Think from KERA

[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.

[2016-03-30 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).

[2016-03-30 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).

[2016-03-29 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.

[2016-03-29 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.

[2016-03-28 13:00:00] Members of the Saudi royal family are among the richest people in the world, yet nearly a quarter of Saudi citizens live in poverty. This hour, we’ll get an inside look at a country torn between modernity and tradition with James Jones. He’s the director of the Frontline documentary “Saudi Arabia Uncovered,” which airs Tuesday night at 9 on KERA-TV.

[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.

[2016-03-24 12:00:00] About 300 people live in a homeless encampment called Tent City underneath a stretch of I-45 in Dallas. The city plans to close down the settlement by May, which raises the question of where these people will go. This hour, we’ll talk about the options with Dallas Morning News reporter Tasha Tsiaperas, CitySquare President John Siburt and Rebecca Cox, vice president of Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance.

[2016-03-24 13:00:00] Teenagers actually live a pair of lives – the physical one they inhabit and the virtual one they lead online. This hour, we’ll talk specifically about how that duality has forced teenage girls to grow up at an accelerated pace with Nancy Jo Sales, author of “American Girls: Social Media and the Secret Lives of Teenagers” (Knopf).

[2016-03-23 13:00:00] Researchers studying autism are beginning to understand that the condition affects male and female brains differently. This hour, we’ll talk about how that discovery is now helping girls to be properly diagnosed and treated with science journalist Maia Szalavitz. Her story “Autism – It’s Different in Girls” appears in the current issue of Scientific American magazine.