KERA's Think

[2012-09-11 12:00:00] What happens when people are forced to flee their homes to escape fighting and to whom can they turn for help in rebuilding their lives? We’ll discuss the plight of international refugees this hour with Alexander Betts, University Lecturer in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies in the Department of International Development, at the University of Oxford, where he was previously the Hedley Bull Research Fellow in International Relations and a Fellow of Wadham College. He has also been Director of the MacArthur Foundation-funded Global Migration Governance Project and a Senior Researcher at the Global Economic Governance Programme. He is currently also Director of the Humanitarian Innovation Project at Oxford’s Refugee Studies Centre. Betts will address SMU’s Tower Center and Hunter and Stephanie Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity this afternoon.

[2012-09-10 13:00:00] Even before Hurricane Isaac landed on the Louisiana coast last month, residents there already had it tough due to the lingering effects of Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill, ongoing coastal erosion and wetland destruction, and a general lack of attention from the government and the media. What will it take for these communities to survive? We’ll find out this hour with journalist and photographer Kael Alford who has been documenting life along the Louisiana coast since 2005. Her work was on view at Atlanta’s High Museum this summer as part of the “Picturing the South” exhibit and can be seen in her book “Bottom of da Boot” (Fall Line, 2012).

[2012-09-10 12:00:00] How did the U.S. Dollar become the world’s standard currency and what impact will current financial insecurities have on the Dollar’s place in global markets? We’ll talk this hour with Barry Eichengreen, professor of Political Science and Economics at the University of California, Berkeley and author of “Exorbitant Privilege: The Rise and Fall of the Dollar and the Future of the International Monetary System” (Oxford University Press, 2012) which is now out in paperback.

[2012-09-06 13:00:00] How did cocaine shape the study and practice of psychology and medicine? We’ll talk this hour with Howard Markel, director of the Center for the History of Medicine at the University of Michigan and author of “An Anatomy of Addiction: Sigmund Freud, William Halsted, and the Miracle Drug, Cocaine” (Vintage, Paperback, 2012).

[2012-09-06 12:00:00] How did Julia Child change cooking, television, and even culture in 20th Century America? We’ll find out this hour with biographer Bob Spitz, author of the new book “Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child” (Knopf, 2012).

[2012-09-05 13:00:00] What responsibilities do we have to the animals we eat as food and what can modern eaters learn from hunters about ethics and even humanity? We’ll get some perspective this hour with Steven Rinella, host of the Sportsman Channel TV show MeatEater and author of the new book “Meat Eater: Adventures from the Life of an American Hunter” (Spiegel & Grau, 2012).

[2012-09-05 12:00:00] How are we dealing with the huge rain storms, massive tornadoes, seemingly never-ending droughts, and wildfires that suddenly seem to be happening all at once and why are things so bad in Texas? We’ll talk this hour with National Geographic Magazine Senior Editor Peter Miller. His piece “Weather Gone Wild” is the cover story in the September 2012 issue.

[2012-09-04 13:00:00] Are perseverance, optimism, and self-control just as important as intelligence in determining a child’s success? We’ll talk this hour with journalist Paul Tough, whose new book is “How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012).

[2012-09-04 12:00:00] Why are tropical diseases like dengue fever, Chagas disease, West Nile, and others making inroads in the United States and why are they having more of an impact in our country’s impoverished communities? We’ll talk this hour with Dr. Peter J. Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) and president and director of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development and Dr. Kristy Murray, associate professor of pediatrics & tropical medicine at BCM and Texas Children’s, and principal investigator of the West Nile virus research program.

[2012-08-30 13:00:00] How random is success in design, invention, and business and is there a way to recognize and take advantage of the rare and lucky opportunities we do experience? We’ll talk this hour with writer and business innovator Frans Johansson, author of the new book “The Click Moment: Seizing Opportunity in an Unpredictable World” (Portfolio, 2012).

[2012-08-30 12:00:00] How are Latin American political systems and political leaders continuing to evolve in the 21st Century and what effect does Latin American politics have on the Unites States? We’ll talk this hour with journalist and publisher Enrique Krauze, whose book “Redeemers: Ideas and Power in Latin America” (Harper Perennial 2012) is now out in paperback.

[2012-08-29 13:00:00] There’s no doubt that food has a nutritious value, but what do our food choices say about us and what does food represent in our lives? We’ll talk this hour with Adam Gopnik, staff writer for The New Yorker and author of “The Table Comes First: Family, France, and the Meaning of Food” (Vintage, 2012) which is now out in paperback.

[2012-08-29 12:00:00] What would you do to save your neighborhood school? We’ll explore the education system through the lens of an Austin, Texas high school on the brink of closure with journalist Michael Brick. He tells the story in his new book “Saving the School: The True Story of a Principal, a Teacher, a Coach, a Bunch of Kids and a Year in the Crosshairs of Education Reform” (Penguin Press, 2012).

[2012-08-28 13:00:00] What does it take to have a successful career in the healthcare industry and how do healthcare professionals measure that success? We’ll talk this hour with oncology nurse and former English professor Theresa Brown. Her 2010 memoir is “Critical Care: A New Nurse Faces Death, Life, and Everything in Between” (HarperOne, Paperback, 2012) and she’s also a regular contributor to the New York Times “Well” blog.

[2012-08-28 12:00:00] Could middle-born children possess character traits that might help them in life, business, and relationships? We’ll find out this hour with Catherine Salmon, Ph.D., associate professor of Psychology at the University of Redlands in California and co-author of “The Secret Power of Middle Children: How Middleborns Can Harness Their Unexpected and Remarkable Abilities” (Plume, 2012).