The best of Think 2024
From December 23rd to January 3rd, we’ll be revisiting some of our most listened to Think conversations of 2024.
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Comedian Hari Kondabolu on how fatherhood changes everything
For comedian Hari Kondabolu, becoming a father changed how he accesses pure joy. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how becoming a parent has shifted his worldview, how he sees roles for Indian Americans changing in Hollywood and how making a live audience laugh helps him process his new philosophies.
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How Trump’s deportations will work
Edward Alden is a columnist at Foreign Policy, the Ross distinguished visiting professor at Western Washington University and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He joins guest host John McCaa to discuss this unprecedented effort to expel undocumented immigrants, how Trump might utilize the military, how the economy might be impacted and how this might shape immigration policy going forward.
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The surprising shift in identity politics
Wall Street Journal economics reporter Jeanne Whalen joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why Democrats are reeling from being labeled the party of “elites” when they could always count on communities of color for votes in the past, how Republicans have capitalized on economic concerns, and what this means for race relations moving forward.
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Elon Musk vs. the federal budget
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have promised to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget with their Department of Government Efficiency. Simon Rabinovitch is U.S. economics editor for The Economist, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how it may actually be possible to generate significant cost cutting – but not in the time frame the president-elect is hoping for.
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Why we haven’t narrowed the racial health gap
KFF Health News senior correspondent Renuka Rayasam joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why we’re failing to close the health gap – especially for rural, low-income African Americans – and why access to quality care is sometimes blocked by the states.
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Author Colson Whitehead talks about ‘Nickel Boys’
With the movie adaptation of “Nickel Boys” in theaters, Colson Whitehead’s celebrated novel is reaching new audiences. Whitehead joins host Krys Boyd to talk about his story of two boys assigned to a 1960s juvenile reformatory, bound by the trauma around them as they swing between hope and cynicism.
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The best books of 2024
Times Book Review editor Gilbert Cruz joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the best nonfiction and fiction books of 2024, from an 800-page biography of a president to a funny romantic comedy — there’s a book for everyone to enjoy.
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America’s gamble on online sport betting
Rolling Stone writer David Hill joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how new sports betting laws have opened up the market for all kinds of wagers and types of gamblers, the people who can’t stop, and the ways professional sports is changing because of the new money involved.
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How to get your brain in gear
Mithu Storoni is a physician, neuroscience researcher and ophthalmic surgeon. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why the 9-to-5 workday breaks up the natural rhythms of optimal brain function and offers tips for finding the best time to do your most creative and productive work.
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Could DNA testing cost you your life insurance?
Kristen V. Brown, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss giant loopholes in anti-discrimination laws that might allow disability and long-term care providers to exploit genetic testing results — even if a person never gets sick — and what that means for those told by a physician they should get tested.
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Malcolm Gladwell revisits ‘The Tipping Point’
Twenty-five years after the success of “The Tipping Point,” Malcolm Gladwell is back with new insights. The author and co-founder of Pushkin Industries joins host Krys Boyd to discuss new anecdotes from social science that help explain the world around us – and to update the theory of contagion for our modern world.
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Why don’t fish sink?
Sönke Johnsen joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the wonders of vertical migration, why sharks must keep swimming to stay alive, and the clues offered to biologists that help piece together the questions of aquatic life evolution.
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How does RFK Jr. define health?
Yasmin Tayag, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss RFK Jr’s strategy to “Make America Healthy Again,” his distain for everything from vaccines to fluoride to processed foods – and his approach to managing a $1.7-trillion agency.
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The states that voted for Trump…and abortion rights
New York Times Magazine staff writer Emily Bazelon joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why Democrats’ call to restore reproductive rights didn’t bring voters to their side, how Trump has been inconsistent in his messaging about the issue, and what this signals for efforts to keep abortion legal in America.
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The politics of school vouchers
Josh Cowen, professor of education policy at Michigan State University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why “school choice” is such a hot-button issue, the influential people behind its growth, and why this push is signaling distrust of public schools.
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For better cities, think small
Natalie Whittle is a contributor to the Financial Times, and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the idea of the 15-minute city, where cars aren’t necessary, bikes abound, and all amenities are a short walk away.
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The foods that keep your brain young
Dr. Annie Fenn is the founder of the Brain Health Kitchen and, in partnership with the University of Texas at Dallas Center for Brain Health, she talks to host Krys Boyd about brain-friendly eating patterns, understanding how “good” and “bad” fats affect us, and offers simple recipe ideas for incorporating these foods into every meal.
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Are we losing our appetite for big portions?
Hank Cardello is Chair of the Portion Balance Coalition and executive director of the Leadership Solutions for Health + Prosperity program at Georgetown University’s Business for Impact. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how restaurant meals and prepared foods have doubled in size since the 1970s – and why cutting them back down would be good for the planet and people.
