What do the mythological Chimera and motherhood have in common? In her work, poet Julie Phillips Brown dissects this and other biological queries, cleverly unveiling what makes us distinctly and undoubtedly human. And: Playwright Ivan Rodden focuses on the stories of refugees in his plays On Arriving and Lost Sock Laundry. He aims to dispel the mystique surrounding the refugee crisis, painting intimate onstage portraits of humans navigating the unknown. Later in the show: As a poet, Caseyrenée L...
Dec 10, 2020•52 min
What can we learn about climate change from literary figures like Walt Whitman or Cormac McCarthy? Greg Wrenn says it’s a lot more than you might think. He teaches a fascinating class that fuses both creative writing and the natural environment. And: Nick Balascio has journeyed to the far reaches of the planet, collecting lake sediments that offer clues into environmental change over thousands of years. Nick has been named an Outstanding Faculty member by The State Council of Higher Education fo...
Dec 03, 2020•52 min
We often think of cemeteries as separate worlds unto themselves. But those buried at Confederate graveyards were surely connected to those at the African burial grounds, and the cemetery reveals the intimacy of their connections. Ryan Smith says he and his students have been transformed by tending to cemeteries over the past 20 years. And: After Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy needed land for bases and training. Travis Harris says that the Magruder community was just one of many mostly blac...
Nov 26, 2020•52 min
Although it was once an important part of feeding families, home canning in America has never been just about necessity. Danille Christensen says a look back at home canning reveals the pride and creativity that went into stocking a pantry. And: Lilia Fuquen takes us inside a community cannery and a basement storeroom to hear from people who are keeping the tradition alive. Later in the show: Two brewers, Hunter Smith and Levi Duncan explain how a culture has grown up around brewing beer locally...
Nov 19, 2020•52 min
In 1970, Philicia Jefferson was forced to integrate into all-white, E.C. Glass High School in Lynchburg, Virginia. 40 years later, she finally attended her first class reunion. She says it was a profoundly healing experience. Plus: As a teenager, Owen Cardwell made history as one of the first Black students to attend E.C. Glass High School. Today, he continues to work on improving equity in public schools as a civil rights leader and scholar. Later in the show: In 1951, Barbara Johns led a stude...
Nov 12, 2020•52 min
Parents spend a lot of time delegating. No, you can’t have the hot fries and ice cream for dinner. Yes, please, have some more kale. Andria Timmer takes us to the dinner tables of “natural parents,” who left city life behind to bring the kids closer to their food source. Plus: For decades images of Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben -- the “happy” enslaved cooks--adorned boxes of rice, bottles of syrup and other foods. Kelley Deetz says that this is one of the most successful and long lasting propaganda ...
Nov 05, 2020•52 min
Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency marked the beginning of United States imperialism. Matt Oyos explains how Roosevelt modernized the military to bolster America’s international presence. Also: Arthur Schlesinger Jr. was the foremost presidential historian of the 20th century. Over the course of his career, he won two Pulitzer prizes and was a close friend and advisor to former president, John F. Kennedy. Emile Lester says Schlesinger’s work can teach us a lot about what makes a successful liberal ...
Oct 29, 2020•52 min
If you think poll taxes and literacy tests are voting barriers of the past, think again. Gilda Daniels’ new book Uncounted: Voter Suppression in the United States explores how updated versions of these barriers--like voter ID laws and misinformation--are undermining our democracy. Later in the show: This election has a lot of people worried about voting--how to do it and how to make it count. Jennifer Victor (George Mason University) walks us through the best way to cast our ballots this Novembe...
Oct 22, 2020•52 min
As the world waits for a coronavirus cure, attention is focused on vaccines. Steven Zeichner cautions against prematurely approving a vaccine that later has significant safety concerns. Plus: With colder temperatures, how risky is it to dine indoors again? Linsey Marr says plenty risky. The tiny aerosols are like cigarette smoke and can pose a risk to anyone in the room. Also: For the estimated 7 million American adults who are immuno-compromised, traveling to a doctor’s office for a vaccine cou...
Oct 15, 2020•52 min
Bars, nightclubs, dance, and music have long held a special place in LGBTQ culture. But even as shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race and Pose bring that culture into the mainstream, real-life gay bars and clubs are shuttering. DJ and Professor Madison Moore argues that the club scene and the “fabulous” fashions on display there are radical spaces for queer and trans of color togetherness. Gregory Samantha Rosenthal, Don Muse, and Peter Thornhill describe the sometimes-dangerous, always-exciting gay bar...
