KERA's Think KERA

When elite women runners cross finish lines they are stepping over a history that didn’t want women running at all. Maggie Mertens joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how the modern Olympics were originally meant solely for men, the health excuses invented to keep women on the sidelines, and how innovations like the humble sports bra revolutionized sports. Her book is “Better Faster Farther: How Running Changed Everything We Know About Women.”

Only about 3-percent of the nation is vegan, but big business sees a growth opportunity. Nina Guilbeault is cofounder of Plant Futures, a nonprofit affiliated with UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss companies working to make vegan foods more accessible to the general public, and how food movements catch on. Her book is “The Good Eater: A Vegan’s Search for the Future of Food.”

Crowdfunding has gone from a resource to boost startups to a way for patients to plead for money to cover medical bills. Nora Kenworthy is a professor at the University of Washington Bothell, and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why so often GoFundMe campaigns fail and why even the most successful fundraising efforts mask the inequities of a health system that’s too expensive for most Americans. Her book is “Crowded Out: The True Costs of Crowdfunding Healthcare.”

Despite the charged rhetoric to the contrary, there actually is work getting done in Washington. David Leonhardt, a senior writer at The New York Times magazine, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the players – often political polar opposites – who are working together to pass legislation, and what that signals for a movement he’s calling “neo-populism.” His article is “A New Centrism Is Rising in Washington.”

This country was founded on a grievance, but 250 years later, we may be taking those sentiments too far. Frank Bruni, a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why Americans are finding identities in grievances, why hardships have become so performative, and how we are missing out on what’s working for the country, collectively. His book is “The Age of Grievance.”

Emmeline Clein joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her own struggles with an eating disorder, how she didn’t meet the weight requirements to be considered anorexic, and how we judge people based on their relationship with food