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Why are groceries so expensive? It’s complicated
Jesse Newman is a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the middleman between producers and supermarket shelves – grocery distribution companies – the razor-thin margins the industry operates on even as prices rise for the consumer, and how everything we eat is brokered by these distributors.
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The complexities of Native identity in America
Carrie Lowry Schuettpelz is an enrolled member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina who spent seven years working in the Obama Administration on issues of homelessness and Native policy. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why tribal membership is so difficult to achieve, why thousands of acknowledged tribes each have their own enrollment criteria, and what it means to win that recognition.
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Tracy Chevalier crafts a novel out of glass
New York Times bestselling author Tracy Chevalier joins guest host Courtney Collins to discuss her enduring characters who live and work in the decorative glassmaking trade outside Venice, why the author chose to follow one family continuously from the Renaissance to modern life, and the beauty found in small moments.
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There’s nothing magical about 10,000 steps
Courtney Rubin writes about medicine, health, fitness, and wellness and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how the myth of the 10,000 steps came to be, why science is complicating that number, and what you should know when you hit the pavement for that daily walk.
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Does the NFL even care about concussions?
New York magazine features writer Reeves Wiedeman joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how the league’s approach to concussions has affected high-profile players like Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, why CTE is still a major concern, and why the NFL is changing its positioning on the matter.
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Why white kids are skipping college
Katherine Mangan, senior writer for The Chronicle of Higher Education, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why white student enrollment has been declining for years, why administrators are just now catching on to this fact, and the delicate balance of recruiting underrepresented groups while maintaining a baseline of traditional students.
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The toxic tradeoffs of a fully electric future
Journalist and author Vince Beiser joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the increased demand for cobalt, nickel, copper and other metals to fuel everything from batteries to the wires that transfer energy – and how access to those resources feeds geopolitical relationships.
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What now for Democrats?
Wall Street Journal reporter Ken Thomas joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what some Democratic strategists are calling a disaster for the party, why the Left’s cultural issues aren’t bringing in the votes, and who the party might turn to next.
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Cynicism won’t protect you from getting hurt
Jamil Zaki, professor of psychology at Stanford University and the director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why cynicism leads to not only a more dismal outlook on life, but deleterious health effects.
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The never ending cycle of racism
Anthony Walton is a poet, professor and the writer-in-residence at Bowdoin College, and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why gains in Black life have so often come with periods of reckoning, why racial trauma in this country so often repeats itself.
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Virtual reality will never match the real thing
Christine Rosen is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a columnist for Commentary magazine, senior editor at the New Atlantis and fellow at the University of Virginia’s Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the lure of the digital world, with its ease and convenience.
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The population boom goes bust
Nicholas Eberstadt is Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss depopulation occurring on five continents, why pro-natal programs cost a lot but aren’t seeing results, and what this means for how we measure economic growth in the future.
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How to put your money where your values are
Jasmine Rashid is a financial activist and Director of Impact for Candide Group. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why taboo discussions about wealth and money need to happen for social change, how shopping small businesses can put pressure on multi-national corporations, and her easy how-to guide for a budding activist that starts with pinching pennies.
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Hearing is science, listening is art
Elizabeth Rosner, novelist, poet, and essayist, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how listening is the skill of interpretation, how she learned to hear the important things left unsaid in her own upbringing, and what science can teach us about the sounds that envelop us.
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Some top college students can’t get through a novel
Rose Horowitch, assistant editor at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why top students are complaining about having to read books for college classes, how testing culture has contributed to this problem, and what this means for developing critical thinking skills.
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Why we shouldn’t take election security for granted
Derek Tisler, counsel in the elections and government program at the nonpartisan Brennan Center, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss election tabulation and security, why we might not know the official winner on election night, and what makes new technology so effective in counting votes.
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A novel about near future maternal anxieties
Helen Phillips a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her novel about a near-future techno-dystopia.
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How to keep hard conversations safe
Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt are counselors who specialize in creating safe spaces for conversations, and they join host Krys Boyd to discuss why you should avoid negative comments at all costs, how to grow with your partner to better understand their point of view and how to hear people out without becoming enemies.
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America’s history with horror stories
Jeremy Dauber, professor of Jewish literature and American studies at Columbia University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how horror reflects worries of a collective culture, how the genre helped the fight against slavery and how changing gender roles spark new creations.
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The most important government role you never heard of
Glenn A. Fine served as the Inspector General of the Department of Justice and the Acting Inspector General of the Department of Defense. He’s now a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution, an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law School and has taught at Stanford Law School and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what IGs do, why they are vital for a healthy government.
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Stripping down America’s sexual history
Rebecca L. Davis, professor of history at the University of Delaware, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how gender has determined roles regardless of someone’s sexuality, why the Puritans weren’t so prude, and how our views changed in the 21st Century.
