Becoming a man is harder than you think. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, novelist Carol Shields describes the dilemma facing men in a post-feminist age, while a child psychologist says we deny boys an inner life. Also, Jake Lamar talks about being a Black man in America and why he likes living in Paris.

Michael Thompson is a child psychologist and co-author (with Dan Kindlon) of "Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys." He tells Steve Paulson that the way society treats boys denies them an inner life and that we should be teaching them emotional literacy. He says boys need to know that it's OK to have feelings and to talk about them. Also, novelist Carol Shields ("The Stone Diaries" and "Larry's Party") talks with Jim Fleming about the dilemmas facing modern men who have no role models to guide them through social changes like the women's movement.

Writer Jake Lamar tells Steve Paulson that his new novel "Close to the Bone" deals with the issue of what it means to be a middle class Black man in America. Lamar also explains why he likes living in Paris, and contrasts French racial attitudes to what he experienced in America.

Distribution dates:

• week of 07/30/2000 - hour 2
• week of 05/23/99 - hour 3