Think from KERA

As one of Barack Obama’s top aides, Ben Rhodes spent eight years in the White House working alongside the president. He joins us to talk about what it was like to wait out the Osama bin Laden raid, lead secret negotiations with other countries and serve as a sounding board to the leader of the free world. And we’ll talk about the former president’s concerns that he was possibly too aggressive in pushing liberal policies, which Rhodes writes about in his new memoir, “The World As it Is: A Memoir of the Obama White House” (Random House).

James Clapper served as Director of National Intelligence under President Obama. And since leaving the post, he’s been a defender of the intelligence community while also talking about improvements that can be made. He joins us to reflect on his time working in the White House – and about the current state of intelligence gathering – which he writes about in “Facts and Fears: Hard Truths from a Life in Intelligence” (Viking).

It wouldn’t be a trip to NPR headquarters in Washington without a visit with a few familiar voices. We talk with Sam Sanders about his new show, “It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders;” Shankar Vedantam digs into recent discoveries on “Hidden Brain;” and Leila Fadel revisits “Muslims in America,” a series she spent a year reporting.

The first gay pride parade took place in 1970 in New York City. And this month, cities across the nation will continue the tradition. We talk about how these events have evolved with Vincent E. Slatt of the Rainbow History Project and Jade Salazar, a historian and co-host of the TAGG Nation podcast.

In November, Texans will go to the polls to decide if Republican Ted Cruz will serve a second term in the U.S. Senate or be replaced by Democrat Beto O’Rourke. Each candidate joins us to talk about their current legislative priorities – and why he should represent Texas on Capitol Hill.

Every day, doctors see people at the lowest moments in their lives. This hour, we talk with a trio of physicians about the human side of healing. Joining us are an E.R. doc who learned about critical care from her own emergency, a former resident who learned about the poorest among us by working in a free clinic, and a battlefield surgeon who was forced to balance his dual roles of life-saver and trained killer.

Black athletes are some of today’s most vocal social critics – from Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem to LeBron James wearing an “I Can’t Breathe” T-shirt following Eric Garner’s death. ESPN senior writer Howard Bryant joins us to talk about the history of black ballplayers speaking out – from Jackie Robinson to the present. His new book is called “The Heritage: Black Athletes, A Divided America, and the Politics of Patriotism” (Beacon Press).

Young women face a lot of pressure as they begin their careers, find a mate and consider starting a family. And when those same women face serious illnesses, there’s extra pressure to pretend all is well. Michele Lent Hirsch is one of those women, and she joins us to talk about how she and others in her situation manage their medical conditions amid their busy lives. Her new book is called “Invisible: How Young Women with Serious Health Issues Navigate Work, Relationships, and the Pressure to Seem Just Fine” (Beacon Press).

In 1587, 115 people crossed the Atlantic from England to establish a colony off the coast of North Carolina. But when the colony’s leader, John White, returned after gathering supplies, he found not a soul in the camp. Andrew Lawler joins us to talk about his attempt to solve one of the greatest mysteries in American history, which he writes about in “The Secret Token: Myth, Obsession, and the Search for the Lost Colony of Roanoke” (Doubleday).

Almost half of all renters spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent. And with the lack of affordable housing, it’s no wonder more than 500,000 Americans spend the night on the streets. Bryce Covert joins us to talk about how our current affordable-housing crisis came to be, which she writes about for The Nation.