Think from KERA

A lot of kids first learn about the law in school. And if they study hard enough, they’ll learn that as students they’re often stripped of their Constitutional rights. University of Chicago law professor Justin Driver joins us to talk about how corporal punishment, random drug testing and backpack searches can be administered at schools. His new book is called“The Schoolhouse Gate: Public Education, the Supreme Court, and the Battle for the American Mind”(Pantheon).

New York Times reporter C.J. Chivers has covered war in Afghanistan and Iraq for more than a decade. The Pulitzer Prize winner joins us to tell the stories of these conflicts through the eyes of the U.S. military members fighting them, which he writes about in“The Fighters”(Simon & Schuster).

As a teenager growing up in Pakistan, Khalida Brohi’s life changed when she learned that her uncle had killed her female cousin in a so-called honor killing. Brohi joins us to talk about how that moment vaulted her into a life of activism to empower women, which she writes about in“I Should Have Honor: A Memoir of Hope and Pride in Pakistan”(Random House).

What’s the relationship between masculinity and violence? The question was on the mind of Thomas Page McBee, a trans man who took up boxing as a way of exploring the connection. He joins us to talk about what he learned, which he writes about in“Amateur: A True Story About What Makes a Man”(Scribner).

A string of recent court cases have been based on the claim that Asian Americans are victims of reverse discrimination in hiring and college admissions. Journalist Iris Kuo joins us to talk about how these cases are raising questions about privilege and identity, which she writes about in“The ‘Whitening’ of Asian Americans”for The Atlantic.

Each week, Kwame Anthony Appiah helps readers of The New York Times with their moral quandaries as the paper’s Ethicist columnist. He joins us to further explore how we see ourselves in relation to one another, which he writes about in“The Lies That Bind: Rethinking Identity”(Liveright).

The number of students majoring in the humanities has declined dramatically in the last decade. Northeastern University assistant professor Benjamin Schmidt joins us to talk about the importance of studying literature, philosophy and related pursuits – and about how these fields can actually still lead to gainful employment. His article“The Humanities Are in Crisis”appears in The Atlantic.

Wendy Sherman served in the state department under President Clinton and President Obama, rising to Deputy Secretary of State. She joins us to talk about negotiating deals with North Korea and Iran – and about how we can apply the tools of diplomacy to our own lives. Her new book is called “Not for the Faint of Heart: Lessons in Courage, Power & Persistence”(Public Affairs).

Some of the biggest decisions in life are also the ones we’re least equipped to make. Steven Johnson joins us to talk about how the most effective decision-makers expertly consider the future outcomes of their choices, which he writes about in “Farsighted: How We Make the Decisions That Matter the Most” (Riverhead Books).

A passionate group on Twitter can kill a promising movie project and get prominent people fired. Should social media, though, be the judge and jury on important issues? Amanda Hess writes about internet culture for The New York Times, and she joins us to talk about the difference between a viciousTwitter mob and an online critical consensus.