The 1987 pop song “Tom’s Diner” by Suzanne Vega, considered the “mother of the MP3,” was the test track used by German scientists to perfect this new file format that would revolutionize the music industry. Ryan Maguire (University of Virginia) has been experimenting with the sounds that got stripped out of that first MP3. And: From early morning garbage trucks to the non-stop chatter of an endless array of languages, there is a rich sonic landscape that defines New York City. As an expert in the field of “soundscape architecture,” Karen Van Lengen (University of Virginia) has spent time collecting and documenting such sounds and has collaborated with a visual artist on an exhibition featuring recordings and animation.

Later in the show: This year marks the 150th anniversary of the first publication of Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Andrew Kaufman’s (University of Virginia) book Give War and Peace a Chance: Tolstoyan Wisdom for Troubled Times says that Tolstoy’s masterpiece is more relevant to readers now than ever. Plus: Gone With the Wind, The Patriot, Born on the Fourth of July—some of America’s most important historical moments have been shown through film. Historian Jeffrey McClurken (University of Mary Washington) says while these movies often get the facts wrong, there’s history to be learned from the way the stories are told.

Uptalk” is that rising, questioning tone some people use when ending a statement. It’s becoming so common that Thomas Linneman (College of William and Mary) studied its use by contestants on the game show Jeopardy. He found women use it more than men, but male contestants often use “uptalk” after a woman competitor gets a wrong answer. And: Most of us think the best way to motivate is with rewards like money. But best-selling author Dan Pink says that’s a mistake. He says the secret to high performance and satisfaction is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to create new things, and to better our world.

Also featured: 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’s Kelley Libby tells the story of Brown’s life, from Hollins College to her tragic early death. Also featured: After World War II, the International Youth Library in Munich was created to promote understanding by introducing Germany’s children to the literature of other cultures. It’s now the largest repository of children’s literature in the world. Dr. Osayimwense Osa (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.

Uptalk” is that rising, questioning tone some people use when ending a statement. It’s becoming so common that Thomas Linneman (College of William and Mary) studied its use by contestants on the game show Jeopardy. He found women use it more than men, but male contestants often use “uptalk” after a woman competitor gets a wrong answer. And: Most of us think the best way to motivate is with rewards like money. But best-selling author Dan Pink says that’s a mistake. He says the secret to high performance and satisfaction is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to create new things, and to better our world.

Also featured: 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’s Kelley Libby tells the story of Brown’s life, from Hollins College to her tragic early death. Also featured: After World War II, the International Youth Library in Munich was created to promote understanding by introducing Germany’s children to the literature of other cultures. It’s now the largest repository of children’s literature in the world. Dr. Osayimwense Osa (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.

Stroke doctors all know the phrase, “Time is brain.” Andrew Southerland (University of Virginia Health System) discusses a new therapy that is considered a game changer in stroke treatment, helping some patients achieve a dramatic recovery of brain function after strokes. And: Cancer therapy is moving toward personalized treatment with the lowest toxicity possible for each patient. Lance Liotta (George Mason University) is working with biomarkers that predict the possibility of cancer and aid in creating individualized therapy. Liotta was named a 2015 outstanding faculty member by The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.

Later in the show: Blue zones are areas of the world that have been identified as having the longest expected lifespans. Reuben Rainey (University of Virginia) and Asa Eslocker (University of Virginia) explain the factors that create these “landscapes of longevity.” Plus: Today, most computers have more than one tiny silicon brain that makes them tick—this is called parallel computing. And yet, kids are still learning to program for only one “brain.” Wu-chun Feng (Virginia Tech) is working on an interface that makes parallel computing much less intimidating.

Stroke doctors all know the phrase, “Time is brain.” Andrew Southerland (University of Virginia Health System) discusses a new therapy that is considered a game changer in stroke treatment, helping some patients achieve a dramatic recovery of brain function after strokes. And: Cancer therapy is moving toward personalized treatment with the lowest toxicity possible for each patient. Lance Liotta (George Mason University) is working with biomarkers that predict the possibility of cancer and aid in creating individualized therapy. Liotta was named a 2015 outstanding faculty member by The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.

Later in the show: Blue zones are areas of the world that have been identified as having the longest expected lifespans. Reuben Rainey (University of Virginia) and Asa Eslocker (University of Virginia) explain the factors that create these “landscapes of longevity.” Plus: Today, most computers have more than one tiny silicon brain that makes them tick—this is called parallel computing. And yet, kids are still learning to program for only one “brain.” Wu-chun Feng (Virginia Tech) is working on an interface that makes parallel computing much less intimidating.

