Think from KERA

W.F. Strong is beloved by public radio listeners for his popular “Stories from Texas” segment that airs on The Texas Standard. He joins guest host John McCaa to tell some tales – some tall, some not – and to talk about the mythology that surrounds the Lone Star State. His new book is called “Stories from Texas: Some of Them Are True” (Great Texas Line Press).

As American cities debate what to do with Confederate monuments, many will be surprised to learn that over the last decade, taxpayers have spent $40 million on the preservation of these statues and Confederate heritage organizations. Brian Palmer of the Investigative Fund joins guest host John McCaa to talk about these links to America’s troubled past and the ongoing conversation about their future. His story “The Cost of the Confederacy,” written with Seth Freed Wessler, is a collaboration between Smithsonian magazine and The Investigative Fund at the Nation Institute.

Each year, The Dallas Morning News looks back at the previous 12 months to determine the Texan of the Year. Elizabeth Souder and Brendan Miniter of the paper’s editorial board join guest host John McCaa to talk about the finalists, which include Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall, the Austin bombing investigators, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson and this year’s winner, Laura Bush.

Octavio Solis grew up in El Paso before becoming one of America’s most accomplished Latino playwrights. He joins host Krys Boyd to tell stories of his younger days along the Rio Grande – and how they influenced his life and work. He gathers these vignettes in his new memoir, “Retablos: Stories From a Live Lived Along the Border” (City Lights Publishers).

The digitization of records and their availability online has offered unprecedented access for amateur genealogists. Kenyatta D. Berry, host of “Genealogy Roadshow” on PBS, joins host Krys Boyd to talk about using this information to build a story of your family – and about how collecting this data is still challenging for descendants of slaves. Her new book is called “The Family Tree Toolkit: A Comprehensive Guide to Uncovering Your Ancestry and Researching Genealogy” (Skyhorse Publishing).

Anne Frank is the most well-known of the 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust because of the diary she kept during her young life. Dara Horn joins us to talk about what Frank’s writings say about the person she would have become – and to introduce us to another Holocaust writer with a very different perspective. Horn’s story “Becoming Anne Frank” appears in Smithsonian magazine.

Estrangement is a situation that touches parents and their children, siblings and even lifelong friends. Harriet Brown joins us to talk about the building blocks that eventually create walls between loved ones – and about her fractured relationship with her own mother. Brown’s new book is called “Shadow Daughter: A Memoir of Estrangement” (Da Capo Press).

Researchers are currently testing a form of gene editing on mice that could hold the cure for many people born deaf. Science writer Dina Fine Maron joins host Krys Boyd to explain a fascinating procedure in which edited genes are attached to a virus and snuck by the immune system, which she writes about in the December issue of Scientific American.

With Democrats set to take control of the U.S. House of Representatives in January, some are already banging the drum for impeachment hearings for President Trump. David Priess, who served in both the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush White Houses, joins host Krys Boyd to take a historical look at presidential removal. His new book is called “How to Get Rid of a President: History’s Guide to Removing Unpopular, Unable, or Unfit Chief Executives” (PublicAffairs).

American Jews have established themselves in virtually every facet of American life. And that integration opens up a new set of challenges. Harvard Law professor Robert H. Mnookin joins host Krys Boyd to talk about how intermarriage, decreased religious observance and varying views on Israel are threatening American Jewish identity. His new book is called “The Jewish American Paradox: Embracing Choices in a Changing World” (PublicAffairs).