KERA's Think

[2015-02-04 13:00:00] We’re all in search of ways to become more productive, less stressed and better balanced between work and play. This hour, we’ll talk to sociologist and happiness expert Christine Carter about the strategies that work, which she writes about in The Sweet Spot: How to Find Your Groove at Home and Work (Ballantine Books). 

[2015-02-04 12:00:00] In hindsight, it’s difficult to understand how slavery, segregation and other forms of legally sanctioned inequality were ever permitted in America. This hour, we’ll talk about the dehumanizing practices of today that future generations will look back on with disgust with Seattle University School of Law professor Steven W. Bender. His new book is Mea Culpa: Lessons on Law and Regret from U.S. History (NYU Press).

[2015-02-03 13:00:00] The ways in which we respond to touch are extremely personal. It’s why we welcome a hug from a friend but are creeped out by a stranger’s embrace. This hour, we’ll talk about the connection between physical contact and our emotions with Johns Hopkins neuroscientist David J. Linden. His new book is Touch: The Science of Hand, Heart, and Mind (Viking Adult).

[2015-02-03 12:00:00] Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder affects not only military personnel returning from combat, but also victims of assaults, car crashes and other life-threatening events. This hour, we’ll talk about the past, present and future of the illness with former Marine and PTSD sufferer David J. Morris. His new book is The Evil Hours: A Biography of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). 

[2015-02-02 13:00:00] As many Americans choose to work beyond retirement age, the labor market is struggling to accommodate them. This hour, we’ll talk about how the economy can benefit from older workers’ experience and know-how with Indiana University professor Joseph Coleman, author of Unfinished Work: The Struggle to Build an Aging American Workforce. (Oxford University Press) 

[2015-02-02 12:00:00] The documentary series A Path Appears uncovers the many ways that inequality persists in America and around the world. This hour, we’ll talk to series’ executive producer and director Maro Chermayeff about how poverty, sex trafficking, teen pregnancy and other factors are standing in the way of true gender equality. A Path Appears airs tonight on KERA-TV. We’re hosting a screening at TWU at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday – RSVP here.  

[2015-01-28 13:00:00] People working in creative fields have been among the hardest hit by the recent economic instability. This hour, we’ll talk about the artist’s place in society – and why we all suffer when there are fewer of them – with Scott Timberg. He writes about the topic in Culture Crash: The Killing of the Creative Class (Yale University Press).

[2015-01-29 13:00:00] During World War II, the small South Texas town of Crystal City was home to a secret internment camp. It housed immigrants from Germany, Italy and Japan, as well as their American-born children. This hour, we’ll talk about what life was like in the camp – and about the prisoner exchange program facilitated there – with Jan Jarboe Russell. Her new book is The Train to Crystal City: FDR’s Secret Prisoner Exchange Program and America’s Only Family Internment Camp During World War II (Scribner). 

[2015-01-29 12:00:00] More than 50 million Americans suffer from arthritis. This hour, we’ll talk about current research into the condition – and about the most effective remedies doctors recommend – with Ann Palmer, CEO of the Arthritis Foundation, and Dr. Stanley Cohen, Clinical Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. 

[2015-01-28 12:00:00] Alexandra Fuller is the author of Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight and Scribbling the Cat – memoirs about her life in Africa. In her newest book, she writes about the painful details of her divorce and about being pulled between her African roots and her new American family. This hour, we’ll talk to her about her newest memoir, Leaving Before the Rains Come (Penguin Press).

[2015-01-27 13:00:00] At least 68 people have been diagnosed with measles since the beginning of the year. This hour, we’ll talk about how the outbreak may be linked to the anti-vaccination movement in American with Dr. Seema Yasmin, professor of public health at UTD and a staff writer at The Dallas Morning News.

[2015-01-27 12:00:00] As more and more of our national security depends on intelligence gathering, an increasing number of strategic decisions are being made behind closed doors. This hour, we’ll talk about how Americans know less than ever about the wars being fought in their name with Scott Horton. His new book is Lords of Secrecy: The National Security Elite and America’s Stealth Warfare (Nation Books). 

[2015-01-26 13:00:00] Learning how to cultivate passion in daily life can be the difference between a boring existence and living life to the fullest. This hour, we’ll learn how we can live a more inspired life with Gregg LeVoy, author of Vital Signs: The Nature and Nurture of Passion (Tarcher). 

[2015-01-26 12:00:00] Millions of Americans have health insurance because of the Affordable Care Act. But that doesn’t mean everything in the world of healthcare is fixed. This hour, we’ll talk to Steven Brill about the problems that still plague the industry, which he writes about in America’s Bitter Pill: Money, Politics, Backroom Deals, and the Flight to Fix Our Broken Healthcare System (Random House).

[2015-01-22 12:00:00] Thousands of U.S. combat personnel have suffered brain trauma caused by blast force. This hour, we’ll talk about how that physical and psychological damage affects veterans with Caroline Alexander, whose story “The Invisible War on the Brain” appears in the February issue of National Geographic magazine.