Oct 08, 2020•52 min
Atin Basu and his colleague’s Hotspot Predictors placed America high on the conflict predictor index for 2019. Sure enough, in 2020, we’ve seen hundreds of thousands of people marching in the streets, guns flying off of the shelves and police and military using weapons against civilians. And there are 3 months left in the year. Can Predicting Hotspots help us see ahead to 2021? Christie Jones was working in homeland security when Trayvon Martin was murdered by a neighborhood vigilante. She began...
Oct 01, 2020•52 min
In 1908, the U.S.S. Albatross set off on a research expedition to the newly acquired U.S. colony of the Philippines. Today, Kent Carpenter is studying the more than 80,000 fish samples collected by the Albatross to uncover how overfishing is actually changing fish genetics. Carpenter has been named an Outstanding Faculty member by The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. And: The Chukar Partridge is a common ground-bird found in parts of Asia and the western United States. Brandon Jac...
Sep 24, 2020•52 min
100 years ago women gained the right to vote with the 19th amendment. Professors Amanda Nelson and Molly Hood set the stage, and their students are bringing suffragettes to live in the digital, interactive theatre collaborative “Performing History: Women and the Vote.” Later in the show: At the same time that the 19th amendment passed, lynchings increased in the South. Khadijah Miller highlights how Black women strategically organized against disenfranchisement. Also featured: The Voting Rights ...
Sep 17, 2020•52 min
Everyone remembers things differently. With Good Reason takes you from D.C. to Poland and Jerusalem to show the different ways museums are commemorating the Holocaust.
Sep 10, 2020•52 min
Turns out the pandemic is the ideal time for workplaces to build better systems for getting women into positions of power.
Sep 02, 2020•52 min
Vic Sizemore was an evangelical for much of his life - until he wasn’t. His book, Goodbye My Tribe: An Evangelical Exodus, chronicles his journey away from fundamentalist religion. And: We’ve all heard about the Evangelical Right, but what about the lesser-known Evangelical Left? David Kirkpatrick traces the Latin American roots of the Evangelical Left movement. Later in the Show: The pandemic has been an exceptionally hopeless time for many. David Salomon looks to religion and art for guidance....
Aug 27, 2020•52 min
Homelessness is an unfortunate reality for many military veterans. Jimmie Fedrick says having a support system and an active social life can be key to turning their lives around. And: Loneliness is more than just a horrible feeling. Studies show that it can actually have adverse health effects. Pam Parsons founded the Richmond Health and Wellness Program, which helps reduce social isolation among the elderly. Later in the show: How can we be alone together in the pandemic? In a world without ski...
Aug 21, 2020•52 min
Universities will never be the same. Donna Henry sent all students, staff and faculty home with an iPad last fall. She says now those iPads are keeping the university operational. Also: When COVID-19 made the Spring semester digital, John Broome made a Facebook group for professors to support each other that quickly went viral. 30-thousand professors are using it to get ready for the Fall semester. Later in the show: Animals movements have changed as humans migrated indoors to quarantine. Anneke...
Aug 13, 2020•52 min
A traveling exhibit called New Virginians: 1619-2019 & Beyond from The Library of Virginia in Richmond features oral histories and photographs recorded by Pat Jarrett. People share their personal stories of how they journeyed from Central and South America, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and the former Soviet Republics to make Virginia their new home. David Bearinger discusses the complexity of the immigrant and refugee experience for the individuals and families who have lived and are livin...
Aug 06, 2020•52 min
Sammy was just a month old when he started experiencing symptoms of heart failure. Dr. Mark Roeser helped perform the groundbreaking surgery that saved the boy’s life. And: Burnout is especially prevalent in the medical field. And Dr. Mark Greenawald should know, he felt its devastating effects after a patient of his died tragically while giving birth. Earlier this year, he created PeerRxMed to help health care workers identify and overcome burnout. Later in the show: Domestic violence has been ...
