KERA's Think

[2013-07-31 12:00:00] From the archives: What can we learn from how a loved one faces a life-threatening diagnosis and death? Well spend this hour with Rod Dreher who tells his sister’s story in the new book “The Little Way of Ruthie Leming: A Southern Girl, a Small Town, and the Secret of a Good Life” (Grand Central Publishing, 2013).

[2013-07-30 13:00:00] How did King Tut’s mummy become a legend separate from Tutankhamun himself? We’ll explore the mummy’s life this hour with Jo Marchant, who chronicles the treasure hunts, DNA tests and political struggle over the relic in “The Shadow King: The Bizarre Afterlife of King Tut’s Mummy” (Da Capo, 2013).

[2013-07-30 12:00:00] What can a culinary staple in kitchens along the Silk Road teach us about love and commitment? We’ll follow the noodle from East to West and back again this hour with chef and journalist Jen Lin-Liu, author of the new book “On The Noodle Road: From Beijing To Rome With Love And Pasta” (Riverhead Books, 2013).

[2013-07-29 13:00:00] Do swaths of pure, dark night sky still remain in light polluted America? We’ll find out this hour with Paul Bogard, who teaches creative nonfiction at James Madison University. His new book is “The End of Night: Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light” (Little, Brown and Company, 2013).

[2013-07-29 12:00:00] How do race and ethnicity shape our changing social lives and language? We’ll talk this hour with Luis Clemens and Gene Demby, who study culture through the lens of a new diversity on NPR’s Code Switch blog.

[2013-07-25 13:00:00] How does the current political climate within the United States Senate differ from that of the 19th or even 20th Centuries? We’ll explore the workings of the august legislative body this hour with Richard Baker, historian emeritus of the Senate and co-author of the new book “The American Senate: An Insider’s History” (Oxford, 2013).

[2013-07-25 12:00:00] How can the connections we forge with animals teach us about ourselves? We’ll talk this hour with veterinarian and animal behaviorist Dr. Vint Virga, author of “The Soul Of All Living Creatures: What Animals Can Teach Us About Being Human” (Random House, 2013).

[2013-07-24 13:00:00] Could changing the way we spend money actually improve our quality of life? We’ll examine new research on the science of consumption behavior this hour with Elizabeth Dunn, associate professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Her new book is “Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending” (Simon & Schuster, 2013).

[2013-07-24 12:00:00] Where are the sparks that lead to new ideas and workable innovations? We’ll talk this hour with Gary Klein, decision-making expert and author of the new book “Seeing What Others Don’t: The Remarkable Ways We Gain Insights” (Public Affairs, 2013).

[2013-07-23 13:00:00] From the Think Archive – How powerful can the struggle for peace really be? We spent an hour in 2012 with Nobel Peace Prize recipient Leymah Gbowee who helped lead the Liberian Mass Action for Peace, a coalition of Christian and Muslim women who sat in public protest, confronting Charles Taylor – Liberia’s ruthless president and rebel warlords to achieve peace.

[2013-07-23 12:00:00] What’s happening to our country’s local police departments and is police work changing from a “serve and protect” style to a more muscular and tactical role? We’ll talk this hour with journalist Radley Balko. His new book is “Rise Of The Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America’s Police Forces” (Public Affairs, 2013).

[2013-07-18 13:00:00] Can you become a great writer by learning to nail the sentence? Brooks Landon, Professor of English at the University of Iowa, teaches how to make quick correspondence sing in “Building Great Sentences: How to Write the Kinds of Sentences You Love to Read” (Penguin Books, 2013).

[2013-07-18 12:00:00] How are scientists transcending the limits of evolution to solve global problems like food shortages and climate change? We’ll talk this hour with science writer Adam Rutherford, who tracks the rise of synthetic biology in his new book “Creation: How Science Is Reinventing Life Itself” (Current, 2013)”.

[2013-07-17 13:00:00] Can a “seed-to-table” lifestyle help nourish the soul? We’ll look at a surge of interest in growing food and cooking from scratch with Jeanne Nolan, founder of Organic Gardener Ltd. and author of the new book “From The Ground Up: A Food Grower’s Education in Life, Love and the Movement That’s Growing the Nation” (Spiegel and Grau, 2013).

[2013-07-17 12:00:00] How did air travel become so annoying and complicated and can travelers expect relief in the years to come? We’ll talk this hour with Mark Gerchick, former chief counsel of the Federal Aviation Administration. His new book is “Full Upright and Locked Position: Not-So-Comfortable Truths about Air Travel Today” (W. W. Norton & Company, 2013).