With Good Reason

Each week on With Good Reason we explore a world of ideas with leading scholars in literature, history, science, philosophy, and the arts. With Good Reason is created by Virginia Humanities and the Virginia Higher Education Broadcasting Consortium.

Last refreshed: July 27th, 2025 at 6:09 AM ⓘ

Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.

Follow on

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

RSS

Podcasts are better in Metacast mobile app

Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more

Episodes

Building a Wall

When Thomas Jefferson designed the University of Virginia’s central Rotunda, he set out to build a temple to the book, a stunning rebuke to the Christian churches that anchored every other college of his day. But Jefferson’s secular utopia didn’t pan out exactly as he planned.

Mar 16, 2018•52 min

Privatization and Public Universities

With state support shrinking and the dependence on private support increasing for most public universities what does the financial landscape of the future look like? What makes an institution public? Is it the source of funding? History? Mission? Or something else?

Mar 09, 2018•52 min

The Golden Age of Flattery

Washington has its fair share of brown-nosers. We talk with the authors of Sucking Up: A Brief Consideration of Sycophancy about yes-men, now and through the ages.

Mar 02, 2018•29 min

Invisible Founders

Scholars, historic interpreters, and descendants of enslaved people recently gathered at Montpelier, the home of James Madison. They were there to create a rubric for historic sites who want to engage descendant communities in their work. We share stories and interviews from Montpelier's Summit on Slavery.

Feb 23, 2018•52 min

Driving While Black

Poet Kiki Petrosino in her poem, If My Body Is a Text, reflects on a year of tragic outcomes during traffic stops between police and African American drivers. Plus: Most of us have heard of Negro League Baseball, but there were many other all-black sports leagues and teams across America in the 20th century. David Wiggins shares how African-American athletes built their own place for sports in a segregated world.

Feb 16, 2018•29 min

Love Me Do

Wine, chocolate, and flowers. We talk with experts about these Valentine's Day essentials.

Feb 09, 2018•52 min

Civil Rights and Civil War Monuments

Maggie Walker was an African American teacher and businesswoman and the first woman of any race to charter a bank in the United States. There's now a statue of her in the former capital of the Confederacy. Plus: A town’s historical markers tell visitors the story of a place. But what do they leave out?

Feb 02, 2018•29 min

Lethal Doses

America is hooked on opioids—by one count, there are currently more opioid prescriptions than people in the southeastern United States. This week we’re taking a deep dive into the causes of the opioid crisis. And more.

Jan 29, 2018•29 min

The New Minority

Donald Trump’s election was seen by many commentators as a decisive statement by a marginalized White working class. A new book The New Minority: White Working Class Politics in an Age of Immigration and Inequality explains where this theory comes from and why so many White voters are feeling class and racial resentment. Plus we dive into the immigration debate and why good numbers are hard to find.

Jan 19, 2018•29 min

People Count

Today we hear a lot about "blue collar" voters, but it wasn't always the case that the working class mattered. In this week's show, we look at why working class neighborhoods tend to get the short end of the stick, how a British monarch leveraged the working class to extend her reign, and who is responsible for the origin of the census.

Jan 12, 2018•52 min

Getting to Know the Presidents

After one year in office, can we pass judgement on Trump's presidency? We talk to two experts from the University of Virginia's Miller Center who have made presidential first years their speciality. Plus, we dive deep into presidential history and ask the tough questions about America's founding fathers -- like how did these guys live so long?

Jan 05, 2018•52 min

The Future Of Music

Until recently, Caroline Shaw was uncomfortable calling herself a composer–violin, singer, musician, sure. But not a composer. Then in 2013, her composition Partita for 8 Voices made her the youngest recipient ever of the Pulitzer Prize for Music. Now she’s one of the most respected composers on the New Music scene and has been heralded as the future of music. Today, Shaw’s compositions range from traditional quartets and solo piano pieces to a cappella and collaborations with Kanye West.

Dec 29, 2017•52 min

← Prev

For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android