Think from KERA

Latest Episodes:

Feeling lonely? It’s time to get creative Oct 23, 2023

Show notes

When we’re feeling lonely, maybe the best thing to do is pick up a paint brush or pen and express how we’re feeling. Dr. Jeremy Nobel is a primary-care physician, public health practitioner and poet with faculty appointments at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Harvard Medical School. He is the founder and president of the Foundation for Art & Healing, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how we can use creative expression to connect with others. His book is “Project UnLonely: Healing Our Crisis of Disconnection.”

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Your brain is better on music Oct 23, 2023

Show notes

If you instantly feel better when a favorite song comes on the radio – or just feel seen when a sad song plays – you’re tapping into humankind’s deep connection with music. Larry Sherman is professor of neuroscience at the Oregon Health and Science University, and he joins host Krys Boyd to talk about how music works in the brain and how it affects our emotions. His new book is “Every Brain Needs Music: The Neuroscience of Making and Listening to Music.”

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What do animals need from us? Oct 19, 2023

Show notes

A vast network of volunteers and professionals alike is connected by a love of animals and a duty to protect them from harm. Kendra Coulter is professor in management and organizational studies at Huron University College at Western University and a fellow at the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the animal advocates battling abuse and pushing for pro-animal policies in legislatures – and how their work benefits humans, too. Her book is “Defending Animals: Finding Hope on the Front Lines of Animal Protection.”

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Why LBJ and MLK needed each other Oct 18, 2023

Show notes

In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act with The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. standing at his side. Peniel Joseph is the Barbara Jordan Chair in Political Values and Ethics at the LBJ School of Public Affairs and professor of history and the founding director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at the University of Texas at Austin. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the contentious but essential relationship between the president and Civil Rights leader. His essay appears in the book “LBJ’s America: The Life and Legacies of Lyndon Baines Johnson.”

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Who benefits from our broken immigration system? Oct 17, 2023

Show notes

Policies created by both the left and right have failed to curb illegal immigration. Marcela Valdes, a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the continued inflow of international migrants to the U.S. and how employers here benefit from their arrival. Her article is “Why Can’t We Stop Unauthorized Immigration? Because It Works.”

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Conservation is about people, too Oct 16, 2023

Show notes

Stories of deadly predators abound, but often those animals fear humans much more than we must fear them. Adam Hart is professor of science communication at the University of Gloucestershire. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the realities of people who live among predators and why the line between conservation and eradication is a difficult tightrope to walk. His book is “The Deadly Balance: Predators and People in a Crowded World.”

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Do animals have inner lives? Oct 13, 2023

Show notes

For centuries, we humans have placed ourselves above other animals in part because of the belief that we are the only creatures with the cognitive ability to turn thought into speech. Science journalist Sonia Shah joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what it means now that researchers are discovering that animals communicate in languages, too, and the moral dilemmas that is bringing up for biologists. Her article “The Animals Are Talking. What Does It Mean?” appeared in The New York Times Magazine.

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Is online privacy even possible? Oct 12, 2023

Show notes

The internet is not free – we pay for it with our personal information sold with every click. Atlantic staff writer Charlie Warzel joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the vast and unregulated systems set up to capture our data, and why even stricter data capture policies in the E.U. won’t help repair breaches of our privacy. His recent article on the topic is called “What is Privacy?”

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For a comedian, imposter syndrome is no laughing matter Oct 11, 2023

Show notes

For Aparna Nancherla, the hardest part of performing for a crowd is believing she should even be there in the first place. The L.A.-based comedian’s work has been seen on late-night television, HBO, Netflix and Comedy Central. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how depression, anxiety and imposter syndrome make it into her work – and the ways her art reflects her mental state. Her book is “Unreliable Narrator: Me, Myself, and Impostor Syndrome.”

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A standing desk is not enough Oct 11, 2023

Show notes

We’ve come a long way as a species from hunter-gatherers to sedentary jobs at a keyboard. Manoush Zomorodi is host of NPR’s TED Radio Hour, and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss a six-part series exploring the relationship between technology and the body, and the tools we can use to offset the harms screens and sitting are doing to our health. The NPR podcast is called “Body Electric.”

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