Think from KERA

We’ve all been in the position where we really want something to be true that we ultimately find out is not. So why do some of us move on when others double down? Julie Beck joins us to talk about why some of us have such a problem with cognitive dissonance. Her story “This Article Won’t Change Your Mind” appears in The Atlantic.

Muslim Americans face a unique set of challenges that their fellow Americans don’t. We’ll talk with a pair of American Muslims about having to regularly justify their right to even live in the U.S. – and about being associated with those who would harm others in the name of religion. We’ll start the show talking with Khizr Khan, who spoke about the death of his son – U.S. Army Captain Humayun Khan – during the Democratic National Convention last summer. And we’ll continue the conversation with Omar Suleiman, an Irving imam who’s president of the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research

Passover is a little less than a month away. Humorist Alan Zweibel grew up attending his share of Seders, and he joins us for a lighthearted look at the rituals that surround the holiday. His new book, which he co-wrote with Dave Barry and Adam Mansbach, is called “For This We Left Egypt?: A Passover Haggadah for Jews and Those Who Love Them” (Flatiron Books).

Every time we make a purchase, our decisions affect people we’ll never meet and places we may never visit. Alden Wicker joins us to talk about “conscious consumerism” and how we can make the most ethical and environmental choices when we spend our money. She writes about the topic for Quartz.

Louis Kahn devoted much of his career to designing public buildings – including a pair of museums on the Yale campus and the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth. Wendy Lesser joins us to talk about the architect’s life and work, which she writes about in “You Say to Brick: The Life of Louis Kahn” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). Lesser will take part in a symposium focusing on Kahn this weekend at the Kimbell.

Most organizations are trying to build up resources while also making the most of what they have. Scott Sonenshein, a management professor at Rice, joins us to talk about why focusing on frugality over acquisition is the smarter approach. His new book is called “Stretch: Unlock the Power of Less – and Achieve More Than You Ever Imagined” (Harper Business).

The First Amendment is most closely associated with freedom of speech. And that freedom actually extends to works of visual art, music, poetry and other forms of expression. Harvard Law professor Mark Tushnet joins us to talk about the many freedoms covered at the top of the Bill of Rights, which he writes about in “Free Speech Beyond Words: The Surprising Reach of the First Amendment” (NYU Press).

Isaac Lidsky was a teenager when he began to lose his eyesight. His pending blindness, though, actually drove him to graduate early from Harvard, clerk for a Supreme Court justice and build a family. He joins us this hour to talk about staying positive when life throws us a curve, which he writes about in “Eyes Wide Open: Overcoming Obstacles and Recognizing Opportunities in a World that Can’t See Clearly” (Tarcher Perigee).

In 1845, explorer John Franklin led an expedition from England to discover the Northwest Passage. Both ships were lost in the Arctic ice, leading to a decades-long search for the wreckage. Paul Watson joins us to talk about how marine science mixed with Inuit folklore lead to the discovery, which he writes about in “Ice Ghosts: The Epic Hunt for the Lost Franklin Expedition” (W.W. Norton and Co.). He’s in town for DMA Arts & Letters Live! Tuesday night at the Dallas Museum of Art.

Deepak Singh moved from India to the U.S. with an advanced degree – so he was surprised when he was only able to land a low-paying job. He joins us to talk about his struggle to adapt to his new life in America – and about how his American co-workers also found it difficult to get by – which he writes about in “How May I Help You?: An Immigrant’s Journey From MBA to Minimum Wage” (University of California Press).