Dickens Turns 200 (2012) by With Good Reason

A new book, Stars for Freedom, by historian Emilie Raymond (Virginia Commonwealth University) tells the little-known story of how black actors and entertainers in Hollywood contributed their money, connections, and fame to aid the civil rights movement. Plus: D.W. Griffith’s Civil War epic Birth of a Nation is notorious for its racist scenes. Avi Santo (Old Dominion University) has organized the writing and shooting of the ambitious short film Our Nation, which tells the story of a young African American teenager’s response to the film in Norfolk, Virginia in 1915.

Later in the show: Julian Bond, who passed away on August 15th, was at the cutting edge of social change since he was a college student leading sit-in demonstrations in Atlanta in 1960. The civil rights leader faced jail for his activism and helped create the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. He spent 20 years as a Georgia lawmaker and was also a writer, college lecturer, and former chair of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In a 2004 interview, Bond, whose grandfather was born into slavery, talks candidly about race in America 50 years after the Brown v. Board decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

All of the fish in the acidic, black water of Brazil’s Rio Negro have super sharp teeth. Pieter deHart (Virginia Military Institute) is out to discover what organisms are at the base of the food web where everything seems to be a carnivore. Plus: Over the past 50 years, the Amazon rainforest has lost nearly 20% of its forest cover. Thomas Lovejoy (George Mason University) coined the term “biodiversity” in the 1970s, and has spent the last fifty years studying the effects of fragmentation on wildlife in the Amazon. And: Laura Mentore (University of Mary Washington) studies the Waiwai community in Guyana, and accidentally discovered the path of a special songbird from the rainforest to New York City.

Later in the show: For coastal cities around the world, surf tourism brings huge revenue, but it can also bring conflict. Lindsay Usher (Old Dominion University) studies the rough waves that are sometimes made between locals and surf tourists. And: It’s no surprise that dogs make friends at the dog park, but it turns out people do too. Ed Gomez (Old Dominion University) says that dog parks build community and cut back on crime. Plus: After starting an antique photo collection, Ann-Janine Morey (James Madison University) discovered that old photos of people with their pets can teach us a lot about class.

Drink Local (August 8, 2015)

In recent years, a culture has grown up around brewing beer locally and at home. Hunter Smith and Levi Duncan of Champion Brewery met in a brewing course at Piedmont Virginia Community College, where they now both teach. They say local breweries like Champion can help foster community. Plus: In early America, just about everyone drank beer—even for breakfast. We go with Susan Kern (College of William and Mary) to the site of a brew house that once existed on the campus of one of the nation’s oldest colleges. And: We all know of Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin, but few of us have heard of Robert Morris, who was also a founding father. Ryan Smith (Virginia Commonwealth University), in a new book, tells the tale of this wealthy financier of the Revolution who signed the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, but ended up in financial ruin and public disgrace.

Later in the show: There is an extreme shortage of nurses in “bush” Alaska, a stunningly beautiful part of the world only reachable by plane or barge. Maria DeValpine (James Madison University) spent three years learning why nurses elect to stay in this challenging environment on the edge of the earth. And: Courses that include service learning projects can have a profound effect on college students. While teaching at the American University in Cairo, Egypt, James Curiel (Norfolk State University) had his students, who were predominately from the wealthiest Egyptian families, work with impoverished families who made their living by recycling the rubbish they collected. The lessons learned were invaluable.

When Shenandoah National Park was built, hundreds of families were forced off their land. Margaret Marangione (Blue Ridge Community College) says new information has emerged suggesting that some of them were sent to state colonies and sterilized. Plus: Veterans of the Revolutionary War collected the nation’s first pensions for wounded soldiers. But Benjamin Irvin says claiming a pension was difficult and threatened the pride of many veterans. And: Aging baby boomers are beginning to influence the funeral industry. Rhonda Pleasants (John Tyler Community College) says more are now opting for “green” burials and more personalized funerals that reflect the hobbies and passions of the person who died.

Later in the show: Too many young people imagine old age as a time when we become no longer useful or interested in the world around us. But Terry Lee (Christopher Newport University) has been challenging these kinds of ageist stereotypes. He’s spent hours behind a camera, documenting the lives of elders and their caregivers. And he says older people have an important job to do. Also featured: As we age, we all experience changes in our brains that make our memories less sharp than they used to be. But some older people actually have a condition called Mild Cognitive Impairment, or MCI, which is different from Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Rosemary Blieszner (Virginia Tech) was instrumental in a study that looked at how patients and their family members cope with MCI.