Think from KERA

Earlier this month, SpaceX made headlines when it successfully launched its Falcon Heavy rocket. As Think broadcasts from the studios of Houston Public Media, we talk with Jason Davis about the significance of the launch – and about the impact Elon Musk and others are having on space exploration. Davis writes about the topic for The Planetary Society.

In August, the Texas Gulf Coast was devastated by Hurricane Harvey, which caused an estimated $125 billion worth of damage. As Think broadcasts from the studios of Houston Public Media, we talk about the city’s recovery six months after the storm with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Marvin Odum – who’s heading the city’s rebuilding effort.

Iran and Saudi Arabia are arguably the two most powerful forces in the Middle East. And their decades of conflict have fueled much of the region’s unrest. Martin Smith joins us to talk about the current state of their relationship – and how we got to now. His two-part Frontline documentary airs Feb. 20 and 27 on KERA-TV.

Philosophers have pondered the meaning of life from the beginning of recorded history. Haifa University philosophy professor Iddo Landau continues the discussion with practical advice for adding significance to our lives. His new book is called “Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World” (Oxford University Press).

Black women in America are doubly disenfranchised by race and gender. It’s a state of being that social critic Morgan Jerkins has thought deeply about, and she joins us to talk about what it is to be a black feminist. Her new collection of essays is called “This Will be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black, Female, and Feminist in (White) America” (Harper Perennial).

Rising healthcare costs have made it difficult for patients in psychotherapy programs to continue their treatment. Psychologist Enrico Gnaulati joins us to talk about why psychotropic drugs aren’t always the answer – and about why talking is still the way to go for many patients. His book is called “Saving Talk Therapy: How Health Insurers, Big Pharma, and Slanted Science are Ruining Good Mental Health Care” (Beacon Press).

Women in the food service industry are put in an uncomfortable position. A little flirting might lead to a bigger tip. Too often, though, customers expect more than just good service. Bryce Covert joins us to talk about if #metoo could make things better for women working as waitresses, bartenders and hosts. Her story “When Harassment is the Price of a Job” appears in The Nation.

Menzer Pehlivan was a teenager in 1999 when a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck her hometown of Ankara, Turkey. The experience inspired her to become a civil engineer in hopes of mitigating future seismic destruction. She joins us to talk about how she and her fellow engineers are creating a better world, the subject of the documentary “Dream Big 3D,” currently playing at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science and the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History.

Lorena Hickok covered Franklin Roosevelt’s first presidential campaign before taking a job in the administration and eventually moving into the White House. Her true connection, though, was with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Writer Amy Bloom explores their relationship in her latest novel, “White Houses” (Random Houses) and she joins us to talk about the complicated love triangle that once occupied America’s most powerful address.

When you look around the room and no one else looks like you, talks like you or even thinks like you, it can be isolating. We devote this hour to those people who feel like they’re the only one – from a black woman hiker sharing the trails with predominately white men, to an overweight yogi, to a lefthander in a right-handed world.