During the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, tensions between the United States and Russia very nearly led to nuclear disaster. So what prevented the unthinkable from happening? Martin Sherwin says it had something to do with luck. And: Throughout this summer, states in the West have been sweating through an unprecedented heatwave. Philip Roessler has studied the impact of these rising temperatures on conflict zones around the world. He says climate change will soon become one of the main drivers of large scale political violence.

Later in the Show: Over the last few decades, China has burst onto the scene as one of the world’s most powerful countries - forcing the United States to take notice. Patrick Rhamey says as competition heats up between the two countries, the Biden administration should avoid treating China as the enemy. Plus: George Washington famously warned against the dangers of alliances in his Farewell Address. But Jason Davidson says despite Washington’s misgivings, America has relied on foreign alliances throughout its history.

Mask debates, a rush for a vaccine, and closed schools--not much has changed in the years since the 1890 and 1918 influenza epidemics. Tom Ewing takes us back to historical outbreaks to see what we can learn about today’s Covid-19 pandemic. And: There’s been a lot of coverage about the challenges of distributing the Covid-19 vaccine. How do we get it to distant areas? How do we use a whole vial before it expires? What about the special refrigerators needed to keep it cold enough? But these problems seem minor compared to the very first vaccine distribution in the early 1800s. Historian Allyson Poska shares the story of 29 orphan boys who crossed the Atlantic Ocean as live incubators for the smallpox vaccine and what lessons we can learn from this early campaign.

Later in the show: Navigating social lives in the time of Covid can be awkward. How do you tell your friends, ”No, I won’t be joining you at that restaurant, but yes, we can take a walk in the park together” without having to explain or excuse? Carrie Dolan says we need to get better at communicating our personal risk levels during the pandemic or we won’t be able to stop it. Plus: Like most users, Jeanine Guidry clicked through Pinterest for gardening tips and decorating ideas. But she also found a surprising abundance of vaccine conspiracy theories. Guidry studied the social media platform’s role in the anti-vaccination movement, and now she’s looking at the spread of COVID-19 misinformation online.

For generations, Englishmen grew food on public land. They sustained their families with these gardens, and with fish and animals they hunted and killed. Then almost overnight, in a new and becoming industrial age, the commons were closed. Katey Castellano says this disconnected people from rural land, forcing them into the city for industrial wages. Plus: There was a time where bowling in the street was considered a top felony. These and more serious crimes were the bread and butter of Victorian newspapers. Ed Jacobs says newspapers have long been a battleground between the elite and the poor.

Later in the show: Children’s books are much more than pretty pictures and fantasy lands. Deanna Stover says stories like Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland are all about teaching children how to see the world. And: We romanticize London fog about as much as we romanticize chemtrails. But Margaret Konkol says it's all pollution, and it's hard to see our human impact.

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.