Think from KERA

People living along the coast of Senegal have relied on the ocean both for food and their livelihood. In recent years, though, the fish that were once plentiful have disappeared. Anna Badkhen visited these fishing villages to find out how people are surviving in an era of upheaval. She joins us to talk about what she learned, which she writes about in “Fisherman’s Blues: A West African Community at Sea” (Riverhead Books). Badkhen speaks tonight to the Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture.

We all feel a little boost when someone likes our Instagram photo or retweets us. And when our witty Facebook post is met with silence, it’s easy to wonder where we went wrong. Washington University in St. Louis psychologist Tim Bono joins us to talk about how social media plays on our emotions, which he writes about in “When Likes Aren’t Enough: A Crash Course in the Science of Happiness” (Grand Central).

Following Emancipation, African-Americans created communities across the country in which black culture thrives. UCLA sociologist Marcus Anthony Hunter joins us to talk about what these communities have in common – and about the many functions they serve. His new book is called “Chocolate Cities: The Black Map of American Life.” (University of California Press).

About 64,000 people die each year after overdosing on drugs. Many of those deaths can be traced to opioids, and the issue has grabbed the attention of both the medical community and the federal government. Time Magazine spent a year documenting the problem, and Paul Moakley, deputy director of photography and visual enterprise, joins us to talk about what he learned from interacting with addicts.

Addiction is a part of life that affects nearly every family. This hour, we explore the topic with a formerheroin addict, a historian who writes aboutAmerica’s relationship with alcoholand a neuroscientist who studies thebrains of addicts.

Human beings have a natural desire for what’s known as “homeostasis” – basically, we long for stability and equilibrium. Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio has studied this innate drive, and he joins us to talk about how it connects us to even the earliest living organisms. His new book is called “The Strange Order of Things: Life, Feeling, and the Making of Cultures” (Pantheon).

When it comes to immigration reform, at the heart of the debate is: How do we decide who to let in, and how do we protect ourselves from those we want to keep out? James F. Hollifield, director of the John Goodwin Tower Center at SMU, joins us to walk through these tough questions. His essay “What Makes Immigration Reform So Hard?” appears in the winter issue of The Catalyst.

As a palliative care nurse, Sallie Tisdale has seen the devastation caused by dementia up close. And she’s also seen moments of grace that accompany a person’s rediscovery of things they once knew. She joins us to talk about how we might take a more nuanced approach to interacting with people suffering memory loss, which she writes about for Harper’s.

A broken heart may not be an actual physical malady, but that doesn’t make it any less real. And yet for most of us, the only medicine available is time. Psychologist Guy Winch joins us to talk about practical steps to getting over everything from a failed relationship to the death of a loved one. His new book is called “How to Fix a Broken Heart” (Simon & Schuster).

Maria Shriver has worn many hats in her life – journalist, activist, First Lady of California, niece of a president and mother of four. She joins us to talk about what these various roles have taught her about making the most of life. Her new book is called “I’ve Been Thinking: Reflections, Prayers, and Meditations for a Meaningful Life” (Viking).