KERA's Think

One solution to a dearth of housing units is to build them more efficiently. Henry Grabar is a staff writer at Slate, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss new, pre-fabricated housing options. That includes not only mobile homes, but also single-family units and even apartment buildings. Plus, we’ll hear how builders are hoping to streamline construction to have homes up in not months, but days. His article is “The Solution to America’s Housing Crisis Might Be Built in a Factory.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

If A.I. can write a song with just you in mind, will you still be able to share that musical experience with others? Joshua Rothman, a staff writer for The New Yorker, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what happens to culture when we rely on A.I. to generate visual art or music, what it means for engaging in difficult subjects, and what machine-generated art means for our very human desires. His article is “A.I. Is Coming for Culture.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Gen X kids were left to their own devices as latchkey kids. Now they’re raising Gen Z, and it’s definitely not as freewheeling. David French is an opinion columnist at The New York Times, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the over-parenting of Gen X – including constant monitoring and check-ins with teachers – and the anxiety showing up in Gens Z and Alpha. His essay in The Times is “How Did the Latchkey Kids of Gen X Become the Helicopter Parents of Gen Z?” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The phrase “Black girl magic” has deep roots in enslaved women’s lives. Lindsey Stewart is associate professor of philosophy at the University of Memphis, and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the medicine that stemmed from African traditions that was often more trusted than white doctors’ advice, how this magic was passed down through generations, and how it endures today. Her book is “The Conjuring of America: Mojos, Mermaids, Medicine, and 400 Years of Black Women’s Magic.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

When her abusive husband kidnapped her child for nine days, Karen Palmer knew it was time to run. The writer and Pushcart Prize-winner joins guest host Courtney Collins to discuss the early teenage trauma that drove her into a dangerous relationship with her ex-husband, why she fled into “D.I.Y witness protection” and changed her identity, and how she finally found the courage to write about her experiences. Her book is “She’s Under Here: A Memoir.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

After decades of use, hormonal birth control is suddenly under the microscope. Emma Goldberg, business features writer for The New York Times, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why birth control has become a political issue, why a growing number of women are pushing back on taking it, and how social media influencers are driving the conversation. Her article is “‘Who Am I Without Birth Control?’” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

It’s hard out there for singles trying to date, especially now that A.I. has entered the chat. Patricia Marx, staff writer for The New Yorker, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her experiment into “dating” A.I. models that promised companionship, whether they could actually make the perfect partner, and if we need flesh and blood to make our hearts sing. Her article is “Playing the Field with My A.I. Boyfriends.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

It’s common knowledge, say, that every driver stops for a stop sign – and we shouldn’t take that shared understanding for granted. Steven Pinker is the Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the rules of society we all know and follow and the ways our world would fall apart if people disregarded this social contract. His book is “When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows . . .: Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power, and Everyday Life.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Inflation in the U.S. has been rising since the spring, and the job market is softening. Will these trends extend beyond our borders? Mohamed A. El-Erian is president of Queens’ College, University of Cambridge and Renee Kerns Professor of Practice at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how American economic trends spread globally, why even a devalued dollar is still the currency preferred internationally and if Federal Reserve President Jerome Powell should resign. His article “Is America Breaking the Global Economy?” was published by Foreign Affairs. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

An overarching desire to seek revenge can be just as potent as a drug addiction. James Kimmel Jr. is a lecturer in psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine, a lawyer and the founder and co-director of the Yale Collaborative for Motive Control Studies. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss parts of the brain that light up when a revenge scenario is talked about, why Americans equate justice with revenge, and what happens when we focus on forgiveness instead. His book is “The Science of Revenge: Understanding the World’s Deadliest Addiction – and How to Overcome It.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

One in 20 children is allergic to peanuts — but a cure may be on the horizon. Maryn McKenna is a journalist specializing in public health, global health and food policy and is a contributing editor at Scientific American. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why peanut allergies jumped astronomically since the 1990s, what makes the allergy so deadly, and how researchers are zeroing in on cures for a hypervigilant population of allergy sufferers. Her article is “Can Peanut Allergies Be Cured?” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

When bad journalism and moneyed interests collide, science suffers. Peter J. Hotez is dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine and professor of pediatrics and molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine – and he played a key role in developing the Covid-19 vaccine. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how anti-science factions have hijacked the conversation and his many failed attempts to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. onboard with vaccines. His book, written with Michael E. Mann, is “Science Under Siege: How to Fight the Five Most Powerful Forces that Threaten Our World.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Maggots may be unappetizing, but they may play a key role in the future of what ends up on your plate. Nicolás Rivero, climate solutions reporter at The Washington Post, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss an operation in France using billions of maggots to process food waste and feed cattle, and what this novel approach to industrial farm waste says about the future of the industry. His article is “At the world’s biggest bug farm, 10 billion maggots recycle food waste.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

President Trump’s request that Texas redraw its congressional districts has created a domino effect around the country. Robert T. Garrett is the former Austin bureau chief for The Dallas Morning News, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss redistricting and other challenges to the status quo Trump hopes start in Texas and spread from there. His article for ProPublica and The Texas Tribune is “The Texas Redistricting Fight Has Been the Testing Ground for the Trump Administration’s Latest Legal Strategy.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

To set some world records, you need buy-in from a lot of people – and it’s harder than you might think to get thousands together just to play a kazoo. Lauren Larson, senior staff writer at Texas Monthly magazine, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the difficulty of setting wacky world records today, when lackadaisical participants prefer to stay at home post-lockdown and Guiness Book of World Records rules are stringent. Her article is “They Want You to Get Off Your Couch, and Go Set a World Record” was published in The New York Times Magazine. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Former CDC director and now CEO of Resolve to Save Lives Dr. Tom Frieden joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why we need the political will to transform an ailing system. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

An at home DNA test might be a fun window into the past, but they can go sideways — so much so that a cottage industry has sprung up to deal with the fallout. Jennifer Wilson is a staff writer at The New Yorker, and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss when home DNA kits like 23andMe reveal paternity secrets, children who feel like this new information has led to a “re-birth” and why anger is fueling a call for paternity testing at birth. Her article is “The Family Fallout of DNA Surprises.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Did you know that the outfit you are wearing right now is a leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions? Laila Petrie, director general of the charity Future Earth Lab, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what counts as sustainable in the fashion industry – where greenwashing is rampant – and how fast fashion contributes to climate change. Her article in Scientific American is “How to Be a Smarter Fashion Consumer in a World of Overstated Sustainability.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Both the left and right have failed to craft policies that end gun violence — so what might work? Jens Ludwig is a professor of public policy at the University of Chicago, where he also directs the school’s crime lab. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how behavioral economics offers insight into what works to curb gun homicides. His new book is “Unforgiving Places: The Unexpected Origins of American Gun Violence.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Our current loneliness epidemic may seem insurmountable, but solutions to overcome the problem are out there. This episode, host Krys Boyd talks with three experts who take on loneliness head on, from why it’s so hard to address, to ways to use our creativity to connect with others, to a guide for making and keeping friends. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices