This year’s annual summer reading show explores the broad, diverse, and wonderful world of Asian American and Pacific Islander writers. We hear recommendations from Sylvia Chong, Juanita Giles, Wendy Shang, Alex Purugganan, Spencer Tricker, and Luisa A. Igloria.

The evolution of social change in America can be traced through popular songs by the likes of Nat King Cole, Percy Mayfield, Lena Horne, and the Impressions. Charlie McGovern shares from his book Body and Soul: Race, Citizenship and Popular Music, 1930-1977. Also: Music streaming platforms like Spotify and YouTube have changed the conversation about music and democracy. These days we talk about individual freedoms to choose what to listen to and when. Nancy Hanrahan says debates about music and democracy used to focus on a shared national identity, morality, and citizenship.

Later in the show: Noel Lobley wanted to give colonial musical archives back to the people--so he strapped DJ booths to donkey carts and took to the streets. Plus: Since long before Louis Armstrong was sent to Egypt as a representative of the State Department, the United States has been using music as a key part of diplomacy. Arthur Romano, a consultant on State Department musical missions overseas, says music is an important form of conflict resolution.

From start to finish, the Appalachian Trail covers a whopping 2,181 miles. Rodney Bragdon dishes on the toughest challenges he experienced while through-hiking the entire trail. And: Camping, hiking, and enjoying the great outdoors are American pastimes. But for African Americans, gathering in public spaces has long been fraught. Erin Devlin discusses the racism that was built into America’s national parks.

Later in the show: From its Native American roots to hiking fashion trends, Mills Kelly traces the often overlooked history of the Appalachian Trail. Also: Jeff Marion studies visitor impact on the Appalachian Trail and worries we might be loving it to death.

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 experiences he’s changed his mind about life after death. His new book is After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond.

Later in the show: For many of us, the frantic rush of our morning commute has been replaced with going into the next room, where we have our computer set up. But can we ever really make up that lost sleep? Alexandria Reynolds says no. Sleep debt is forever. And: From the 1830s to the Civil War, Americans could be found putting each other into trances for fun and profit in parlors, on stage, and in medical consulting rooms. Emily Ogden is the author of, “Credulity: A Cultural History of U.S. Mesmerism.”

In 2019, Virginia joined just three other states in making Juneteenth a paid state holiday, recognizing it as a holiday for all Virginians. Historian Lauranett Lee says in this country we have parallel histories, with Black and white Americans knowing about and acknowledging different pasts. But community efforts and local activists are elevating the stories of African Americans so that those parallel histories are brought together. One of those local historians is Wilma Jones, who grew up in the mostly Black community of Halls Hill in Arlington, Virginia. Now the neighborhood is rapidly gentrifying and Black families like hers have been pushed out. Today, Jones says it’s too late to save Grandma’s house, but it’s not too late to save her history.

Later in the show: Much has been said about the golden age of gospel in the 1940s and 50s. But what about the gospel music that came later when hip-hop and soul were dominant? Claudrena Harold’s new book, When Sunday Comes, takes us to the Black record shops, churches, and businesses that transformed gospel after the Civil Rights era and nurtured the music that was an essential cultural and political expression for African Americans.

Black women are three and a half times more likely to die in childbirth than white women. Even highly educated, wealthy African Americans are at a greater risk than whites. To combat the disparity, Dr. Rochanda Mitchell advocates hiring more African American nurse educators and providing anti-bias training for medical professionals. Plus: Bellamy Shoffner was well aware of the frightening statistics when she gave birth to her sons. Shoffner is Founder and Editor of Hold The Line Magazine, about social justice motherhood.

Later in the show: Although doulas have become more popular as birth and postpartum support, they’re still expensive and most insurance won’t cover their services. This can be particularly important for African Americans who are at greater risk throughout pregnancy and whose babies are at greater risk at birth. Christin Farmer created Birthing Beautiful Communities of Cleveland, a non-profit that trains and provides doulas at no cost to African Americans in Cleveland, Ohio.

One study found that in the early months of the pandemic, as many as 40% of Americans skipped medical care. But new health insurance coverage of telehealth visits means that there’s a better option. UVA Health’s Karen Rheuban and Laurie Archbald-Pannone have steered innovative telehealth approaches that bring safe medical care to patients’ homes and long-term care facilities. And: When the world closed down last March, Sarah Gilbert created the Front Porch Project to connect her nursing students with the older adults they were learning to care for. Their distanced conversations started as a health intervention and turned into so much more.

Later in the show: When COVID-19 struck, most of us were caught off guard. Others, like Saskia Popescu, have spent years preparing healthcare systems for events like Covid. Plus: Rural communities face so many barriers to accessing healthcare, but they also show incredible strengths in the way they care for each other. Laura Trull shares how the pandemic has affected rural communities and how public health officials can use rural strengths to help fight back.

It’s difficult to imagine that the highway was someone’s home. But it was. LaToya S. Gray says a once thriving Richmond neighborhood known as the Harlem of the South fell victim to intentionally destructive city planners. And: You don’t have to look far to connect racial inequities to environmental issues. Jeremy Hoffman says that many formerly redlined neighborhoods experience up to 16 degree hotter days in the summer than green lined neighborhoods within walking distance.

Later in the show: How far do you have to travel to get to a park? Not a patch of grass, but a real park -- with shade, amenities and things to do. Dorothy Ibes says American parks are underutilized, and we’ve got to step it up. Aside from jumping in a pool, trees are our best bet to cool summer heat. Pamela Grothe says we have to be intentional about putting trees in the right places.

In July of this year, Virginia will become the first Southern state to legalize marijuana, marking a major milestone in the failure of the War on Drugs. Katherine Ott Walter traces the racist roots of the War on Drugs and offers sensible alternatives to dealing with addiction in America. And: In the early 1970’s, Richard Bonnie became the Associate Director of the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse. While the Commission ultimately recommended the decriminalization of marijuana, President Nixon refused to endorse the recommendation. But that didn’t stop a handful of states from decriminalizing marijuana.

Later in the show: Today, the majority of Americans favor marijuana legalization. But back in the 1930’s the US government pumped out bogus propaganda that incited fear and linked marijuana to violence. Scott Maggard breaks down how the media shaped attitudes towards marijuana throughout American history. Plus: Marijuana has been used medicinally and recreationally for thousands of years. But Larry Keen says the science isn’t exactly clear about it’s long term effects on the body.

If plants could talk, what would they say? What if they could sing? Sam Nester, Yassmin Salem, and Donald Russell explain how George Mason University’s Arcadia installation turns a greenhouse into an orchestra. And: Fossils give away the secrets of the past, but they can also tell the future. Rowan Lockwood is taking a closer look at the fossils of giant oysters to learn how to rebuild oyster reefs today. Lockwood was named a 2019 Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award recipient.

Later in the show: Crystal blue lakes might make for a popular tourist spot, but they’re starting to disappear. Dina Leech is studying what gives lakes their color and why they’re changing. Plus: While forests are a deep green right now, in just a few months leaves will be changing colors--thanks, in part, to caterpillars. Rebecca Forkner shares how these tiny insects change their environments and what we can learn from them.