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The Russian dissident who terrifies Putin
Vladimir Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years in a Siberian prison colony for disparaging the invasion of Ukraine but was released as part of this summer’s historic prisoner swap that also freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. marine Paul Whelan.
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Rethinking Reagan
Max Boot is a historian and foreign-policy analyst and he’s a lifelong conservative. He joins guest host John McCaa to discuss why Reagan’s policies weren’t always right-of-center as his legacy claims, and the lessons we can learn from his presidency decades later.
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John Grisham takes on wrongful convictions
John Grisham joins host Krys Boyd to discuss cases of wrongful convictions, miscarriages of justice and common oversights that permeate the justice system.
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Local solutions won’t solve a housing shortage
Jerusalem Demsas, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why she feels decisions about land need to be accountable to the public, why zoning boards and preservationists are hurting home affordability, and why the buck should stop at elected officials.
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Flight attendants are barely scraping by
Natalie B. Compton, travel reporter for the Washington Post, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why even though being deemed essential workers, flight attendants struggle with living paycheck-to-paycheck.
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Not all childless women have a choice
Eugenia Cheng joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her yearning to be a mother while not being able to, why she feels pinned in by stereotypes and labels, and what she wants a broader public to understand.
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Could animals possibly understand death?
Susana Monsó is associate professor of philosophy in the Department of Logic, History, and Philosophy of Science at the National Distance Education University (UNED) in Madrid. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what animals know about dying – from mourning rituals to attempts at saving lives – and if this newfound understanding means we should treat animals differently.
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Richard Dawkins on reading history through genes
Richard Dawkins, inaugural Charles Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why the bodies of animals resemble their environments from thousands of years ago, and why sequencing these genomes offers a time machine to previous stages of evolution.
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The promise of carbon-capture technology
Alec Luhn joins host Krys Boyd to discuss “direct air capture,” the challenges for pulling it off, and why it could offer an excuse for some of our biggest polluters to go on polluting.
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Free will does not exist
Robert Sapolsky, professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss his case against free will. We’ll hear why, even without this control, we are still bound to be moral and decent humans.
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They provided abortions for five decades
Dr. Curtis Boyd was involved in establishing the National Abortion Federation (NAF) and is a founding member of the Federation’s board of directors; and Glenna Boyd, RN, is a counselor, trainer and consultant. They join host Krys Boyd to discuss their life’s work providing abortions for women in need, why they say a healthy democracy needs compromise on complex issues, and how the Dobbs decision felt like a death.
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The benefits of being in your feels
This hour, host Krys Boyd talks about how we can find fulfillment in experiencing the bittersweet parts of life, how sensitive people can use their temperament as a strength, and why being positive all the time isn’t actually very helpful.
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Decoding your dreams
Rahul Jandial joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how dreams help our brains function, why they are essential to memory and why dreams across cultures are remarkably similar.
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The best communicators don’t talk much
Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative journalist Charles Duhigg joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what makes certain people so adept at facilitating the exchange of ideas, how we can make ourselves heard, and how we can better navigate tough conversations.
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How medical groupthink harms our health
Dr. Marty Makary is a Johns Hopkins professor and member of the National Academy of Medicine. He joins guest host Courtney Collins to discuss why physicians have recommended we avoid everything from hormone replacement therapy to eggs and why it’s so hard to correct flaws in previous studies.
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Why don’t NFL cheerleaders make more money?
Chabeli Carrazana is economy and childcare reporter for The 19th News. She joins guest host Courtney Collins to discuss why high-profile cheerleaders aren’t making a living wage, the lawsuits that are fighting for a pay increase, and why misogyny in sports is so hard to eradicate.
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What the ‘no limits’ partnership between Russia and China means for the U.S.
This hour, we’ll talk with a former U.S. ambassador to Russia and other experts about what the budding alliance between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping means for American global leadership.
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Actress Uzo Aduba tells her own story
She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss growing up in a mostly white suburb, the importance of keeping her native language alive, and how her role as unofficial family historian has shaped her career.
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How to interpret political polls
Philip Elliott, senior correspondent for Time magazine, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how the layman can look at polls and glean the most relevant information, how polls gather their data and why that margin of error is super important.
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Nobody wants to be vice president
Michelle Ferrari, writer, producer and director for American Experience, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the history of the vice presidency, the 25th amendment that helped to solidify the role, and why the U.S. Constitution doesn’t offer much guidance on defining the position.
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It might be possible to delay menopause
Celia Ford, Future Perfect Fellow at Vox, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss a new breakthrough that promises to delay menopause, what that means for healthy aging in women, and what the social implications might be if older women are still able to bear children.
