Think from KERA

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How learning a new skill helps you appreciate mastery Apr 14, 2023

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Thousands took up sourdough baking during the pandemic, but how many actually mastered it? New Yorker staff writer Adam Gopnik joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what it takes to master a skill and to explain why the real benefit comes not in becoming a virtuoso but, rather, in just forcing your brain to try something hard. His book is “The Real Work: On the Mystery of Mastery.”

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The year before your kid moves away to college is a big deal Apr 13, 2023

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Like countless others, Mary Louise Kelly juggles the demands of a career with motherhood. The host of NPR’s “All Things Considered” joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her memoir, which centers on her sons’ final years of high school and her realization that once they graduate, their daily family time spent together is likely at an end. Her book is “It. Goes. So. Fast.: The Year of No Do-Overs.”

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The trauma of slavery did not end with Emancipation Apr 12, 2023

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Emancipation freed enslaved people, but it didn’t do much to help them succeed. Kidada E. Williams is an associate professor of history at Wayne State University. She joins host Krys Boyd to tell the stories of people trying to rebuild their lives after slavery, and how for many life was just as difficult in the years that followed. Her book is “I Saw Death Coming: A History of Terror and Survival in the War Against Reconstruction.”

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The surprising musicality of animals Apr 11, 2023

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A love of music connects us as people – but did you ever stop to think that animals might have a favorite song, too? New Yorker staff writer Burkhard Bilger joins host Krys Boyd to discuss his profile of neuroscientist and musician David Sulzer, who is trying to define what music is, exactly, and how studying animals’ connection to music is helping in that pursuit. His article is “The Wild World of Music.”

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Want to strengthen your brain? Learn another language Apr 10, 2023

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Higher brain function might be as easy as learning to say “hello” in several different languages. Viorica Marian is Ralph and Jean Sundin Endowed Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders and professor of psychology at Northwestern University. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why she believes we all have the capacity to be multi-lingual and how that effects the ways we perceive the world. Her book is "The Power of Language: How the Codes We Use to Think, Speak, and Live Transform Our Minds."

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Where are flying cars? Predicting future technology Apr 07, 2023

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“Futurist” sounds like a fairly new job title, but previous generations were full of people writing about their educated guesses of what was to come. Yale neurologist Dr. Steven Novella is one of America’s foremost scientific skeptics, and he joins host Krys Boyd for a look at what earlier futurists got right and what they missed in order to better fine-tune our current predictions. His book is “The Skeptics’ Guide to the Future: What Yesterday’s Science and Science Fiction Tell Us About the World of Tomorrow.”

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Why do you care so much about your job? Apr 06, 2023

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Our approach to work is ever-evolving – from where we physically do our jobs to the meaning we derive from our careers. Derek Thompson writes about our work lives for The Atlantic, and he joins host Krys Boyd to talk about how everything from mass automation to a global pandemic has many of us rethinking how we spend those 40+ hours a week. The new collection of his writing about work is called “On Work: Money, Meaning, Identity.”

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We’re doing the wrong things to fix poverty Apr 05, 2023

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How can a country as rich as the United States have so many people living at or below the poverty line? Sociologist Matthew Desmond won a Pulitzer Prize in 2017 for his book “Evicted,” and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss his follow-up investigation, which centers on the idea that affluent Americans in ways known and unknown keep poor people poor. Desmond’s new book is “Poverty, by America.”

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The story of a recovering foodie Apr 04, 2023

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Many of us have a passion for good food and drink – but what happens when your high standards lead to disappointment more often than pleasure? Dan Ahdoot is a stand-up comic and restaurateur, and he joins host Krys Boyd to talk about how his foodie obsessions took a toll on his happiness and relationships and how he finally learned to let go of the pursuit of perfection. He’s the author of “Undercooked: How I Let Food Become My Life Navigator and How Maybe That’s a Dumb Way to Live.”

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Will new weight loss drugs change fat-shaming culture? Apr 03, 2023

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To drop a dress size or two, some celebrities and other wealthy people are turning to prescriptions designed for very heavy people to lose significant weight. Jia Tolentino is a staff writer for The New Yorker, and she joins host Krys Boyd to talk about how – with enough money – it’s easy for anyone to get their hands on these drugs – and how people who take them might underestimate the health risks. Her article is “The Ozempic Era.”

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