KERA's Think

Twenty-five years after the success of “The Tipping Point,” Malcolm Gladwell is back with new insights. The author and co-founder of Pushkin Industries joins host Krys Boyd to discuss new anecdotes from social science that help explain the world around us – and to update the theory of contagion for our modern world

Sönke Johnsen joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the wonders of vertical migration, why sharks must keep swimming to stay alive, and the clues offered to biologists that help piece together the questions of aquatic life evolution.

Yasmin Tayag, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss RFK Jr’s strategy to “Make America Healthy Again,” his distain for everything from vaccines to fluoride to processed foods – and his approach to managing a $1.7-trillion agency.

New York Times Magazine staff writer Emily Bazelon joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why Democrats’ call to restore reproductive rights didn’t bring voters to their side, how Trump has been inconsistent in his messaging about the issue, and what this signals for efforts to keep abortion legal in America.

Josh Cowen, professor of education policy at Michigan State University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why “school choice” is such a hot-button issue, the influential people behind its growth, and why this push is signaling distrust of public schools

Natalie Whittle is a contributor to the Financial Times, and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the idea of the 15-minute city, where cars aren’t necessary, bikes abound, and all amenities are a short walk away.

A look at brain-friendly eating patterns, understanding how “good” and “bad” fats affect us and simple recipe ideas for incorporating these foods into every meal.

A look at how restaurant meals and prepared foods have doubled in size since the 1970s – and why cutting them back down would be good for the planet and people.

esse Newman is a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the middleman between producers and supermarket shelves – grocery distribution companies.

Why tribal membership is so difficult to achieve, why thousands of acknowledged tribes each have their own enrollment criteria, and what it means to win that recognition.

The New York Times bestselling author discusses her enduring characters who live and work in the decorative glassmaking trade outside Venice.

Courtney Rubin writes about medicine, health, fitness, and wellness and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how the myth of the 10,000 steps came to be, why science is complicating that number, and what you should know when you hit the pavement for that daily walk.

New York magazine features writer Reeves Wiedeman joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how the league’s approach to concussions has affected high-profile players like Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, why CTE is still a major concern, and why the NFL is changing its positioning on the matter.

Katherine Mangan, senior writer for The Chronicle of Higher Education, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why white student enrollment has been declining for years, why administrators are just now catching on to this fact, and the delicate balance of recruiting underrepresented groups while maintaining a baseline of traditional students.

Journalist and author Vince Beiser joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the increased demand for cobalt, nickel, copper and other metals to fuel everything from batteries to the wires that transfer energy – and how access to those resources feeds geopolitical relationships.

Wall Street Journal reporter Ken Thomas joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what some Democratic strategists are calling a disaster for the party and why the Left’s cultural issues aren’t bringing in the votes.

Jamil Zaki, professor of psychology at Stanford University and the director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why cynicism leads to not only a more dismal outlook on life, but deleterious health effects.

Anthony Walton is a poet, professor and the writer-in-residence at Bowdoin College, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why gains in Black life have so often come with periods of reckoning, why racial trauma in this country so often repeats itself.

Christine Rosen is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a columnist for Commentary magazine, senior editor at the New Atlantis and fellow at the University of Virginia’s Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the lure of the digital world, with its ease and convenience, and the physical and personal connections we leave behind when we choose a contactless experience.

Nicholas Eberstadt is Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss depopulation occurring on five continents, why pro-natal programs cost a lot but aren’t seeing results, and what this means for how we measure economic growth in the future.

Jasmine Rashid is a financial activist and Director of Impact for Candide Group. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why taboo discussions about wealth and money need to happen for social change, how shopping small businesses can put pressure on multi-national corporations, and her easy how-to guide for a budding activist that starts with pinching pennies.

Elizabeth Rosner, novelist, poet, and essayist, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how listening is the skill of interpretation, how she learned to hear the important things left unsaid in her own upbringing, and what science can teach us about the sounds that envelop us.

Rose Horowitch, assistant editor at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why top students are complaining about having to read books for college classes, how testing culture has contributed to this problem, and what this means for developing critical thinking skills.

Derek Tisler, counsel in the elections and government program at the nonpartisan Brennan Center, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss election tabulation and security, why we might not know the official winner on election night.

Helen Phillips a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her novel about a near-future techno-dystopia.

Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt are counselors who specialize in creating safe spaces for conversations, and they join host Krys Boyd to discuss why you should avoid negative comments at all costs, how to grow with your partner to better understand their point of view and how to hear people out without becoming enemies.

