With Good Reason

Serena Williams is widely regarded as one of the best athletes of all time. But far too often her passion on the tennis court has been criticized as aggression. So why do Black sports women seem to attract more scrutiny than other athletes? Letisha Engracio Cardoso Brown says it’s because the same commonly-held stereotypes for Black women in society frequently get repurposed into sport. And: The USA men’s basketball team boasted a perfect Olympic record of 63-0. But Russia had developed a scrappy, up and coming team of their own. So, when the two basketball teams collided at the 1972 Olympics - it was bound to be a showdown of epic proportions. Christopher Elzey calls this game the greatest WTF moment in sports history and explains how it opens a window into Cold War animosity. Later in the show: From Stone Cold Steve Austin to The Undertaker, the 1990’s were one of professional wrestling's most popular eras. Marc Ouellette says this golden age of wrestling reflected a perceived decline in masculinity throug

Remember those twelve months where every ad was asking you to vote? It was inescapable. Gilda Pedraza and her team worked around the clock to ensure Latino voters in Georgia had the information they needed to cast their ballot. But even with historic voter turnout, a third of eligible adults didn’t vote. Bernard Fraga says that’s a political failure, and not the failure of individual voters. Plus: Kathleen Hale and Mitchell Brown have spent years traveling the country talking to election officials. Why they say this past election has forever transformed the voting process in America. Later in the show: Young people feel ignored by politicians, and politicians feel ignored by young people. So the cycle repeats. A lot of young people don’t vote, and politicians opt out of spending money trying to reach them. Evette Dionne says that new media engages the young voters who politicians ignore.

We all know that teenagers would rather die than hang out with their parents, right? Not so, says Jon Lohman. The Old Fiddlers Convention in Galax, Virginia, brings young and old together to share traditions and songs. But how are musicians faring during the pandemic? Plus: The studio comes alive with song when Steve Rockenbach and Gregg Kimball bring their banjos in to share the instrument’s storied history in America. They reflect on how the banjo’s transformation has affected song styles to this day. Later in the show: When the first settlers came to America from England and Scotland they brought with them a rich tradition of ballad-singing. Cece Conway traces the singing families and their songs from the UK to the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, where they influenced modern performers from Joan Baez to the Carolina Chocolate Drops.

In 2016, Lashrecse Aird made history as the youngest woman ever elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. She says her unique perspective - shaped by a childhood of adversity and hardship - allows her to better serve the full range of experiences within her constituency. And: Ebony Guy was inspired to get involved in activism from a young age by her grandmother, a beloved civil rights leader in Halifax County, Virginia. Now a board member at Virginia Organizing - her activist work has centered on voter education and political campaigns. Plus: From 1997-2001, Paul Clinton Harris represented Albemarle County in the Virginia House of Delegates. A descendant of enslaved people at Monticello, he describes his unlikely path to political office - serving in the very seat that Thomas Jefferson once held many years ago. Later in the show: A.E. Dick Howard directed the commission that rewrote Virginia’s constitution, which was eventually enacted in 1971. It was a bipartisan effort intended to heal the wounds of the

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. Anthropologist Michael Blakey discusses why historical sites must consider the needs and wishes of descendants. And: Historian Hasan Kwame Jeffries says we need to do more to teach our kids about African American history, even when it covers tough subjects. Later in the show: Justin Reid tells the story of how he set out to find the plantation where his great-great grandfather was enslaved, and what he found there. And: Crystal Rosson is the great-granddaughter of Sterling Jones Sr., who was enslaved at the former Sweet Briar Plantation, now Sweet Briar College. Rosson shares her family’s history and explains why research by African American genealogists matters as they discover more about the integral role of African Americans in Virginia's history.

In mid-December, UVA Health physician Taison Bell rolled up his sleeve to be one of the first people in Charlottesville to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Today he shares why he got the vaccine and how we can get it to as many Americans as possible. Bell was named a 2021 Outstanding Faculty member by The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. And: Navigating social lives in the time of Covid can be awkward. How do you tell your friends, ”No, I won’t be joining you at that restaurant, but yes, we can take a walk in the park together” without having to explain or excuse? Carrie Dolan says we need to get better at communicating our personal risk levels during the pandemic or we won’t be able to stop it. Later in the show: Every day, all over the world, people die because they don’t have access to life-saving medications. A problem that was already acute has become even more visible as countries struggle to produce and supply Covid-19 medications. Frank Gupton and the Medicines for All Institute at Virginia Com

We’re drawn to people who are kind to others. But once that kind person becomes our partner, we want special treatment. Lalin Anik says that we get a boost from feeling our "uniqueness" affirmed. She shares just how critical that special treatment is to a fulfilling relationship. And: Can one person really satisfy all of our needs? Julian Glover says no. They share how non-monogamy can be a freedom practice. Later in the show: Studies show that the more we look at screens, the less we feel our body. Scary, right? In our virtual world, we are becoming increasingly out of touch. Two days after Sushma Subramanian got engaged, she moved to Virginia to teach, leaving her fiance behind. She tells us about the app that got them talking -- and touching-- across the distance. Plus: Kristina Feeser shares her bittersweet realities of love.

Dwayne Betts was only a teenager when he was convicted of carjacking and sentenced to 9 years in prison. Today, he’s an acclaimed poet and PhD candidate at Yale Law School. He recounts his inspiring story and brings attention to one of the biggest civil rights issues of our time: felon disenfranchisement. Later in the show: Think immigrant voting is un-American? Think again. Ron Hayduk says it’s as American as apple pie. Plus: We take for granted that 18 is the voting age. But it wasn’t always this way. Rebecca DeSchweinitz explains how the Vote 18 movement led to the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 in 1971.

While people planned socially distanced funerals and waited in miles-long lines for canned food, the stock market soared and brought the GDP with it. The pandemic has revealed that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a poor measure of economic and societal health. Stephen Macekura’s new book, The Mismeasure of Progress, explores GDP and the long history of those who have critiqued it. And: The 2008 financial crisis scared investors. So they parked their money in huge land grabs for farms that would ideally prevent future food shortages in the United States. Bikrum Gill says the effort did more harm than good. Later in the show: There’s an eviction crisis in the United States, and it’s disproportionately affecting communities of color. Kathryn Howell and Ben Teresa are part of the RVA Eviction Lab which gathers data on eviction rates. They say high eviction rates destabilize communities, cause high turnover in student populations, and reduce community engagement and access to community networks and jobs. Plus:

When theatres, clubs, and bars shuttered their doors back in March, Michael-Birch Pierce and their fellow drag queens took to the streets - literally. Also: After growing up in the Philippines, Francis Tanglao Aguas realized that he’d spent a lot of time on colonized soil. That’s why he founded Aguas Arts Ink, a digital theatre collective dedicated to decolonizing the body and mind. Then: How do you dance in a space that technically doesn’t exist? Dancer and choreographer Scotty Hardwig answers this riddle using motion-sensing technology, creating what he calls “Dance Sci-fi.” Later in the show: Every year high schools put on “The Wizard of Oz” and every year someone gets stuck playing Aunt Em. Joshua Rashon Streeter and Jessica Harris make a case for going beyond the canon with youth theatre, and why kids should play kids. Plus: Fever, shortness of breath, loss of taste and/or smell… we know the symptoms by heart. Still, almost a year into the pandemic, there are certain things a COVID test can’t detect. I

Today’s teens--Generation Z--are making headlines for their politics and their protests. The YA books that speak to them have followed suit. Lisa Koch shares three of her favorite recent young adult books that are speaking to a wider world of culture and politics. And: Old school guidance counselors sit behind their desks, giving one-on-one sessions that can feel like pulling teeth for moody kids. Natoya Haskins’ days as a guidance counselor were spent on her feet, in the hallways, in group sessions, and getting kids excited to see their counselor. Now, Haskins studies how this hands-on approach to school counseling can be an act of social justice. Later in the show: Eve Ettinger says that by the time they were 13, their childhood was essentially over. As the oldest of nine kids in an extremist religious household, Ettinger’s homeschooling was sidelined so they could be another parent, caring for siblings, cooking, and cleaning. Years later, Ettinger has left the religion they were raised in and is devoted

Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and How to Get Away with Murder aren’t just popular tv shows--they’re also groundbreaking. Michaela Meyer says Shonda Rhimes has changed the way we make and watch TV. Also: Imelda O’Reilly published her first poem when she was just seven years old. Now a filmmaker, her short film Eggs and Soldiers examines a single father and son struggling to adjust to life in New York after emigrating from Ireland. Later in the show: Screen icon John Wayne and director John Ford had a friendship and professional collaboration that spanned 50 years, changed each others’ lives, changed the movies, and in the process, changed the way America saw itself. Nancy Schoenberger explores the relationship between the two in her latest book Wayne and Ford: The Films, the Friendships and the Forging of an American Hero.

David Coogan is the editor of “Writing Our Way Out” written by former jail inmates, exploring the conditions, traps and turning points on their paths to imprisonment, as well as the redemptive power of writing. Jazz musician Antonio Garcia composed a musical piece “Open Minds: Music that Mends,” that reflects the book’s themes of social justice, healing, self-reflection and redemption. Music performed by the VCU Commonwealth Singers, directed by Dr. Erin Freeman. And: Josh Iddings looks at the history of writings from prison and how prison literature can humanize the image of the prisoner. Later in the show: Conversations about prison tend to focus on incarcerated men in urban areas. Bonnie Zare takes us inside a rural Wyoming women’s prison to understand the place that some women call “Camp Cupcake.”

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 Lopez loves precision in language. That’s part of why poetry helps them explore the muddiness of being queer. Along with their own work, Lopez has devoted a career to creating spaces for the poetry and experimental work of queer and trans writers. Plus: Poet and writer Louis Gallo says that all writing is autobiographical. Gallo’s own works reveal his life, from the musical city that’s in his blood to his wife, who he calls his muse.

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 for Virginia. Later in the show: From newspapers to google searches, Rebecca Bromley Trujillo studies how the media influences bill proposals in state legislatures. She says media reporting plays a crucial role in shaping environmental policy. Plus: Ever felt at a loss for words to describe how you feel about climate change? Look no further than Brendan Baylor and Natalia Pilato’s art installation about sea level rise in Norfolk, Virginia. They’re helping members of the community invent words that reflect their feeling

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 black communities displaced for military bases. Later in the show: Brian Palmer grew up hearing about Magruder, his father’s boyhood neighborhood that was bulldozed to make way for a US Naval base. An old picture led him and his wife Erin Palmer back to Magruder and across the state tracking where his ancestor was enslaved. After moving to Richmond, the couple got involved in restoring a cemetery where Brian has more ancestors.

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 and at home. And: Just about everyone drank beer in early America—even for breakfast. Susan Kern says there even used to be a brewhouse right on the campus of one of our nation’s oldest colleges. Plus: Paula Pando and Jesse Miller explain how a new culinary school aims to transform a food desert into a local food hub.

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 student strike for equal education at Robert Russa Moton Highschool. Brian Daugherity explains how this small community in Prince Edward County came to be at the center of the national fight to end segregated schools. And: Dwana Waugh has listened to dozens of oral histories from students who lived through desegregation. She says what struck her the most was the painful sense of loss African American students felt when leaving their all-black schools.

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 campaigns about slavery -- that cooks were happy and the living was easy. Later in the show: Everyone’s boosting their immune system as we begin a COVID-19 winter. John Munsell is helping new farmers meet the demands of the booming herbal medicine market. And: Will Collier says that COVID-19 has revealed our broken food distribution system, and farmers markets could be key to improving things.

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 presidency. Later in the show: What makes a leader decide to go to war? Is the decision based solely on facts on the ground or does it have something to do with personality? Dennis Foster and Jonathan Keller have developed a psychological framework for uncovering why leaders do the things they do.