KERA's Think

Masculinity is on display in our country in all sorts of interesting – and weird – ways. After his only son was lured into this world, Jon Ronson turned his keen observational powers on this far-reaching subculture. He joins host Krys Boyd to talk about what he found, which he writes about in “The Castle: Adventures in a World of Unraveling Men.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Tyler Austin Harper was on a tenure track at a college in Maine when he began to realize that the school's DEI policies were actually burdening him as a Black man. “The inescapable conclusion I arrived at was that I had been hired to be visibly Black first and a scholar second, if at all,” he writes in an essay for The Atlantic headlined “Confessions of a Token Black Professor: Why I lost faith in academia.” He joins host Krys Boyd to talk about his experiences. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Even after a global pandemic, researchers are fairly free to study and enhance deadly viruses in labs that have fairly low biosafety standards. Alina Chan is a molecular biologist, and she joins host Krys Boyd to talk about precautions that can be put in place that allow for important research to be conducted while protecting the public. Her recent New York Times essay is “How to Stop a Lab Leak from Starting the Next Pandemic” and her book is “Viral: The Search for the Origin of Covid-19.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Dolly Parton created and image that was glittery and bubbly, blonde wigs and rhinestone dresses – which belies the powerful brand of feminism that attracts her adoring fans. The mark her death, we're revisiting our 2020 conversation with Sarah Smarsh, who joined host Krys Boyd to explore the creative genius of the iconic singer and actress — a prolific songwriter of more than 3,000 songs — and a pioneer for exploring class and gender issues in America. Smarsh's book is called “She Come By It Natural: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her Songs.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Some cities across the U.S. enacted harm-reduction, drug-friendly policies to stop overdose deaths – but that approach hasn't always benefitted the general population. Michael Powell, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss Burlington, Vt., Seattle and other places where needle exchanges have made public spaces unwelcoming, what happens when leaders stand behind unpopular laws, and the lessons other cities can learn from these experiments in drug policies. His article is “The Cities That Said Yes to Drugs.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

To understand why people go “no contact” with their families, it helps to define what a modern family is. Rin Reczek is professor of sociology and co-director of the Center for Aging Families at The Ohio State University. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss two distinct family units she calls “compulsory kinship” and “democratized kinship,” how they have changed over the years, and what people can lose — or gain — if they cut off contact. Her book is “Families We Lose: A New Explanation for Family Estrangement.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

From A.I. to E.V.s to pharmaceuticals and energy, China is outpacing the U.S. for global dominance. New Yorker staff writer Evan Osnos joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why, when America has pulled research funding, China is funneling billions of dollars to remake its economy, why scientists are flocking to Chinese labs, and why this should serve as a warning to isolationist government policies. His article is “The Future, Made in China.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Across the country, millions of children take on the job of primary caregiver to ailing family members. Dr. Helen Ouyang is a physician and associate professor at Columbia University and a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the teens who take on changing bandages and managing medications for family members, the lack of support for this overlooked population, and how schools are trying to meet the needs of kids who must choose between education and family obligations. Her article is “The U.S. Relies on Family Caregivers. Millions of Them Are Kids.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

We've all heard of “imposter syndrome” and something similar is going on in your brain in regard to your intelligence. Dr. Josh Turknett, M.D. is a board-certified neurologist and the founder of the Institute for Performance Neurology, where he works at the intersection of neuroscience, learning and human potential. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why we all have the ability to unlock abilities, how intelligence is built over time and why we spend so much time telling ourselves we can't succeed. His book is “The Genius and the Imposter: The Neuroscience of Unlocking Human Potential.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

For every exonerated individual in the criminal justice system, there is another forgotten victim: the original victim's family who now has no closure. Barbara Bradley Hagerty, contributing writer to The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss a case involving a man, Ben Spencer, who was wrongfully convicted of a crime and the family member of the murder victim, Jay Young, who now faces a future without justice. Her article is “The Other Victims of a Wrongful Conviction.”  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

If you need to call the IRS to answer a tax question, you could wait hours on the line thanks to funding cuts. Stephanie Mencimer, staff reporter in Mother Jones' Washington bureau, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why 7 million people are waiting to hear back from the IRS about correspondence and amended returns up from 3.8 million last year how deep cuts to the budget mean taxpayers are losing out on money and help with tax fraud, and how this could affect daily household budgets. Her article is “The IRS Is Imploding.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

President Trump's frequent tariff announcements have put global trade in a new, precarious position. Chad P. Bown is Reginald Jones Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and host of the Trade Talks podcast. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how tariffs push up prices, what lessons from history can teach us about this moment, and how countries should adapt to this rapidly changing landscape. His book, written with co-author Soumaya Keynes, is “How to Win a Trade War: An Optimistic Guide to an Anxious Global Economy.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

