KERA's Think

[2013-11-14 13:00:00] Richard Pryor is known as a comedian who always pushed the envelope. And his standup routines inspired future comedians, including Eddie Murphy, Louis C.K. and Chris Rock. We’ll look back at Pryor’s influential career and troubled life with David Henry. He’s the co-author of Furious Cool: Richard Pryor and the World That Made Him (Algonquin Books).

[2013-11-14 12:00:00] This year, Chanukah overlaps with Thanksgiving, and Christmas is just around the corner. All those holidays mean there will be plenty of time for families to gather together in the kitchen. We’ll talk this hour about how we share our traditions and culture through food with Dallas’ Tina Wasserman, whose new book is Entrée to Judaism for Family: Jewish Cooking and Kitchen Conversations with Children (URJ Press).

[2013-11-13 13:00:00] This month, KERA kicked off a new multimedia initiative called One Crisis Away, which looks at North Texas families living with asset poverty. This hour, we’ll talk with filmmaker Harry Gantz, director of the documentary American Winter, which looks at families struggling to make it in Portland, Ore. Gantz will screen the film at the Angelika Film Center in Dallas on Nov. 18.

[2013-11-13 12:00:00] America spends more on health care than other industrialized nations, but other countries seem to spend their money more wisely. That’s the result of research conducted by Lauren Taylor, a presidential scholar at Harvard Divinity School. She’ll join us this hour to discuss her findings, which she includes in a new book she has co-authored, The American Health Care Paradox: Why Spending More is Getting Us Less (PublicAffairs, 2013).

[2013-11-12 13:00:00] We all know that an octopus has eight arms and lives in the ocean. But did you know that they predate dinosaurs and are among the most intelligent animals on Earth? This hour, we’ll get to know one of nature’s most elusive creatures with Katherine Harmon Courage, author of Octopus! The Most Mysterious Creature in the Sea (Current Hardcover).

[2013-11-12 12:00:00] Supporters of fracking say the process will solve America’s dependence on foreign energy. But opponents say fracking is a potential environmental disaster. This hour, we’ll explore the issue – and meet some of the men who are leading the charge – with Wall Street Journal reporter Gregory Zuckerman. His new book is The Frackers: The Outrageous Inside Story of the New Billionaire Wildcatters. (Portfolio Hardcover, 2013).

[2013-11-11 13:00:00] Advocates of collaborative consumption argue that we should focus more on access to the things we need rather than ownership. We’ll talk about that idea this hour with Beth Buczynski, whose new book is Sharing is Good: How to Save Money, Time and Resources through Collaborative Consumption (New Society Publishers).

[2013-11-11 12:00:00] What are the obstacles that keep Israel from integrating with its Arab neighbors? We’ll explore the current state of Israeli politics this hour with Max Blumenthal. His new book is Goliath: Life and Loathing in Greater Israel (Nation Books). Blumenthal speaks tonight at an event sponsored by the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth.

[2013-08-06 13:00:00] Journalist Mitch Moxley moved to China in 2007 to work at the state-run China Daily for six years as the country’s profile rocketed. He’ll join us this hour to talk about how some of the most frustrating aspects of his life there actually enriched the experience. His new memoir is “Apologies to My Censor: The High and Low Adventures of a Foreigner in China” (Harper Perennial, Paperback, 2013).

[2013-08-06 12:00:00] Is there a better way to view the inevitability of getting older? We’ll talk this hour with distinguished marriage and family counselor Michael Gurian, who writes about the second half of life in his new book “The Wonder of Aging: A New Approach to Embracing Life After Fifty” (Atria Books, 2013).

[2013-08-05 13:00:00] How are the legal professionals in Texas encouraging diversity and interest in the field during this tough time in the industry? We’ll find out this hour with Lisa Tatum, who was named the first African-American president of the State Bar of Texas in June.

[2013-08-05 12:00:00] This month marks the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech. William P. Jones, professor of history at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, joins us this hour to discuss his new book “The March on Washington: Jobs, Freedom, and the Forgotten History of Civil Rights” (W. W. Norton & Company, 2013).

[2013-08-01 13:00:00] How have mass killers used fear and destruction to create whole societies that sustain themselves on murder? We’ll talk this hour with director Joshua Oppenheimer, who spent time with survivors and perpetrators in Indonesia for his film “The Act of Killing.” The documentary opens tomorrow at the Angelika theaters in Plano and Dallas.

[2013-08-01 12:00:00] What do we know about the world Jesus of Nazareth was born into? This hour, we’ll reach back into an age of nationalism and resistance to Roman occupation with writer and religious scholar Reza Aslan. His new book is “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth” (Random House, 2013).

[2013-07-31 13:00:00] Could China’s aging population, gender disparity and low-tech economy prevent the country from becoming a superpower? We’ll discuss potential thorns in the Middle Kingdom’s progress this hour with Timothy Beardson, whose new book is “Stumbling Giant: The Threats To China’s Future” (Yale University Press, 2013).