From dolls and race cars to blocks and water guns, kids today play with a lot of the same toys their parents did. Design critic Alexandra Lange joins guest host of Courtney Collins to talk about what parents should

be thinking about when considering which playthings are right for their children. She writes about the topic in “The Design of Childhood: How the Material World Shapes Independent Kids” (Bloomsbury Publishing).

As we’ve evolved as a species, so has our sense of humor. Ken Jennings

joins guest host Courtney Collins to trace how we’ve developed into a

culture that prizes humor over more traditionally appreciated traits

like strength and wisdom. His new book is called “Planet Funny: How Comedy Took Over Our Culture” (Scribner).

For many American workers, the plan for retirement is to save as much as

possible and hope you don’t outlive it. Brookings Institution economist

Martin Neil Baily joins guest host Courtney Collins to talk about how

to better navigate advisory fees, reverse mortgages, long-term care

insurance and other tools available to retirees. He’s the author of a

new report called “The Retirement Revolution: Regulatory Reform to Enable Behavioral Change” (St. Martin’s Press).

As a girl growing up in the 1970s and ‘80s, Carina Chocano was bombarded with sexed-up Barbies, princesses in need of saving and an endless string of housewives on television. She joins us to talk about how girls absorb images from popular culture into their own identities, which she writes about in “You Play the Girl: On Playboy Bunnies, Stepford Wives, Train Wrecks, & Other Mixed Messages”(Mariner Books).

David Sedaris’ best-selling books have allowed him a comfortable life,

including a beach house on the North Carolina coast. And it’s at that

house that he did much of the reflection that goes into his new book, “Calypso.”

He joins us to talk about his latest story collection, which delves

deeply into middle age and mortality while maintaining his trademark

wit.

About 3 million drones were sold worldwide in 2017. And they’re used by

everyone from amateur photographers to marine biologists to military

strategists. Alex Fitzpatrick of Time magazine joins us to talk about

the many ways that these machines have infiltrated our lives. He oversaw

the magazine’s recent special report “The Drone Age.”

Clemantine Wamaryia and her sister, Claire, fled the Rwandan genocide and wandered the African continent for six years before finally landing in Chicago. Once in the United States, Clemantine flourished while Claire struggled. Clemantine joins us to talk about how their paths diverged – and about how her experience as a refugee is just one part of the person she’s become. Her new book is called “The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After” (Crown Publishing), and she’ll talk about it more tonight as part of DMA Arts & Letters Live.

When refugees leave their homes, they’re gambling that some place new will welcome them. Viet Thanh Nguyen knows that experience well as a refugee from Vietnam after the fall of Saigon. On World Refugee Day, he joins us to talk about the many obstacles that can stand in the way of making a new home in a foreign place. The Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist is the editor of the essay collection “The Displaced: Refugee Writers on Refugee Lives” (Abrams Press).

The rise of industrial farming and food processing has changed our diets. And if you are what you eat, then these methods have also changed us. Kristin Lawless joins us to talk about why mass production has led to less healthy foods – and about how we can reverse the trend. Her new book is called “Formerly Known As Food: How the Industrial Food System is Changing Our Minds, Bodies, and Culture” (St. Martin’s Press).

Workers are less tied to their employers these days than ever. That’s great for mobility, and not so good for anyone looking for a stable life. Sarah Kessler joins us to talk about how the gig economy is transforming the places people live, the hours they work and their ability to plan their lives. Her new book is called “Gigged: The End of the Job and The Future of Work” (St. Martin’s Press).