We've all heard the advice to “do what we love” for our careers, but burnout and low wages make that advice seem like a cruel joke. Journalist Emi Nietfeld joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her disillusionment with her “millennial values” where hard work and dreaming big would pay off in the corporate world why Gen Z doesn't have a sense of optimism for their futures, and what ambition looks like now. Her article in The New York Times is “Gen Z Fell Out of Love with Work. I Don't Blame Them.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

President Trump thought defeating Iran would be a clean and easy operation. He now finds himself in a quagmire. David E. Sanger, White House and National Security Correspondent for The New York Times, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss Trump's options for ending the war, which include military escalation, economic crackdown or simply declaring victory and walking away. His article is “Trump Seems Trapped by Iran War, Even as He Wields the World's Biggest Hammer.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

A language that was spoken thousands of years ago eventually morphed into nearly all of the languages spoken today in the West. Science writer Laura Spinney joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the proto-Indo-European language, how it connects languages as varied as English and Russian, and how researchers study ancient language with no written texts to guide them. Her book is “Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global.”This episode originally aired, July 22nd, 2026. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

For millions of Americans, health care benefits come from their jobs and now small businesses are finding they can no longer afford to offer them. Bob Herman, STAT's business of health care reporter, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how the end of subsidies to the Affordable Care Act means small businesses and those self-employed can no longer find an insurance option that fits their budget and how some employers are choosing between cutting insurance and cutting jobs. His series is “Out of Pocket, Out of Reach.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The San Andreas fault in California should produce a sizeable earthquake about every 150 years and it's starting to worry some that it hasn't. Rong-Gong Lin II joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what has scientists on edge about a massive fault line that hasn't had an earthquake in more than a century. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

A.I. and drones are changing warfare are the U.S. and its allies ready to meet the challenge? Yaroslav Trofimov, Chief Foreign-Affairs Correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why billions invested in new tanks, planes and warships might be better spent on cheap drones, how autonomous weapons are changing battle strategies, and why military leaders need to learn to adapt rapidly in order to win. His article is “There's a New Way of War, but Is It Evolution or Revolution?” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Colombia is known for its illicit drug trade and now cartels there are counterfeiting U.S. dollars. Yudhijit Bhattacharjee is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine who reports on transnational crime, national security and science. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how Colombian authorities are trying to track down criminal enterprises counterfeiting dollar bills, how this could harm economies in Latin America and erode trust in the dollar, and why these fakes have gotten so good it's hard to tell them from the genuine article. His article is “The Hunt for the Counterfeiter Trying to Make the Perfect Bill.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Long before A.I., people have worried about technology taking away the ability to work with our hands. Joshua Habgood-Coote is a lecturer in the School of Philosophy, Religion, and History of Science at the University of Leeds. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the centuries-old longing to get back to the “good old days” of craftsmanship, what this nostalgia means for our modern times, and why mastering a skill might help us to be more content in our desk-bound jobs. His article “Skill Nostalgia” was published by Aeon. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Wildfires are more dangerous than they've ever been — take if from a former firefighter. Jordan Thomas is a former Los Padres hotshot wildland firefighter and currently an anthropologist and chancellor's fellow at the University of California. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why climate change doesn't tell the whole story of why today's fires rage out of control, our complicated relationship to fire, and what it's like to run directly into the flames. His book is “When It All Burns: Fighting Fire in a Transformed World.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Open caskets used to be fairly standard, but we're losing the artists who make that possible. John Semley joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the history, culture and economics of morticians, why their particular trade is quickly going out of fashion, and how losing this restorative mortuary science is changing the way we grieve. His article “A Dying Art: The last of the morticians” was published in Harper's Magazine. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

There is a word that no woman wants to be called: ugly. Stephanie Fairyington is a journalist who writes on gender, sexuality, family and parenting. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her perception that she didn't live up to modern standards of pretty – whether because of her looks or her queerness – the stigma the word “ugly” holds for women, and how she's teaching her daughter to fight against standard measures of beauty. Her book is “Ugly: A Letter to My Daughter.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

On top of his responsibilities as Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, Marco Rubio is running Venezuela. Tyler Pager, White House correspondent for The New York Times, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how and why Rubio is making big economic and political decisions for the country, the role interim president Delcy Rodriguez plays in this arrangement, and how long the White House sees this model of governance playing out. His article is “How Marco Rubio Is Running Venezuela From Afar.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

For millions of caregivers, taking care of parents is a matter of love. But caregiving gets complicated when relationships are estranged. Katie Engelhart, contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the children who must decide whether to care for aging parents who abused them, the pressures they feel from outsiders, and how to make peace with bitter memories. Her article is “The Pain of Caring for a Parent Who Abused You.”  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Thomas Jefferson wrote passionately about individual freedoms, yet he enslaved hundreds. How did he square the two? Annette Gordon-Reed, Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss Jefferson's own words on race, what it meant to be “progressive” in pre-Revolutionary Southern America, and what his political aspirations meant for abolishing slavery altogether. Her book is “Jefferson on Race: A Reader.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

 We use our faces more than any other part of our body to communicate with others and that communication has evolved a lot over the centuries. Fay Bound-Alberti founded the Centre for Technology and the Body at King's College London where she leads Interface, a project examining technologies of the face. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how facial understanding is tied to where and when people live, what happens when someone is “face blind,” and why the Mona Lisa's smile is still so beguiling. Her book is “The Face: A Cultural History.”  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

There is comfort in certainty, but there is resilience in embracing the uncertain. Simone Stolzoff joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why striving for certainty cuts off creative thinking, why building tolerance for uncertainty helps prepares us for life's pitfalls, and why someone who claims to know it all might actually be dangerous. His book is “How to Not Know: The Value of Uncertainty.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Consumers are mad as hell, and they're not going to take it anymore. Heather Timmons writes about consumer rights for The Guardian. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why American shoppers are fed up with higher prices, inflation, private equity and A.I. customer service (among other things) and just navigating daily life is costing us billions of dollars a year in time and fees. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Taylor Swift's world tour was a huge hit, but will there be like it? Tom Wainwright, media editor at the Economist, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the rise of “local” entertainment, where artists want to appeal to a smaller segment of the population and not go “global,” and what that means for the United States' hold on shaping culture. His article is “Entertainment is being deglobalized.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Training to blast off in a rocket is one thing, but being the first mother in space turned out to be much harder. Anna Fisher was a NASA astronaut from 1996 to 2002, the chief of the Space Station branch of the Astronaut Office and the first mother in space. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her record as the longest serving astronaut at 36 years and 9 months, the ways her space flight became controversial and political, and about the trail she blazed for women today. She's part of the new PBS documentary “Once Upon a Time in Space.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Motherhood changes a woman's brain in many ways and now we know dad's minds are impacted, too. Darby Saxbe is a clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at the University of Southern California. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the changes fathers go through when a baby is born from hormones to attention span the important role grandfathers play, and why there's a pretty good reason for a “dad bod.” Her book is “Dad Brain: The New Science of Fatherhood and How It Shapes Men's Lives.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The Department of Justice traditionally operated with a certain level of independence until President Trump took office. Devlin Barrett writes about the Justice Department and FBI for The New York Times, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss evidence that Trump is using the department to exact revenge on his enemies, new orders DOJ employees have been given, and why cases about civil rights and tax fraud are being abandoned. His book is “The Department of Revenge: How Trump Took Control of American Justice.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Consciousness is something we can't touch, see or even measure and yet each of us possesses it. Michael Pollan joins host Krys Boyd to explore what we do and don't know about the mysteries of the conscious mind, the evolution of awareness, and to ponder if A.I. could ever really know its deepest self. His book is “A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness.”  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Racist and discredited ideas behind the “Great Replacement Theory” are fueling the rise of authoritarianism across the globe. Ibram X. Kendi is professor of history and the founding director of the Howard University Institute for Advanced Study, an interdisciplinary research enterprise examining global racism. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how authoritarian leaders tap into the fears of white populations to tighten their grip on power at the expense of Black and brown people worldwide. His book is “Chain of Ideas: The Origins of Our Authoritarian Age.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

 George Saunders' latest novel takes readers into a journey of the soul this time quite literally. The Booker Prize-winning author talks with host Krys Boyd about the book, which takes on greed, capitalism and questions of good and evil from the perspective of a being who must transport a soul to the afterlife. It's called “Vigil.”  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Unraveling the history of the Jim Crow South, personal stories are interwoven with humor and heartbreak. Tayari Jones is an author and C.H. Candler Professor of English and Creative Writing at Emory University. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her new novel, which follows two young Black women – both motherless and as close as sisters – navigating the era with different trajectories. The book is called “Kin.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

When you have the natural curiosity of David Sedaris, ordinary observations turn into moments of humor and humanity. The best-selling author joins host Krys Boyd to discuss his latest book of essays that lays out life in in the 21st Century, from his walking habit that garnered him a garbage truck, his souvenir from meeting the Pope, and what he thinks of life, death and even our love of dogs. His newest book is “The Land and Its People.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

