JFK & the Speech That Changed America from KERA's Think Podcast

[2011-01-13 12:00:00] How does a leader unite a divided country when political rancor is business as usual? We'll examine of the most powerful such moments in American history this hour with author Thurston Clarke. His book "Ask Not: The Inauguration of John F. Kennedy and the Speech That Changed America" (Penguin, Paperback, 2010) has just been re-released in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Kennedy's inauguration. Listen to the podcast.

The Inside Story of Cloning Man's Best Friend from KERA's Think Podcast

[2011-01-13 13:00:00] What would you pay to keep your favorite pet forever? We'll explore the possible future world of pet cloning this hour with Pulitzer Prize winning journalist John Woestendiek, author of the new book "Dog, Inc.: The Uncanny Inside Story of Cloning Man's Best Friend" (Avery, 2011). Listen to the podcast.

Self-Control in an Age of Excess from KERA's Think Podcast

[2011-01-12 13:00:00] How are those New Years resolutions coming? We'll discuss why it's so hard for us to resist overeating, drinking, smoking and more this hour with journalist and author Daniel Akst, whose new book is "We Have Met the Enemy: Self-Control in an Age of Excess" (The Penguin Press, 2011). Listen to the podcast.

The Pope Who Brought Science to the Dark Ages from KERA's Think Podcast

[2011-01-11 13:00:00] How were scientific study and the Church related at the turn of the first millennium? We'll spend this hour with science writer and medievalist Nancy Marie Brown, author of the new book "The Abacus and the Cross: The Story of the Pope Who Brought the Light of Science to the Dark Ages" (Basic Books, 2010). Listen to the podcast.

From the Archives: An Experience of the Holocaust from KERA's Think Podcast

[2011-01-06 13:00:00] Almost seven decades later, tales of Nazi atrocities and personal experiences of the Holocaust are still coming to light. We'll hear one such story this hour, with Zsuzsanna Ozsvath, The Leah and Paul Lewis Chair in Holocaust Studies, Professor of Literature and the History of Ideas at UTD and author of "When the Danube Ran Red" (Syracuse University Press, 2010). Download the podcast here.

From the Archives: The Natural History of Innovation from KERA's Think Podcast

[2011-01-05 13:00:00] From the archives: We all know the adage about necessity being the mother of invention, but are there ways to increase the occurrence of our collective eureka moments? We examined the phenomenon of innovation in October with Steve Johnson, author of "Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation" (Riverhead Books, 2010). Listen to the podcast.

From the Archives: The Triumph of Capitalism from KERA's Think Podcast

[2011-01-04 13:00:00] How did the United States transform itself from a largely agrarian economy to a powerhouse on the world stage and how did it happen so fast? We'll spend this hour with H.W. Brands, the Dickson, Allen, Anderson Centennial Professor of History at the University of Texas in Austin and author of the new book "American Colossus: The Triumph of Capitalism, 1865-1900" (Doubleday, 2010). Download the podcast here.

The War of Images from KERA's Think Podcast

[2011-01-03 12:00:00] How are verbal and visual images imbedded in politics and both literal and figurative war-fighting? We'll talk this hour with University of Chicago iconologist W.J.T. Mitchell, author of the new book "Cloning Terror: The War of Images, 9/11 to the Present" (Chicago, 2011). Download the podcast here.

The Bitter Rivalry Between Edwin & John Wilkes Booth from KERA's Think Podcast

[2010-12-16 12:00:00] How did family jealousy culminate in the assassination of one of America's greatest presidents? We'll find out this hour with historian Nora Titone, whose new book is "My Thoughts Be Bloody: The Bitter Rivalry Between Edwin and John Wilkes Booth That Led to an American Tragedy" (Free Press, 2010).

Download that KERA Radio podcast here. The San Jose Mercury News had this to say about the author and book:

[If] it seems that the acting profession has never been filled with more vile representations of the human race, one particularly atrocious case has generally escaped popular memory. Because 145 years ago, an actor who was the Steven Segal of his day shot the president of the United States in the back of the head and killed him, for no greater reason, author Nora Titone posits in her recently released first book "My Thoughts Be Bloody," than that he was jealous of an older brother. Even before Abraham Lincoln's assassination at the hands of hack actor John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865, writes Titone (who attended Castilleja School in Palo Alto from 1986 to 1990), actors were considered to be of the same class as prostitutes and thieves. Patrons flocked to theaters to forget the brutality of the ongoing Civil War for a short time, but when, for example, it was discovered that Lincoln's head had rested in actress Laura Keene's lap as a doctor removed bullet fragments, she was called a jezebel, was shunned for the rest of her acting career and, deeply in debt, died from a tubercular hemorrhage.

See that Mercury review here.

The Unfinished History of the Last Great American Highway from KERA's Think Podcast

[2010-12-21 12:00:00] Will Interstate 69, the actual "NAFTA Highway" ever be constructed? We'll examine the issue this hour with journalist Matt Dellinger, whose latest book is "Interstate 69: The Unfinished History of the Last Great American Highway" (Scribner, 2010). Alan Melson will guest-host.

