[2016-04-05 13:00:00] Pretentiousness is an offense that most of us will never cop to – yet we all know someone guilty of the crime. This hour, we’ll talk about a defense of pretension – and about how a mightier-than-thou attitude can help to advance creative endeavors – with Dan Fox. He’s the author of “Pretentiousness: Why It Matters” (Coffee House Press).

[2016-04-04 13:00:00] New technology is making it increasingly easier for a woman to carry a baby to term for another person. Some do it as a gift for a loved one; others do it to make money. This hour, we’ll talk about the interpersonal dynamics of surrogacy with UT-Arlington associate professor of sociology Heather Jacobson. She’s the author of “Labor of Love: Gestational Surrogacy and the Work of Making Babies” (Rutgers University Press).

[2016-04-04 12:00:00] Once an opinion’s been tweeted, a pic’s been posted or a link’s been shared, it’s nearly impossible to erase those digital footprints. This hour, we’ll talk about the damage our online history can cause our future selves – and about efforts to recapture our privacy – with Meg Leta Jones, author of “Ctrl + Z: The Right to Be Forgotten” (NYU Press).

[2016-03-31 13:00:00] In 1915, the Lusitania was the finest ocean liner ever built. And on May 1 of that year, a record number of passengers boarded the ship in New York en route to England. This hour, we’ll talk about the disaster the liner suffered at the hands of German U-boats with Erik Larson. He’s the author of “Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania” (Broadway Books). Larson speaks tonight at the First United Methodist Church of Dallas as part of Arts & Letters Live.

[2016-03-31 12:00:00] Jane Goodall has spent the last 50 years researching the behavior of wild chimpanzees. This hour, we’ll talk with her about her life’s work studying the animals at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania. Goodall speaks tonight at UT-Arlington’s College Park Center as part of the Maverick Speakers Series.

[2016-03-30 13:00:00] Yann Martel wowed audiences with his 2001 novel “Life of Pi,” which was later adapted into an Oscar-winning movie. This hour, we’ll talk with the Canadian author about his newest work of fiction, “The High Mountains of Portugal” (Spiegel & Grau).

[2016-03-30 12:00:00] When doctors diagnose an illness or make a prognoses about recovery, the truth is these are often educated guesses. This hour, we’ll talk about how understanding the gray area of healthcare can help us receive better treatment with Dr. Steven Hatch of the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He’s the author of “Snowball in a Blizzard: A Physician’s Notes on Uncertainty in Medicine” (Basic Books).

[2016-03-29 13:00:00] For the last three months, KERA reporter Courtney Collins has followed some of the North Texas families affected by the Dec. 26 tornadoes. This hour, we’ll talk with her about how these families are recovering physically and emotionally, the subject of the KERA series One Crisis Away: Rebuilding a Life.

[2016-03-29 12:00:00] Bullies terrorize their peers both in school hallways and now online. This hour, we’ll talk about a pair of new studies that analyze bullying – one that identifies the factors that turn kids into bullies and another that researches the long-term effects of being bullied. We’ll be joined by UT-Dallas criminology professor Nadine Connell, who conducted the studies.

[2016-03-28 12:00:00] Presidential candidates have championed the working class at nearly every campaign stop during this election season. This hour, we’ll talk about the state of the working class – and what workers are looking for in a candidate – with Sherry Linkon, a professor at Georgetown who edits theWorking-Class Perspectives blog. Linkon will deliver the keynote address Thursday during the Texas Center for Working Class Studies’ annual conference at Collin College.