Jeremy Dauber, professor of Jewish literature and American studies at Columbia University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how horror reflects worries of a collective culture, how the genre helped the fight against slavery and how changing gender roles spark new creations.

Glenn A. Fine served as the Inspector General of the Department of Justice and the Acting Inspector General of the Department of Defense. He’s now a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution, an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law School and has taught at Stanford Law School and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what IGs do, why they are vital for a healthy government.

The history of sexuality in America is not as straightforward as it might seem. Rebecca L. Davis, professor of history at the University of Delaware, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how gender has determined roles regardless of someone’s sexuality, why the Puritans weren’t so prude, and how our views changed in the 21st Century. Her book is “Fierce Desires: A New History of Sex and Sexuality in America.”

Vladimir Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years in a Siberian prison colony for disparaging the invasion of Ukraine but was released as part of this summer’s historic prisoner swap that also freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. marine Paul Whelan.

Max Boot is a historian and foreign-policy analyst and he’s a lifelong conservative. He joins guest host John McCaa to discuss why Reagan’s policies weren’t always right-of-center as his legacy claims, and the lessons we can learn from his presidency decades later.

John Grisham joins host Krys Boyd to discuss cases of wrongful convictions, miscarriages of justice and common oversights that permeate the justice system. His book, co-written with Jim McCloskey, is “Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions.”

Jerusalem Demsas, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why she feels decisions about land need to be accountable to the public, why zoning boards and preservationists are hurting home affordability, and why the buck should stop at elected officials.

Natalie B. Compton, travel reporter for the Washington Post, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why even though being deemed essential workers, flight attendants struggle with living paycheck-to-paycheck. Plus, we’ll hear about the surprising rules that determine how much flight attendants are paid for each flight that don’t take into account how much work they actually do.

Eugenia Cheng joins host Krys Boyd to yearning to be a mother while not being able to, why she feels pinned in by stereotypes and labels, and what she wants a broader public to understand.

Susana Monsó is associate professor of philosophy in the Department of Logic, History, and Philosophy of Science at the National Distance Education University (UNED) in Madrid. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what animals know about dying – from mourning rituals to attempts at saving lives – and if this newfound understanding means we should treat animals differently.

Richard Dawkins, inaugural Charles Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why the bodies of animals resemble their environments from thousands of years ago, and why sequencing these genomes offers a time machine to previous stages of evolution.

Alec Luhn joins host Krys Boyd to discuss “direct air capture,” the challenges for pulling it off, and why it could offer an excuse for some of our biggest polluters to go on polluting.

Robert Sapolsky, professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss his case against free will. We’ll hear why, even without this control, we are still bound to be moral and decent humans.

Dr. Curtis Boyd was involved in establishing the National Abortion Federation (NAF) and is a founding member of the Federation’s board of directors; and Glenna Boyd, RN, is a counselor, trainer and consultant. They join host Krys Boyd to discuss their life’s work providing abortions for women in need, why they say a healthy democracy needs compromise on complex issues, and how the Dobbs decision felt like a death.

This hour, host Krys Boyd talks about how we can find fulfillment in experiencing the bittersweet parts of life, how sensitive people can use their temperament as a strength, and why being positive all the time isn’t actually very helpful.

Rahul Jandial joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how dreams help our brains function, why they are essential to memory and why dreams across cultures are remarkably similar.

Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative journalist Charles Duhigg joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what makes certain people so adept at facilitating the exchange of ideas, how we can make ourselves heard, and how we can better navigate tough conversations.

Dr. Marty Makary is a Johns Hopkins professor and member of the National Academy of Medicine. He joins guest host Courtney Collins to discuss why physicians have recommended we avoid everything from hormone replacement therapy to eggs and why it’s so hard to correct flaws in previous studies.

Chabeli Carrazana is economy and childcare reporter for The 19th News. She joins guest host Courtney Collins to discuss why high-profile cheerleaders aren’t making a living wage, the lawsuits that are fighting for a pay increase, and why misogyny in sports is so hard to eradicate.

This hour, we’ll talk with a former U.S. ambassador to Russia and other experts about what the budding alliance between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping means for American global leadership.

She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss growing up in a mostly white suburb, the importance of keeping her native language alive, and how her role as unofficial family historian has shaped her career.

Philip Elliott, senior correspondent for Time magazine, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how the layman can look at polls and glean the most relevant information, how polls gather their data and why that margin of error is super important.

Michelle Ferrari, writer, producer and director for American Experience, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the history of the vice presidency, the 25th amendment that helped to solidify the role, and why the U.S. Constitution doesn’t offer much guidance on defining the position.

