With Good Reason

They say around 20% of students in K-12 schools are considered gifted. But identifying giftedness isn’t exactly a precise science. Chandra Floyd breaks down the inequities in gifted education. Plus: Learning to read is one of those magical childhood experiences. Once you figure it out, it’s like a whole new world opens up! Sean McDonald studies literacy in special education. He says outside of cognitive ability, there are other lesser-known cultural and psychological factors that have a big impact on reading comprehension. Later in the show: Melissa Švigelj taught at a juvenile detention center for four years. She says she was shocked by the oppressive and punitive environment her students faced in the juvenile justice system.

Margot Robbie brought Barbie to life with the 2023 Barbie movie. It was successfully “femvertised” to women and girls across generations. And not only did they go see the movie, but they made sure that they were seen being a part of Barbie’s world. They bought a lot of pink, fast fashion pieces to wear to the theatre and film content with and then, they threw it away. But the problem is that a lot of that fast fashion is plastic. Alexandra Villela says that plastic is forever and the landfill tells the story of that Barbie summer. Plus: Advertising firms are starting to use generative AI to make graphics faster and cheaper. Consumers may soon find themselves wondering what’s even real. But one thing’s for sure: Meg Michelsen says that consumers want the humans in advertisements to be real. Everything else can be fake. Later in the show: Apple products are the norm now. I have more than I care to admit. And it all began for me in middle school with a G3 iBook. But they were once a counterculture product. Ted Gournelos says that one of the ways that Apple created value for itself was by donating tens of thousands of laptops to public schools in the early 2000s. This created a generation of loyal Apple customers, and parents who had to pay attention to the products their children were begging for.

After the long French and Indian War, British surveyors fanned out to create maps of their new frontier territories so they could better control the unruly colonists. Max Edelson is author of The New Map of Empire. Plus: A spin through early American Cartographic History by Cassandra Farrell. She describes one map created by Captain John Smith and another by the father of Thomas Jefferson. Later in the show: When Johnny Finn's urban planning students arrive at the campus they often warn each other to stay away from the number streets in the nearby city because those are dangerous. Finn says the "number streets" represent a century of deliberate segregation and redlining that have cost African American middle-class families across America billions in lost wealth.

NIL sent shockwaves through college athletics when it was signed into law in 2021. Now student-athletes could earn money off of their name, image, and likeness. But there weren’t any guide-rails to help student-athletes navigate the new NIL landscape. Enter Kim Whitler. She co-wrote Athlete Brands: How to Benefit from Your Name, Image and Likeness. And: In 2020, Sha’Carri Richardson was barred from representing Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics because she tested positive for marijuana. Jo Morrison says there are many other elite athletes like Richardson who’ve had their reputations tarnished for taking banned substances that have little to no evidence of enhancing performance. Later in the show: For runners, there’s nothing like the freedom of lacing up your shoes and putting foot to pavement, logging mile after mile in the open air. Sabrina Little studies how running can hone virtues that are beneficial to life outside of sports. Plus: While golf might not be a high-octane contact sport like basketball or football, it’s something you can play throughout your life and even into your later years. Carray Banks is on a mission to generate funding to field both women's and men's golf teams at all HBCUs in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

George Tzamaras fancies himself as a “connoisseur of fine dad jokes.” I have him rate a few of my own dad jokes as a rite of passage as I start my journey into fatherhood. His new book is called It’s Dad Joke Friday: The Collection (2018-2025). Also: Being a dad is a huge responsibility. And as my wife and I get closer to our due date, I’m starting to feel the nerves kicking in. I sat down with Santo Coleman to talk about the power of fatherhood and share my own anxieties about being a first-time dad. And: Back in the day, the stereotypical dad would come home from work and plop themselves on the couch, while the mom toiled with dinner and the kids. But now fathers are more involved in the family than ever before. Scott Grether studies the household division of labor in hetero couples. Spoiler alert: us guys still have a long way to go. Later in the show: We’ve known for a long time that moms have an increased risk of depression during and after pregnancy. But what about dads? James Paulson breaks down the understudied field of paternal depression and shares a fact that’ll probably blow your mind: new or soon to be fathers experience similar rates of depression as mothers.

What makes Taylor Swift one of the most compelling songwriters of our time? Chelsea Hamm says it's her relatability. With bright, upbeat pop anthems like “22” and “Anti-Hero” that are both fun and reflective, Swift’s music engages audiences across generations. Also: The K-Pop band BTS regularly mobilizes their fans, the BTS Army, to support causes for social good. Baobao Song says that nonprofits and corporations could learn from the way that BTS has mobilized their army to support efforts like UNESCO and even the United Nations. Later in the show: Later in the show: One hundred years before colonization, Central African people were practicing Catholicism. And now African legacy is interwoven into a local Catholic ritual in northern Brazil. Michael Iyanaga says that for these believers, there is no either or. And their practices embody the intricacies of the Black Atlantic. His forthcoming book is called Genealogies of a Saint's Song: Silenced Histories of Africa in Bahia, Brazil.

