KERA's Think

For Black identity, the color blue goes beyond the sky and water and speaks to the fabric of daily life. Imani Perry is a National Book Award–winning author, Henry A. Morss Jr. and Elisabeth W. Morss Professor of Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University, and a 2023 MacArthur Fellow. She joins host Krys Boyd to talk about the significance of the color from indigo cultivation, singing the blues, even how “Blue Lives Matter” was used to counteract “Black Lives Matter” protests. Her book is “Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

President Trump says he wants to buy Greenland — the Danish say it’s not for sale. Joshua Keating is a senior correspondent at Vox covering foreign policy and world news with a focus on the future of international conflict. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the idea that the U.S. could take Greenland – possibly by force – and why that has international leaders worried about the potential for future land grabs. His article is “The real danger of Trump’s Greenland gambit.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

To build affordable housing you need land — and the federal government has an ample supply. Michael Albertus, professor of political science at the University of Chicago, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the plusses and minuses of an idea that’s been floated in many administrations: selling federal lands to cities and developers to address the affordable housing crisis. His article “The U.S. Government Is Sitting on a Possible Solution to the Housing Crisis” was published by Bloomberg. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Earlier this month, then U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for alcoholic beverages to feature cancer-warning labels similar to the ones on packs of cigarettes. Dr. Ernest Hawk is vice president and head of the division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and holds the T. Boone Pickens Distinguished Chair for Early Prevention of Cancer. He talks with host Krys Boyd about the ways alcohol causes cancer and what your risk might be. And later in the hour, Isabella Cueto, who covers chronic disease for Stat, talks about the fight the alcohol lobby is waging to stop this idea. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The California wildfires are a stark example of how climate change is making its presence known. Author John Vaillant joins host Krys Boyd to discuss these fires – plus other recent outbreaks in Texas, Canada and Australia – and to explore what it will take to keep densely populated areas safe. His book is “Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The American diet consists mostly of ultra-processed foods — and it’s time we take a closer look at those nutrition labels. Jancee Dunn is the Well columnist for The New York Times, and she joins host Krys Boyd to offer simple ways we can identify the worst offenders in our diets and break our reliance on these foods. Her series is “The 5-day Well Challenge.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The quickly shifting political landscape in the Middle East has Iran recalculating its place in the global order. Council on Foreign Relations president emeritus Richard Haass joins host Krys Boyd to discuss Iran after Israel’s crippling blows to the leadership of both Hamas and Hezbollah — and the possibility of inroads for U.S. diplomacy. His article “The Iran Opportunity” was published in Foreign Affairs. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

For the conflict-averse among us, just agreeing to something is often the easiest path. Sunita Sah is a trained physician and professor at Cornell University. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why it’s so hard to go against the grain in our lives, strategies for putting your foot down and why we should look at defiant teenagers in a new and positive light. Her book is “Defy: The Power of No in a World That Demands Yes.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Telehealth is everywhere, and both doctors and patients are adjusting to its ubiquity. Helen Ouyang is an emergency physician and an associate professor at Columbia University, and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why she initially objected to telehealth shifts but now believes the tool can further public health objectives – plus, she’ll offers tips on how to get the most out of a remote doctor-patient visit. Her essay “How Virtual Appointments Taught Me to Be a Better Doctor” was published in The New York Times. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

For a brief period, colleges and universities suspended the use of standardized tests; now they’re bringing them back in the name of equality. New York Times senior writer David Leonhardt joins host Krys Boyd to discuss using the SAT and ACT to asses students, why grade inflation and test-prep courses make admissions harder for institutions hoping to diversify their student bodies, and why test scores are more indicative of class than ability. His article is “The Misguided War on the SAT.”

You may have signed a petition online, but what about actually meeting in-person with your representative to advocate for a public policy change? Sam Daley-Harris founded Results, a citizen lobby committed to creating the political will to end hunger and the worst aspects of poverty. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss effective strategies for advocating for change that won’t leave you frustrated by the process. His book is “Reclaiming Our Democracy: Every Citizen’s Guide to Transformational Advocacy.”

North, South, East and West — the cardinal directions have a surprising history of cultural and social significance. Jerry Brotton, professor of English and history at the University of London, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how something as simple as a compass has come to define our world — from how “the West” defines political power, what we mean by “the Global South,” and why cardinal directions might have been some of the very first words used in human language. His book is “Four Points of the Compass: The Unexpected History of Direction.”

When choosing a charity, the go-to idea is to give to an entity that helps the most people/pets/places, etc. But is that always the right move? New York Times business features writer Emma Goldberg joins host Krys Boyd to discuss hyper-efficiency in philanthropy — attracting donors by promising the most bang for their buck — and why this leaves smaller nonprofits behind. Plus, we’ll ponder the question: Should multiplying our dollars be the only reason we give? Her article is “What if Charity Shouldn’t Be Optimized?

Coincidences may seem like random occurrences to many of us – but not to a mathematician. Sarah Hart is professor of geometry at Gresham College and professor emerita of mathematics at Birkbeck, University of London. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why we so often look for coincidences in our lives — and why that’s a mathematically futile endeavor — why the blind luck behind lottery wins might not be so blind after all, and why revealing this magic with numbers makes the phenomenon all the more interesting. Her article, “The surprising maths that explains why coincidences are so common,” was published in New Scientist.

There’s good news: Opioid deaths are down. The caveat: Marginalized communities aren’t seeing the benefits. Maia Szalavitz is a contributing Opinion writer for The New York Times. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss age and race gaps in opioid death statistics, how naloxone is helping to prevent overdoses, and why people of color aren’t seeing the same results as their white peers. Her article is “Not Everyone Is Benefiting From Drops in Overdose Deaths.”

The conversation about limited government has morphed from looking at ways to reduce bureaucracy to an effort to eliminate large pieces of the government all together. Russell Muirhead is Robert Clements Professor of Democracy and Politics at Dartmouth College, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why non-elected workers in “the administrative state” find themselves in the crosshairs from both the right and the left, how Donald Trump’s term might affect them, and what elimination of their functions might mean for the nation. His book, written with Nancy L. Rosenblum, is “Ungoverning: The Attack on the Administrative State and the Politics of Chaos.”

It took 3,000 years for our brains to develop to this point — and about 30 for it to get scrambled by screentime. Richard E. Cytowic, professor of neurology at George Washington University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how our attention is now pulled in multiple directions, how that affects our neurotransmitters and dopamine levels, and to offers tips on how to get our habits back on track for a healthier mind. His book is “Your Stone Age Brain in the Screen Age.”

Modern life means information is a click away, but often it feels better to keep our heads in the sand. Mark Lilla, professor of the humanities at Columbia University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the age-old impulse to shield ourselves from information, why that might save our sanity, and what that means for our deep-seated ideas of innocence. His book is “Ignorance and Bliss: On Wanting Not to Know.”

“Pull yourself up by your bootstraps” might as well be an American saying; trouble is, it doesn’t always work. Journalist and author Adam Chandler joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the myth of meritocracy, his travels around the country talking with people from all walks of life who have the work ethic but success still eludes them, and what needs to change for us to really obtain that American dream. His book is “99% Perspiration: A New Working History of the American Way of Life.”

Hypochondria is an illness marked by intense health anxiety over perceived problems — and it’s very real. Joanne Silberner, co-founder of the Association of Healthcare Journalists, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why it’s taken so long for the mental health community to take hypochondria seriously, the new ways it’s being diagnosed, and the devastating outcomes for those who don’t find help. Her Scientific American article is “Hypochondria Is a Real and Dangerous Illness, New Research Shows.”