With Good Reason

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said that America is the “sickest country in the world,” citing that 76.4% of Americans suffer from a chronic disease. And maybe so. But Alan Levinovitz says that getting a diagnosis relieves symptoms. It’s a medical and psychological phenomenon called the Rumpelstiltskin Effect. Levinovitz says that an official diagnosis gives people a name for what they...

Sitting in a doctor’s office trying to understand “medicalese” is really frustrating. Suzanne Makarem found forty women who switched to nontraditional medical professionals after years of feeling unheard by their doctors. Many of them now only see their traditional doctors for blood tests, vaccines and annual check ups. Plus: The United States and New Zealand are the only countries that allow phar...

At colleges and universities, women professors are doing a lot more emotional work on top of teaching and research. Linda Waldron explains how that happens and how it affects long-term career paths. And: Geoffrey Pollick shares the story of one remarkable woman who made her career as an ordained minister in the late 1900s. Later in the show: In the mid-20th century, LIFE magazine changed the way A...

Stumbling into your soulmate while running errands used to be romantic. But Jenny Rosier says this romcom fantasy has gone out of style. She studies the ever-changing dating habits of Gen Z. Plus: Asking your crush out is the ultimate leap of faith. But what if something existed - free and easily accessible - that could boost your odds of landing the date? David Roaché researches the power of AI t...

College classrooms are opening up behind federal prison walls, sparking a massive shift in American higher education. Driven by the return of Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated students, community colleges across the country are meeting communities where needs are greatest–in prisons. Beth Benson and Maria Durso of are part of a two-year degree program inside the federal prison complex in Pet...

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. Fort Monroe’s Park Superintendent Terry Brown recalls how America commemorated their arrival 407 years later. And: We hear from the Tuckers, the descendants of the very first African-American baby, about their work to uncover...

The James River provides drinking water for 1 in 4 Virginians. But it was once the most polluted river in America. Justin Black and Will Gemma’s two-part documentary Headwaters Down captures a 360-mile, 18-day journey from the headwaters of the James River in the Blue Ridge Mountains all the way to its mouth at the Chesapeake Bay. Friendship is the vehicle that moves the documentary through the Ja...

The personal and professional lives of musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane cannot be divorced from the struggle for racial equality. Antonio Garcia says they contributed in significant ways to interracial understanding and social progress. Also: The composers of the Civil Rights anthem “Lift Every Voice and Sing” also created musical theater at the turn of the century...

After liberation, concentration camp survivors were left a shell of themselves - malnourished, diseased, and traumatized. Children who lost their parents and extended family had nowhere to go. Maggie Fraser Kirsh studies the caregivers who swooped in from around the world to help begin the healing process. Later in the show: Death by hanging was the harshest punishment assigned to Nazi-era war cri...

What did Jefferson mean by “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”? Adam Potkay explains the moral and philosophical world behind the phrase and the important passages that were edited out of the Declaration of Independence. Plus: On the evening of July 4, 1776, the Founding Fathers raced to print 200 copies of the Declaration of Independence for rapid dispersal throughout the colonies. Holly...

Little babies and potted plants: the stationary, the helpless... the hardest working beings in the room. Peter Vishton found that babies and plants process information in similar ways. And plants can count! Kind of. And: It’s not just in your head. Getting out in nature can improve your mood and health. Benjamin Katz shares some of his favorite hiking and camping spots. Later in the show: Birding...

What if a well-manicured lawn isn’t the end all be all? What if it’s actually harming the local habitat? Doug Tallamy is the co-founder of Home Grown National Park. It’s a non-profit that urges property owners to reduce their lawns and plant native plants. He shares all the little things we can do to help restore functioning ecosystems and mitigate the biodiversity crisis. And: Quarry Gardens is t...

A new one-woman show tells the story of Virginia’s history through the eyes of ten audacious women. From the Civil War to the Harlem Renaissance to the Civil Rights movement, Morgan Avery McCoy Harris is using her Rosel Schewel Fellowship to embody the voices and memories of trailblazers. Later in the show: Jennifer Putzi is working with diaries that give us insight into the daily lives–and major...

