Think from KERA

Manal al-Sharif grew up in Mecca as a member of a fundamentalist family. And when she went to work as a computer security engineer, her eyes were opened to the sexist policies of her homeland. She joins us to talk about being a feminist in a patriarchy, which she writes about in her memoir, “Daring to Drive: A Saudi Woman’s Awakening” (Simon & Schuster).

Following the death of her son, Susan Burton struggled with drugs for 15 years – an addiction that resulted in multiple prison stints. Once she finally got clean, she founded A New Way of Life, an organization that supports former female inmates. She joins us to talk about the impact incarceration has on people – and about the challenges of re-entering society – which she writes about in “Becoming Ms. Burton: from Prison to Recovery to Leading the Fight for Incarcerated Women” (The New Press).

Earth has endured five mass extinctions due to extreme heat, cold, asteroids and other factors. Science journalist Peter Brannen joins us to talk about the common threads that run through these disasters – and about what they can tell us about our future. His new book is called “The Ends of the World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and Our Quest to Understand Earth’s Past Mass Extinctions” (Ecco).

When people live in poverty, the financial challenges are obvious. What researchers are learning, though, is that feeling poor is problematic, too. University of North Carolina psychology professor Keith Payne joins us to talk about how perception of economic standing influences the brain, which he writes about in “The Broken Ladder: How Inequality Affects the Way We Think, Live, and Die” (Viking).

People who live with Williams syndrome are biologically incapable of distrusting others. Jennifer Latson joins us to talk about what it’s like to move through your day thinking everyone is your friend. That’s the life of 12-year-old Eli D’Angelo, who Latson profiles in her book “The Boy Who Loved Too Much: A True Story of Pathological Friendliness” (Simon & Schuster).

Among those active in the political conversation, it feels as if we’re as divided as ever. Many Americans, however, aren’t as invested in the day-to-day business of Washington as cable news would make us think. LSU political scientist Nathan Kalmoe joins us to talk about how voters who are only casually engaged with politics make up their minds on Election Day. He’s a co-author of “Neither Liberal nor Conservative: Ideological Innocence in the American Public” (University of Chicago Press).

When parents shell out tens of thousands of dollars for their children to attend prestigious colleges, oftentimes the classes are led not by tenured professors but by teaching assistants. Georgetown University professor Jacques Berlinerblau joins us as part of KERA’s American Graduate initiative to talk about how universities function – and about how students can get more out of their education dollars. His new book is called “Campus Confidential: How College Works, or Doesn’t, for Professors, Parents, and Students” (Melville House).

Novelist Rachel Kadish’s grandparents survived the Holocaust in Poland. Novelist Jessica Shattuck’s grandparents were members of the Nazi party in Germany. More than 70 years after the end of World War II, the fellow writers join us to explore what it means to be friends given their family histories – and what role forgiveness plays in their relationship.

Athenian historian Thucydides theorized in the 5th Century B.C. that a rising power will eventually always challenge the ruling one. Graham Allison of Harvard’s Kennedy School joins us to talk about how this theory is playing out today, which he writes about in “Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).

Since World War II, Western nations have been the world’s biggest proponents of democracy. Brian Klaas studies democratization and political violence as a fellow at the London School of Economics. He joins us to talk about the ways in which the U.S., Britain and other nations are actually hindering democratic efforts across the globe. His new book is called “The Despot’s Accomplice: How the West is Aiding and Abetting the Decline of Democracy” (Oxford University Press).