Think from KERA

Older people have seen a lot – including plenty of tough times. And yet we so often neglect to ask elders about the wisdom they’ve gained through perseverance.Dr. Karl Pillemer, professor of gerontology in medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine,joins host Krys Boyd to look at our current crisis through the eyes of people who can say from experience that “this, too, shall pass.”

On “Project Runway,” there’s always an avant-garde challenge in which contestants make clothing that’s wild and not consumer-ready. Eventually, though, some wild ideas trickle down to the showroom floor. Shahidha Bari, professor of fashion cultures and histories at the London College of Fashion, joins host Krys Boyd to talk about what we’re telling the world when we put on a ball gown – or a pair of worn-out jeans. Her book is called “Dressed: A Philosophy of Clothes.”

We all want to feel like we fit in. But insecurity about our social status is actually something many of us have in common.Olga Khazan, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to talk about how her outsider status growing up shaped her–and about what research says about the advantages of being different.Her book is called “Weird: The Power of Being an Outsider in an Insider World.”

Today’s “Think” show is dedicated to talking with experts to try to explain some of the more mysterious elements of the coronavirus. Host Krys Boyd talks with Dr. Peter Hotez, founding dean and chief of the Baylor College of Medicine National School of Tropical Medicine, about the push for a COVID-19 vaccine. Wired senior correspondent Adam Rogers talks about the math behind epidemiological models. And Courtney Cogburn, associate professor of social work at Columbia University, discusses why black and Latino Americans are disproportionately affected.

For many women in the workplace, especially women of color, obstacles and doubts are often internalized.Cecilia Muñozwas thedirector oftheDomestic Policy Councilunder President Obamaand isnow vicepresident for Public Interest Technology and Local Initiatives at New America and aseniorfellow at Results for America. Shejoinshost Krys Boyd totalk abouthow to gain confidence, leadership and the respect of the room when you’reinthe minority. Her book is “More Than Ready: Be Strong and Be You…And Other Lessons for Women of Color on the Rise.”

As the world grapples with the scale and severity of the coronavirus pandemic, President Trump has both pointed fingersatand asked for help from the W.H.O., China and international industry.Ambassador Nicholas Burnsserved asU.S. Undersecretary of State for Political AffairsandU.S. Ambassador to NATOunder President George W. Bush. He’s nowprofessor ofdiplomacy andinternationalrelations at the Harvard Kennedy Schoolof Government, and hejoins hostKrys Boyd to talkabout strategies to align the world in the battle forcollectivepublic health. Hisessayin Foreign Affairs is “How to Lead in a Time of Pandemic.”

We are, inarguably, in a time of national crisis. And faced with an

unclear future and mounting anxiety, it’s tough to know how to act – and

who to follow. Catherine A. Sanderson, Manwell Family Professor of Life

Sciences at Amherst College, joins host Krys Boyd to talk about the

psychology of groupthink and how to become a leader. Her book is “Why We Act: Turning Bystanders into Moral Rebels.”

We have ordering online down to a science: search, select, click and deliver – often the same day. But with the coronavirus pandemic, is this incredible efficiency also our downfall? Abraham Newman, professor at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service and director of the Mortara Center for International Studies, joins host Krys Boyd to talk about how smoothing out all the bumps in our international supply chains created an unexpected shock in the system. His Foreign Affairs article, co-written with Henry Farrell, is“Will the Coronavirus End Globalization as We Know It?”

Are we out of ideas? Or are we, as a society, just exhausted? Ross Douthat is a columnist for The New York Times and co-host of the paper’s weekly op-ed podcast, “The Argument.” He joins host Krys Boyd to talk about what he reads in the nation’s tea leaves for the trajectory of future innovation. His new book is called “The Decadent Society: How We Became the Victims of Our Own Success.”

Before the invention of the clock, the concept of time, even the way we sleep, looked a lot different. Ainissa Ramirez joins host Krys Boyd to talk about eight inventions we often overlook – including an accurate clock – and how they changed the way we live. Her book is “The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another.”