Jul 30, 2020•52 min
At the confluence of the James and Rivana Rivers in Virginia sits a Monacan site. Monacan Chief Kenneth Branham walks us through the site of what was once the village of Rassawek, the epicenter of Monacan life before the Europeans arrived. And: Martin Gallivan, author of James River Chiefdoms and Jeffery L. Hantman, author of Monacan Millennium, say there is no doubt that Rassawek is the site of the former Monocan capital. Later in the show: For a decade, now, Amy Clark has been probing family l...
Jul 23, 2020•52 min
After months at home, your streaming watchlists are probably exhausted. With Good Reason is here to the rescue! We’re bringing you summer streaming recommendations from scholars and artists. Myles McNutt charts Netflix’s rise to video streaming juggernaut and recommends a miniseries on the systemic failures in sexual assault investigations. And: Yossera Bouchtia suggests two TV shows grappling with race and identity in America. Later in the show: White actors have recently been stepping down fro...
Jul 16, 2020•52 min
Even though transgender-themed TV shows like Transparent and Pose have achieved mainstream popularity, trans people still face huge barriers to employment, housing, and safety. In fact, many trans people of color say that their lives are harder than ever before. Transcripts, a new podcast hosted by Myrl Beam and Andrea Jenkins, investigates how trans activists are trying to change that. Later in the show: The Global Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer History tackles w...
Jul 09, 2020•52 min
When writer and radio producer Lulu Miller (Invisibilia) discovered she’d have to leave Virginia, she wrote a startling love letter to the state -- one that charges everyday people to stay angry about injustice. A.D. Carson (University of Virginia) uses hip-hop and spoken word to tell hard truths about racist history, cutting through denial with metaphor. Later in the show: Tawnya Pettiford-Wates (Virginia Commonwealth University) believes that theatre can heal injustice. She believes it, becaus...
Jul 02, 2020•52 min
Colleges all over the country closed campus and shifted to online classes at the start of the coronavirus outbreak. Despite fears of a virus resurgence, Virginia Tech and William & Mary are among a growing number of colleges planning to re-open in the Fall. Katherine Rowe (William & Mary President) and Tim Sands (Virginia Tech President) discuss their plans for keeping students safe and how the institution of higher education may be forever changed. Later in the show: Student loan number...
Jun 24, 2020•52 min
In 1855, an outbreak of yellow fever devastated the port city of Norfolk, VA. Annette Finley-Croswhite (Old Dominion University) says the similarities with the handling of the coronavirus pandemic are chilling. And: Marie Antoinette had wacky hairdos and threw lavish parties. She was also smart and never said,“Let them eat cake.” Ron Schechter (William & Mary) has uncovered her secret library of banned books, which he says reveals a depth to her character not previously recognized. Later in ...
Jun 18, 2020•52 min
As more cities close down streets to traffic, new riders are hopping on bikes every day. Evan Friss (James Madison University), author of On Bicycles: A 200-Year History of Cycling in New York City, talks about the rise in pandemic pedaling and why New York’s bike share program is so successful. And: With so few cars on the road, CO2 emissions have dropped dramatically. But if every silver lining has a touch of grey, it’s the rise in single-use plastic pollution. Matt Eick (Virginia Tech) is a s...
Jun 11, 2020•52 min
After the police killing of George Floyd, protests around the country have erupted, calling for an end to police brutality against Black Americans. Sociology professor Alex Vitale (Brooklyn College) says it’s not enough to reform the police. Instead, we must actually defund police and essentially end policing. And: Justin Hansford (Howard University School of Law) explains why one popular reform known as community policing is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Later in the show: Junauda Petrus-Nasah is...
Jun 04, 2020•52 min
Southwest Virginia has seen a decline in coal and tobacco—two industries that once boomed in the region. Could hemp be a way to boost the local economy? Ryan Huish (University of Virginia’s College at Wise) and Michael Timko (University of Virginia) are collaborating on an Industrial Hemp project to explore hemp’s potential for repairing lands damaged by coal mining. Plus: When the Food and Drug Administration approved the production and sale of genetically modified salmon in 2015, some consumer...
May 28, 2020•52 min
“Take Me Out To The Ball Game” is the most popular song in American sports, but did you know that the woman who inspired its creation was a feminist Vaudeville actress of the 1920's? And: Before the pandemic struck, Nick Heath was a rugby announcer in England. Now that rugby games are shut down, his hilarious play-by-play videos of everyday activities have gone viral. Plus: 80% of new referees don’t make it past their second year. A new survey explains the problem.
May 21, 2020•52 min
