With Good Reason Radio » Arts & Culture

The Rise of Santa Muerte

klibby — Sat, 12 May 2012 05:01:02 +0000

Over the past decade, Mexican drug traffickers trying to get their products to the U.S. have had a spiritual “protector.” Her name is Santa Muerte, and she’s a Mexican folk saint for not just drug traffickers, but prostitutes too. R. Andrew Chesnut (Virginia Commonwealth University) is the author of a new book about Santa Muerte, called Devoted to Death, in which he looks at her growing cult of followers in both Mexico and the U.S. Also featured: Africa is often thought of as a “dark continent” rife with wars, famines, wild animals, and primitive tribes. But Robert Vinson (College of William & Mary) is working on a new book that challenges those ideas. He says Zulu peoples of South Africa were active shapers of the modern Atlantic world, influencing popular culture, literature, sports, and the Civil Rights movement.

Women and Leadership

klibby — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 05:01:18 +0000

Studies show that women in academia are often relegated to lower-ranked positions while their male counterparts ascend to the top. Khadijah Miller (Norfolk State University) says finding a balance between work and home life can be stressful. So she helped form the Sistah Colleague Circle to give women encouragement, support, and a collaborative work environment. Also featured: Despite her background in psychology, Winx Lawrence (University of Virginia) was shocked at the loss of confidence her daughters experienced when they entered middle school. She co-founded the Young Women’s Leadership Program, where college women pair with middle school girls to help them reach their potential academically, socially and emotionally. The program, now in its 15^th year, has emerged as a national model.

The Faiths of the Postwar Presidents

klibby — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 05:01:59 +0000

National interest in the spiritual practices and beliefs of our presidents is as strong as ever. In his new book, The Faiths of the Postwar Presidents, David Holmes (College of William and Mary) looks at the role of religion in the lives of the twelve presidents who have served since the end of World War II. He also shares little-known anecdotes, such as Dwight Eisenhower’s effort to conceal his family’s Jehovah’s Witness background. Also featured: When Abraham Lincoln drew his last breath, his Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, famously said “Now he belongs to the ages.” Allen Guelzo delivered the keynote address at the Lincoln symposium hosted by Christopher Newport University’s Center for American Studies. Guelzo, the author of eight books on Lincoln, says the ages haven’t always been kind to the reputation of our 16^th president.

A Western on the Web

klibby — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 05:01:48 +0000

Have you ever wanted to create your own television series? Kathryn O’Sullivan (Northern Virginia Community College) and her husband Paul Awad did just that—only they aired their Western soap online. The award-nominated series is called Thurston, and it’s one of many new independent productions in the emerging genre of web television. And: We’ll speak with Susan Miller, a writer for acclaimed television shows such as Thirtysomething and The L Word, and now producer and writer for the popular web series Anyone But Me. Also featured: Since its premier in 2007, the television series Mad Men has become a cultural phenomenon. Gary Edgerton (Old Dominion University) is the editor of a collection of essays that look at why a show about Madison Avenue of the 1960s has grabbed the attention of a post-9/11 audience.

Affrilachian Poets

klibby — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 05:01:31 +0000

Appalachia is often imagined as rural and white, but a new wave of African-American writers is challenging the notion of a single Appalachian region and culture. They call themselves Affrilachians. Joanne Gabbin is the director of the Furious Flower Poetry Center at James Madison University. She brought Affrilachian poets from across the country to her center for readings and workshops. With Good Reason speaks with the poet who invented the word Affrilachia, Frank X Walker (University of Kentucky), and features readings from poets Hope Johnson and Crystal Good.

Grave Matters

cms4tf — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 05:00:02 +0000

The Victorians photographed their dead before burial. Abraham Lincoln’s death might have popularized embalming. Some people today have their ashes made into diamonds. Bernard Means (Virginia Commonwealth University) studies how and why we bury our dead – and how that’s changed over the last few centuries.

Plus: A trip to some orphan graveyards – forgotten places where we’ve buried our dead.

