Think from KERA

Barbara Pierce Bush – along with her sister, Jenna – grew up surrounded by politics. First their grandfather became president, then their father was elected governor before moving into the White House himself. She joins us to talk about growing up in the spotlight – and about moving beyond it to make a life of her own. Her new book, written with Jenna Bush Hager, is called “Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life” (Grand Central Publishing). She’s in town to accept Austin College’s Posey Leadership Award. To get ready for the conversation, check out the Dallas Morning News interview with the Bush twins.

Twenty-five years ago, cult leader David Koresh entered into a standoff with federal agents that ended in the deaths of 75 people, including his own. A new documentary features survivors and law enforcement officers who experienced the tragedy, and executive producer Charles Poe joins us to talk about how the situation could’ve been handled differently. “Waco: The Longest Siege” airs April 9 at 7 p.m. on Smithsonian Channel.

In “The Underground Railroad,” two slaves escape their Georgia plantation and navigate the country along the secret network. The novel earned Colson Whitehead a National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, and he joins us to talk about how he wove the nation’s history into the experiences of his main characters. Read Whitehead’s interview with the Dallas Morning News.

For centuries, humans have altered animal habitats, turning wild spaces into concrete cities. Urban ecologist Menno Schilthuizen joins us to talk about how lizards, birds and other creatures are adapting to better live alongside us. His new book is called “Darwin Comes to Town: How the Urban Jungle Drives Evolution” (Picador).

As a 14-year-old, Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped in the middle of the night and kept in chains for nine months. In the 15 years since being reunited with her family, Smart has focused her life on helping others recover from traumatic events. She joins us to talk about what she learned from interviewing others who have survived adversity, which she writes about in “Where There’s Hope: Healing, Moving Forward, and Never Giving Up” (St. Martin’s Press). Read the Dallas Morning News Q&A and hear her speak tonight at Interabang Books in Dallas.

In Anna Quindlen’s new novel, “Alternate Side,” life in a quiet New York City neighborhood is upended when the residents squabble over use of the street’s small parking lot. Quindlen joins us to talk about how something so small can divide people – and about how a traumatic event reveals tension among her characters.

Most of us have looked up at the sky and wondered what it would be like to float through space. And a select few have actually experienced it. This hour, we’ll talk to astronauts Terry Virts, Scott Kelly and Buzz Aldrin about life in zero gravity, making a home on the International Space Station and how their lives changed when they returned to Earth.

In 1947, 12-year-old Nisha finds herself divided between her Hindu and Muslim heritages just as her home country of India is also being split in two. Nisha is the protagonist of Veera Hiranandani’s novel “The Night Diary,” and Hiranandani joins us to talk about setting her story against this historical backdrop – and about her own experiences growing up bi-cultural.

Five years ago, Jorge Mario Bergoglio took over as leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics when he was elected to the papacy. For many, he’s been a breath of fresh air – but to some conservative members of the faith, he’s pushed for unwelcome changes. New York Times columnist Ross Douthat joins us to talk about why rethinking some church policies could come with unwanted consequences, which he writes about in “To Change the Church: Pope Francis and the Future of Catholicism” (Simon & Schuster).

Many cancer patients endure surgeries, months of chemotherapy or both. Science journalist Robin Marantz Henig joins us to talk about a promising new option – immunotherapy – which taps into the immune system’s T-cell supply to fight diseases. Henig’s story “Could Immunotherapy Lead the Way to Fighting Cancer?” appears in Smithsonian magazine.