America has long enjoyed a relatively calm home in North America, but President Trump's recent moves could upend that stability. This hour, Krys Boyd sits down with three guests to break down the state of U.S. relations with Mexico, Canada and Cuba. We'll explore why these nations have landed in Trump's crosshairs and examine what shifting diplomacy could mean for America's security in the years ahead. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Nuclear weapons have long been thought to be deterrents for global warfare– are they still? Rose Gottemoeller is William J. Perry Lecturer at the Center for International Security and Cooperation and a Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. From 2016 to 2019, she served as Deputy Secretary General of NATO. She joins guest host Paige Phelps to discuss why nuclear weapons are largely ineffective in stopping sustained attacks by cheap drones and why countries who want to acquire nukes should reconsider that strategy. Her article in Foreign Affairs is “The Strange Defeat of Nuclear Deterrence.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

We often look for happiness in big, emotional moments but something as simple as touching grass can spark joy. Ian Bogost joins guest host Paige Phelps to discuss the difference between satisfaction and gratification.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Grocery stores serve as hubs for many communities, and you can learn a lot about how our society functions (or doesn't) by looking closely at one. Ann Larson is a fellow with the Economic Hardship Reporting Project, and she joins guest host Courtney Collins to discuss the lives of grocery store workers, who are deemed essential but earn wages that don't cover basic life necessities. Her book is “Cleanup on Aisle Five: Essential Work, Poverty Wages, and the View from Behind the Supermarket Register.”  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Couples desperate to adopt often turn to underregulated for-profit adoption agencies. Filmmaker Gabrielle Glaser joins host Krys Boyd to discuss a system ripe for abuse, where “baby brokers” target pregnant women and play on the emotions of hopeful families. The Frontline documentary is called “Baby Brokers.”  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The most reluctant politician we've ever had just happens to have been our first president. H.W. Brands is Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss George Washington who saw himself as a solider and not a politician why he felt it was paramount for a president to defer to Congress, and the grievances he had against the crown before the Revolution. His book is “American Patriarch: The Life of George Washington.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Founding Fathers Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton fought for independence and they also fought each other. Jeffrey Rosen, former president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the battles Jefferson and Hamilton had over concepts of liberty and freedom, where they landed on states' rights vs. a powerful federal government, and why their arguments still frame political battles we have today. His book is “Pursuit of Liberty: How Hamilton vs. Jefferson Ignited the Lasting Battle over Power in America.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

America's history is a mix of pride and shame so how should we square those conflicting feelings? Yoni Appelbaum, deputy executive editor at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what it means to be a patriot when scholars argue about the American story, how we can get back to a shared understanding of who we are as a nation, and whether that's even possible. His article is “How to tell the American story.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

 The Declaration of Independence might've been written by men, but history was being made by women outside Independence Hall. Denise Kiernan, author, journalist, and producer, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the publishers, spies, and other extraordinary women that powered the American Revolution, why they are almost lost to history, and we'll get the real story of the woman known as “Molly Pitcher.” Her book is "Obstinate Daughters: The Rebels, Writers, and Renegade Women Who Ignited the American Revolution Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

 George Washington may have set the standard for American presidents, but those precedents wouldn't have mattered if John Adams hadn't followed through on them. 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. Her book is “Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic.”   Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

On July 4th, 2025, devastating floodwaters ripped through the Texas Hill Country, killing more than 130 people. After the Flood, a new podcast from the Texas Newsroom and PBS's Frontline, has followed survivors over the last year and tries to find out why this happened – and whether it could happen again.In this first episode, you'll hear what happened during those harrowing early morning hours of the flood. And you'll meet a father who had just sent his daughter to Camp Mystic two weeks earlier.You can find After the Flood wherever you get your podcasts. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

From our little fur babies to “Herbie” the car, we imbue the world around us with wonderous human-like qualities. Justin Gregg is senior research associate with the Dolphin Communication Project and an adjunct professor at St. Francis Xavier University, where he lectures on animal behavior and cognition. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the benefits of anthropomorphism and the detriments of its polar opposite dehumanization. Plus, we'll be introduced to a wide world where we love to see animals and objects as reflections of ourselves. His book is “Humanish: What Talking to Your Cat or Naming Your Car Reveals About the Uniquely Human Need to Humanize.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Originally, America's 250th birthday celebration was a bipartisan effort. Then President Trump took it over. Michael Scherer is a staff writer at The Atlantic, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss a newly rebranded celebration called America250, which has led to frustration among lawmakers over breakdowns in communication. Plus, we'll get an update on where the $150 million allocated for the event from the Big Beautiful Bill has been spent thus far. His article is “Inside America's Ugly Birthday Battle.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices