Weathering Storms

You know what they say — when the going gets tough, the tough get going. But what are the factors that decide whether we bend or break? And what can we do to prepare ourselves better for future adversity? In this week’s show, we explore our capacity for resilience, with stories about bouncing back from hard times.

Also on this week’s show:

• Wharton professors Howard Kunreuther and Robert Meyer talk about their book “The Ostrich Paradox: Why We Underprepare for Disasters.”
• Psychologist Lisa Meredith explores the mission of the military resilience program — and why critics say it’s not working.
• Fitness instructor Katherine Tisha Wilson tells us how she went from feeling like a failure to keeping other people going: http://nashvillepublicradio.org/post/neighbors-manifestor
• Microbiologist David Weiss from the Emory Antibiotic Resistance Center tells us about hidden resistance in bacteria cultures.
• Blair Wong describes how he lost his eye sight, but gained new insights: http://www.wbur.org/kindworld/2017/05/02/kind-world-38-a-different-window
• In this story from Philly Audio Diaries, 17-year-old Sophia recounts her shift from anger to a healthier way of coping.