Shows / With Good Reason
With Good Reason
Each week on With Good Reason we explore a world of ideas with leading scholars in literature, history, science, philosophy, and the arts. With Good Reason is created by Virginia Humanities and the Virginia Higher Education Broadcasting Consortium.
Episodes
With Good ReasonVisions Of Style
In the late 70s, the University of Virginia inherited 10,000 glass plate negatives from the Holsinger Studio. Among them were 600 portraits self-commissioned…
With Good ReasonREPLAY Outdoor Archives
We often think of cemeteries as separate worlds unto themselves. But people buried at Confederate graveyards were surely connected to people at the African…
With Good ReasonMagic And Miracles
At markets in the ancient world, silver-tongued magicians hawked their wares of amulets, cursed tablets and even spells. But Shaily Patel says early Christians…
With Good ReasonAging Well
These days, a lot of feminism is framed around young women rebelling against their mothers’ values. But that wasn’t always the case. Corinne Field says that in…
With Good ReasonMelting Futures
Polar bears are no one’s prey. Except for climate change itself. John Whiteman says that our human fate is tied up in polar bears’ fate. And: Birds have an…
With Good ReasonFood For Thought
We all remember what it was like entering the social battleground known as the school cafeteria. Aside from the usual cliques, there were two types of…
With Good ReasonREPLAY Writing Through
What do the mythological Chimera and motherhood have in common? In her work, poet Julie Phillips Brown dissects this and other biological queries, cleverly…
With Good ReasonDividing Lines
In 1990s South Africa, there were violent clashes between Xhosa and Zulu people. And the main way they understood how to define the other group–language. But…
With Good ReasonMigrating Marshes
Many environmental movements pop up in small communities. Records aren’t always kept. What remains are the t-shirts, petitions and water bottles created along…
With Good ReasonSave the Small Sums
In 1865, the Freedman’s Bank was written into law by President Lincoln to help newly freed enslaved people save money and buy land. But the bank collapsed less…
With Good ReasonREPLAY The Voyage of the USS Albatross
In 1908, the U.S.S. Albatross set off on a research expedition to the newly acquired U.S. colony of the Philippines. Today, Kent Carpenter is studying the more…
With Good ReasonLife Without Boundaries
19th and 20th century poet, Alice Meynell–a.k.a. “the penciling mama”--described motherhood as “life without boundaries.” Cristina Richieri Griffin discusses…
With Good ReasonSound Medicine
Kiera Allison says that we experience pain as narrative -- there’s a beginning, middle and hopefully end. And the story we tell ourselves about that pain, and…
With Good ReasonTrash
Mt. Trashmore has the distinction of being the first landfill converted into a park. And for many years, it was a popular spot for locals to hangout in…
With Good ReasonREPLAY My Pandemic Valentine
We’re drawn to people who are kind to others. But once that kind person becomes our partner, we want special treatment. Lalin Anik says we get a boost from…
With Good ReasonMaking Home
Lauren K. Alleyne lived the first part of her life in Trinidad and then moved to America at 18 and has been there since. Her poems explore what it’s like to…
With Good ReasonBuilding Brotherhood
Gay men’s choruses have a rich history that stretches back to San Francisco in the 1970’s. Kevin Schattenkirk-Harbaugh is a longtime member of a gay men’s…
With Good ReasonThe Visitors' Center
In the summer of 1982, a group of six paraplegic men set out to climb the highest natural peak in Dallas, Texas. Sometimes carrying their wheelchairs up the…
With Good ReasonDirector's Cut: Best of WGR 2022
This year, we’re bringing you some of our favorite segments from 2022. We’re starting in the 60’s. Formed in the mid 1960’s, The Soulmasters was an interracial…
With Good ReasonBaking By Ear
In the mid-20th century, American women were bombarded with tips, tricks, and goods to help them become the perfect housewife. Laura Puaca has studied four…
With Good ReasonREPLAY The Wide World Of Video Games
eSports has recently grown into a billion dollar industry. Top professional players rake in millions from competing in games like League of Legends, Overwatch…
With Good ReasonPiping Up For Community
Brian Donaldson is one of the most accomplished pipers in the world - winning many of the major awards and even performing in front of the queen of England…
With Good ReasonREPLAY Life After Life
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…
With Good ReasonReal Robots, Real Life
There’s a new robot in town. Nathan Sprague and the JMU X-Lab faculty are in their fifth year of retrofitting a golf cart. The automated machine will ideally…
With Good ReasonMusical Legacies
A.D. Carson’s new album, “iv: talking with ghosts,” was written under the heaviness of covid lockdown, the deaths of close friends and family, and the…
With Good ReasonREPLAY Food Is Family
The Philippines takes Christmas to another level. From September to December, the island-country celebrates the longest Christmas season in the world. Ken…
With Good ReasonVirginia: The Birthplace of Mac n' Cheese
You have Chef James Hemings, who cooked for Thomas Jefferson, to thank for the macaroni and cheese on your plate this Thanksgiving. Setting the Table's Deb…
With Good ReasonExpanding Our Origin Story
Cauline Yates was at a family reunion the first time she heard she was a descendant of Thomas Jefferson. In 2019, she was asked to help develop the Memorial to…
With Good ReasonThe Five Senses
In 19th century American cities, the smell of rapid industrial growth was overwhelming. This was particularly concerning, because at the time, people thought…
With Good ReasonCheckout Charity
Right after the cashier tells you your total, they induce the moral dilemma: Would you like to round up to donate? Adrienne Sudbury says that most checkout…
With Good ReasonSpooky Season
Could a centuries-old curse be to blame for the infamous slap between Will Smith and Chris Rock at the Academy Awards? Amanda Kellogg uncovers the long history…
With Good ReasonThe Pets We Love
In the earlier stages of the pandemic, when many people were still staying as close to home as possible, nearly 1 in 5 American households adopted a pet. Furry…
With Good ReasonDetecting Terrorism
The consecutive terrorist attack on two mosques in Churchchrist, New Zealand was streamed live on Facebook. Within 24 hours, an AI tool was able to delete…
With Good ReasonExpanding The Franchise
Dwayne Betts was only a teenager when he was convicted of carjacking and sentenced to 9 years in prison. Today, he’s an acclaimed poet and accomplished…
With Good ReasonWho Runs the World?
