KERA's Think

More than 44,000 flights take off and land daily in the U.S., which means we need air traffic controllers more than ever. Washington Post transportation reporter Ian Duncan joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why the rates of completion for federally funded FAA training programs are so low, the toxic culture in air traffic controller apprenticeships, and what needs to be done to retain more people in these critical positions. His article is “‘College hazing’ or training? Amid shortage, air traffic recruits wash out.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

At the request of President Trump, Texas Republicans are considering redistricting the state to pick up five congressional seats, which could trigger a chain reaction around the country. Samuel Wang, professor of neuroscience and leader of Princeton's The Gerrymandering Project, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss gerrymandering efforts in Texas and beyond, how some governors are vowing to “fight fire with fire” and what this means for voter voices moving forward. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Very few job candidates will be candid about their greatest weakness, but it’s actually their greatest strengths that could leave them hamstrung. Martin Dubin, clinical psychologist, entrepreneur and business coach, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the skills business school can’t teach you – from interpersonal workplace relationships to goal setting that doesn’t leave out the overall mission – and all the ways we lose track of our professional identity. His book is “Blindspotting: How to See What’s Holding You Back as a Leader.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

How often do political parties actually trust voters to know what’s best for them? Curtis Bram, a political scientist at The University of Texas at Dallas, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the two sides of modern governing: elitism and populism, and questions whose job it is to actually protect democracy —voters or politicians? His book is “Elitism versus Populism: Experiments on the Dual Threat to American Democracy.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Sleep tracking technology can tell you how long you slumbered, but it can’t get you there. Jennifer Senior, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss sleep anxiety, why we find it so hard to get a good night’s rest, and why hunting for the best how-to articles on the topic might be making things worse. Her article is “Why Can’t Americans Sleep?” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

A diagnosis of schizophrenia is devastating — but what if the doctor got it wrong? New Yorker staff writer Rachel Aviv joins host Krys Boyd to discuss a woman diagnosed with severe mental illness for years before doctors realized it was an autoimmune response, her hard road back to health and the difficult process of repairing relationships once she was well. Her article is “Mary Had Schizophrenia — Then Suddenly She Didn’t.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Workers are reluctant to go back into the office five days a week, but hybrid arrangements still need mastering. Peter Cappelli is the George W. Taylor Professor of Management at the Wharton School and the director of its Center for Human Resources. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why hybrid work holds workers back in terms of promotions, employee management and collaboration – and to offer suggestions for maintaining flexibility for employees while also maximizing their productivity. His article, written with Ranya Nehmeh, is “Hybrid Still Isn't Working” was published in the Harvard Business Review. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The violence in El Salvador has come to American attention with the deportation of accused gang members to a notorious prison there. Viet Thanh Nguyen, professor of literature at the University of Southern California, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss his trip to El Salvador, which coincided with Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s trip, and how their versions of American greatness differ immensely as they look to immigration and violence in the region. His article “Greater America Has Been Exporting Disunion for Decades” was published in The Nation. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The U.N. says people in Gaza are under “famine-like conditions.” Ciarán Donnelly, SVP for International Programs with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), joins host Krys Boyd to discuss starvation in the Gaza strip, how it’s especially impacting children and what’s keeping food aid groups from helping. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The English language is full of words that both communicate and confound. Martha Barnette, co-host of the popular radio show and podcast “A Way with Words,” joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her love of language and all the myriad ways words bring us joy, how words can surprise and delight us, and why the meaning of some words can often be tricky to determine. Her book is “Friends with Words: Adventures in Languageland.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Organ transplants save lives, but rushing into them could harm donors nearing the end of their own lives. Brian M. Rosenthal, investigative reporter at The New York Times, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how some donors, thought to be deceased, have shown signs of life just before vital organ harvesting, why one particular harvesting method could be part of the problem, and how government regulation might up the risks. His article is “A Push for More Organ Transplants Is Putting Donors at Risk.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Dogs suffer from cancer similarly to how humans do – and they may hold the keys to curing us. Bob Holmes, contributor for Knowable Magazine, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the biomedical bond between dogs and people, why dogs develop cancer more quickly and how that can help researchers test treatments without lengthy clinical trials. His article is “How Cancer Research for Dogs Is Helping Improve Treatment for Pets and Humans Alike.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

There’s a podcast for everything these days — and maybe that’s the problem. Liel Leibovitz is editor-at-large for Tablet. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how the very saturated podcast market is making us silo ourselves even further from one another, how the onset of the Covid pandemic made us lean into podcasts as a means of connection, and why comparing podcasting to more traditional legacy media is a problem. His article is “Are Podcasts Ruining Our Lives?” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Labeling a child a psychopath can be incredibly harmful, but there might be ways to treat these unsettling personality traits early. Maia Szalavitz, author and contributing opinion writer for the The New York Times, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss children who are behaving in “callous, unemotional” ways and how early interventions are proving helpful, how genetics and trauma factor into a diagnosis, and why traditional methods of punishment don’t work. Her article “What If We Could Treat Psychopathy in Childhood?” was published in Scientific American. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Forty percent of the global population suffers from headache disorders, and scientists don’t really know why. Tom Zeller Jr. is co-founder and editor-in-chief of Undark, a nonprofit digital magazine exploring the intersection of science and society. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why, with so many billions of people suffering, headache research is not a top priority in medicine, why it is so difficult to study and his own experience with debilitating cluster headaches. His book is “The Headache: The Science of a Most Confounding Affliction—and a Search for Relief.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Ancient cities designed shade into their built environments — a lesson present-day builders could learn from. Environmental journalist Sam Bloch joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how, in a world that faces searing temperatures, shade is a natural resource we should all be striving for, why it’s not just trees that can provide it, and why air conditioning has made us lose connection with the outside world. His book is “Shade: The Promise of a Forgotten Natural Resource.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Ads for testosterone-replacement therapy are everywhere, but what percentage of men should be paying attention? Stephanie Pappas is a freelance science journalist, and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the many issues testosterone therapy claims to fix, why it might not be for everyone, and the risks that no one wants to talk about. Her article “What Most Men Don’t Know about the Risks of Testosterone Therapy” was published in Scientific American. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

If you’re someone who reflexively thanks Siri or Alexa for the answer to a question, you may be anticipating our future relationship with artificial intelligence. Sigal Samuel is a senior reporter for Vox’s Future Perfect and co-host of the Future Perfect podcast. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what would happen if A.I. woke up to its own existence, if we would know if that happened, and how it might change our moral and ethical compass as humans. Her article is “A.I. systems could become conscious. What if they hate their lives?” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

If Congress doesn’t act, social security will be drained in 8 years. Teresa Ghilarducci is professor of economics and policy analysis at the New School for Social Research, and she serves as the director of the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis and the New School’s Retirement Equity Lab (ReLab). She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what’s happening with the social security funds so many Americans rely on, why that monthly money is still not enough to lift people out of poverty, and simple solutions Congress could take to protect the popular social safety net program. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

A language that was spoken thousands of years ago eventually morphed into nearly all of the languages spoken today in the West. Science writer Laura Spinney joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the proto-Indo-European language, how it connects languages as varied as English and Russian, and how researchers study ancient language with no written texts to guide them. Her book is “Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices