Think from KERA

Single-payer health care was one of Bernie Sanders’ campaign promises during his presidential run. And the baton has been picked up by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Beto O’Rourke and other prominent Democrats. Dr. Elisabeth Rosenthal, editor-in-chief of Kaiser Health News, joins us to talk about the feasibility of the idea – and if it would even be better than the broken system we’re currently under. She wrote about the topic recently for The New York Times. Her latest book is “An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back.”

About a quarter of all African-Americans own a gun – and that number is on the rise. RJ Young is one of them, and he joins us to talk about his experience as an NRA-certified pistol instructor and about the differences between white and black gun culture. His new book is called “Let It Bang: A Young Black Man’s Reluctant Odyssey Into Guns” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).

Death may be the one topic that nobody likes to talk about. Michael Hebb joins us to talk about why it’s important to engage with friends and loved ones about end-of-life wishes – and to offer practical tips for getting the conversation started. His new book is called “Let’s Talk About Death (Over Dinner): An Invitation and Guide to Life’s Most Important Conversation” (Da Capo).

For the last decade, Facebook has helped people separated by physical distance to reconnect and remain close. And it’s also been the place where those same people have found themselves alienated from one another because of both real and fake news. James Jacoby talks with us about whether or not Facebook is a net positive for society, the subject of his two-part Frontline investigation “The Facebook Dilemma,” which airs Oct. 29-30 on PBS stations.

College campuses were once safe spaces for the exchange of ideas. These days, though, both professors and students often feel as if they’re walking on eggshells. We talk with social psychologist Jonathan Haidt to explain why we’re setting students up to fail when we overprotect them during these formative years. He’s a co-author of “The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up a Generation for Failure” (Penguin Press).

In Tommy Orange’s debut novel, “There, There” (Knopf), 12 Native Americans living in Oakland intersect at the Big Oakland Powwow. The book has been hailed by readers and critics alike, and we talk with Orange about creating native characters who participate in the modern world while holding tightly to their identities.

The two-week fight at the Chosin Reservoir was one of the decisive battles of the Korean War – and one of the seminal moments in the history of the Marine Corps. We talk with historian Hampton Sides about the courageous Marines who braved sub-zero temperatures to fight a battle in which they were seriously outnumbered. Sides tells their story in “On Desperate Ground: The Marines at The Reservoir, the Korean War’s Greatest Battle” (Doubleday).

Nearly every major national story-line of the last year has been funneled through the lens of the midterm elections. This hour, we look at voting in America past and present. We’ll start with a conversation with Pew Research Center senior researcher Alec Tyson aboutwhich issues are driving voters to the polls this year. And we’ll continue with a look at how voting machines are susceptible to tampering and an analysis of how some laws are disenfranchising people of color.

The most trying time for any inhabitant of the Oval Office is when the nation is at war. Historian Michael Beschloss joins us to talk about how presidents have navigated Congress, the press and the American people in guiding the country through armed conflict – and about what future presidents can learn from history. His new book is called “Presidents of War” (Crown).

People who suffer from epilepsy can find it difficult to move forward in life while under the constant threat of experiencing an episode. That was Kurt Eichenwald’s experience, and he joins us to talk about this often misunderstood condition – and how he’s learned to navigate it. His new book is called “A Mind Unraveled” (Ballantine Books).