With Good Reason

Francis O’Neill rose through the ranks to become a prominent Chicago police chief at the turn of the 20th century. But he’s mostly remembered as the savior of Irish folk music. Mike O’Malley highlights O’Neill’s incredible life and explains how he used the authority of his badge to collect thousands of tunes. And: Thomas Stanley says that there is no such thing as silence--there’s always something...

While many Americans keep the Christmas decorations stowed away until after Thanksgiving, the Philippines takes Christmas to another level. From September to December, the Southeast Asian island-country celebrates the longest Christmas season in the world. Ken Garcia Olaes and his parents bake some Bibingka, a filipino-style cake, and share fond memories of Christmas time in the Philippines. And:...

It’s all about the power of the almighty dollar. Meredith Katz says that from From the Boston Tea Party to the Don’t Buy Where You Can’t Work, consumers have long known that. What companies are you avoiding this year? Who’s getting your hard-earned money instead? And: These days almost all toys are Made in China. But that wasn’t always the case. Susan Fernsebner says that most Chinese toys were ma...

Pregnant people who struggle with substance abuse face an uphill battle getting the care they need for their pregnancy and the care they need for their recovery. Caitlin Martin’s OB MOTIVATE clinic believes that caring for the whole person--pregnancy, addiction, and everything else--in one place is the best way to truly help patients. And: The criminal justice system has the highest concentration...

For many, the Thanksgiving holidays are a time to gather with your biological relatives. But what if you don’t have the traditional, Norman-Rockwell family? April Few-Demo studies how queer families of color, especially Black lesbians, navigate biological and chosen family. She says that dialogue about identity and acceptance might happen in subtle ways during the holidays. And: Shannon Davis argu...

Since she was a child, Luz Lopes would help her mother prepare the altar for the Day of the Dead. This year, her go-to bakery shut down so she made her own pan de muerto. Plus: It seemed like quinoa just kind of came out of nowhere didn’t it? Well, it kind of did. Linda Seligmann tells us how she witnessed this afterthought crop become a commercial crop. And: Will the real pigs please stand up? Br...

The red colobus monkey is one of the most endangered primates in the world. Found in West, East, and Central Africa, the once thriving species has been decimated by over-hunting. Josh Linder has devoted his career to studying and conserving these peaceful primates. Plus: A few months ago, Francesco Ferretti led an expedition to be the first to ever tag endangered great white sharks in the Mediterr...

A lot of parents are tired of telling their kids to put down the video games, and pick up the textbooks. But now, video games are part of school. Lisa Heuvel says that Minecraft creates a unique opportunity for practicing effective teamwork. And IT specialist Jan Dougherty says that through games, students begin dealing with complex topics without even realizing it. Later in the show: A lot of peo...

During the early months of the pandemic, live theater shut down completely. Leslie Scott-Jones, a theater director and producer, was looking for a way to continue her work. Grounds: A Blackcast was born. This fictional podcast follows five Black professors at a predominantly white university in the south as they navigate work and life. And: Contemporary fiction these days is experimental, genre-cr...

After new episodes drop, fans of TV shows from The Bachelor to Grey’s Anatomy take to social media to dissect what they just saw. And the twittersphere isn’t just venting about plot twists and love interests--sometimes there are bigger issues at hand. Dr. Morgan Smalls says that shows like Insecure and Being Mary Jane that feature Black women protagonists and majority Black casts inspire important...

Earlier this year, Virginia made headlines when it became the latest state to abolish the death penalty. Sabrina Butler-Smith is the first woman to be exonerated from death row. She says she’s living, breathing proof of why the capital punishment should be a thing of the past. Also: Deirdre Enright is probably best known for her work as the founding director of the Innocence Project and her passio...

The most important architectural thinker of the young American republic was Thomas Jefferson. He also held captive more than 600 enslaved men, women, and children in his lifetime. Architects Mabel O. Wilson and Louis Nelson discuss Jefferson’s conflicting ideals. Also: Erik Neil takes us through a Chrysler Museum exhibit that explored the inherent conflict between Jefferson’s pursuit of liberty an...