From Marian Anderson’s 1939 concert at the Lincoln Memorial to Marvin Gaye singing the National Anthem at the NBA Finals, the theme of patriotism can be heard throughout African American music. Benjamin Ross offers selections from this rich musical heritage. Also: Ann Petry’s The Street, published in 1946, was the first million-selling novel by an African American author. Keith Clark says Petry de...

In 1976, the Bikecentennial became the first organized bike tour across the U.S. Around 4,000 bicyclists pedaled to celebrate the Bicentennial, or America’s 200th anniversary. Tom Ewing breaks down the spirit of the Bikecentennial, its grassroots nature, and lessons to be learned for America’s upcoming 250th celebration. Later in the show: At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, 87 enslaved peo...

For nearly a century the National Park Service would tell you all about the civil war battles and tactics, but meticulously avoided the most explosive word in the American lexicon: Slavery. Former National Park Service Chief Historian Dwight Picaithley says that all changed in 1998, triggering thousands of protest letters and political threats. Later in the show: At the start of the Civil War, Fre...

A cold, dark summer in 1816 brought an extraordinary group of young writers together on the shores of Lake Geneva—including an eighteen-year-old Mary Shelley. Andrew Stauffer tells the story of that summer and the conversations, dreams, and climate catastrophe that created Frankenstein’s magic. Later in the show: Goliath might be the most famous giant from the Bible, but he’s not the only one. Pau...

George Tzamaras fancies himself as a “connoisseur of fine dad jokes.” I have him rate a few of my own dad jokes as a rite of passage as I start my journey into fatherhood. His new book is called It’s Dad Joke Friday: The Collection (2018-2025). Also: Being a dad is a huge responsibility. And as my wife and I get closer to our due date, I’m starting to feel the nerves kicking in. I sat down with Sa...

I’ll admit it, I’m not very good at dealing with conflict. In fact, I’d rather avoid conflict altogether than tackle it head on. It’s not something I really love about myself. So I sat down with Emily Gerst to learn how to do conflict better and maybe even overcome my conflict avoidant ways. Later in the show: Mongolia, China, Israel, Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and even the United Nati...

A life steeped in literature fueled the rise of the nation’s first Muslim woman elected to a statewide office. Ghazala Hashmi discusses the power of storytelling and why she believes a well-worn novel is her secret weapon for navigating the high-stakes drama of government. Later in the show: James Baldwin’s writings challenge the traditional democratic narrative. Pamela Reed discusses Baldwin’s vi...

Teacher's Pet by With Good Reason

It’s time for our annual summer reading recommendation round-up! From a book that traces the Cold War history of our “Made in China” goods, to a witchy novel about an old woman in the woods, we’ve got suggestions for every kind of summer. We even threw in a few podcast recs! You’ll hear from Megan Doney on reading translated fiction and Austin Jersild on international history. Later in the show: M...

If you’re looking for new music, you might turn to youtube, spotify, social media–basically, the internet. In Cuba, internet access is so limited that music is passed through a USB network called Sneakernet. Mike Levine explains how Sneakernet helps spread the rhythms–and politics–of reparto music. And: What does it sound like when trees sing? Or rocks? Or city waterworks? Sara Bouchard is a sound...

There’re over 10,000 active satellites orbiting Earth. And they do more than just power our phones and GPS, they’re giving us a whole new perspective on who we are. Dan Runfola sifts through countless satellite images to learn more about our human footprint and the evolution of society. And: Michael Shingledecker uses the James Webb Space Telescope to study ice layers that freeze in clouds of star...

In the German novel “I’m Your Man” a couples therapist and her robot partner Tom explore the limits of post-human love. Holly Yanacek wrote the English translation of the novel about what happens when our perfect partner is a machine. And: An after-school philosophy club has elementary school children discussing deep ideas with undergrads. Anne van Leeuwen says readings of Frog and Toad and Shel S...