Also featured: They’re called Lost Communities – the places on the map that have lost their original industry or way of life. Sometimes they’re still struggling to survive; other times they no longer exist at all. Terri Fisher (Virginia Tech) has visited the general stores, schools, train depots, and post offices of towns along Virginia’s back road and interviewed longtime residents and brought those places back to life in her new book, Lost Communities of Virginia.

The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap

cms4tf — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 05:00:48 +0000

When Jack Beck and Wendy Welch (University of Virginia at Wise) decided to move to the small mountain town of Big Stone Gap, they hadn’t planned on opening a used bookstore. But a big Victorian house captured their imaginations and before they knew it they were setting up shop. Despite the growing popularity of e-readers and a downturn in the national economy, Jack and Wendy’s small-town bookstore is thriving—and fostering community. Wendy is writing a book about their experience, called The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap: a memoir of friendship, community and the uncommon pleasure of a good book.

The Offer He Couldn’t Refuse

cms4tf — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 05:00:11 +0000

Ed Falco (Virginia Tech) is the author of the latest installment in the Godfather saga, a prequel to Mario Puzo’s original. In The Family Corleone, Falco answers questions that have burned in fans’ minds for years – like Vito Corleone’s rise in the criminal underworld and how he became the Godfather. It seems like an offer you could not refuse, but Falco did the first time.

Also featured: Alfred Hitchcock was the master of suspense. His films like Psycho, The Birds, and North by Northwest still thrill audiences today. Mark Padilla (Christopher Newport University) believes that the reason Hitchcock’s movies seem so timeless is that they are invested with the archetypal symbols and motifs of classical Greek myths.

Victorians Get the Google Treatment

cms4tf — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 05:00:30 +0000

How many Victorian books would you have to read to know the Victorians? What if you could read all 1.7 million? Fred Gibbs (George Mason University) co-created a project that does just that. Using digital tools, he can search and then chart how frequently certain words—like “God,” “love,” and “science”—appear in all of 19^th-century British literature. His new approach to literary analysis provides some fascinating insights into the minds of the Victorians.

Also featured: Juggling school, work, and family can be a challenge for people seeking higher education. Increasingly, students are getting classroom instruction in front of their home computers instead of at desks. Ed Banas (Northern Virginia Community College) and Terry Whisnant (Southside Virginia Community College) both teach college students remotely. Their experiences highlight some of the benefits and challenges of distance learning.

The End of Men

klibby — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 05:01:57 +0000

On college campuses, female students continue to outnumber male students. Films like Knocked Up and television shows like Last Man Standing suggest that being a man in America is ever more difficult. Real American men, so the narrative goes, are disappearing. David Magill (Longwood University) explores the myths and realities of the male crisis.

Also featured: As an English teacher in Atlanta, Joseph Jones (Radford University) recognized the damaging effects of homophobia among students in his classroom. He now wants to help other teachers address bullying. He’s just written a new book called Making Safe Places Unsafe: A Discussion of Homophobia with Teachers.

The Magna Carta Online

klibby — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 05:02:11 +0000

One of the most important legal documents in history, the Magna Carta influenced the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. Nearly 800 years later, it’s now going online. Bruce O’Brien (University of Mary Washington) is leading an effort to translate and digitize 150 early English laws, including the Magna Carta.

Also featured: The King James Version of the Bible has been used to justify slavery and the submission of women. But it has also had a profound effect on the writings of African American women. Katherine Bassard (Virginia Commonwealth University), author of “Transforming Scriptures,” says African American women writers have used the King James Bible as a vehicle for social power.

Equal Time: The Networks and the Civil Rights Movement

klibby — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:02:46 +0000

Aniko Bodroghkozy (University of Virginia) is the author of the new book “Equal Time: Television and the Civil Rights Movement” which explores how the newly created evening news shows shaped attitudes about race relations during the Civil Rights Movement. She investigates the network news treatment of events including the 1965 Selma voting rights campaign, integration riots at the University of Mississippi, and the March on Washington.

Also featured: Stephen Alcorn (Virginia Commonwealth University) is the illustrator of the children’s book “Odetta: The Queen of Folk,” which tells the story of the legendary singer and social activist known as “the Voice of the Civil Rights Movement.” The book follows her renowned career and her influence on many of the most important singers of the folk revival of the 1960s.