Think from KERA

At some point, the ascent of our professional lives levels off – and the next turn is a gentle descent into retirement. As Arthur C. Brooks wraps up his tenure as president of the American Enterprise Institute, he’s been thinking about maintaining a sense of purpose in life when work is no longer part of your identity. He joins host Krys Boyd to talk about how we can prepare for this part of our lives – his essay “Your Professional Decline is Coming (Much) Sooner Than You Think” appears in the July issue of The Atlantic.

Hate groups thrive online, particularly on Facebook. Will Carless joins host Krys Boyd to talk about an especially concerning element of these groups: the hundreds of active-duty police officers who are members. His story “To Protect and Slur” appears on revealnews.org.

Retired Admiral William McRaven has been involved in some of the most storied military exercises of the century – from capturing Saddam Hussein to killing Osama bin Laden. The former Chancellor of the University of Texas System joins host Krys Boyd to talk about highlights of his distinguished military career, which he writes about in “Sea Stories: My Life in Special Operations” (Grand Central Publishing).

For girls, getting your period is seen as the beginning of a transition into womanhood. So when menopause hits decades later, what does that transition signify? Darcey Steinke joins host Krys Boyd to talk about this part of a woman’s life that’s rarely discussed, which she writes about in “Flash Count Diary: Menopause and the Vindication of Natural Life” (Sarah Crichton Books).

Washington Post columnist George F. Will is an old-school conservative – as in all the way back to the Founding Fathers. He joins host Krys Boyd to make the case that America needs to re-engage with the nation’s founding principles, which he writes about in “The Conservative Sensibility” (Hachette).

When Americans think of the U.S.-Mexico border, immigration and security are usually the first two topics that come to mind. Host Krys Boyd talks with a pair of congressman who represents districts that span hundreds of miles along the border to find out how they are engaging with these issues on a practical level. Joining us on the show are Henry Cuellar, a Democrat representing the 28th District of Texas; and Will Hurd, a Republican representing the 23rd District of Texas.

The United States and China are in the midst of a full-blown trade war after the U.S. imposed 25 percent tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods. Host Krys Boyd breaks down who is actually shouldering the brunt of these tariffs with Matthew Yglesias, co-founder of Vox Media and co-host of The Weeds podcast; and Maurice D. Kugler, professor of public policy at George Mason University.

Bernie Sanders has pushed the Democratic Party to seriously consider backing universal healthcare, a higher minimum wage and a host of other progressive ideas. The Vermont senator joins host Krys Boyd to talk about the issues he’s building his presidential campaign around ahead of this week’s first round of Democratic primary debates. And later in the hour, we’ll assess the ever-growing field of candidates looking to unseat President Trump with a panel of party insiders.

The U.S. military once had an idea to strap bombs to bats. Meanwhile, the intelligence services thought of digging a spy tunnel under the Soviet embassy. Vince Houghton, historian and curator of the International Spy Museum, joins host Krys Boyd to talk about these and other wacky ideas that ultimately never came to fruition. His new book is called “Nuking the Moon: And Other Intelligence Schemes And Military Plots Left On The Drawing Board” (Penguin).

The National Security Council was established by President Truman to provide a core group of advisors to the White House on issues of security and foreign policy. John Gans is director of communications and research at Perry World House – the University of Pennsylvania’s global policy institute – and a fellow at the German Marshall Fund. He joins host Krys Boyd to talk about how the NSC has evolved since 1947 – and about how President Trump has adjusted the mix of advisors during his time in office. Gans is the author of “White House Warriors: How the National Security Council Transformed the American Way of War” (Liveright).