Tensions over Taiwan are making U.S.-China relations even more fraught. What do the two nuclear powers want to do with the small island that is also a…
With Good ReasonTranslations
Bonaventure Balla’s favorite word in any language is “cornucopia.” And that’s saying something, because he’s a translator from Cameroon who speaks seven…
With Good ReasonSeeding Innovation
The creators of a new multi-million dollar Innovation Hub in a farming region say it's already supporting rural entrepreneurs. They have high hopes it will…
With Good ReasonHow Hot Is Your Honey?
Chef Ralph Brown’s parents fed the neighborhood for years. Now, he’s keeping that tradition going. Plus: Fifty years after the last atmospheric nuclear tests…
With Good ReasonLighting Up A Better Future
America has locked up hundreds of thousands of people on minor marijuana possession charges. And the majority of those arrests have targeted Black, indigenous…
With Good ReasonParenting In The Early Years
Decisions about parenting–when to parent, whether to parent–have been in the news a lot lately. Mary Thompson says that stories about reproductive choices…
With Good ReasonHBCU Renaissance
HBCUs rose from the ashes of slavery and have been educating Black students for generations. Cheryl Mango says HBCUs are currently experiencing a renaissance…
With Good ReasonSet The Stage
It’s difficult to be a veteran re-entering civilian life. One day your major decisions are being made for you. The next? It’s up to you. What do you do? Every…
With Good ReasonUFOs And Space Aliens
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…
With Good ReasonBeyond The Book
Outer space probably isn’t in your travel plans this summer. But it could be soon. Last year, Hayley Arceneaux was a SpaceX crew member in the first…
With Good Reason2022 Summer Reading Recs
Summer is officially here and with it comes our annual With Good Reason summer reading list. We’ve got stories of mothers and daughters, spiritual-seekers…
With Good ReasonREPLAY Back To The Land
The pandemic gave rise to people from all walks of life trying their hand at gardening for the first time. And longtime gardeners began trying new things like…
With Good ReasonREPLAY Voices of Vietnam: Women of War
Alongside the army of men on the front lines of conflict was an army of women in support roles. From the Red Cross volunteers who boosted morale to the nurses…
With Good ReasonRadical Acceptance
New-to-this-country students are constantly being asked to adapt. And often, their wellbeing is measured almost entirely by their ability to speak English…
With Good ReasonIn the System
When a family is referred to Child Protective Services, they’re often treated a lot like criminals on parole. But, the administrative work required to keep…
With Good ReasonChanging The Clocks
In March, the Senate approved the Sunshine Protection Act - which, if passed, will make daylight savings time permanent. The bill has been praised by many, but…
With Good ReasonRiding Jane Crow
American railroads of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century were littered with racial, gendered traps. And from working in the food car to sitting in…
With Good ReasonREPLAY Celebrating American Freedom
In 2019, Virginia joined just three other states in making Juneteenth a paid state holiday, recognizing it as a holiday for all Virginians. Lauranett Lee says…
With Good ReasonSidelines Of The Mainstream
LARP stands for Live Action Role Play. Think of it like Lord of the Rings comes to life, where you get to create your own character and wield foam swords on a…
With Good ReasonPut the Phone Down
Whether you’re on foot crossing the street, or behind the wheel -- there are a lot of new technologies to be distracted by. Bryan Porter says that we do not…
With Good ReasonLegacies Of WWII
In recent years, the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII has gotten more attention. But most of that attention focuses on the West Coast…
With Good ReasonMedicine's Messiness
The patient-doctor relationship is complicated and fraught. Patients often feel confused and talked down to, in part because doctors feel like they need to…
With Good ReasonMusic As Escape
Formed in the mid 1960’s, The Soulmasters was an interacial soul band from Danville, VA. Jerry Wilson and John Irby were the two African-American lead singers…
With Good ReasonAttack Of The Zombie Crabs
There’s a parasite inhabiting the bodies of crabs, and making them infertile. Amy Fowler says that if that parasite entered the Chesapeake Bay, 90% of our…
With Good ReasonREPLAY Patrick Henry's Speech
Thomas Jefferson said Patrick Henry “got the ball of revolution rolling.” Historian John Ragosta says Henry was five times elected governor of colonial…
With Good ReasonREPLAY Let's Take a Walk
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…