth, or far, far below it? Ferris Jabr is the author of “Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life.” He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the amazing microbes embedded deep within the Earth’s mantle that might be keys to understanding life as we know it on this planet — as well as many others. His companion article in The New York Times Magazine is “The Mysterious, Deep-Dwelling Microbes That Sculpt Our Planet.”

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Reality shows are much older than you think Jul 18, 2024

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Reality TV is known for its shock value and guilty pleasures, but it’s also become an art form in and of itself. Emily Nussbaum, staff writer at The New Yorker, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the history of reality TV – from the Loud family in the 1970s to “Cops” and “The Bachelorette” – and what makes it an intriguing and controversial genre even in today’s saturated market. Her book is “Cue the Sun! The Invention of Reality TV.”

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Why neither party gets Latino voters Jul 17, 2024

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Courting the Latino vote means remembering Latinos are not a monolith. Mike Madrid is a political consultant and a cofounder of The Lincoln Project, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why both Democrats and Republicans have had trouble connecting with Latino voters – and why focusing on immigration is a turn-off for the middle-class. His book is “The Latino Century: How America’s Largest Minority Is Transforming Democracy.”

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The deadly civil war the west is ignoring Jul 16, 2024

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The wars in Gaza and Ukraine have captured the world’s attention – but the civil war in Sudan has been just as devastating. Comfort Ero is president and CEO of The International Crisis Group, and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss Sudan’s yearling internal conflict, the refugees it’s produced, and why it’s not receiving the same attention as other wars. Her article “Sudan and the New Age of Conflict” was published in Foreign Affairs.

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You can clone your dog for $50k. Should you? Jul 15, 2024

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If you had $50,000, would you clone your best friend? Some dog owners are saying yes. Alexandra Horowitz is senior research fellow and head of the Dog Cognition Lab at Barnard College, Columbia University. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the new and unregulated industry of pet cloning, its hit-or-miss successes, and if this is even something that we should be doing. Her article “Would You Clone Your Dog?” appeared in The New Yorker.

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Did the 1860s make the Civil War inevitable? Jul 12, 2024

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As our nation teetered on the brink of the Civil War, the certification of the election of Abraham Lincoln wasn’t a certainty. Author Erik Larson joins guest host John McCaa to discuss the presidential election of 1860, how Southerners labeled it a “hostile act,” and the chaotic months that followed before the first bullets flew at Fort Sumpter. His book is “The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War.”

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Who pays the price of America’s climate damage? Jul 11, 2024

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The U.S. is one of the biggest carbon emitters in the world, but it’s the smaller countries that suffer the most. Vann Newkirk, senior editor at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the idea of climate reparations, what responsibility the U.S. has to pay a fair share, and why this might be the most solid plan for approaching climate change solutions. His article is “What America Owes The Planet.”

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How refrigeration revolutionized the world Jul 10, 2024

Show notes

Three-quarters of everything on the American plate is shipped and refrigerated —which is pretty revolutionary. Nicola Twilley, co-host of Gastropod, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how just a century ago we relied on local butchers and farmers – which could mean a feast or famine diet – and how refrigeration hit the scene and completely changed how we eat. Her book is “Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves.”

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