Think from KERA

“Hamilton” has pulled in more than $100 million at the box office and turned Lin-Manuel Miranda into a household name. This hour, we’ll talk about the extent to which the Tony-winning musical has rewritten history and altered our understanding of its namesake. We’ll be joined by Robert Sullivan, whose story “The Hamilton Cult” appears in the October issue of Harper’s.

The Republic of Texas was built upon two pillars: cotton and slavery. This hour, we’ll talk about how this important crop and the labor that fueled it led to the Texas revolution – and about how Texas provided a blue print for the Confederacy – with UNT assistant history professor Andrew Torget. He writes about the topic in his book “Seeds of Empire: Cotton, Slavery, and the Transformation of the Texas Borderlands, 1800-1850”(University of North Carolina Press).

Photographs from Vietnam to Afghanistan to Iraq capture the agony of war in an instant. This hour, we’ll talk about how war photographers tell stories of conflict through their images with a panel of Pulitzer Prize-winners: David Hume Kennerly, Carol Guzy and David Leeson. Tonight, they’ll take part in “Illusion and Disillusion: A Panel Conversation on Violence and War” at the Texas Theatre, presented by 29 Pieces.

Americans owe nearly $1.3 trillion in student loans. This hour, as part of KERA’s One Crisis Away: Drowning in Debt series, we’ll talk about strategies for paying for college and about how much debt is reasonable to take on. We’ll be joined by Ron Elsenbaumer, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs at UT-Arlington; and Cynthia Butler, executive director of financial aid for Dallas County Community College District.

Between 13 million and 16 million Latinos are expected to vote in this year’s presidential election. And many of those voters can thank San Antonio native Willie Velasquez when they cast their ballots. This hour, we’ll talk about the founder of the Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project, who launched more than a thousand voter registration drives in the 1970s and ’80s. We’ll be joined by Hector Galán, director of the PBS documentary “Willie Velasquez: Your Vote Is Your Voice,” which airs Oct. 3 on KERA-TV. KERA will also host special advance screenings of the film in Dallas on Thursday and Fort Worth on Sept. 29.

Gabriel Cardona and Bart Reta were once teenagers with bright futures growing up in Laredo. Their lives took an abrupt turn, though, when they fell under the spell of the Zetas. This hour, we’ll talk about how the Mexican drug cartel turned one of the boys into a feared assassin – and about what their transformations say about the perilous prospect of growing up on the border – with Dan Slater. He tells their story in “Wolf Boys: Two American Teenagers and Mexico’s Most Dangerous Drug Cartel” (Simon & Schuster).

Ann Patchett received the PEN/Faulkner Award for her novel “Bel Canto.” This hour, we’ll talk with her about her new book, “Commonwealth” (Harper), which tells the story of how a chance romantic encounter ripples through two families over multiple generations.

One in seven American children is diagnosed with ADHD and put on Adderall or similar medications. This hour, we’ll talk about why these diagnoses are on the rise – and if there’s cause for concern – with Alan Schwarz, author of “ADHD Nation: Children, Doctors, Big Pharma, and the Making of an American Epidemic” (Scribner).

The cure for most of our everyday maladies can be found at the drugstore. The trick is deciding which medicine is right for you. This hour, we’ll walk through our over-the-counter choices – and talk about when a trip to the doctor’s office might be necessary – with Dr. Roger Khetan, an internist with Baylor Scott & White.

For 45 years, the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth has tracked 5,000 participants to better understand gifted children. This hour, as part of KERA’s American Graduate initiative, we’ll talk about identifying high achievers at a young age – and how we can foster learning in kids – with Tom Clynes. His story “How to Raise a Genius” appears in the journal Nature.