With Good Reason

On Sept. 27th and 28th, the most notable poets of our time will gather in the nation’s capital to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Furious Flower Poetry Center, the first academic center devoted to African American poetry in the United States. The founder of Furious Flower, Joanne Gabbin (James Madison University), along with Lauren Alleyne (James Madison University) join us in studio to celebrate this anniversary and hear the voices of Furious Flower poets like Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, Rita Dove and others who have appeared on With Good Reason. Later in the show: Widely known for his poetry about the Vietnam War, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa’s writing has also explored themes of home, black resilience, and jazz and blues music. Komunyakaa was a guest of honor at a week-long seminar at James Madison University’s Furious Flower Poetry Center, called “Facing It,” titled after his most famous poem. And the recent book, Sargent’s Women tells the fascinating stories behind four of John S

In late August 1619, twenty or more enslaved Africans arrived in Virginia at what’s now called Fort Monroe. They were the first Africans documented in British North America. We speak with Terry Brown, Fort Monroe’s park superintendent about how the park--and America--are commemorating their arrival. We hear from the Tuckers, the descendants of the very first African-American baby, and learn about their work to uncover the stories of their ancestors. Hear more from the Tuckers on our sister show, BackStory. Poet Synnika Lofton (Norfolk State University) reflects on 1619 and shares how he channels his political thoughts into art. When Ana Edwards (Virginia Commonwealth University) first heard the story of Gabriel, an enslaved blacksmith who attempted a rebellion in Richmond, Virginia, she knew she needed to share it. She explains how new efforts to commemorate the lives and rebellions of enslaved Virginians in this Confederate capital are reshaping Richmond today. Richmond poet Joshua Poteat shares how he

In the early 19th century, Americans began to journey away from home simply for the sake of traveling. Will Mackintosh(University of Mary Washington) is the author of a new book Selling the Sights: The Invention of the Tourist in American Culture. And: In the past couple of decades, a lot has changed for rural American tourism. Nancy McGehee (Virginia Tech) says that from public artworks to popular foodie trails, small towns and rural areas are finding ways to enrich their communities through tourism. Plus: City-dwellers escape to national and state parks for the beautiful sights and the fresh air. Chris Zajchowski (Old Dominion University) says that, unfortunately, when those tourists travel for clean air, they bring polluted air with them. Later in the show: Within seconds of hearing someone speak, we make judgments about that person and their background, just based on their accent. Linguistics professor Steven Weinberger (George Mason University) explains how and when we develop accents and how these

Dr. Fern Hauck (University of Virginia Medical System) and Farah Ibrahim (CHIP) work to connect refugees and asylum seekers with high-quality healthcare, no matter what language they speak or what trauma they’ve suffered. Al Fuertes (George Mason University) is also dedicated to improving outcomes for refugees and displaced peoples. He draws on his personal experience growing up under martial law to inform his transformative approach to healing. Later in the show: In Border Odyssey Charles Thompson Jr. (Virginia Humanities) tells the story of his journey from a small organic farm in North Carolina to the nearly 2,000 mile long border between the United States and Mexico. And: Gregory Smithers (Virginia Commonwealth University) describes the Cherokee evolution from one community into a people of multiple communities in his book, The Cherokee Diaspora: An Indigenous History of Migration, Resettlement and Identity.

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. In the years since, as residents have come and gone and rebuilt their lives, a lot has changed about the city-- including, says Katie Carmichael (Virginia Tech), the way people talk. The author of Sudden Spring, Rick Van Noy (Radford University) says that, in many Southern communities, climate change is already here. Later in the show: Residents of Tangier Island could become some of America’s first climate refugees—unless they get a much needed sea wall. Through a partnership with Google, a Virginia project is hoping to raise awareness of Tangier’s plight by allowing people from anywhere in the world to visit the endangered island—virtually. Hundreds of thousands of citizens of island nations stand to lose their homes to rising sea levels. Anthony Boese is studying the ethical, political, and economic decisions needed when masses of people are forced to leave their island homelands. Is there a better way to assess the potential damage of an ap