Cancer is a beast, and it doesn’t discriminate. For decades researchers have been trying to treat and cure children with cancer. Dr. Daniel “Trey” Lee is working with a team to develop more immunotherapies for pediatric cancer, reducing the pain and hopefully sending more patients into remission. Also: More and more employers and schools are rolling out vaccine mandates, leaving many wondering: is...

Last year, America celebrated the anniversary of many women getting the right to vote. But what led up to that victory was decades and decades of hard work and strategy. Lucinda Robb and Rebecca Roberts, authors of The Suffragist Playbook, share some of those tactics and how they are still used by activists today. Later in the show: In today’s political strategy, attack ads on TV are out, attack t...

The first year of college can be stressful and disorienting, especially for shy students. But Madelynn Shell says shy freshmen who have at least one good friend report more life satisfaction and better emotional wellbeing. Plus: While many students on the rural Eastern Shore of Virginia can’t wait to get out, one of their teachers couldn’t wait to come back. Christina Duffman grew up in poverty an...

For decades, video games have inspired hit songs and have been adapted into countless movies. Boris Willis says the next horizon for video games is the stage. He uses cutting-edge video game technology to turn his performances into interactive experiences. And: Arcades defined pop culture in the 1980’s and 90’s. But today, they’re almost extinct. Zach Whalen charts the rise and fall of one of Amer...

In 2017, many Americans watched in horror as violent images from the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville started spreading. A few short years later, My Monticello tells the story of Charlottesville neighbors fleeing racist violence and taking refuge in Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello. The author, Jocelyn Johnson, talks about what it means to be writing about a past and a future that both...

Many American students left for Spring Break in March 2020, and will be returning to in-person school for the first time this Fall. It sounds nice in theory -- some time away from the classroom. But schooling never stopped, and it was difficult. Bethany Teachman says that some students got hooked on social media apps like Tik Tok to cope. And: These days we recognize that teachers are superheroes....

What caused the Big Bang? Are black holes key to interstellar travel? And how close are we to discovering extraterrestrial life? These are some of the big questions that Kelsey Johnson covers in her fascinating class, “The Unsolved Mysteries of the Universe.” And: Robin Hanson has come up with a mathematical model that predicts when us earthlings will encounter an advanced alien civilization. Hint...

What do you do for work? That answer changed for many people at the top of the pandemic. But what was a tragedy, has become a choice for many. Nathaniel Throckmortan says that people had time to think about what mattered to them, and in many cases, it’s not work. And: Many young people in the workforce are enjoying more flexible schedules, and many baby boomers are on their way out. Jeannette Chap...

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, the way people talk. And: The author of Sudden Spring, Rick Van Noy travelled across the US South interviewing people about floods, heat, and storms. He says that, in many Southern communities, cli...

During the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, tensions between the United States and Russia very nearly led to nuclear disaster. So what prevented the unthinkable from happening? Martin Sherwin says it had something to do with luck. And: Throughout this summer, states in the West have been sweating through an unprecedented heatwave. Philip Roessler has studied the impact of these rising temperatures on co...

Mask debates, a rush for a vaccine, and closed schools--not much has changed in the years since the 1890 and 1918 influenza epidemics. Tom Ewing takes us back to historical outbreaks to see what we can learn about today’s Covid-19 pandemic. And: There’s been a lot of coverage about the challenges of distributing the Covid-19 vaccine. How do we get it to distant areas? How do we use a whole vial be...

For generations, Englishmen grew food on public land. They sustained their families with these gardens, and with fish and animals they hunted and killed. Then almost overnight, in a new and becoming industrial age, the commons were closed. Katey Castellano says this disconnected people from rural land, forcing them into the city for industrial wages. Plus: There was a time where bowling in the str...

This year’s annual summer reading show explores the broad, diverse, and wonderful world of Asian American and Pacific Islander writers. We hear recommendations from Sylvia Chong, Juanita Giles, Wendy Shang, Alex Purugganan, Spencer Tricker, and Luisa A. Igloria.