Think airs Monday to Thursday from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m. on KERA FM. Encore airings of Think can be heard Monday to Thursday nights on KERA FM beginning at 9:00 p.m. Podcasts and streamed video are available online at www.kera.org/think.

Monday, 2/06

Hour 1:  Tsunamis are nothing new, but how is the ever-increasing human population along coastlines amplifying the threat from these killer waves? We’ll talk this hour with National Geographic contributor Tim Folger. His article “The Calm Before the Wave” appears in the current issue of National Geographic Magazine.

Hour 2:  How are the 24-hour news cycle and our always-available and on-line knowledge culture both helping and hurting us? We’ll talk this hour with open-source organization expert Clay Johnson, founder of Blue State Digital. His new book is “The Information Diet: A Case for Conscious Consumption” (O’Reilly Media, 2012).

Tuesday, 2/07

Hour 1:  Where and when did American ambition for empire fade from possibility? We’ll spend this hour with journalist and historian Gregg Jones, author of the new book “Honor in the Dust: Theodore Roosevelt, War in the Philippines, and the Rise and Fall of America’s Imperial Dream” (NAL, 2012). Jones will address the World Affairs Council of Dallas Fort Worth this evening.

Hour 2:  What’s the best way to rear children? Every parent wants to do best by their kids, but whose method is correct and who should decide? Our guest this hour, Yale law professor Amy Chua, ignited a firestorm of debate last year with the release of her book “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.” We’ll spend this hour with Chua, who speaks at Authors Live at Highland Park United Methodist Church this evening. Her book is now out in paperback.

Wednesday, 2/08

Hour 1:  How will the ongoing European financial crisis and overall political uncertainty affect the potential for economic recovery here in the United States? We’ll talk this hour with Philip Coggan, Buttonwood columnist of the Economist. He’ll address the World Affairs Council of Dallas Fort Worth this Thursday.

Hour 2:  Where do we find the pivotal cultural moments in American history and how might an artist’s distillation of those experiences enhance our identity as Americans? We’ll spend this hour with artist Glenn Ligon, whose first comprehensive, midcareer retrospective “AMERICA” opens this weekend at The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. The exhibit will run through June 3, 2012.

Thursday, 2/09

Hour 1:  Could engaging summer programs close the achievement gap between high and low-income students and change the face of education in our country?  We’ll talk this hour with Catherine Augustine, Ph.D., senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation and Ann Stone, Ph.D., senior research and evaluation officer at the Wallace Foundation. They’re in town to present the study “Making Summer Count: How Summer Programs Can Boost Children’s Learning” (Rand, 2012).

Hour 2:  Everyone’s got a love story. What’s yours? We’ll explore StoryCorps’ most compelling narratives on love, courtship, sorrow, and commitment this hour with StoryCorp founder and MacArthur “genius” grant recipient Dave Isay. He’s in town to speak to Arts & Letters Live at the Dallas Museum of Art this evening.