With Good Reason

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.

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 shares from his book Body and Soul: Race, Citizenship and Popular Music, 1930-1977. Also: Music streaming platforms like Spotify and YouTube have changed the conversation about music and democracy. These days we talk about in...

From start to finish, the Appalachian Trail covers a whopping 2,181 miles. Rodney Bragdon dishes on the toughest challenges he experienced while through-hiking the entire trail. And: Camping, hiking, and enjoying the great outdoors are American pastimes. But for African Americans, gathering in public spaces has long been fraught. Erin Devlin discusses the racism that was built into America’s natio...

You only die once. But you can get close a few times. Bruce Greyson never was very spiritual, but after interviewing 1,000’s of people who have had near-death experiences he’s changed his mind about life after death. His new book is After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond. Later in the show: For many of us, the frantic rush of our morning commute has been...

In 2019, Virginia joined just three other states in making Juneteenth a paid state holiday, recognizing it as a holiday for all Virginians. Historian Lauranett Lee says in this country we have parallel histories, with Black and white Americans knowing about and acknowledging different pasts. But community efforts and local activists are elevating the stories of African Americans so that those para...

Black women are three and a half times more likely to die in childbirth than white women. Even highly educated, wealthy African Americans are at a greater risk than whites. To combat the disparity, Dr. Rochanda Mitchell advocates hiring more African American nurse educators and providing anti-bias training for medical professionals. Plus: Bellamy Shoffner was well aware of the frightening statisti...

One study found that in the early months of the pandemic, as many as 40% of Americans skipped medical care. But new health insurance coverage of telehealth visits means that there’s a better option. UVA Health’s Karen Rheuban and Laurie Archbald-Pannone have steered innovative telehealth approaches that bring safe medical care to patients’ homes and long-term care facilities. And: When the world c...

It’s difficult to imagine that the highway was someone’s home. But it was. LaToya S. Gray says a once thriving Richmond neighborhood known as the Harlem of the South fell victim to intentionally destructive city planners. And: You don’t have to look far to connect racial inequities to environmental issues. Jeremy Hoffman says that many formerly redlined neighborhoods experience up to 16 degree hot...

In July of this year, Virginia will become the first Southern state to legalize marijuana, marking a major milestone in the failure of the War on Drugs. Katherine Ott Walter traces the racist roots of the War on Drugs and offers sensible alternatives to dealing with addiction in America. And: In the early 1970’s, Richard Bonnie became the Associate Director of the National Commission on Marijuana...

If plants could talk, what would they say? What if they could sing? Sam Nester, Yassmin Salem, and Donald Russell explain how George Mason University’s Arcadia installation turns a greenhouse into an orchestra. And: Fossils give away the secrets of the past, but they can also tell the future. Rowan Lockwood is taking a closer look at the fossils of giant oysters to learn how to rebuild oyster reef...

More and more often, celebrities are home-grown in front of a ring light and iPhone. As viewers keep scrolling past these insta-celebs, they’re starting to see themselves differently. Miriam Liss and Mindy Erchull say we compare ourselves to what we see despite knowing all that glitters isn’t gold. And: Have you been running to Twitter to cope with the crazy news cycle over the past year? John Bru...

Kirsten Gelsdorf has spent over 20 years working for the United Nations and other organizations in the humanitarian sector. She discusses her experience in disaster zones and clears up some commonly-held misconceptions about humanitarian aid. And: Earlier this year, Virginia became 1 of only 10 states to pass a Bill of Rights for domestic workers. But Jennifer Fish says while it’s certainly a step...

Thanks to COVID-19, many of us are more closely tuned in to the environment around us than ever before. We’re spending more time hanging outdoors, planting kitchen gardens, and taking up bird-watching. In honor of Earth Day and our new relationship with the great outdoors, With Good Reason invites you to walk with us. We venture into dark caves with Ángel García, traipse around the foothills of Ap...

In 2019, the most notable poets of our time gathered in the nation’s capital to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Furious Flower Poetry Center, devoted to African American poetry. Furious Flower founder, Joanne Gabbin and Lauren Alleyne join us in-studio to celebrate poets and hear excerpts from interviews with Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, Rita Dove, Sonia Sanchez, and many others. Later in th...