KERA's Think

[2012-09-24 13:00:00] How important is healthcare for women to the welfare of the nation? We’ll spend this hour with women’s health advocate Sandra Fluke. Fresh off her appearance at the Democratic National Convention, Fluke will deliver the talk “Economics and Equality: How Obstacles to Women’s Health Care Access Affect Us All” this evening at Southern Methodist University.

[2012-09-24 12:00:00] Who really makes our country work? We’ll meet several of America’s real workers this hour with journalist Jeanne Marie Laskas, who was a National Magazine Award finalist for her reporting on coal miners. Her new book is “Hidden America: From Coal Miners to Cowboys, an Extraordinary Exploration of the Unseen People Who Make This Country Work” (Putnam Adult, 2012).

[2012-09-20 13:00:00] What new rules are in play for the 2012 election campaigns? We’ll delve into the statistics, strategies, and psychology of winning this hour with Sasha Issenberg, Slate columnist and Washington correspondent for Monocle. His new book is “The Victory Lab: The Secret Science of Winning Campaigns” (Crown, 2012).

[2012-09-20 12:00:00] What happens to children born into the poorest communities of America once they come of age? We’ll find out this hour with National Book Award-winner Jonathan Kozol, who has followed the issue first as a teacher and then as a writer – for nearly five decades. His new book is “Fire in the Ashes: Twenty-Five Years Among the Poorest Children in America” (Crown, 2012).

[2012-09-19 13:00:00] What is required to maintain sanity and self-control while incarcerated for a crime you insist you didn’t commit? We’ll talk this hour with Damien Echols, who spent nearly two decades on death row for a wrongful murder conviction. He writes about his experience in the new memoir “Life After Death” (Blue Rider Press, 2012).

[2012-09-19 12:00:00] How important is slang to the development of a language and the society it serves? We’ll look beyond the dictionary definition this hour with American Speech editor Michael Adams, author of “Slang: The People’s Poetry” (Oxford University Press, 2012) which is now out in paperback.

[2012-09-18 13:00:00] Can political progress still be possible in our country at a time when gridlock and extreme partisanship seem to be the norm? We’ll discuss the possibilities of cooperation – political and otherwise – across networks this hour with innovation expert Steven Johnson. His new book is “Future Perfect: The Case For Progress In A Networked Age” (Riverhead, 2012).

[2012-09-18 12:00:00] What is life like for Africa’s small farmers – many of whom are women and most of whom struggle to even feed their families year-round? We’ll spend this hour with Roger Thurow, senior fellow for Global Agriculture and Food Policy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and author of the new book “The Last Hunger Season: A Year in an African Farm Community on the Brink of Change” (PublicAffairs, 2012).

[2012-09-17 13:00:00] How did the devastating casualty rates of the U.S. Civil War affect Americans’ perception of death and what did this unprecedented loss of population change the country? We’ll talk this hour with documentary filmmaker Ric Burns, whose new film “Death and the Civil War” will premier on PBS’ American Experience tomorrow – Tuesday, September 18th.

[2012-09-17 12:00:00] There’s no doubt that the world changed forever in the 18 months immediately following the 9/11 attacks in 2001. We’ll unravel the webs of deception and post-attack covert political actions this hour with veteran journalist and Vanity Fair contributing editor Kurt Eichenwald. He’ll also discuss his new book “500 Days: Secrets and Lies in the Terror Wars” (Touchstone, 2012) this Wednesday the 19th at the World Affairs Council of Dallas Fort Worth.

[2012-09-13 13:00:00] What happens when a New York Times foreign correspondent disagrees with his editor about the invasion of Iraq, quits his job, and then sets out in a drug-induced euphoria to launch a Serbian version of Woodstock on an island in the Danube? We’ll talk this hour with Daniel Simpson, who tells these stories and more in the new book “A Rough Guide To The Dark Side” (Zero Books, 2012). Daniel will be speaking at 3:45pm today at the Mayborn School of Journalism (GAB 104) at the University of North Texas in Denton. He’ll also speak Sunday at 2pm at The Writer’s Garret Open House, at Lucky Dog Books (10801 Garland Road) in Dallas.

[2012-09-13 12:00:00] What impact will evolving events in the Middle East and the murder of U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens have on the upcoming election? What influence did the conventions have on the electorate and what will voters be looking for in the upcoming debates? What is your opinion of the 2012 presidential race at this point? We’ll spend the hour with Bob Ray Sanders of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and William McKenzie of The Dallas Morning News.

[2012-09-12 13:00:00] What makes a character work on the page or on the screen and just how important are those traumatic pre-teen years to a writer and actor’s later creativity? We’ll find out this hour with Bob Balaban who’s appeared in nearly 100 movies – from Midnight Cowboy to Moonrise Kingdom. He’s also just published “The Creature From the Seventh Grade: Boy or Beast” (Viking, 2012). It’s the first book in a new series of books for middle grade kids.

[2012-09-12 12:00:00] Why are average middle-class Americans struggling so hard to just stay afloat and which political and economic policy decisions of the past have led our country to its current state? We’ll talk this hour with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Hedrick Smith, whose new book is “Who Stole the American Dream?” (Random House, 2012).

[2012-09-11 13:00:00] How are gender dynamics changing in American society and beyond and what is the impact on marriage, sex, children, and work? We’ll talk this hour with Hanna Rosin, senior editor at The Atlantic and author of the new book “The End of Men: And the Rise of Women” (Riverhead, 2012).