The recent Amazon warehouse unionization vote is just part of a long history of labor movements in this country. Teen Vogue labor columnist Kim Kelly joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the people who fought for workers’ rights and to offer perspective on the needs of the working class. Her book is called “Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor.”

We take alphabetization for granted, but it’s a relatively new way to classify the things we hold dear. Judith Flanders, social historian and senior research fellow at the University of Buckingham, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how alphabetization came to be, why it took so long to take hold, and what makes it a symbol of Western knowledge. Her book, now out in paperback, is “A Place for Everything: The Curious History of Alphabetical Order.”

There’s a long history, going back centuries, of treating some people’s pain and ignoring others. Haider Warraich is a doctor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School and the VA Boston Healthcare System. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why there’s more to understanding pain than what’s measurable – and about how power dynamics have always played into its treatment. His book is “The Song of Our Scars: The Untold Story of Pain.”

The rigor of scientific research might have unlocked the mystery of the creative spark. Pulitzer-Prize winning New York Times science reporter Matt Richtel joins host Krys Boyd to talk about creativity and what awakens it, the conditions where it thrives and what happens when it’s blocked. His book is “Inspired: Understanding Creativity: A Journey Through Art, Science, and the Soul.”

A diagnosis of severe ADHD can be hard to swallow, but it can also offer a new understanding of yourself. Rebecca Schiller is co-founder and trustee of the human rights organization Birthrights and a regular contributor to The Guardian. She joins host Krys Boyd to talk about her journey to be seen by specialists and about learning to navigate her life in a new way. Her book is “A Thousand Ways to Pay Attention: A Memoir of Coming Home to My Neurodivergent Mind.”

It’s pretty clear at this point that social media connects us and also divides us. Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how tech companies have sowed rifts and how he says the communication breakdown means we are now being ruled by mob dynamics. His article in The Atlantic is called “After Babel.”

From extreme weather events to plane crashes, disasters are always looming. Juliette Kayyem is Robert and Renee Belfer Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where she is faculty director of the Homeland Security Project and the Security and Global Health Project. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her approach to crisis management and why she feels like we’re always a step behind. Her book is “The Devil Never Sleeps: Learning to Live in an Age of Disasters.”

A diagnosis of breast cancer meant a nurse became the patient. Theresa Brown is an author and registered nurse, and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss being on the other side of treatments, her frustrations with being reduced to her disease, and her worries that speaking up would make her a difficult patient and alienate the very doctors trying to save her. Her book is called “Healing: When a Nurse Becomes a Patient.”

Of all the species on Earth, humans have easily had the biggest impact. This hour, we’ll look at how our actions have affected everything from the bug population to the plants and trees many animals call home. And we’ll talk about the possibility of reviving creatures that have gone extinct…. and if we should?

To be or not to be? That might be a better question for science than Shakespeare. Kathryn Harkup joins host Krys Boyd to talk about the many ways The Bard killed off his characters, their feasibility in real life and how audiences of the day would’ve reacted to the dramatic demises. Her book is “Death By Shakespeare: Snakebites, Stabbings and Broken Hearts.”