With Good Reason

In part three of our series American Dissent, With Good Reason Associate Producer Kelley Libby talks with Dr. Michael Higginbotham (University of Baltimore) about a list of people—some well known, some not—whom he credits with seeing America for what it could be and then working toward making it so. Vilissa Thompson (LCSW, Founder of Ramp Your Voice!) explains how understanding Harriet Tubman as a disabled Black woman has inspired intersectional disability rights activists. Terry Beitzel helps his students better understand political protest as a form of citizen engagement. Isabel Fay and Christopher Labosier (Longwood University) come from different disciplines: communications and science.

It’s New Year’s resolution time. If you’re tired of thinking about your own health, maybe it’s time to turn to the kids. Amy Best (George Mason University) studies kids’ eating habits and says that part of getting them to make the right food choices means understanding what kids like about bad food. Bob O’Connor (UVA Health) has new guidelines that suggest young people should return to normal activity as soon as possible after a concussion. Plus: Justin Owens (Virginia Tech) helps arm parents and ride-share drivers with more info about using car seats. Later in the show: Francis Bush started running late in life and has now completed more than 60 marathons. Women’s soccer coach Corey Hewson (University of Mary Washington) shares advice for new runners and those training for a half-marathon.

Craft distilleries are popping up in small towns and big cities across the country. In this special episode we share a recently revived 19th-century julep recipe and take you to an event that draws “women who whiskey.” We’ll do a tasting with Ironclad Distillery and Vitae Spirits and talk with a biologist who is making his own cordials and spirits from wild roots, berries, and mushrooms.

Linguist and filmmaker Mark Sicoli (University of Virginia) shares the whistling style of speech used in the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico. Saikou Diallo (Old Dominion University) talks about the 3D virtual recreation of an ancient settlement in Turkey. And we dig into coin collecting with Michael Mucedola (Longwood University, one of the nation's foremost experts on old dimes.

Tim Anderson (Old Dominion University) introduces a modern reworking of a Charlie Brown Holiday special classic. Jacqueline Secoy (Longwood University) remembers the tunes that she first played in an orchestra. Orchestra conductor Kevin Bartram (University of Mary Washington) explains what singers like Judy Garland and Tony Bennett bring to the classic songs of the season. Later in the show: Sister Rosetta Tharpe attained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with her early rock and roll. Chris Kjorness (Longwood University) plays some of her groundbreaking recordings and talks about her legacy. And: Gary Richards (University of Mary Washington) argues that popular musicals tend to have a negative view of the South and don’t reflect its diversity today.

Michaela Meyer (Christopher Newport University) says the shows of Shonda Rhimes have changed the way we make and watch TV. Imelda O’Reilly's (James Madison University) film Eggs and Soldiers examines a single father and son struggling to adjust to life in New York after emigrating from Ireland. Nancy Schoenberger (William & Mary) explores the relationship between screen icon John Wayne and director John Ford in her latest book.

Sometimes, to tell a complex story, you need simple pictures. A conference at Norfolk State University has asked students to draw graphic novels that explore 1619 from African, Indigenous, and European perspectives. Tommy Bryant (Virginia Highlands Community College) explores the epic history of African Americans in comic books. Matthew Smith (Radford University) just co-curated a major museum exhibit about the history of comics. Veteran animator William “Tuck” Tucker (Longwood University) talks about his role illustrating the popular cartoons of the 1990s and early 2000s.

From the 1830s to the Civil War, Americans could be found putting each other into trances in parlors, on stage, and in medical consulting rooms. Emily Ogden’s (University of Virginia) new book is “Credulity: A Cultural History of U.S. Mesmerism.” Jeff Dyche (James Madison University) says that when we mess with the 24 hour clock, there are all kinds of bad side effects. Daniel Hirshberg (University of Mary Washington) explores the subconscious with his students by wiring meditating students up to brain-imaging headsets. And Graham Schweig (Christopher Newport University)says “deepening the heart” is the real aim of many of India’s yoga traditions.

During the holiday season, it feels like more and more consumers are skipping the department stores and opting for handcrafted goods instead. Ben Brewer says this current “third wave” craft renaissance we’re experiencing is tied to politics. We visit mOb, an innovative design studio at Virginia Commonwealth University, where students help solve design problems in the city of Richmond. We stop in at the Virginia Center for the Book, where Kristin Keimu Adolfson is printing a collaborative book called Bird Talk. Plus: Craft brewer Gabe Mixon shares a lesson in making beer. Later in the show: Chef and food activist Alice Waters argues that every child in America should be fed free, organic food at schools.

In this political climate, do brands suffer or thrive when companies take sides? Also, self expression through purchasing power has gone through the roof for African Americans.

We open the show with part two of the new podcast, American Dissent--featuring a woman who chose to fight the Trump administration decision to rescind DACA, and the story of the high school students whose protest helped lead to school desegregation. Also, journalists and authors discuss the opioids crisis and the effects of economic decline on rural communities—and the vital role of local journalism to an informed citizenry.

Across the nation, natural gas production has been ramping up. In many communities, this has meant new pipelines, new promises, and new protests. How do we balance environmental concerns and the public good? Environmental engineer Andres Clarens (University of Virginia)explains the science. Jaime Allison (Christopher Newport University) argues that we can better understand pipelines by looking back to the early days of railroads. Economist Sarah Stafford (College of William and Mary) argues that pipelines require people to weigh environmental costs and economic benefits, and the results aren’t always what you’d expect. Sociologist Travis Williams (Virginia Commonwealth University) takes us to Union Hill, a historically African American community in Buckingham County, Virginia, where a natural gas compressor station is being planned.

Welcome flags, monogrammed door mats, bird feeders, and whirligigs. These are all things you might find on a front porch—or on a gravesite. We're more creative now in our cemeteries. Plus, millions of Americans have had near death experiences and there are startling consistencies in the accounts.

Love it or hate it (more likely a bit of both) Facebook is worth careful scholarly study--particularly in the field of politics. We hear from political scientists who argue that the sins of Facebook are built into the platform itself and congress needs to break up Facebook using antitrust laws.

More than 30,000 American women served in some form in Vietnam during the war. From the Red Cross volunteers who boosted morale to the nurses who treated injuries, women were a major part of soldiers’ experience of the war. The war also upended the lives of millions of wives, widows and girlfriends back home.

Women have been making headlines all over the country, running for office--and winning. We hear from some of those women about what it was like during their first week on the job. And scholars reflect on what it takes to get more women on the ballot.

Moonshiners are often portrayed as lawbreakers and profiteers. But these recorded interviews with former moonshiners and their children paint a portrait of close knit poor families in Appalachia helping each other keep food on the table.

This week we’re debuting a new podcast series called American Dissent, hosted by Kelley Libby. In Episode 1: Influenced by Colin Kaepernick’s protest of police brutality during the National Anthem, a high school volleyball player initiates her own protest, and not without consequences. And a historian tells the story of a religious minority who helped win the American Revolution and the fight for religious freedom in America. American Dissent is a production of James Madison’s Montpelier and With Good Reason at Virginia Humanities.

Do we fret too much that we're glued to our cell phones? Trevor Hoag says we should stop using the language of addiction liked ‘hooked on our iPhones” and embrace the positives. Plus, experts weigh in on the need to customize addiction treatments.

One of the great American beliefs is that a college education gives us a better shot at moving up in life. But some say that social mobility has stalled and we should expand access to those universities admitting the largest numbers of low income students.