Image Courtesy Library of Congress

An entire generation of Americans grew up knowing no other president than Franklin Roosevelt, who served four terms and led them through the Depression and World War II. Pulitzer Prize winning FDR biographer David Kennedy (Stanford University) gives a spellbinding account of this ebullient man of constant cheer who crafted the New Deal and the social security system. Kennedy and University of Virginia political scientist Sid Milkis spoke at a recent conference held by the Center for American Studies at Christopher Newport University. Also featured: Faiths of the Founding Fathers. Europeans who traveled to the thirteen colonies brought countless strains of Christianity with them, and the freedom of the wild frontier allowed many new sects and congregations to flourish. David Holmes (College of William and Mary) gives us insights into the religious beliefs of the founding fathers.

Image Courtesy of National Archives and Records Administration

John Aler made his operatic debut in 1977 as Ernesto in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale. Since then, he’s performed in some of the greatest opera houses in the world and has won four Grammys for his classical recordings. Aler shares his thoughts on voice and the future of singing. Also featured: It’s Mozart meets the Clash. A musicologist draws on the heavy metal and grunge of her youth to take classical music where it’s never been before. Plus: The sonic frenzy of a laptop orchestra. And: How to approach a piece of music written by someone else.

We’ll also speak with Todd Kashdan, a researcher at the forefront of positive psychology, who’s taking a new look at therapies aimed at helping people lead meaningful lives, and enhance their love, work, and play.

Guests include:
John Aler (George Mason University)
Todd Kashdan (George Mason University)
Sophia Serghi (The College of William and Mary)
Ivica Ico Bukvic (Virginia Tech)
Louise Billaud (New River Community College)
Kent Holliday (Virginia Tech)

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 last 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. And: Don Quixote, the tale of a Spanish knight driven mad by reading too many chivalric romances, was recently voted the best book of all time in a survey of 100 of the world’s best authors. Antonio Carreño-Rodríguez (George Mason University) fell in love with the book when he was 23 and admires Miguel de Cervantes, the author of the epic satire, who died on the same day as William Shakespeare. Plus: Homer’s epic poems are the first major works of western literature. David Pollio (Christopher Newport University) says the themes of family, love, and death keep the Iliad and the Odyssey relevant for modern readers.

Michael Jones McKean (Virginia Commonwealth University) is an artist whose work is a simple, but phenomenal visual event: he creates rainbows that can arc up to 400 feet in height. For over two weeks last summer, his rainbows in downtown Omaha, Nebraska could be seen from a thousand feet away. Also featured: If you’ve ever watched a bee dance near a flower patch, you’ve probably seen an element of “bee democracy.” Christian Gromoll (University of Virginia) says from collecting nectar to choosing a new home, bees follow an intelligent set of rules that keep the colony in tact. And: Salmonella is usually linked to our food supply, but David Buckalew (Longwood University) has found high levels in rivers and streams too. Plus: Female tree frogs use complex information processing when listening to the mating calls of male frogs to select their mates. Kit Murphy (James Madison University) is discovering how females make their choices and may be close to answering the age-old question, “Why is she with him?” Between 33 and 50 percent of the world’s frog species are disappearing from seemingly pristine areas, and a deadly fungus is getting part of the blame.  Reid Harris and Kevin Minbiole (James Madison University) are conducting pioneering research on naturally occurring protective bacteria on the skin of frogs that may repel the fungus.

Horses and humans have long interacted, but now therapeutic horse riding is helping children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in some life-changing ways. Kim Wendell (Cori Sikich Therapeutic Riding Center) and Sandra Ward (College of William Mary) were part of a study that found the benefits of riding carried over to more positive behaviors in the classroom. Also featured: Today on an iPhone or iPod there is an app for almost any facet of living. Tony Gentry (Virginia Commonwealth University) modifies apps to help employees with autism work more productively in their jobs. And: Inspired by her young daughter’s battle with a blood disorder, engineer Rasha Morsi (Norfolk State University) developed a game app called BloodFeud that encourages kids in hospitals to understand and fight their illnesses.

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.

Photo courtesy Frank Curran

Civil rights activist Bob Moses (The Algebra Project) famously helped organize a voter registration drive in Mississippi that changed the political landscape for the black community. He also believed that something else was necessary for full citizenship in society: math literacy. Oliver Hill (Virginia State University) agrees that learning algebra is a civil right. Also featured: John Nunnery (Old Dominion University) has caught the attention of the White House with his classroom collaboration model that gets children excited about math. And: Rose Asera tells the remarkable story of how Uri Treisman transformed Berkeley’s math program. Plus: Sometimes all it takes to grab kids’ attention is one really good teacher. Dan Meyer (Stanford University) uses video to make math problems real.

Image courtesy US Navy

Shop class 20 years ago meant hacksaws and hammers, but the shop class of 2013 is about teaching innovation and creation through computer programming, 3D printers, and maybe even Legos. A leader in this new kind of education, Mano Talaiver (Longwood University) teaches kids how to program LED lights to customize clothing. Also featured: Not all students have access to technology education. Jane Margolis (UCLA) studies how minority students are left out of computer science class. And: What exactly is the difference between science and technology? Bill Dugger (Virginia Tech) talks us through the distinction. Plus: Sandy Hausman reports on technology being developed by Zewe Serpell (Virginia State University) that will let computers read the facial expressions of children and give them encouragement when they are discouraged or bored.

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.

First published in 1947, Goodnight Moon has become one of the most popular books for young children. Yet the book’s author, Margaret Wise Brown, always wanted to write for adults. With Good Reason producer Kelley Libby tells the story of Brown’s life, from Hollins College to her tragic early death. Also featured: Opened after the ravages of World War II, the International Youth Library in Munich was an effort to introduce Germany’s children to the literature of other cultures to promote understanding. It’s now the largest repository of children’s literature in the world. Dr. Osa Osayimwense (Virginia State University) is a former fellow at the library. He says the internationalizing of children’s literature is a step toward world peace. And: With busy schedules and media-soaked lives, have our children lost their ability to engage in moment-by-moment experiences? Michele Briggs and Tammy Gilligan (James Madison University) discuss the lost art of mindfulness, its importance to classroom decorum and academic achievement, and what teachers can do to help children learn this important skill.

Call it java, brew, mud, the a.m. savior, or just coffee. Many people can’t conceive of starting their day without their dose of caffeine. Lisa Pawloski (George Mason University) is a part of team of researchers who say coffee may reduce the risk of liver disease. Also featured: Some of us are more apt to succumb to a calorie-rich Frappuccino over a simple cup of coffee. But Niels Christensen (Radford University) says there are ways to avoid unhealthy decisions and strengthen your willpower. And: People who are addicted to drugs tend to choose instant gratification, without thinking of the long term costs. Warren K. Bickel (Virginia Tech) is looking at ways of curbing addiction by increasing the value of future rewards in the minds of addicts.