Celia Ford, Future Perfect Fellow at Vox, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss a new breakthrough that promises to delay menopause, what that means for healthy aging in women, and what the social implications might be if older women are still able to bear children.

Dr. Annie Fenn is the founder of the Brain Health Kitchen and, in partnership with the University of Texas at Dallas Center for Brain Health, she talks to host Krys Boyd about brain-friendly eating patterns, understanding how “good” and “bad” fats affect us, and offers simple recipe ideas for incorporating these foods into every meal.

Paola Ramos is a contributor for Telemundo News and MSNBC, where she is the host of “Field Report,” and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her examination of why Latinos voted for Trump in greater numbers in 2020 vs. 2016 and why this powerful electorate is continually misunderstood.

Bethany C. Meyers discusses how they came to embrace the body neutrality ethos, why we need to move away from body positivity, and the calm that can come from allowing yourself to just simply be.

Lindsay Chervinsky, executive director of the George Washington Presidential Library, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the second U.S. president, how he solidified many of the functions of the chief executive we still know in the 21st Century, and why that meant he would sacrifice a second term.

Journalist Sandy Ernest Allen joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what it was like to take on traditional activities with the comfort of knowing he was surrounded by his trans community, how the experience challenged his notions of manhood, and the surprising things he learned about himself during the process.

Katie Palmer, Health Tech Correspondent for Stat News, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the bias baked into medicine for decades, how it contributes to system disparities, and why the work to change it is so difficult. Her series “Embedded Bias” is written with co-author Usha Lee McFarling.

Amy M. Balanoff, assistant professor at the Center for Functional Anatomy & Evolution at Johns Hopkins, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the T. Rex and its brain – how paleontologists are piecing together what abilities they had, and why the modern housecat might offer some clues.

Helen De Cruz, Danforth Chair in the humanities and a professor of philosophy at Saint Louis University, Missouri, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how wonder pushes us to explore the world around us, leads us to love more fully and helps us to get the most out of our brains.

Matthew Shaer is contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, an Emerson Collective fellow at New America and a founder of the podcast studio Campside Media. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how our phones and computers might have made the problem worse – but aren’t the root cause of our social disconnection.

Robert Mahari, JD-PhD Researcher at MIT Media Lab and Harvard Law School, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why the doom and gloom of A.I. taking over has got it all wrong — that the real problem is we might actually like it too much to put it down.

Journalist Melissa Petro joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her own story as a sex worker-turned-elementary school teacher until she was outed by a newspaper, and how she had to grow to be shame resilient.

Chabeli Carrazana, economy and childcare reporter for the 19th News, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how guaranteed income meant people could move beyond paycheck-to-paycheck, contribute to the economy and help support other family members. Plus, we’ll consider what the presidential candidates have to say about economic policies.

Constance Grady, senior correspondent for Vox, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the nature/nurture arguments around giftedness, how being tapped as gifted changes mental health outcomes well into adult years, and how a gifted education model affects future potential.

Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, joins host Krys Boyd to make the case that this document – written for a low population, rural society 200-years ago – has trouble incorporating modern life into its scope, and why it might need to be rethought.

Jamil Zaki, professor of psychology at Stanford University and the director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why cynicism leads to not only a more dismal outlook on life, but deleterious health effects.

Scott Rick, marketing professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how money affects relationships, what happens when being frugal goes up against spending beyond one’s means, and how two people can get on the same page when it comes to money.

Basil Smikle is a political strategist, policy advisor and professor of practice and director of the nonprofit management program in the school of professional studies at Columbia University. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how campaigns brand themselves, how they attempt to label each other, and what voters actually respond to in the end.

Christopher Wong Michaelson is Opus Distinguished Professor and academic director of the Melrose and The Toro Company Center for Principled Leadership at the University of St. Thomas and on the Business and Society faculty at NYU’s Stern School of Business. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the differences between career and calling and how we assign meaning to our vocation.

Megan Agnew, senior features writer for The Times, joins guest host Courtney Collins to discuss the “trad wife” movement, it’s retro look at wifedom and motherhood, and one woman in particular with a huge following on Instagram who’s caught the curious attention of tens of millions.

Arik Kershenbaum is a zoologist, college lecturer and fellow at Girton College, University of Cambridge. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what we’re learning about how animals talk to one another, how that understanding also sheds light on human language, and how we might come to better understand animal identities and emotions.

Ellen Ruppel Shell, professor emeritus of science journalism at Boston University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss an animal that’s one of the most trafficked on Earth, a brief history of the significance of eels, and why they’re still somewhat mysterious.

