With Good Reason

I’ll admit it, I’m not very good at dealing with conflict. In fact, I’d rather avoid conflict altogether than tackle it head on. It’s not something I really love about myself. So I sat down with Emily Gerst to learn how to do conflict better and maybe even overcome my conflict avoidant ways.

Later in the show: Mongolia, China, Israel, Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and even the United Nations. These are just some of the places Tay Keong Tan’s globetrotting anti-corruption work has taken him. Plus: Arnold Westbrook recently helped his hometown HBCU - Virginia State University - earn the prestigious recognition as a “Partner in Peace” by the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway.

A life steeped in literature fueled the rise of the nation’s first Muslim woman elected to a statewide office. Ghazala Hashmi discusses the power of storytelling and why she believes a well-worn novel is her secret weapon for navigating the high-stakes drama of government.

Later in the show: James Baldwin’s writings challenge the traditional democratic narrative. Pamela Reed discusses Baldwin’s views on the costs of maintaining a racial hierarchy within America’s democratic framework. Plus: Former Bush White House speechwriter Mary Kate Cary dives into the transformative power of voices like Margaret Chase Smith, who stood up to McCarthyism, and Harvey Milk, who ignited the gay rights movement.

Teacher's Pet by With Good Reason

It’s time for our annual summer reading recommendation round-up! From a book that traces the Cold War history of our “Made in China” goods, to a witchy novel about an old woman in the woods, we’ve got suggestions for every kind of summer. We even threw in a few podcast recs! You’ll hear from Megan Doney on reading translated fiction and Austin Jersild on international history.

Later in the show: Michael Carhart on understanding pre-history and Matt Brent shares a speculative Japanese novel.

If you’re looking for new music, you might turn to youtube, spotify, social media–basically, the internet. In Cuba, internet access is so limited that music is passed through a USB network called Sneakernet. Mike Levine explains how Sneakernet helps spread the rhythms–and politics–of reparto music. And: What does it sound like when trees sing? Or rocks? Or city waterworks? Sara Bouchard is a sound artist who often works with data from objects and nature to make music.

Later in the show: As a young kid music brought meaning to Donald Sorah’s life–and it kept him in school. Now as a teacher, he brings the joy of music making to students who don’t think of themselves as musicians. He’s been named an Outstanding Faculty Member by The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. Plus: There’s nothing quite like sharing your favorite songs with the people you love. But Kevin Caffrey says that kind of shared musical experience can also be a way to connect with strangers.

There’re over 10,000 active satellites orbiting Earth. And they do more than just power our phones and GPS, they’re giving us a whole new perspective on who we are. Dan Runfola sifts through countless satellite images to learn more about our human footprint and the evolution of society. And: Michael Shingledecker uses the James Webb Space Telescope to study ice layers that freeze in clouds of stardust. He says this cosmic ice is a key ingredient in the formation of the universe.

Later in the show: At first glance, plankton might seem unimpressive. They’re tiny little brainless micro-organisms that drift with the tides and currents. But they play a huge role in the ocean carbon cycle. Scott Doney tracks plankton - from the Antarctic to the Caribbean - by using satellites to observe ocean color.

In the German novel “I’m Your Man” a couples therapist and her robot partner Tom explore the limits of post-human love. Holly Yanacek wrote the English translation of the novel about what happens when our perfect partner is a machine. And: An after-school philosophy club has elementary school children discussing deep ideas with undergrads. Anne van Leeuwen says readings of Frog and Toad and Shel Silverstein are giving rise to conversations about bravery and infinity.

Later in the show: In The Historical Mind, Ryan Holston argues that our biggest political problems can be traced to a "thinning" of the human character, and that without self-restraint even the best Constitution becomes useless. Plus: State and local candidates are drowning in the national political divide. Jesse Richman says the polarization nationally is driving voters in state elections to make choices based on the letter next to a candidate’s name.

LEGO used to be just for kids. But with the help of the COVID-19 pandemic and plain old burnout, many adults have returned to LEGO. They’ve even got a cool acronym – AFOL. It stands for Adult Fans of Lego. Andi Smith says it’s a hands-on, screen-free way to shut your brain off and create. In Andi’s architecture classes, students use LEGO to build everything from model playgrounds to mausoleums. Not the kits – they freestyle! And: Have you ever played with an ouija board? Rhonda Brock and Chris McGee say that the whole game is really to prove that you aren’t scared. And the camera is really one of the players. Because anything spooky must be proven!

Later in the show: Many adults are reluctant to talk to children about grief and death. But why? 2026 PEN/Voelcker Award Finalist Gbenga Adesina and two-time National Book Award finalist Amber McBride join each other in conversation about their respective books Death Does Not End at the Sea and The Leaving Room where young adult narrators carry the reader through experiences with death and loss.

What makes a court a court? Most people might answer something like this: there’s a judge with legal training who makes a judgment, and if you don’t follow their judgment, you get punished. David Law says, actually, none of that is required for a court. That’s how the American courts work, but all over the world there are courts that operate very differently. And: The Upper Mattaponi tribe in Virginia has started operating its own courts. Chief Frank Adams explores what tribal justice looks like.

Later in the show: Building a court system is difficult under any circumstances. In communities that have suffered intense violent conflicts–like Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, or Kosovo after the war of the 1990s–creating a court system is both essential and particularly fraught. Christie Warren has worked all over the world as a facilitator helping post-conflict zones design legal and justice systems.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities are powerful American institutions. Cheryl Mango and Lisa Winn Bryan explore the culture, currency, and legacy of HBCUs.

Later in the show: Canonical works like Huckleberry Finn or The Tempest are still read in English classes across the country–but whose voice is missing from these works? Margaret Cox explores how writers like Percival Everett and Elizabeth Nunez reclaim and reshape these stories from the margins.