KERA's Think

There’s a record number of single people out there, but they aren’t finding each other. Jonathan Rosenthal, international editor for The Economist, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why young people are throwing in the towel on finding the perfect partner, what education levels have to do with it, and why those who do want to partner up might be misled by dating apps hiding datable matches. His article is “All over the rich ...

A.I. is becoming smarter without much help from humans, and that should worry us all. Nate Soares, president of Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI), joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what happens when A.I. brain power surpasses what humans are capable of, why we don’t have the technology yet to understand what we’re building, and why everything will be just fine … until it isn’t. His book, co-written with Eliezer ...

In the story of the melting pot, the United States can integrate all peoples into one — but what if that’s more of a myth than a metaphor? Colin Woodard is an author, historian, journalist and director of Nationhood Lab at Salve Regina University’s Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why the civics lessons we’re taught about our country are sometimes overridden by r...

Three of the 18th Century laws making up the Alien and Sedition Acts have expired, but the Alien Enemies Act is getting quite a workout today. Qian Julie Wang is managing partner of Gottlieb & Wang LLP, a firm dedicated to advocating for education and civil rights. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII was allowed, why students can be deported for supporting Palestine,...

Autocrats are famous for enacting vague laws with specific punishments – and if people preemptively overcorrect their behaviors, all the better. Matthew Purdy is editor at large and writer for The New York Times Magazine. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why the Trump administration has intentionally created vagaries around tariffs, D.E.I. and other areas so that it is difficult to know if one is breaking the law – and h...

When you pop open your medication bottle and take your pills, you assume they are safe. But how do you know? Debbie Cenziper, investigative journalist for ProPublica, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how medicines made in overseas labs don’t always meet U.S. safety standards; why lawmakers, doctors and patients are often unaware of this problem; and why we can’t easily find out where our medication is made. Her article is “...

It takes seconds for an A.I. chatbot to give you an answer – but many manhours went into getting you there. Varsha Bansal, tech reporter for The Guardian, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the grueling work of training A.I. to give answers that are fact checked and meet safety guidelines, and why, when it seems our future is digital, humans are still very much needed behind the scenes. Her article is “How thousands of overwo...

 Muscle-bound bodybuilders may line up for testosterone replacement therapy – and increasingly, so do menopausal women. Susan Dominus, staff writer at The New York Times Magazine, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why middle-aged women are raving about its benefits — despite possible side effects — and why the FDA hasn’t approved any use of the hormone for women. Her article is “‘I’m on Fire’: Testosterone Is Giving Women Ba...

 From flavored yogurt to a package of Ding Dongs, Americans love ultraprocessed food. Alice Callahan is a New York Times reporter with a Ph.D. in nutrition, and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why our diets became so reliant on foods made in a factory, why farm subsidies and advertising are partially to blame, and why we can’t seem to put these foods down. Her article is “How Ultraprocessed Food Took Over America.” 

For many of us, reading involves mostly scrolling through content on our phones rather than picking up a book. James Marriott writes for The Times of London, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how high literacy rates have ushered in human rights and leaps in scientific understanding – and what happens to a society that stops thinking deeply and focuses on the doomscroll. His essay “The dawn of the post-literate society...

 We adore them when their cherubic faces light up the big screen, but when child actors grow up, they’re yesterday’s news. New Yorker staff writer Adam Gopnik joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the life cycle of the child star from public adoration to fleeting fame, why we won’t allow them to age, and the demands the industry makes of them at such a tender age. His article is “What Do We Want from Our Child Stars?”

On the eve of our country’s 250th birthday, would the Founding Fathers recognize the America we live in today? Irish Times columnist Fintan O’Toole joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the seismic legal and moral shifts that have happened since the Declaration of Independence was penned and how they have shaped the political left and right – and we’ll talk about why we might be surprised if we could talk to Washington, Franklin...

 Decades before the headlines about Tylenol, moms have always had to worry if they were to blame for their child’s autism. Sara Luterman, Disability and Aging Reporter for The 19th, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the so-called “refrigerator moms” of the 1950s, and what today’s rhetoric from the Health and Human Services Secretary mean for mothers struggling to navigate a difficult diagnosis. Her article “This isn’t the fi...

The way life emerged on Earth is being reconsidered – but not without some disagreement. Journalist Asher Elbein joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how one discovery in Africa is having scientists radically rethinking when life emerged, what it means that this life existed in the harshest of conditions and why it’s dividing the scientific community. His article “Life’s Big Bangs” was published in Scientific American.

Why are we following the lead of tech billionaires when it comes to guiding public policy? Science journalist Adam Becker joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the ways Silicon Valley scions might have A.I. all wrong, the obsession with space colonies and why we aren’t asking more critical questions for their version of the future. His book is, “More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley’s Crusade t...

For scientists to solve the mysteries of the ocean, they need to start with questions like “how do fish float?” Duke University biology professor 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. His book is “Into the Great Wide Ocean: Life in the ...

The culture war around trans rights has many headlines, but one hot button issue is gun rights. Writer and critic Grace Byron joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why gun ownership for trans individuals is becoming a political talking point, why owning a gun can affirm sexuality, and why gun violence is being blamed without merit on transgender ideology. Her article, “The Complexities of Trans Gun Ownership” was published in Th...

The spooky season is here, and we might have Christian theology to thank for that. Bryan P. Stone is Leighton K. Farrell Endowed Dean at Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Theology. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss ghosts, witches, vampires and more and how they germinate from Christian imagery, subvert traditional teachings and play on Chrisitan anxieties. His book is “Christianity and Horror Cinema.”