With Good Reason Radio

Butterfly in the Typewriter

klibby — Sat, 26 May 2012 05:01:27 +0000

A Confederacy of Dunces, by New Orleans-born John Kennedy Toole, is one of the great stories of American literature. Published almost 12 years after his tragic suicide, the book went on to win the Pulitzer Prize and became a modern classic. Cory MacLauchlin’s (Germanna Community College) new biography of Toole, Butterfly in the Typewriter, tells two stories: one of the author himself, the other of his great novel. Also featured: Harry Crews, whose Southern Gothic novels conjured a world of hard-drinking and hard-living outsiders, died in April of this year. David Jeffrey (James Madison University) has interviewed Crews at length and is the editor of A Grit’s Triumph: Essays on the Works of Harry Crews.

Mysteries of the Brain

klibby — Sat, 19 May 2012 05:01:24 +0000

Brain injury is more common than you might think. 1.5 million people suffer an injury each year in this country alone. Michael Friedlander is the director of the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, where they’re looking for ways to help the brain heal itself. He studies individual nerve cells and says that by stimulating a damaged cell in just the right way, it might spring back to life – offering new hope for victims of traumatic brain injury. Also featured: What happens when you a computer to actual brain cells? From a glove that interprets sign language to a better voice-controlled wheelchair, bioengineer Nathalia Peixoto (George Mason University) uses electrodes, prosthetic devices, and microchips to help improve people’s lives.

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.

Dead Zones and Fly-fishing

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

You can’t see them on the surface. But at the bottom of some of the world’s largest bodies of water are areas called dead zones where fish and other life can’t survive. Robert Diaz (College of William & Mary) tracks the development of these dead zones, which are rapidly increasing. He says agricultural runoff and pollution are the cause, but that it’s not too late to repair the damage. Also featured: Twenty years ago, the sport of fly-fishing experienced a renaissance when the film A River Runs Through It was released. Today, it’s still a popular sport. But angling for trout is a complex matter. Stan Ulanski (James Madison University), author of The Science of Fly-Fishing, says an understanding of science can enhance an angler’s experience.

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.

Tongue-Tied America

em8x — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 16:10:37 +0000

The fear of public speaking can be debilitating. For some, it’s the stuff of nightmares. And so rather than stumble through a speech, many people avoid doing it altogether. But Molly Bishop Shadel (University of Virginia) and Robert N. Sayler (University of Virginia) say oral advocacy is key to a healthy democracy. Effective speeches can even change the course of history. And, they say, anyone can do it. Also featured: It’s a highly debated approach to improving workplace relations: emotional intelligence training. But there’s a reason EI, as its called, is growing in popularity. Ronald Humphrey (Virginia Commonwealth University) says emotionally intelligent people—those with an ability to understand the emotions of themselves and others—make better workers. And better workers means better business.

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.