Does the radiation emitted by our cell phones harm us? Deborah O’Dell (University of Mary Washington) recently finished a study that found cell phone radiation can cause changes to our cells. Also: In 2018, most people diagnosed with blood cancer can find a donor to help with their treatment. But not everyone. Karen Ballen (University of Virginia Health Systems) has been working to expand the donor database and discover new ways to match donors to cancer patients. Later in the show: New forms of electro-magnetic treatments are fighting deadly melanoma and show promise against other cancers. Richard Heller (Old Dominion University) is a pioneer in the use of electro-gene-therapy and bio-electrics. Plus: There’s a whole field of cancer research devoted just to developing medications that can help ease the punch of chemotherapy side effects. Kimberly Lane (Radford University) and her student team are researching ways to ease the side effects of a potent chemotherapy drug used against with colon cancer.

There’s a new podcast called Sacred & Profane hosted by two Religious Studies professors, Martien Halvorson-Taylor and Kurtis Schaeffer (University of Virginia). The podcast explores how people think and act with religion, how religion can affect our experience on almost every level, and the relationship between religion, race, and democracy. Later in the show: Christina Anne Kilby (James Madison University) says religion, at the level of the state, the community, the family, and the individual, can provide positive resources for dealing with refugee and migrant crisis. And: Annie Blazer (William & Mary) examines how Southern congregations, both historically Black and historically white, approach the challenges of urban gentrification. She says that changing neighborhoods have even spurred some churches to transform their religious missions.

From tracking tigers in Nepal to mountainside surgery on Montana’s wolverines, Deborah McCauley (VIEW) is on a mission to save disappearing wildlife around the world. And: Rowan Lockwood (William & Mary) is taking a closer look at the fossils of giant oysters to learn how to rebuild oyster reefs today. Later in the show: Crystal blue lakes might make for a popular tourist spot, but they’re starting to disappear. Dina Leech (Longwood University) is studying what gives lakes their color and why they’re changing. Plus: While forests are a deep green right now, in just a few months leaves will be changing colors--thanks, in part, to caterpillars. Rebecca Forkner (George Mason University) shares how these tiny insects change their environments and what we can learn from them.

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, because she’s seen it happen. Her theatre troupe The Conciliation Project stages plays and dialogues that tackle issues of identity and race in America. Plus: Theatre professor and performer Artisia Green (William & Mary) explains how West African spirituality helps her illuminate new dimensions to familiar plays.

Your summer vacation packing list has some key items: cell phone charger, swimsuit, toothbrush. We're here to add some essentials to your list, with the best book recs from the With Good Reason universe.

U.S. troops turned to popular music as a way of coping with the war in Vietnam. The authors of “We Gotta Get Out of this Place," Doug Bradley and Craig Werner, play songs the soldiers listened from that era and explore how that music became the soundtrack of the war. Joyce Hoffman is the author of On Their Own: Women Journalists in Vietnam. She shares stories of women who won esteemed prizes for their reporting and several who broke new ground covering the war. In recent years, more and more military mothers have been deployed throughout the world. Mona Ternus says there’s a connection between the length of time military mothers are deployed and an increase in drug use, attempted suicide, and other risk factors for their children.

The evolution of social change in America can be traced through popular songs by the likes of Nat King Cole, Percy Mayfield, Lena Horne, and the Impressions. Charlie McGovern (William and Mary) shares from his new book Body and Soul: Race, Citizenship and Popular Music, 1930-1977. Nancy Hanrahan (George Mason University) says debates about music and democracy used to focus on a shared national identity, morality, and citizenship. Noel Lobley (University of Virginia) wanted to give colonial musical archives back to the people--so he strapped DJ booths to donkey carts and took to the streets. Arthur Romano (George Mason University), a consultant on State Department musical missions overseas, says music is an important form of conflict resolution.

On the eve of WWI, Antoine Köpe had a front seat to history. A century later, Antoine’s elaborate journals, cartoons, recordings, and collections reveal what it was like in the last days of the Ottoman Empire. Filmmaker Nefin Dinç (James Madison University) is collecting Antoine’s memories into a new documentary. And: Native-Uruguayan Gabriela Toletti (Tidewater Community College and Old Dominion University) says that even after decades of living in the United States, she feels like she has a foot in both worlds. Later in the show: Ann Marie Stock (William and Mary) has opened her heart to Cuban film and her home to Cuban filmmakers. Plus: Jacqueline Bixler (Virginia Tech) says Mexico's theatres are a forum for working out the traumatic events that have shaped Mexican history.

When Jennifer Malia (Norfolk State University) started researching her young daughter’s behaviors, she realized that both she and her daughter were on the autism spectrum. Leslie Daniel (Radford University) celebrates autism and shares some basic strategies for communicating with children on the autism spectrum. Through personal experience and extensive research, Jackie Spainhour’s has come up with some ways to make children’s museums fun for all. Temple Grandin is known as an expert in the livestock industry and as an eloquent leader for autistic rights. Christofer Foss (University of Mary Washington) explores how autism is portrayed in literature and film.

The very first ironclad ship built by the Union Navy in the Civil War was called The Monitor. It revolutionized the way battleships were built. Jonathan White (Christopher Newport University) is the co-author of “Our Little Monitor: The Greatest Invention of the Civil War.” Civil War buffs pride themselves on knowing the great battles of the war. But what about the fighting that took place away from battlefields? John Matsui (Virginia Military Institute) says that guerilla fighting during the Civil War challenged the rules of warfare. Civil War monuments and reenactments often prop up popular myths, instead of reflecting an accurate history. Take Confederate raider John Hunt Morgan, for example. Stephen Rockenbach (Virginia State University) says Morgan killed unionist farmers in Indiana, but today he’s celebrated as a dashing cavalryman. Some of the country’s most eminent Civil War scholars including James Robertson and William C. Davis (Virginia Tech), and equine specialist John M. Bowen discuss the fo

When parents die, we face powerful emotions, rituals, and tasks, including the eulogy. Listen as poet Jahan Ramazani (University of Virginia) pays tribute at the 2016 memorial service to his father. Also: In addition to our grief at the loss of parents, we’re often also faced with so much stuff. Marietta McCarty (Piedmont Virginia Community College) wrote a loving memoir about the daunting task of emptying her beloved family home in Leaving 1203: Emptying a Home, Filling the Heart. Later in the episode: Two years ago, while Brian Henderson (Patrick Henry Community College) was coaching women’s basketball, he experienced the tragic deaths of a player and a fellow coach. How does one grieve while also helping others cope with their grief? Henderson explores this question in his book, No Playbook for Death: Recovering from a Loss. Plus: The addiction epidemic has helped fuel a foster care crisis. Wendy Welch (University of Virginia College at Wise) asked more than sixty social workers, parents, and children who

A poet loses his dad, a daughter empties her parents house, a coach copes with his grief after his player dies in an accident.

In 1883 a young African American worker was alleged to have brushed shoulders with a white woman as they passed each other on a narrow sidewalk in Danville, Virginia. A race riot erupted and Jane Dailey (University of Chicago) says the white supremacist backlash that followed led to the disenfranchisement of Black Virginians for nearly 100 years. And: Jeff McClurken (University of Mary Washington) discusses the life of a Danville industrialist and former Confederate soldier, William T. Sutherlin, who led a skewed Congressional investigation into the 1883 riot. Later in the show: Danville was like many small southern towns and cities after the civil war. Caitlin Verboon (Virginia Tech) studies how white and black citizens viewed each other and interacted in the post-war years. Plus: Tom Costa (University of Virginia at Wise) connects the dots between the Danville riots and the codification of Jim Crow laws in Virginia’s Constitution of 1902.

A clip of Kim Delevett talking about returning to Vietnam.

Native American historical leaders, Native recipes, and de-colonizing our diet!