KERA's Think

[2013-01-09 13:00:00] Computers are ubiquitous today, but when and where was the digital age born? We’ll find out this hour with science historian George Dyson, author of “Turing’s Cathedral: The Origins of the Digital Universe” (Vintage, Paperback, 2012).

[2013-01-09 12:00:00] How do maps influence and even alter our perceptions of the world and each other? We’ll talk this hour with writer Simon Garfield whose new book is “On the Map: A Mind-Expanding Exploration of the Way the World Looks” (Gotham, 2012).

[2013-01-08 13:00:00] Why did some Americans risk their lives working to end slavery when so many others didn’t? We’ll examine the environment that led to the Civil War and more this hour with John Stauffer, Professor of English and African American Studies at Harvard University. He is also a participant in the American Experience series “The Abolitionists” which premieres on PBS this evening.

[2013-01-08 12:00:00] When did the American Dream begin to sour into social discord and political tumult? We’ll examine a pivotal year in the 1960s this hour with James T. Patterson, Ford Foundation Professor of History Emeritus at Brown University and author of “The Eve of Destruction: How 1965 Transformed America” (Basic Books, 2012).

[2013-01-07 13:00:00] How are performing arts organizations appealing to new and changing audiences and what’s in store for North Texas opera fans? We’ll spend this hour with Darren Woods, General Director of the Fort Worth Opera, which has plans to “re-define” the opera experience in 2014 and beyond.

[2013-01-07 12:00:00] What does junk food do to our bodies and our brains? We’ll talk this hour with Dr. David A. Kessler, former Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and author of “Your Food Is Fooling You: How Your Brain Is Hijacked by Sugar, Fat, and Salt” (Roaring Brook Press, 2012).

[2012-12-19 13:00:00] What’s the real story of the Afghan people – their culture, dreams, and the lives they’ve lived in spite of the repeated military incursions of other countries, including the Soviet Union and the United States? We’ll talk this hour with Tamim Ansary, whose new book is “Games without Rules: The Often-Interrupted History of Afghanistan” (PublicAffairs, 2012).

[2012-12-19 12:00:00] How could the creation of more pedestrian-friendly urban environments help American cities thrive and grow in the 21st Century? We’ll talk this hour with urban planner Jeff Speck, author of the new book “Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2012).

[2012-12-19 13:00:00] What legacy is left for Native Americans after over two hundred years of struggle for rights and status in a country largely stolen from them? We’ll talk this hour with Frederick E. Hoxie, Swanlund Professor of History, Law, and American Indian Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and author of the new book “This Indian Country: American Indian Activists and the Place They Made” (The Penguin Press, 2012).

[2012-12-19 12:00:00] What’s it like to grow up shuttling between two cultures? We’ll find out this hour with artist, writer, and filmmaker Sophia Al-Maria, who spent her childhood in both Washington State where her mother lived, and Qatar, where the Arab side of her family lived. Al-Maria’s new book is “The Girl Who Fell to Earth: A Memoir” (Harper Perennial, 2012).

[2012-12-18 13:00:00] What happens when a long and love-filled partnership falls apart? We’ll talk this hour with author and journalist Alexandra Fuller, who tells the story of her own relationship’s end in the new memoir “Falling: The Story of a Marriage” (Byliner Inc., 2012).

[2012-12-18 12:00:00] What will really happen on January 1st if President Obama and Congress aren’t able to work out a deal to avert the so-called fiscal cliff? We’ll discuss the impasse and the potential consequences this hour with James Galbraith, the Lloyd M. Bentsen Jr. Chair in Government/Business Relations and Professor of Government at the University of Texas.

[2012-12-17 13:00:00] What actually happens when police question juveniles and should the interrogation techniques differ from those used with adult suspects? We’ll talk this hour with Barry C. Feld, Centennial Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota and author of the new book “Kids, Cops, and Confessions: Inside the Interrogation Room” (NYU Press, 2012).

[2012-12-17 12:00:00] How did astronomy make the news in 2012? We’ll discuss the Curiosity mission on Mars, the newly-discovered earth-sized planet orbiting Alpha Centauri, and a whole lot more this hour with one of our favorite astronomers – Ken Croswell, Ph.D.

[2012-12-13 13:00:00] If you don’t eat meat and you don’t eat dairy, what is there left to eat? We’ll explore the rapidly growing universe of plant-based diet options this hour with Terry Hope Romero, whose new cookbook is “Vegan Eats World: 300 International Recipes for Savoring the Planet” (Da Capo Lifelong Books, 2012).