Download the podcast here. The author's alma mater mentioned that the book was nominated for an award, the other week. See that DePauw University mention here. See this Wall Street Journal review of the book.

How Language is Changing from KERA's Think Podcast

Syndicated description:

[2010-12-20 13:00:00] From the archives: How is language changing and what do we lose when a language disappears forever? In July we talked with linguist and author David Crystal. His latest work is "A Little Book of Language" (Yale, 2010).

Download the podcast here. Other books by David Crystal: How Language Works, Begat: The King James Bible and the English Language, Words Words Words, Txtng: The Gr8 Db8, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language

The Bitter Rivalry Between Edwin & John Wilkes Booth from KERA's Think Podcast

[2010-12-16 12:00:00] How did family jealousy culminate in the assassination of one of America's greatest presidents? We'll find out this hour with historian Nora Titone, whose new book is "My Thoughts Be Bloody: The Bitter Rivalry Between Edwin and John Wilkes Booth That Led to an American Tragedy" (Free Press, 2010).

Download the podcast here.

Socks may keep mosquitoes at bay from PRI: Global Health and Development by interact@pri.org

[2010-12-14 13:00:00] Is the English language losing ground globally? Our guest this hour thinks so. We'll speak with Nicholas Ostler, chairman of the Foundation of Endangered Languages and author of the new book "The Last Lingua Franca: English Until the Return of Babel" (Walker & Company, 2010).

Download the podcast here.

The Rise and Fall of Information Empires from KERA's Think Podcast

[2010-12-13 12:00:00] Who actually owns the internet and all the information that flows freely on the world-wide-web? We'll explore issues surrounding net neutrality this hour with Tim Wu, the Columbia Law Professor and policy advocate who coined the term. His new book is "The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires" (Knopf, 2010).

Download the podcast here. See also: Who Controls the Internet?: Illusions of a Borderless World

The Aging of the World's Population from KERA's Think Podcast

[2010-12-06 13:00:00] How is the increasing average age of the world's population affecting society and ultimately altering our lives? We'll spend this hour with journalist and writer Ted Fishman, whose new book is "Shock of Gray: The Aging of the World's Population and How it Pits Young Against Old, Child Against Parent, Worker Against Boss, Company Against Rival, and Nation Against Nation" (Scribner, 2010). Fishman will address the World Affairs Council of Dallas Fort Worth on Tuesday.

Download the podcast here. See also: China, Inc.: How the Rise of the Next Superpower Challenges America and the World, Shock of Gray: The Aging of the World's Population and How it Pits Young Against Old, Child Against Parent, Worker Against Boss, Company Against Rival, and Nation Against Nation, China, Inc, China, Inc.

The Life of Bill Clinton from KERA's Think Podcast

[2010-12-02 13:00:00] Though he's been out of office for almost a decade, people still wonder what makes Bill Clinton tick. We'll explore the life of the 42nd President this hour with writer and oral historian Michael Takiff whose new book is "A Complicated Man: The Life of Bill Clinton as Told by Those Who Know Him" (Yale, 2010).

Download the KERA radio podcast here.

A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper Health Care from KERA's Think Podcast

[2010-12-02 12:00:00] Why hasn't the U.S. achieved the same kind of universal health care that other industrialized nations instituted long ago? Journalist and author T.R. Reid examined this question and many more in his bestselling book "The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care" (Penguin, Paperback, 2010) which is now out in paperback. We'll talk to him this hour.

Download the KERA radio podcast here. See also: The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care, Confucius Lives Next Door: What Living in the East Teaches Us About Living in the West, The United States of Europe: The New Superpower and the End of American Supremacy, The Chip : How Two Americans Invented the Microchip and Launched a Revolution

Why Some People Excel Under Pressure & Others Don't from KERA's Think Podcast

[2010-12-01 13:00:00] How do top performers train themselves to succeed under extreme pressure and what can the rest of us learn from them? We'll talk this hour with Paul Sullivan, "Wealth Matters" columnist for The New York Times and author of the new book "Clutch: Why Some People Excel Under Pressure and Others Don't" (Portfolio Penguin, 2010).

Listen to the full podcast here. See also: Clutch: Why Some People Excel Under Pressure and Other Don't, Sketches of Maine, The 4 Complete Ed Sullivan Shows Starring The Beatles

The Rise of America's Prison Empire from KERA's Think Podcast

[2010-12-01 12:00:00] What made Texas the national leader and template for criminal incarceration? We'll talk this hour with Robert Perkinson, professor of American Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and author of "Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire" (Picador, 2010).

Download the podcast here. See also: Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire, Chemical Dependency Counseling: A Practical Guide, Prisons Across America

The Life and Times of Joe Louis from KERA's Think Podcast

[2010-11-29 13:00:00] What was one early 20th Century athlete's influence on sports, culture and African American hopes for racial equality? We'll find out this hour with biographer Randy Roberts, whose new book is "Joe Louis: Hard Times Man" (Yale, 2010).

You can download the podcast, show here. See also: Joe Louis: Hard Times Man, Papa Jack: Jack Johnson And The Era Of White Hopes, Joe Louis: America's Hero... Betrayed, Joe Louis: Black Champion in White America