Think from KERA

Patients in hospice care tend to sleep a lot – and those periods of blissful rest can lead to a new way of dreaming. Dr. Christopher Kerr, CEO and chief medical officer at Hospice Buffalo, joins host Krys Boyd to talk about observing end-of-life patients and how their dreams and visions provide moments of beauty and affirmation. His new book is called “Death is But a Dream: Finding Hope and Meaning at Life’s End.”

Five-thousand Texas ranches keep at least one exotic animal species. That means everything from antelopes to zebras. Asher Elbein joins host Krys Boyd to talk about what happens when a nilgai meets the cow – and how these nonnative animals are affecting the landscape. His article published in The Texas Observer is “The Texotics.”

Asian and Asian-American women often find themselves in a battle against colorism – even from within their own families. Nikki Khanna, associate professor in the department of sociology at the University of Vermont, joins host Krys Boyd to talk about how these women internalize feelings of being less than. Her new book is called “Whiter: Asian American Women on Skin Color and Colorism.”

Reproductive rights make headlines during presidential campaigns and out of the Supreme Court. It’s less common, however, to hear from women with firsthand experience. Diana Greene Foster is a professor in the University of California, San Francisco’s Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Services and director of research at Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH). She joins host Krys Boyd to talk about her longitudinal study focused on individual experiences, the subject of her book “The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having – or Being Denied – an Abortion.”

In August 1920, American women were granted the right to vote. And the reality is, they fought hard to take it. Writer, director and producer Michelle Ferrari joins host Krys Boyd to talk about the passage of the 19th Amendment and the brave women who pushed that movement to success. Her two-part American Experience documentary, “The Vote,” debuts tonight on PBS stations.

Robert Gates, served as secretary of defense under presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, former officer in the United States Air Force and worked for the CIA before being appointed director of the agency. A member of the National Security Council staff in four administrations, he served eight presidents of both political parties. He was president of Texas A&M University from 2002 to 2006, is currently chancellor of the College of William & Mary, was national president of the Boy Scouts of America from 2014 to 2016, and in 2018 he became chairman of Eisenhower Fellowships. “Exercise of Power: American Failures, Successes, and a New Path Forward in the Post-Cold War World.”

From caterpillar to chrysalis to fully formed butterfly, these insects inspire wonder, fascination and a whole world of science exploring their quirks. Journalist Wendy Williams joins host Krys Boyd to talk about the colorful, weird and beautiful ways butterflies survive — and how they help humans live. Her book is called “The Language of Butterflies: How Thieves, Hoarders, Scientists, and Other Obsessives Unlocked the Secrets of the World’s Favorite Insect.”

Colson Whitehead’s latest novel is based on a real juvenile detention reformatory in 1960s Florida. He joins host Krys Boyd to talk about his story of two boys, bound by the trauma around them as they swing between hope and cynicism. Earlier this year, “The Nickel Boys” earned Whitehead his second Pulitzer Prize.

Nationalism would seem to be at odds with an increasingly interconnected world. But throughout history, nation-states have always had to navigate a push-pull relationship with places beyond their borders. Thomas Meaney, a fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity in Göttingen, Germany, joins host Krys Boyd to talk about the history of military intervention, citizen uprisings, and the ideas around citizenship that define belonging in our world. His article published in The Point magazine is headlined “The Idea of a Nation.”

Despite its name, a 500-year storm really means there’s 1 in 500 chance of occurring in any given year. Between 2015 to 2017, Houston experienced three—not great odds. Are cities pivoting as quickly to protect citizens? Shayla Love, a senior staff writer at Vice covering science, medicine, health, drugs, and climate, talks to host Krys Boyd about all the hidden things that make a city run smoothly and why it’s not ready to face the reality of climate change. Her article is “Our Infrastructure Is Being Built for a Climate That’s Already Gone.”