KERA's Think

Social media connects teens to instant information; how do they discern the truth from the lies? Dr. Seema Yasmin, director of the Stanford Health Communication Initiative joins guest host Courtney Collins to discuss ways to engage youth and help them learn to dispel rumor and myths about science and medicine. Her book is “What the Fact? Finding the Truth in all the Noise.”

During slavery and throughout Jim Crow laws, Black Americans needed safe havens to escape the “white gaze.” Shayla Harris, Producer/Director of the documentary “Making Black America: Through the Grapevine,” joins guest host Courtney Collins to discuss the networks and towns built for Black people, and the community and safety they brought. The four-part series hosted and written by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., airs on PBS.

What do we really know about the sounds dinosaurs made or what T. Rex did with its tiny arms? David Hone, paleontologist and senior lecturer at Queen Mary University of London, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the latest in dinosaur research, from child-rearing to habitats – and what might be the next big dinosaur discovery on the horizon. His book is “How Fast Did T. Rex Run? Unsolved Questions from the Frontiers of Dinosaur Science.”

Helena Andrews-Dyer was the only Black mom in her parenting group, and when the Black Lives Matter movement emerged, she began to ask deeper questions. The senior culture writer at The Washington Post joins host Krys Boyd to discuss raising a Black child in a predominately white, upper-middle-class world, where her concerns about race led her to consider larger themes of belonging. Her book is “The Mamas: What I Learned About Kids, Class, and Race from Moms Not Like Me.”

It can take hundreds of thousands of dollars to send a child to college these days. Ron Lieber, Your Money columnist for The New York Times, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the complicated financial aid process, ways to tap into merit aid and similar discounts, and lessons on value vs. price for the best college deal. His book is “The Price You Pay for College: An Entirely New Road Map for the Biggest Financial Decision Your Family Will Ever Make.”

There’s a cottage industry of books written about finding and keeping a mate, but not nearly as many about finding and keeping friends. Marisa G. Franco is a professor at the University of Maryland who also writes for Psychology Today. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the latest science on friendship, why it’s essential to our health, and ways to use your own strengths to forge lasting relationships. Her book is called “Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make – and Keep...

One psychiatric diagnosis can punctuate a life; six can alter its course completely. Sarah Fay, writer and currently on faculty in the English departments at DePaul University and Northwestern University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her many diagnoses and offers an examination of psychiatry’s main tool, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—the DSM— and the history behind it. Her book is called “Pathological: The True Story of Six Misdiagnoses.” This episode...

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an astrophysicist who helps us find our place in the universe. The director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History and host and cofounder of the podcast “StarTalk” joins host Krys Boyd to make a case for the rationality of science – and to help us look at global challenges in new ways. His book is “Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization.”

If we were only able to catch our biases when thinking, the world might be a better place. Woo-kyoung Ahn, John Hay Whitney Professor of Psychology at Yale University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss confirmation bias and other forms of subconscious thinking that can get in the way of us being better versions of ourselves. Her book is “Thinking 101: How to Reason Better to Live Better.”

An only child soaks up a lot of parents’ attention – so much so that marriages can sometimes be harmed. Jancee Dunn joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the ways her own child has siphoned off focus from her husband, and how culturally we have become accustomed to this interference. Her article, “My Marriage Has a Third Wheel: Our Child,” was published by The New York Times.

What if, to be happy, you didn’t need to be great, you just needed to be pretty good? Avram Alpert is a lecturer in the writing program at Princeton University and co-editor of Shifter magazine. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why our competitive nature blinds us to the fact that there is enough success to go around – and how to find purpose in life being just OK. His book is called “The Good-Enough Life.”

From “blind rage” to “the blind leading the blind,” cultural touchstones of blindness are often negative. M. Leona Godin is a blind writer, performer and educator, and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the cultural and scientific history of blindness – and what sighted people should know about what it’s like to be blind. Her book is “There Plant Eyes: A Personal and Cultural History of Blindness.”

There are 10 times more wasps than bees – so why do we know so little about them? Seirian Sumner, professor of behavioral ecology at University College London, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the wild world of wasps, which she says have an undeserved reputation as nature’s bad guys. Her book is called “Endless Forms: The Secret World of Wasps.”

To make real strides in conservation, you’ve got to follow the money. Journalist Emma Marris joins host Krys Boyd to talk about how preserving nature requires businesses and conservationists to better understand one another’s needs. The National Geographic September cover story is “America the Beautiful: New Ideas for Protecting Land, Water, and Wildlife.”

From over-the-top birthday parties to daily coffee breaks, rituals transcend cultures. Dimitris Xygalatas is an anthropologist and cognitive scientist who runs the Experimental Anthropology Lab at the University of Connecticut. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how both very small and very elaborate customs connect human behavior across centuries. His book is “Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living.”

Fractions can be confusing – and that’s not great news for communicators. James C. Zimring, Thomas W. Tillack Professor of Experimental Pathology at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss percentages, probabilities, and the other data that can confound and even deceive us – and how to not fall into familiar, time-worn traps. His book is “Partial Truths: How Fractions Distort Our Thinking.” This episode originally aired on July 19, 2022.

With our noses buried in screens and texts, it’s easier than ever to miss important social cues. Psychotherapist David J. Lieberman joins host Krys Boyd to discuss his ideas for how to pick up on subtext in spoken and written words, how to sniff out lies, and where to find the devil in the details. His book is “Mindreader: The New Science of Deciphering What People Really Think, What They Really Want, and Who They Really Are.” This episode originally aired on August 11, 2022.

African and Jewish cooking are each the results of two cultures with histories of migration. Michael Twitty is a culinary and cultural historian and the creator of Afroculinaria, the first blog devoted to African American historic foodways and their legacies. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the ways Black food and Jewish food have influenced each other, and explores ways they impact identity. His book is called “Koshersoul: The Faith and Food Journey of an African American Jew.”

When U.S. schools closed due to Covid, children were cut off from support networks. Education journalist Anya Kamenetz joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what happened during the pandemic when schools could no longer offer safety net programs and the lives of people across the country who were affected. Her book is called “The Stolen Year: How COVID Changed Children’s Lives, and Where We Go Now.”

We’ve all experienced a broken heart – and it might make you feel better that there is science that explains why. Journalist Florence Williams joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her painful divorce and how that led her to uncover the latest research on loneliness and its connection to health. Plus, we’ll hear about how she battled through sadness to find peace again. Her book is “Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey.” This episode originally aired on January 31, 2022.