KERA's Think

[2013-04-04 13:00:00] How could a protein molecule with no genetic identity infect, multiply, and kill? This hour, we’ll examine the prion, which causes diseases like mad cow, Creutzfeld-Jakob, and others with science writer and broadcaster Jay Ingram, author of “Fatal Flaws: How a Misfolded Protein Baffled Scientists and Changed the Way We Look at the Brain” (Yale University Press, 2013).

[2013-04-04 12:00:00] How do people rebuild their lives after being released from prison? How do they cope with what’s likely a foreign and strange world and who is there to help? We’ll talk this hour with journalist Sabine Heinlein, author of “Among Murderers: Life after Prison” (University of California Press, 2013).

[2013-04-03 13:00:00] Who was Ray Bradbury? Who influenced his creativity? And what circumstances prompted him to write and ultimately become one of the most pioneering science fiction writers of all time? As part of this month’s The Big Read Dallas, we’ll talk this hour with biographer Sam Weller – Associate Professor of Creative Writing at Columbia College Chicago and author of several books on Bradbury, including “The Bradbury Chronicles: The Life of Ray Bradbury” (Harper Perennial, 2006).

[2013-04-03 12:00:00] Are desire, gender, power, love, and economics related? We’ll talk this hour with Marina Adshade, economist at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and author of the new book “Dollars and Sex: How Economics Influences Sex and Love” (Chronicle Books, 2013).

[2013-04-02 13:00:00] Is the legal profession headed for trouble? We’ll discuss the problems at law firms, the oversupply of new lawyers, and more this hour with Steven Harper, adjunct professor at Northwestern University School of Law and Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences. His new book is “The Lawyer Bubble: A Profession in Crisis” (Basic Books, 2013).

[2013-04-02 12:00:00] What’s going on in Venezuela and what impact will the death of Hugo Chávez ultimately have on elections in the country and in its relationships across the region? We’ll talk this hour with Rory Carroll, veteran journalist and former chief of the Latin American bureau of the Guardian, and author of the new book “Comandante: Hugo Chávez’s Venezuela” (The Penguin Press, 2013).

[2013-04-01 13:00:00] What can all countries engaged in the struggle against terrorism learn from Israel’s shortcomings and success? We’ll find out this hour with Daniel Byman, Professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and Senior Fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. His book, “A High Price: The Triumphs and Failures of Israeli Counterterrorism” (Oxford University Press, 2013), is now out in paperback.

[2013-04-01 12:00:00] Have traditional methods of advertising lost their power? This hour we’ll examine how cultivating relationships leads to success for today’s companies with Doug Levy, founder and CEO of strategic and creative agency MEplusYou and Bob Garfield, cohost of NPR’s On The Media. They’ve co-written a new book on the subject called “Can’t Buy Me Like: How Authentic Customer Connections Drive Superior Results” (Portfolio, 2013).

[2013-03-28 13:00:00] How do we define “normal” when it comes to women’s health and how might the study of early humans and even precursor species help our understanding? We’ll spend this hour with Wenda Trevathan, Professor Emerita of Anthropology at New Mexico State University and author of “Ancient Bodies, Modern Lives: How Evolution Has Shaped Women’s Health” (Oxford University Press, 2010). She’ll deliver the annual Ben and Trudy Termini Distinguished Anthropologist Lecture this evening at the University of Texas at Arlington.

[2013-03-28 12:00:00] What will a “man of letters” do when the books are all gone? We’ll spend this hour with Romanian-born poet, prolific author, and well-known NPR commentator Andrei Codrescu. His latest book – a memoir of sorts – is called “Bibliodeath: My Archives (With Life in Footnotes)” (ANTIBOOKCLUB, 2012). He’ll speak to Wordspace at the Kessler this evening.

[2013-03-27 13:00:00] How is the experience of becoming a grandparent colored by the memory of early parenthood? We’ll talk this hour with bestselling author Anne Lamott. Her book on the subject, co-written with her son Sam Lamott, is “Some Assembly Required: A Journal of My Son’s First Son” (Riverhead Trade, 2013). It’s now out in paperback. Lamott is at Arborlawn United Methodist Church on Tuesday for a book signing and Q&A session.

[2013-03-27 12:00:00] How do kinship-based and tribally-organized societies compare to current and more typically Western ideas about governance? We’ll talk this hour with Mark Weiner, professor of law at Rutgers University and author of the new book “The Rule of the Clan: What an Ancient Form of Social Organization Reveals About the Future of Individual Freedom” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2013).

[2013-03-26 13:00:00] Who was 19th Century explorer Paul Du Chaillu and what impact did his “discovery” of Africa’s gorillas have on contemporary scientific study? We’ll find out this hour with journalist Monte Reel, author of the new book “Between Man and Beast: An Unlikely Explorer, the Evolution Debates, and the African Adventure that Took the Victorian World by Storm” (Doubleday, 2013).

[2013-03-26 12:00:00] Could an occasional break from our ever-present stream of media, information, and connectivity be good for us and good for society? We’ll talk this hour with writer, teacher, and documentarian Douglas Rushkoff. His new book is “Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now” (Current, 2013).

[2013-03-25 13:00:00] How do children learn to adapt when their families fall apart? We’ll talk this hour with Leigh Newman, deputy editor and head of books coverage for Oprah.com. She tells her story in the new memoir “Still Points North: One Alaskan Childhood, One Grown-up World, One Long Journey Home” (The Dial Press, 2013).