Think airs Monday to Thursday from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m. on KERA 90.1 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, 5/28

Hour 1:  From the archives – What’s really out there and where can we find the answers to the most perplexing questions about ourselves and the space-time continuum we inhabit? We talked last summer with rock-star turned physicist Brian Cox whose “Wonders of the Universe” series premiered this summer on Discovery’s Science Channel. He had also just published a companion book to the series under the Harper Design imprint.

Hour 2:  From the archives – What would our lives be like if we spent as much time with nature as we currently do with technology? We’ll revisit our conversation from last year with journalist and author Richard Louv. His recent book is “The Nature Principle: Human Restoration and the End of Nature-Deficit Disorder” (Algonquin Books, 2011).

Tuesday, 5/29

Hour 1:  What will it take to restore true bipartisanship and leadership in our nation’s government and where can we look in our country’s history for inspiration? We’ll talk this hour with former New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley, who examines the current state of politics and more in his new book “We Can All Do Better” (Vanguard Press, 2012).

Hour 2:  How does an actor prepare for a rigorous and intense stage performance day after day? We’ll find out this hour with cast members from the current Dallas Theater Center production of “God of Carnage.”

Wednesday, 5/30

Hour 1:  Why are the attractions of living in a modern, urban, and affluent society losing their luster for some? We’ll talk this hour with Peter N. Stearns, Provost and University Professor at George Mason University. Stearns is also the author of “Satisfaction Not Guaranteed: Dilemmas of Progress in Modern Society” (NYU Press, 2012).

Hour 2:  Can a landscape tainted by pollution and environmental destruction be beautiful in its own way? That’s the question that journalist and filmmaker Andrew Blackwell set out to answer as he reported for his new book “Visit Sunny Chernobyl: And Other Adventures in the World’s Most Polluted Places” (Rodale, 2012). We’ll talk with him this hour.

Thursday, 5/31

Hour 1:  Why do we play and how did we as humans settle on a spherical object as the center of many of our games? We’ll talk this hour with anthropologist and sports enthusiast John Fox. His new book is “The Ball: Discovering the Object of the Game” (Harper Perennial, 2012).

Hour 2:  How much are your kids sharing online? We’ll discuss strategies for helping kids navigate our screen-filled and media-saturated world successfully this hour with James Steyer, founder and CEO of Common Sense Media and author of the new book “Talking Back to Facebook: The Common Sense Guide to Raising Kids in the Digital Age” (Scribner, 2012).

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