Think from KERA

When refugees leave their homes, they’re gambling that some place new will welcome them. Viet Thanh Nguyen knows that experience well as a refugee from Vietnam after the fall of Saigon. On World Refugee Day, he joins us to talk about the many obstacles that can stand in the way of making a new home in a foreign place. The Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist is the editor of the essay collection “The Displaced: Refugee Writers on Refugee Lives” (Abrams Press).

Clemantine Wamaryia and her sister, Claire, fled the Rwandan genocide and wandered the African continent for six years before finally landing in Chicago. Once in the United States, Clemantine flourished while Claire struggled. Clemantine joins us to talk about how their paths diverged – and about how her experience as a refugee is just one part of the person she’s become. Her new book is called “The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After” (Crown Publishing), and she’ll talk about it more tonight as part of DMA Arts & Letters Live.

Workers are less tied to their employers these days than ever. That’s great for mobility, and not so good for anyone looking for a stable life. Sarah Kessler joins us to talk about how the gig economy is transforming the places people live, the hours they work and their ability to plan their lives. Her new book is called “Gigged: The End of the Job and The Future of Work” (St. Martin’s Press).

The rise of industrial farming and food processing has changed our diets. And if you are what you eat, then these methods have also changed us. Kristin Lawless joins us to talk about why mass production has led to less healthy foods – and about how we can reverse the trend. Her new book is called “Formerly Known As Food: How the Industrial Food System is Changing Our Minds, Bodies, and Culture” (St. Martin’s Press).

Even good-faith negotiations can sometimes end in a standstill. So what next? Daniel Shapiro, founder and director of the Harvard International Negotiation Program, joins us to talk about how we often let our emotions and identities get in the way of resolutions. He speaks tonight at the Belo Mansion to the Harvard Club of Dallas.

The Mexican population in the U.S. has skyrocketed in the last 40 years – from about 700,000 in the 1970s to more than 35 million today. Alfredo Corchado immigrated in 1987, and he joins us to tell his story – and the story of how Mexicans have changed America. His new book is called “Homelands: Four Friends, Two Countries, and the Fate of the Great Mexican-American Migration” (Bloomsbury). He speaks tonight at The Wild Detectives book store in Dallas.

Since opening its doors in 2016, theNational Museum of African American History and Culturehas been one of the hottest tickets in Washington. We take a tour of the new exhibition“Watching Oprah: The Oprah Winfrey Show and American Culture”with its curator. And later in the hour, we cross the National Mall for a trip to theNational Museum of the American Indianand a tour of“Americans,”an exhibition that looks at how American Indians are portrayed in popular culture.

Earlier this year, the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery unveiled official portraits of President Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama. And since then, other paintings of prominent figures in U.S. history have been added, including Henrietta Lacks. Gallery director Kim Sajet joins us to talk about these new works – and about how artists capture the essence of their subjects through these paintings.

Today, President Trump meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore. We talk about the historic summit – and the news of the day in Washington – with NPR White House reporter Ayesha Rascoe and Abby Livingston of the Texas Tribune.

Glenn Kessler has one of the toughest – and politically perilous – jobs in the media. As the Washington Post’s Fact Checker columnist, he analyzes what politicians say to discern who’s telling the truth and who’s muddying the waters. Kessler joins us to talk about his process for separating fact from fiction – and about when it’s OK to call a lie a lie.