Caitlin Dickerson, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her journey to the Darién Gap – a stretch of land connecting South and North America – and the 800,000 migrants who will put their lives in danger this year to try to cross it.

Madeline Leung Coleman, a features writer for New York magazine, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the expensive and sometimes brutal treatments pets can be subjected to in order to extend their lives – and how to know when it’s time to say goodbye.

Matteo Wong of The Atlantic joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the changing face of the music industry now that A.I. is on the scene and what separates music made my people from music made my algorithms.

Nate Silver, founder of FiveThirtyEight.com, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how to calculate pros and cons of major decisions and to weigh in on what to expect in this year’s presidential election.

Julia Sonnevend of The New School for Social Research, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how politicians tap into their own charm to earn your support.

Journalist Amanda Chicago Lewis joins host Krys Boyd to discuss this brand-new profession that is both an art and a science, how they negotiate with hackers and how to avoid falling victim to your own data being breached.

UT-Austin psychology professor David Yeager joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how to be a supportive mentor for youth age 10-25 – when their brains are still taking shape.

Craig Singleton joins guest host John McCaa to discuss the ways China has made end runs around the policies of the Biden, Trump and Obama presidencies and the troubling clashes we’re now seeing around Taiwan and the Philippines.

Adrienne LaFrance joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why feelings of powerlessness can lead to violence and the disturbing historical patterns that seem to be repeating today.

The faculty director of the Boston University Newbury Center joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why, even as colleges and universities have moved to make their campuses more diverse, they are leaving economically disadvantaged students behind.

Theodore Schleifer joins host Krys Boyd to give us an overview of the immense amount of money the campaigns are raising, a refresher on how PACs work, and how all this money from mega donors to average Joes will affect the race to the White House.

Diana McLain Smith joins host Krys Boyd to discuss building bridges to connect with people with whom we disagree and how most people can resolve to meet in the middle on even the most challenging political issues.

Michael Mills, lecturer in criminology at the University of Kent, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the phenomenon of preparing for disaster, if this is unique to America or to a political party affiliation, and if stockpiling food and supplies actually does anything to relieve anxiety.

Anne Applebaum, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss dictators from Putin to Maduro, the networks they rely on, and why democracies around the world have been complicit in the rise of these despots.

Roxane Gay joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her surprise at the thrill of shooting, why owning a gun is a political act for a Black American and what “stand your ground” laws mean to her.

The host of a Scientific American podcast Krys Boyd to discuss what being overweight and metabolically healthy means, why BMI might not be a great tool for understanding health and body size, and what new research is revealing about the how weight and health intersect.

The cofounder and director of mental health at the Child and Adolescent Gender Center joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how to support a child exploring gender and why expressing gender in new ways might signal a cultural zeitgeist.

Andrew Prokop, senior politics correspondent at Vox, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the policy suggestions laid out in Project 2025, how much of it might actually be adopted by a potential Trump administration, and the shakeup that’s happened at Heritage since its publication.

Jasmine Mithani of The 19th News joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the damaging effect of labeling all sexually explicit images as “porn” – and how victim advocates are working to rebrand these terms.

John Woodrow Cox, enterprise reporter for The Washington Post, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss his time embedded with the prosecutor who built the case against the parents of a son who killed four students at his high school – and what it means for future legal cases regarding the actions of minors.

Author Michael Castleman joins host Krys Boyd to discuss three distinct eras of book publishing, from the first printing press to Amazon, and why today it’s fairly easy to find yourself in print — but much harder to find an audience to read it.

Krys Boyd talks to constitutional law professor Kevin J. McMahon of Trinity College,to discuss how we got to a court that doesn’t reflect the majority of the electorate, what that means for its reputation, and ideas for how to fix what’s broken.

New York Magazine features writer Reeves Wiedeman joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the bold new world of NDAs – from professional settings to personal affairs – and why they are suddenly showing up everywhere.

Cady Coleman joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how hearing Sally Ride speak changed the trajectory of her life and what months on the International Space Station taught her about career and motherhood.

The director of the New Zealand Institute of Wellbeing & Resilience, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why grieving looks different than what we’ve been taught previously and strategies for finding your way back to hope and normalcy.

The program manager and head of adult assessment at the Center for Brain Health at the University of Texas at Dallas joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what makes a “super ager,” common health ailments for senior citizens, and if age makes a demanding job more difficult.

Peter S. Goodman, global economics correspondent for The New York Times, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how the supply chain changed after WWII, how labor practices and shipping routes revealed deep-seeded problems in the system, and what needs to happen to ensure economic certainty during the next global disaster.