Think from KERA

From the road, the dollar store inside the strip mall is innocuous, maybe a place for a bargain or a last-minute purchase. And they’re popular – increasing in number 50-percent in the last 10 years. But they’re also home to a steady stream of violence. Alec MacGillis covers politics and government for ProPublica, and he joins host Krys Boyd to talk about when corporate neglect and food deserts begin to define a community. His recent article is headlined “How Dollar Stores Became Magnets for Crime and Killing.”

You might remember the horrifying images of Romanian orphanages released in the 1990s: children rocking themselves for comfort in cribs, babies left alone and uncared for, emotional and physical development stunted. Was the damage done beyond repair? Melissa Fay Greene, Kirk Distinguished Writer in Residence at Agnes Scott College, joins host Krys Boyd to talk about severe attachment disorders and the science behind reaching the children of serious trauma. Her article published in The Atlantic is “Can an Unloved Child Learn to Love?”

James Baldwin said, “hope is invented every day.” But what if that hope conjured by one race is ignored and trampled on by others? Frank B. Wilderson III, professor and chair of African American studies at the University of California, Irvine, joins host Krys Boyd to talk about a theory of Black experience that can never be detached from slavery. His book is called “Afropessimism.”

Quarantines are stifling; time seems to have stopped and we feel trapped inside. But there is physical freedom waiting for us right below our feet. Psychiatrist Sue Stuart-Smith talks to host Krys Boyd about therapeutic horticulture, which she writes about in “The Well-Gardened Mind: The Restorative Power of Nature.”

From the beginning of pandemic lockdown, the message has been: When we get a vaccine, life will go back to normal. But when that will be – if ever – remains an open question. Dr. Seema Yasmin is an epidemiologist, medical doctor, journalist, and a former officer in the Epidemic Intelligence Service at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She joins host Krys Boyd to talk about the latest research on COVID-19 antibodies, treatments and the development of a vaccine.

Imagine rounding up patients afflicted with a highly infectious disease and ordering them to isolate without outside contact for the rest of their lives. It’s not science fiction, but the history of a Leprosy colony in Louisiana. NPR news correspondent Pam Fessler joins host Krys Boyd to talk about broken lives rebuilt behind walls, the staff that cared for them, and the battle for patient rights. Her new book is called “Carville's Cure: Leprosy, Stigma, and the Fight for Justice.”

We’re well-aware of our globalized world and yet, it still somehow shocked us that a virus that originated in China could upend the lives of millions on our shores. Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations and former senior Middle East advisor to President George H.W. Bush, joins host Krys Boyd to give his 101 in foreign policy and how it strengthens—or weakens—our lives. His book is called “The World: A Brief Introduction.”

We all know what it takes to live a healthier lifestyle, but with everyday stress piling up, it can be difficult to get started. This hour, host Krys Boyd talks with experts about simple ways to get healthier: a neuroscientist teaches us about the importance of a good night’s sleep, a journalist delves into the science of deep breaths, and a doctor talks about why when we eat is just as important as what we eat.

You can draw a straight line from income inequality back to Jim Crow laws and slavery. Therefore, there’s an argument to be made for a monetary path toward addressing those wrongs. William A. Darity Jr., Samuel DuBois Cook Distinguished Professor of Public Policy at Duke University, joins host Krys Boyd to talk about his case for compensation to heal centuries of harm. His book, co-written with A. Kirsten Mullen, is called “From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans In the Twenty-First Century.”

In New York and Florida, contact tracers are unable to track down guests who attended super-spreader events. In New Mexico, officials are pursuing court-ordered quarantines. Why won’t Americans comply with government rules? Wired magazine contributor Gideon Lewis-Kraus joins host Krys Boyd to talk about how other nations have more successfully contained the coronavirus thanks to a shared trust with citizens – and about what it will take for the U.S. to rebuild a similar level of trust. His article is headlined “How to Make Government Trustworthy Again.”