Think from KERA

New parents often bring home their new bundles of joy and immediately discover that when it comes to parenting the advice is limitless and often conflicting. Jennifer Traig – a mother herself – joins host Krys Boyd to talk about how parenting advice has evolved over the decades – and why there are still so many unresolved questions. Her new book is called “Act Natural: A Cultural History of Misadventures In Parenting” (Ecco).

We live in an age when the truth feels more malleable than ever. James Owen Weatherall, professor of logic and philosophy of science at the University of California, Irvine, joins host Krys Boyd to talk about the social and psychological factors that lead some to create their over versions of the truth. His new book – written with Cailin O’Connor – is called “The Misinformation Age: How False Beliefs Spread” (Yale University Press).

More than 250 million people worldwide suffer from depression – and yet treatment has changed very little in the last few decades. University of Cambridge psychiatry professor Edward Bullmore joins host Krys Boyd to talk about possible links between depression, stress and inflammation. His new book is called “The Inflamed Mind: A Radical New Approach to Depression” (Picador).

The preteen years for kids can be a juncture point in which some will continue a path toward maturity while others will leave their once-sweet selves behind. Ellen McCarthy joins host Krys Boyd to talk specifically about how middle school affects boys. Her story,“Being a Boy: Ages 11 and 12”– written with Amy Joyce – appeared recently in the Washington Post.

Between Twitter and the comments section, the Internet can seem like a place where polite discussion goes to die.  Antonio García Martínez joins host Krys Boyd to turn that narrative on its head. His story “Used Wisely, the Internet Can Actually Help Public Discourse” appears in Wired magazine.

Ida O’Keeffe was an accomplished artist in her own right – a distinction that her more famous sister, Georgia, worked diligently to cover up. Sue Canterbury, Pauline Gill Sullivan Associate Curator of American Art at the Dallas Museum of Art, joins host Krys Boyd to talk about Ida’s underappreciated work, which has only recently gained attention. The exhibition “Ida O’Keeffe: Escaping Georgia’s Shadow” is on view at the Dallas Museum of Art through Feb. 24.

Misdemeanors by definition are relatively minor crimes. UC-Irvine law professor Alexandra Natapoff joins host Krys Boyd to talk about how these infractions often tip vulnerable populations into poverty once the legal machine kicks in. Her new book is called “Punishment Without Crime: How Our Massive Misdemeanor System Traps the Innocent and Makes America More Unequal” (Basic Books).

As a 24-year-old, Mokhtar Alkhanshali left his life in San Francisco to explore the rich history of coffee farming in his ancestral home of Yemen. And it wasn’t until he arrived that he learned just how difficult it is to leave a country at war. Dave Eggers tells the story in“The Monk of Mokha”(Vintage Books), and Alkhanshali joins host Krys Boyd to talk about his experiences.

Standard treatment for cancer and other diseases involves diagnosing the problem and following a protocol. Science journalist Fran Smith joins host Krys Boyd to talk about a new way of treating disease called precision medicine, in which prevention, diagnosis and treatment are targeted to a patient’s unique biochemical makeup. She writes about the practice for National Geographic magazine.

Jessica Wilbanks grew up in the Pentecostal church – a life she left behind at 16. She joins host Krys Boyd to talk about how her decision alienated her from her fundamentalist parents – and about the difficult process of charting her own spiritual path, which she writes about in“When I Spoke in Tongues: A Story of Faith and its Loss”(Beacon Press).