History - Think

Segregation In Higher Ed Isn’t A Thing Of The Past

August 12, 2021 Culture, Economics, Education, History, Literature, Politics, Race/Identity

Adam Harris, a staff writer at The Atlantic, joins us to discuss why Black students have always been an afterthought in higher education, the legacy that has created and the road toward reckoning with this discrimination.

A photo of a set of professional decorative cosmetics.

Our 2,000-Year Obsession With Makeup

August 3, 2021 Culture, History

Author Rae Nudson joins host us to discuss the power of the powders and creams with which we adorn our skin, and how they’ve created the powerful beauty standards currently being challenged.

How We Politicize The Past

July 29, 2021 History, Politics

Princeton University historian Matthew Karp joins us to discuss how both sides of the political spectrum have used history lessons for wildly divergent purposes, and what that means for the truth.

A doctor sprays himself with alcohol after checking on asymptomatic COVID-19 patients quarantining at a hotel, before removing his protective gear in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, July 24, 2020.

Quarantines Aren’t Going Anywhere

July 28, 2021 Current Events, Global Issues, Health, History, Science and Technology

Journalist Nicola Twilley joins us to talk about how and why quarantines have been used throughout history – and about how the technique has been updated to fight modern threats.

How The U.S. Broke Central America

July 21, 2021 Current Events, Economics, History, Politics, Race/Identity

Aviva Chomsky, professor of history and the coordinator of Latin American Studies at Salem State University, joins us to talk about hundreds of years of colonization and displacement, and why stabilizing the region will take more than just economic aid.

The Vice President Who Set The Stage For Civil War

July 20, 2021 History, Politics, Race/Identity

Baylor University historian Robert Elder joins us to talk about Vice President John C. Calhoun, a man who argued that slavery was a “positive good” and set the stage for the South to secede from the Union.

For Democracy To Work, We Have To Participate

July 19, 2021 Global Issues, History, Politics

James Fishkin is a political scientist and director of the Center for Deliberative Democracy at Stanford, and he joins us to explain the process of deliberative democracy – and demonstrate successes it’s already produced around the world.

An Illusionist Reveals His Secrets

July 15, 2021 History, Race/Identity, Science and Technology

Derek DelGaudio joins us to talk about his autobiography, a deep dive into how illusion and identity shaped his life.

Rights Shouldn’t Be A Zero-Sum Game

July 14, 2021 Culture, Current Events, History, Politics

Columbia Law professor Jamal Greene joins us to talk about why courts have an outsized role in determining what Americans fight for and against, a method he says is out of line with what the framers of the Constitution envisioned.

How A Girl Becomes A Woman

July 13, 2021 Culture, Education, Health, History, Mental Health, Race/Identity

Melissa Febos joins us to talk about the flawed ways we ask children to shape their identities from puberty and her own coming-of-age story as she worked to find her voice and set boundaries.

New To America? Here’s Where To Start

July 5, 2021 Culture, Education, History, Politics, Race/Identity

Roya Hakakian joins us to talk about her instruction manual for newcomers to this country, acting as tour operator for all the wonder of American sights and sounds.

A file photo shows New York City Police facing off with activists during a protest march in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of the Brooklyn borough of New York.

How More Policing Leads To Greater Unrest

June 30, 2021 Current Events, History, Politics, Race/Identity

Elizabeth Hinton joins us to discuss why the word “riot” is a racist trope and masks a long arm of history of over policing and neighborhood crackdowns.