KERA's Think

In September, Anthropic blocked attempts to create a biological weapon with A.I., but biosecurity experts have been alarmed ever since. Carl Zimmer writes the Origins column and covers news about science as a freelance contributor to The New York Times. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why scientists are concerned about the potential for chatbots to make pathogens more dead...

In dating, finding “the one” might be easier if you stop assuming “the one” will be a perfect match. Paul Eastwick is professor of psychology at UC Davis, where he serves as the head of the Social-Personality Psychology program and the director of the Attraction and Relationships Research Laboratory. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why we need to look past imperfections wh...

When DOGE slashed and burned the federal workforce, those who stood up to the carnage were called “Blockers.” Best-selling author Michael Lewis joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the people who called out illegality and were punished for it, the haphazard ways DOGE went about cutting jobs, and why he feels all of it was a distraction from a larger power grab by the White House. ...

If the definition of “green” is yellow plus blue, how do you define “yellow” and “blue”? Kory Stamper is a lexicographer who has written dictionaries for nearly 30 years at Merriam-Webster, Cambridge Dictionaries and Dictionary.com. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the difficulty of defining colors, why they are nearly indescribable, and why it took the help of scientists ...

Grammar hounds might despise it, but “like” is both ubiquitous and necessary in our everyday speech. Megan C. Reynolds, editor at Dwell magazine, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss one little word that defines so much of modern speech: like – from approval on social media to, like, the way we all casually talk today – and why we should all give it a second look. Her book is