Think from KERA

Housekeepers get to know the intimate details of the people they serve – even when those same people barely know the names of those who clean their homes. Stephanie Land turned to housekeeping to make ends meet, and she joins host Krys Boyd to talk about her relationship to the people she served. Her new memoir is called“Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive”(Hachette).

Assisted suicide administered by a spouse is a gut-wrenching choice that some senior citizens feel is their only option. Ann Neumann joins host Krys Boyd to talk about how some people view the act as merciful while others see it as the ultimate betrayal.She writes aboutthe topic for Harper’s magazine.

Over the last 50 years, America has worked to convert the built world into an accessible one by adding crosswalks for the visually impaired, ramps for those in wheelchairs and countless other upgrades. Bess Williamson, associate professor of art history, theory and criticism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, joins host Krys Boyd to talk about how design has evolved as it attempts to accommodate all users, which she writes about in“Accessible America: A History of Disability and Design”(NYU Press).

Today’s youth have more resources to explore their identities than any previous generation. Cal State San Marcos sociologist Mary Robertson joins host Krys Boyd to talk about how young people are exploring their sexual and gender identities, which she writes about in “Growing Up Queer: Kids and the Remaking of LGBTQ Identity” (NYU Press).

The expanded use of fiber-optic connections has opened up new possibilities to health care, education, retail and other fields. Harvard Law professor Susan Crawford joins host Krys Boyd to explain why we need to approach fiber with an increased urgency or risk falling behind other developed nations. Her new book is called“Fiber: The Coming Tech Revolution – And Why America Might Miss It”(Yale).

Sophie Hannah is a champion grudge-holder – a distinction she’s come to appreciate. She joins host Krys Boyd to explain how grudges can actually be good for us if we think of them in the right context. Her new book is called“How to Hold a Grudge: From Resentment to Contentment – the Power of Grudges to Transform Your Life”(Scribner).

Acupuncture, yoga and other alternative therapies have helped people worldwide with chronic conditions. Yet the scientific community struggles to understand how these holistic approaches to healing work. Melanie Warner joins host Krys Boyd to talk about why an increasing number of patients are turning away from science – and about how the medical field is engaging with alternative medicine. Her new book is called“The Magic Feather Effect: The Science of Alternative Medicine and the Surprising Power of Belief”(Scribner).

If apes and monkeys are some of our closest animal kingdom cousins, why is it that they can sit around all day and be perfectly healthy and we cannot? Duke University evolutionary anthropologist Herman Pontzer joins host Krys Boyd to talk about how the same drive that led us to leave other species behind is the same thing that’s now negatively affecting our health. His story“Humans Evolved to Exercise”appears in the Scientific American.

The head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is charged with keeping Americans safe from a nuclear disaster. It’s a post Greg Jaczko once held, and he joins host Krys Boyd to talk about the difficulty of running an agency that has less political power than the industry it oversees. He writes about his experience in “Confessions of a Rogue Nuclear Regulator” (Simon & Schuster).

About 6,000 children passed through the tent city located in Tornillo, about 40 miles from El Paso. And after seven months in operation, the last child left earlier this month. Tanvi Misra joins host Krys Boyd to tell the story of the camp – how it ended up there, and how it came to such an abrupt end – whichshe writes aboutfor CityLab.