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The foods that keep your brain young
Dr. Annie Fenn is the founder of the Brain Health Kitchen and, in partnership with the University of Texas at Dallas Center for Brain Health, she talks to host Krys Boyd about brain-friendly eating patterns, understanding how “good” and “bad” fats affect us, and offers simple recipe ideas for incorporating these foods into every meal.
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Will the far-right extend white privilege to Latinos?
Paola Ramos is a contributor for Telemundo News and MSNBC, where she is the host of “Field Report,” and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her examination of why Latinos voted for Trump in greater numbers in 2020 vs. 2016 and why this powerful electorate is continually misunderstood. Her book is “Defectors: The Rise of the Latino Far Right and What It Means for America.”
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Why body positivity can be toxic
Bethany C. Meyers discusses how they came to embrace the body neutrality ethos, why we need to move away from body positivity, and the calm that can come from allowing yourself to just simply be.
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Foods you love are disappearing — here’s how to save them
Sarah Lohman works with institutions around the country to create public programs focused on food, and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the foods we love that are in danger of disappearing.
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It’s not easy being No. 2: The Presidency of John Adams
Lindsay Chervinsky, executive director of the George Washington Presidential Library, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the second U.S. president, how he solidified many of the functions of the chief executive we still know in the 21st Century, and why that meant he would sacrifice a second term.
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A summer camp for trans men
Journalist Sandy Ernest Allen joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what it was like to take on traditional activities with the comfort of knowing he was surrounded by his trans community, how the experience challenged his notions of manhood, and the surprising things he learned about himself during the process.
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Is race a risk factor in medicine?
Katie Palmer, Health Tech Correspondent for Stat News, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the bias baked into medicine for decades, how it contributes to system disparities, and why the work to change it is so difficult. Her series “Embedded Bias” is written with co-author Usha Lee McFarling.
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Inside the brain of a dinosaur
Amy M. Balanoff, assistant professor at the Center for Functional Anatomy & Evolution at Johns Hopkins, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the T. Rex and its brain – how paleontologists are piecing together what abilities they had, and why the modern housecat might offer some clues.
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Where to find the wonder that gives meaning to life
Helen De Cruz, Danforth Chair in the humanities and a professor of philosophy at Saint Louis University, Missouri, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how wonder pushes us to explore the world around us, leads us to love more fully and helps us to get the most out of our brains.
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There’s no vaccine for the loneliness epidemic
Matthew Shaer is contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, an Emerson Collective fellow at New America and a founder of the podcast studio Campside Media. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how our phones and computers might have made the problem worse – but aren’t the root cause of our social disconnection.
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Will we love A.I too much?
Robert Mahari, JD-PhD Researcher at MIT Media Lab and Harvard Law School, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why the doom and gloom of A.I. taking over has got it all wrong — that the real problem is we might actually like it too much to put it down.
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How shame is used as a weapon
Journalist Melissa Petro joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her own story as a sex worker-turned-elementary school teacher until she was outed by a newspaper, and how she had to grow to be shame resilient.
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How free money helps low-income households
Chabeli Carrazana, economy and childcare reporter for the 19th News, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how guaranteed income meant people could move beyond paycheck-to-paycheck, contribute to the economy and help support other family members. Plus, we’ll consider what the presidential candidates have to say about economic policies.
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The curse of the ‘gifted’ label
Constance Grady, senior correspondent for Vox, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the nature/nurture arguments around giftedness, how being tapped as gifted changes mental health outcomes well into adult years, and how a gifted education model affects future potential.
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Is it time to rewrite the Constitution?
Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, joins host Krys Boyd to make the case that this document – written for a low population, rural society 200-years ago – has trouble incorporating modern life into its scope, and why it might need to be rethought.
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Cynicism won’t protect you from getting hurt
Jamil Zaki, professor of psychology at Stanford University and the director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why cynicism leads to not only a more dismal outlook on life, but deleterious health effects.
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Can cheapskates and big spenders coexist?
Scott Rick, marketing professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how money affects relationships, what happens when being frugal goes up against spending beyond one’s means, and how two people can get on the same page when it comes to money.
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Music as medicine
Daniel Levitin is a neuroscientist, musician and visiting professor at UCLA. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the many ways the brain responds to music —from warding off disease to helping those who stutter to releasing oxytocin — and what science is uncovering about this phenomenon.
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How campaigns define themselves
Basil Smikle is a political strategist, policy advisor and professor of practice and director of the nonprofit management program in the school of professional studies at Columbia University. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how campaigns brand themselves, how they attempt to label each other, and what voters actually respond to in the end.
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What makes a job worth doing?
Christopher Wong Michaelson joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the differences between career and calling and how we assign meaning to our vocation.
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What the heck is a trad wife?
Megan Agnew, senior features writer for The Times, joins guest host Courtney Collins to discuss the “trad wife” movement, it’s retro look at wifedom and motherhood, and one woman in particular with a huge following on Instagram who’s caught the curious attention of tens of millions.
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