Think from KERA

House Democrats and the White House are locked in a battle over whether or not the 2020 census can ask respondents if they are U.S. citizens. NPR national correspondent Hansi Lo Wang joins host Krys Boyd to talk about how this simple question could alter the census count by as many as 4 million people. And we’ll discuss how that count will ultimately affect how Americans are represented in Congress.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is charged with a mission laid out by President Lincoln: “To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan.” Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie joins host Krys Boyd to talk about how the V.A. is working to provide more efficient care for vets – and how the department is evolving to address PTSD and mental health.

Last week, President Trump officially declared he’s running for re-election. The announcement has shared headlines with stories about increased tension with Iran, further testimony tied to the Mueller Report and, of course, the crowded field of Democratic presidential candidates. Host Krys Boyd sorts through the day’s news with a panel of Washington-based reporters: Abby Livingston of the Texas Tribune and Ron Elving, senior editor and correspondent for NPR.

After a motorcycle accident and the surgeries that followed, Travis Rieder became addicted to pain medications. Rieder is the director of the Master of Bioethics degree program at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, and he joins guest host Courtney Collins to talk about the agonizing process of weaning himself off the drugs – and about what the experience taught him about how we should address the current opioid crisis. His new book is called “In Pain: A Bioethicist’s Personal Struggle With Opioids” (Harper).

Without algae, we wouldn’t have everyday items like paint, shampoo – even beer! Ruth Kassinger joins guest host Courtney Collins to talk about how this miracle organism might just be the key to creating a more sustainable future. Her new book is called “Slime: How Algae Created Us, Plagued Us, and Just Might Save Us” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).

As a Marine, Elliot Ackerman served five tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, earning a Silver Star and Purple Heart. And he’s dedicated his post-military career to understanding conflict in the places he fought. He joins Courtney Collins to talk about the people he met upon returning to the Middle East – some of whom were once his adversaries. His new book is called “Places and Names: On War, Revolution, and Returning” (Penguin Press).

Oil production in the Permian Basin has doubled in the last three years to 2 million barrels a day. And the current boom in the oil industry trickles down to the residents of the towns that populate the area. Christian Wallace grew up in West Texas and once worked these oil fields, and he joins guest host Courtney Collins to talk about what it’s like to live through the ups and downs of an industry whose fortunes can change without warning. His story “The Permian Basin Is Booming With Oil. But at What Cost to West Texans?” appears in the current issue of Texas Monthly.

The Gorgon Stare is the most effective surveillance technology the Pentagon has ever developed. It can monitor thousands of moving targets at once across large cities and possibly even predict attacks. Arthur Holland Michel, founder and co-director of the Center for the Study of the Drone, joins host Krys Boyd to talk about balancing the Gorgon Stare’s ability to save lives with its potential for significant intrusion. His new book is called “Eyes in the Sky: The Secret Rise of Gorgon Stare and How It Will Watch Us All” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).

Throughout human history we’ve had an insatiable urge to chart the unknown. M.R. O’Connor joins host Krys Boyd to talk about how this drive to explore is deeply rooted in how our brains function, which she writes about in “Wayfinding: The Science and Mystery of How Humans Navigate the World” (St. Martin’s Press).

Eye-tracking technology offers companies a window into our thoughts as these devices monitor how our eyes engage with the world. Avi Bar-Zeev helped design the technology for Microsoft and other companies, and he joins host Krys Boyd to talk about how it works – and about whether we should worry about invasion of privacy – which he writes about for Vice.