With Good Reason

Like it or not, war has always been with us. If we can’t stop the fighting, what can we learn from the fight?

We talk to six scholars whose work is reevaluating conflicts of the past in light of modern history, from the radicalization of Union armies to the reimagining of terrorism in European literature.

Mercenaries have been with us for a long time, but they haven't gotten any less controversial. One professor thinks its time we learn from the 12th century when it comes to hiring help on the battlefield.

From With Good Reason, the Short Listen combines compelling interviews and short-form storytelling to bring you the best of each week's episode in around 5 minutes.

Kevin Bartram is the Indiana Jones of music. He's diving into archives at the Library of Congress in search of never-before-heard American compositions.

We also hear from celebrated poet Tim Seibles about his new collection, author Brendan Wolfe on jazz legend Biz Beiderbecke, and musician Jacqueline Secoy on the subtle wonder of the common ukelele.

The great promise of public education is equality–an excellent education for every child. And yet, there’s a sense — from nearly every side of the debate — that America is falling short of that promise. In the first of a special six-part series, With Good Reason traces the origins of education to ancient Mesopotamia and asks: how did education get so unequal?

When urban universities expand, working-class neighborhoods are often the first casualty. We take a look Lambert's Point, the Norfolk, VA community displaced Old Dominion University.

From With Good Reason, the Short Listen combines compelling interviews with short-form storytelling to bring you the best of each week's episode in about five minutes.

America is hooked on opioids — by one count, there are currently more opioid prescriptions than people in the southeastern United States. This week, we we’re taking a deep dive into the causes of the opioid crisis.

We speak to the author of Dreamland, Sam Quinones, on how communities have been torn apart by addiction. We hear from a surgeon and father who lost his son to opioid addiction. And we tackle the latest research on how opioid dependency is affecting so many Americans.

Kiki Petrosino is afraid when she gets behind the wheel -- afraid that she will be killed by police in a routine traffic stop. In "Letter beginning, 'If My Body is a Text'", she tries to express this fear of being misunderstood by white authorities. This week, we speak with Petrosino about her work, and continue our series on remarkable, untold stories from black history -- this time, in the world of sports.

Plus, we talk to a scholar who is mapping the history of the KKK -- despite descendants' efforts to erase records -- and trace the origin of revolutionary thinking.

Before Jackie Robinson, there were the Negro Leagues -- home to some of the greatest untold stories in baseball.

From With Good Reason, The Short Listen combines compelling interviews and short-form storytelling to bring you the best of each week's episode in under five minutes.

This week, we honor Black History Month by exploring some unbelievable stories from African-American history. We also look at some new work that has had profound success in helping African-American college students make it to graduation.

Under the indignity of the Jim Crow South, some truly remarkable stories were born. This week, we speak with the authors who chronicled two true stories of African-American resistance that have now become Oscar-nominated movies: Margot Lee Shetterly, whose book Hidden Figures documents the tale of the African-American women who put a man on the moon; and Peter Wallenstein, who tells the story of Richard and Mildred Loving, the couple who struck down bans on interracial marriage. Plus, producer Kelley Libby talks with the voice of NPR about their different experiences of growing up in the South.