KERA's Think

[2014-02-26 12:00:00] The University of North Texas’ Philosophy of Food Project aims to raise the level of public discourse when it comes to the way we think about food issues. We’ll talk this hour about the challenges facing the food industry with David M. Kaplan, who directs the project at UNT. He lectures tonight as part of UT-Dallas’ Center for Values in Medicine, Science and Technology lecture series.

[2014-02-20 13:00:00] Kayla Williams met her future husband, Brian, in Iraq when they were both serving in the military. But what they didn’t know then was just how difficult a marriage between veterans would be. We’ll talk with Williams this hour about how her husband’s serious brain injury impacted their marriage and how veterans are being cared for when they return from deployment. She writes about her experience in Plenty of Time When We Get Home: Love and Recovery in the Aftermath of War (W.W. Norton), which she’ll discuss tonight at the World Affairs Council of Dallas-Fort Worth.

[2014-02-20 12:00:00] More than 300 journalists have been killed since 2006, the year the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution that was supposed to make their jobs safer. We’ll talk this hour about the dangerous business of covering war zones and other areas of conflict with Eric Matthies, director of Killing the Messenger: The Deadly Cost of News. The film screens tonight at SMU.

[2014-02-19 13:00:00] How much do the communities we live in create or deny opportunities? And how much are we at the mercy of our local government? We’ll find out this hour with Rutgers University law professor David Dante Troutt, author of The Price of Paradise: The Costs of Inequality and a Vision for a More Equitable America (NYU Press).

[2014-02-19 12:00:00] New parents know their lives will be turned upside down when a baby enters the picture. But they may be surprised to learn that everything from jobs to hobbies to friendships will be affected. We’ll talk this hour about how children reshape their parents’ lives with Jennifer Senior, author of All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood (Ecco).

[2014-02-18 13:00:00] What can you learn about a culture from the way people wear their hair? We’ll find out this hour with Temple University professor Lori L. Tharps, co-author of Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black History in America (St. Martin’s).

[2014-02-18 12:00:00] Climate change is an issue that has many environmentalists concerned. But one man’s crisis is another man’s opportunity. We’ll talk this hour about the people making money from our changing planet with McKenzie Funk, author of Windfall: The Booming Business of Global Warming. Funk is in town to talk to the World Affairs Council of Dallas-Fort Worth tonight.

[2014-02-17 13:00:00] Social media has teenagers connecting more directly to their interests than ever before. We’ll talk this hour about whether or not those brands and marketers are taking advantage of that loyalty with Douglas Rushkoff. He examines the complex relationship between teens and companies in the Frontline special Generation Like, which airs Tuesday on KERA.

[2014-02-17 12:00:00] Sue Monk Kidd is a best-selling author, whose debut novel, The Secret Life of Bees, spent more than 100 weeks on the New York Times bestsellers list. We’ll talk to her this hour about her newest book, The Invention of Wings, ahead of her appearance Tuesday at Highland Park United Methodist Church.

[2014-02-13 13:00:00] Seventeen states now allow same sex couples to marry. Will the trend eventually bleed into more traditionally red states? We’ll talk about the prospects with University of San Francisco assistant professor Kimberly Richman, author of License to Wed: What Legal Marriage Means to Same-Sex Couples (NYU Press).

[2014-02-13 12:00:00] David Bates got his start as an artist at SMU before becoming an internationally renowned painter and sculptor. We’ll talk to the Dallas native this hour about his career and a rare joint exhibition of his work being staged by the Nasher Sculpture Center and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

[2014-02-12 13:00:00] Laredo, Texas is home to one of America’s largest celebrations of George Washington’s birthday. We’ll find out this hour how the tradition has blossomed in the city over the last 100 years with Cristina Ibarra. She’s the director of the Independent Lens documentary Las Marthas, which airs Feb. 17 on KERA.

[2014-02-12 12:00:00] This year, Fort Worth will be the largest city in America to become a Blue Zone. The designation goes to cities that work with employers, restaurants and schools to promote healthful choices for residents. We’ll talk this hour about the project with Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price and Joel Spoonheim of Healthways, the organization that founded the program.

[2014-02-11 13:00:00] Shyima Hall was born in Egypt in 1989. With six other children to care for, her poor parents sold her into slavery to a wealthy family in Cairo. We’ll talk to her this hour about how she ultimately found her freedom, which she writes about in her memoir, Hidden Girl: The True Story of a Modern-Day Child Slave (Simon & Schuster).

[2014-02-11 12:00:00] As technology allows us to generate increasing amounts of data, researchers are using advanced methods to analyze all of that information. We’ll talk this hour to Rice University assistant professor Erez Aiden. He’s one of the developers of the Google Ngram Viewer and co-author of Uncharted: Big Data as a Lens on Human Culture (Riverhead Books).