Challenging Our Assumptions

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     Registered nurse Elikana Njeri came to the U.S. from Kenya in 2002 and planned to become an accountant. Today he works at Penn State Hershey Medical Center in Central Pennsylvania. (Dani Fresh/for WHYY)

    Registered nurse Elikana Njeri came to the U.S. from Kenya in 2002 and planned to become an accountant. Today he works at Penn State Hershey Medical Center in Central Pennsylvania. (Dani Fresh/for WHYY)

    We have so much information stored in our brains that helps us sort everything and every person we encounter. It’s amazingly helpful, but sometimes that information steers us wrong, and we jump to conclusions and side with stereotypes without even knowing it.

    On this week’s show, we challenge our assumptions — we meet male nurses who are a growing minority in their field, we talk to a philosopher who searches for minds like ours in animals that aren’t like us at all, and we examine how race impacts the way doctors prescribe medications. 

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