From 2009-2015 Volkswagen cheated on emissions tests to convince customers to buy 11 million VW cars they thought burned clean diesel. Kimberley Kinsley says “Dieselgate” was the largest ever case of corporate greenwashing. Also: Big tech companies often boast they’re using technologies that can save the planet. But Jesse Goldstein argues that the allure of AI–which requires energy hungry data centers–will lead to more and more excuses for why they have to keep fossil fuels flowing. Later in the show: The can-do innovation that emerged after World War II came to define American identity. In his new book, Every American an Innovator, Matthew Wisnioski traces how that culture of innovation we once celebrated is facing a backlash. Plus: For decades, children have traveled with a wacky teacher named Miss Frizzle, who drives the Magic School Bus. Michael Meindl explains how The Magic School Bus became one of the most successful informal science education initiatives ever.

Summer is here and with it comes our annual With Good Reason summer reading list. From the hills and hollers of Appalachia to Egypt, we’ve got so much to keep your pages turning. Jessica Mullens Fullen, Vic Sizemore, Sarah Rifky and Maynard Scales share some of their favorite reads.

What if a well-manicured lawn isn’t the end all be all? What if it’s actually harming the local habitat? Doug Tallamy is the co-founder of Home Grown National Park. It’s a non-profit that urges property owners to reduce their lawns and plant native plants. He shares all the little things we can do to help restore functioning ecosystems and mitigate the biodiversity crisis. And: Quarry Gardens is the first and only native plant botanical garden in Virginia. It started off as a soapstone quarry. Now it's an environmental gem with a beautiful quarter mile loop boasting over 500 species of native plants. Devin Floyd takes us on a tour of the gardens - showing off the quarry pits and the ancient ecosystems he calls lost worlds. Later in the show: For the last ten years or so, Jim Parkhurst has been running a statewide wildlife hotline. It’s a toll-free number people can call to report run-ins with bears or ask questions like how to keep deer out of their gardens. He breaks down the ways we humans can better co-exist with wildlife.

Many have viewed O'Keeffe's abstract oil paintings as erotic. She blithely dismissed those assumptions in her lifetime. And while her work was praised by women artists and second wave American feminists as proof of their own potential, she refused that identification. Her work was her work and her accomplishments were her accomplishments. She did not want to lead or represent anyone but herself. Known as the mother of American modernism, film directors Paul and Ellen Wagner say that Georgia O’Keeffe has been treated as a myth. Their documentary Georgia O'Keeffe: the Brightness of Light brings her to life in all of her complexities. Later in the show: Do you ever find yourself humming a favorite nursery rhyme to yourself or recalling a fairy tale to get through a tough time? Margaret Meehan says there’s a more sinister side to the classics. She remixes and explores those stories in her ceramic work to ask who were we taught to fear? To respect? How were we taught to be? And: Along the Roanoke River Greenway, cardinals, songsparrows and American redstarts are chirping their late Spring tune. Through her watercolor wildlife portraits, Lucinda Rowe captures the spectacular mundane of the local ecosystem.

REPLAY: Riding Jane Crow by With Good Reason

Advocates of “ranked choice voting” say it makes our elections better by allowing voters to rank candidates in order of preference. Others say it’s too confusing. Sally Hudson and Executive Director of Ranked Choice Virginia explains this new way of voting that’s been slowly spreading across the country. Read more here: Coming to a Voting Booth Near You: Ranked Choice Elections (Karsh Institute). Later in the show: At the same time that the 19th amendment passed, lynchings increased in the South. Khadijah Miller highlights how Black women strategically organized and fought back against disenfranchisement.

The golden age of American comics spanned from the 1930’s to the 1950’s. Superheroes like Batman, Captain America, and Superman captivated audiences in the US - and in a small island-country only 90 miles off the coast of Florida. Cuba embraced American comics from the very beginning. And artists eventually created their own uniquely Cuban superheroes. Geoffroy de Laforcade charts the rich history of Cuban comics and shares his favorite comic book artists in Cuba today. Later in the show: Sara Reed looks at domestic advice in popular Cuban magazines before and after the 1959 revolution. She says the role of women within the family underwent big changes as Cuba became communist state. Plus: Nestled in the Cuban countryside is a community called La Picadora. It draws tourists from all over the world to learn about sustainable farming. Krystyn Moon says their sustainability practices were born out of economic crisis.

Engineering is often misunderstood as stoic and fixed. But Col. Jim Squire says that it's creative. He’s learned from his military service and years of teaching that each student brings their personal experience to how they solve a problem. And AI could never replace lived experience. And: Anthony Fontes served in the Marine Corps for twenty years, and he maintains that transitioning back into civilian life is the hardest thing he’s ever done. When he came back home, there were no job skills programs to support him as a veteran. Now, Anthony works to help veterans enroll in programs that connect them to well-paying civilian careers, like the joint program with Norfolk State University to help veterans produce semiconductors. Later in the show: Norfolk, Virginia is home to the largest naval base in the world. A third of Stephanie Richmond’s military history students are in ROTC. She knew they’d learned about the military greats. She wanted her students to learn about the everyday men who served in the military and walked the same streets that they walk.

No matter how they served or where or when, for veterans, returning to civilian life is a big transition. Eric Hodges is researching what it was like for African American veterans in his small Virginia community to return home. And: Alicia DeFonzo’s grandfather was a big part of her life as a kid. He was charming and jovial and the absolute best storyteller. But his stories always left out the years he spent fighting in WWII. Late in his life, Alicia finally asked her grandfather to tell those stories and their conversations gave rise to her new book The Time Left Between Us. Later in the show: After the Civil War, veterans and their families were able to apply for a pension. But they had to prove they were eligible. Sharon Roger Hepburn’s book Private No More compiles almost 60 letters written by John Lovejoy Murray submitted as proof for a pension and kept in his government file since the Civil War. Murray, a Black soldier who died during the war, wrote home about the food, the pay, and racism in the ranks. Plus: Community colleges can offer a particularly welcoming landing spot for veterans transitioning to civilian life. Steve Borden shares some of the ways his college is easing the transition.

During WWII, the government created the National War Labor Board to regulate labor and control inflation. Instead, says Bryant Etheridge, the Southern regional board raised wages for the lowest earners. And: The Black Panther Party famously advocated for Black revolutionaries to arm themselves for self-defence. Edward Onaci explores the long history of Black revolutionary movements for self-defense. Later in the show: For a brief moment in time after Reconstruction, a biracial coalition called The Readjuster Party took power in Virginia. Sheren Sanders tells the story of how Black republicans, white working class Virginians, former Confederates, and Democrats, all came together to readjust Virginia’s debt and give those funds back to the people. Plus: For some, Barack Obama’s presidency is evidence that the Civil Rights movement succeeded. How did Black voters see him at the time? Athena King explores how Black movement leaders supported Obama and where they challenged him.

Take your flashlight and grab a compass - let’s go exploring! Peter Berquist lives and breathes boats. He captains the R/V Investigator, a 24 foot Carolina Skiff. Every semester he takes his students out on the boat for adventures and first-hand research experience. Peter has been named an outstanding faculty member by The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. And: Dave Waldien is a real life explorer. And he has the title to prove it! He’s a National Geographic Explorer and travels all over the world protecting endangered bat species. Later in the show: European explorers first made contact with West Africa in the 15th century, and thriving trade relations soon followed. But Neil Norman says the Europeans weren’t the ones calling the shots - it was powerful West African kingdoms like Ouida, located in present day Benin.

Dr. Emma Violand-Sanchez has dedicated her life to supporting immigrant and refugee students in the American public education system. Emma immigrated from Bolivia to America without her parents in 1961 as a senior in high school, knowing little English. Her memoir Dreams and Shadows: An Immigrant’s Journey is a Virginia story, from the desk of a 16-year-old Emma during the height of desegregation and an adult woman who often had to justify her presence in schools where she was supporting immigrants and refugees. And: Public libraries have a lot to offer. Suzanne Grossman says that public libraries can be doorways into American culture for people who have just immigrated to the U.S. Later in the show: Europe has welcomed an unprecedented amount of immigrants over the past decade. Georg Menz says that many people migrating from places that are culturally unlike Europe. As immigration debates intensify, Georg says that one approach to ensuring better outcomes for hopeful migrants is to send them to countries that are more culturally similar to their home countries. Plus: For all of our differences, Americans do have a sense of what it is to be an American. And an even greater sense of what it is to not be an American. Jennifer Byrne says that there are three key factors that impact how Americans think about immigration.

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 project authority. As a physician and a poet, Laura Kolbe is trying to make room for uncertainty and humility from both sides in the exam room. Kolbe’s new collection of poetry, Little Pharma, explores the messy and human side of doctoring. And: The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed so many vulnerabilities in our healthcare system, from racial inequities to provider burnout. Irène Mathieu is a writer, pediatrician, and medical teacher. She argues that poetry can be a small part of fixing those vulnerabilities. Later in the show: What if the difference between the right diagnosis and the wrong diagnosis is whether or not a doctor thinks you’re believable? Cathryn Molloy shares why education, socio-economic status, and especially gender influence how doctors listen to and treat their patients. Plus: What happens when we empower on-the-ground healthcare workers like nurses with the ability to solve problems and make real changes in their workplace? Nursing and design thinking expert Erica Lewis says the lives of both healthcare workers and patients are transformed.

Virginia’s Eastern Shore has a distinct way of living–and eating. And looking at the environment and economy of the Eastern Shore, there are some big changes on the horizon. Virginia Folklife Director Katy Clune digs in and asks: What are the cultural values of the region today? Scientists and policy makers talk about climate resilience. What about cultural resilience? Later in the show: Jessica Taylor has been recording oral histories in Eastern Virginia for nearly two decades. She says the people she’s spoken to paint a picture of migration in the area. How do some families manage to keep their land and their roots while others are pushed out? And: Tangier Island is the last inhabited island in Virginia that’s only reachable by boat. And because of rapid environmental changes, it’s becoming an increasingly difficult place to live. Lincoln Lewis first visited Tangier Island to study the crab houses used by fishermen there, but has since moved to the island. He’s studying how locals consider long-term planning for the island.