With Good Reason

For many, the holidays aren’t the holidays without music, from spiritual hymns to Santa tunes. Jim Borling talks about why music just feels right during this time of year. Plus: A music video by the all female a-cappela group Note-oriety went viral and amplified their efforts to challenge the social pressures that were crippling their classmates. Also: Singer and accordionist Flory Jagoda is known as “the keeper of the flame” of the once rich Sephardic Jewish song tradition. Flory sings songs she learned from her Nona–or grandmother–as a child in pre-WWII Sarajevo. Her accordion also helped her escape the holocaust as a young girl. And: John Brodie is working tirelessly with the VMI Regimental Band and Pipes for their performance in the Tournament of the Roses Parade through Pasadena. The big question is: Will the little band with bagpipes make the tricky 110-degree wheel turn?

Later in the show: Poet Tim Siebles ethnomusicologist Ann Rasmussen conductor John Guthmiller and vocalist Lisa Edwards-Burrs share their favorite songs and why the music resonates with them this time of year.

For many, the holidays aren’t the holidays without music, from spiritual hymns to Santa tunes. Jim Borling talks about why music just feels right during this time of year. Plus: A music video by the all female a-cappela group Note-oriety went viral and amplified their efforts to challenge the social pressures that were crippling their classmates. Also: Singer and accordionist Flory Jagoda is known as “the keeper of the flame” of the once rich Sephardic Jewish song tradition. Flory sings songs she learned from her Nona–or grandmother–as a child in pre-WWII Sarajevo. Her accordion also helped her escape the holocaust as a young girl. And: John Brodie is working tirelessly with the VMI Regimental Band and Pipes for their performance in the Tournament of the Roses Parade through Pasadena. The big question is: Will the little band with bagpipes make the tricky 110-degree wheel turn?

Later in the show: Poet Tim Siebles ethnomusicologist Ann Rasmussen conductor John Guthmiller and vocalist Lisa Edwards-Burrs share their favorite songs and why the music resonates with them this time of year.

Papayas in December (December 12, 2015)

Small farms can now grow raspberries, blackberries, ginger, or even tropical fruits like papayas in December without the need of expensive greenhouses. Reza Rafie has been working with simple structures called high-tunnels that can maintain a 65-degree temperature in the winter months. Wanda Johnson (Virginia State University) creates delectable dishes like papaya salad using the produce grown in these high tunnels. And: With so many nutrition studies contradicting each other, it's hard to know what to believe when it comes to food and health. Alan Levinovitz (James Madison University) says the proliferation of fad diets--rooted in myth not science--are a reaction to that confusion.

Later in the show: Most of the chestnuts roasting on open fires this winter are from Europe or Asia, not America. American chestnut trees were largely wiped out by blight. Heather Griscom (James Madison University) is helping to restore American chestnut trees. Plus: What’s Christmas without a little organ music? With Good Reason producer Kelley Libby visits one of the oldest working organs in America and brings us a private recital by Tom Marshall (William and Mary).

Papayas in December (December 12, 2015)

Small farms can now grow raspberries, blackberries, ginger, or even tropical fruits like papayas in December without the need of expensive greenhouses. Reza Rafie has been working with simple structures called high-tunnels that can maintain a 65-degree temperature in the winter months. Wanda Johnson (Virginia State University) creates delectable dishes like papaya salad using the produce grown in these high tunnels. And: With so many nutrition studies contradicting each other, it's hard to know what to believe when it comes to food and health. Alan Levinovitz (James Madison University) says the proliferation of fad diets--rooted in myth not science--are a reaction to that confusion.

Later in the show: Most of the chestnuts roasting on open fires this winter are from Europe or Asia, not America. American chestnut trees were largely wiped out by blight. Heather Griscom (James Madison University) is helping to restore American chestnut trees. Plus: What’s Christmas without a little organ music? With Good Reason producer Kelley Libby visits one of the oldest working organs in America and brings us a private recital by Tom Marshall (William and Mary).

Sudden death in young people is rare, but Matthew Thomas and Matthew Wolf say that through early detection of inherited heart conditions, better precautions can be taken. And: Depression affects almost 15 million American adults, yet doctors still don’t know much about how it works. Researcher Pearl Chiu says that it may be possible to make a personalized diagnosis of depression through brain imaging. Plus: Lisa Ellison's brother was plagued with mental health issues until age 20, when he committed an awful crime and then took his own life. Lisa graduated from the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at James Madison University and is now an advocate for suicide prevention and mental health support.

Later in the show: HIV infections are rising among a surprising segment of the population--African Americans over the age of 50. John Fife is working to combat this disturbing trend. And: Millions of people in developing countries go blind due to cataracts because there aren’t enough surgeons trained in the five-minute procedure to remove them. Glenn Strauss is designing a simulator that will train 30,000 who could give millions the life-changing operation.

More than 30 people who spent the last three years immersed in thousands of letters written by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Abigail Adams, and James Madison, are experiencing a sense of loss and sorrow now that the massive project to proofread the letters and make them available online has come to a close. Join us as Bill Kissell, Donna Carty, and Dena Radley share favorite letters that reveal the fascinating inner lives of the founders. Also: Project Director Sue Perdue and Kathleen Williams describe the scope of this remarkable project of the National Archives called Founders Online.

Later in the show: When Jack Beck and Wendy Welch decided to move to the small mountain town of Big Stone Gap, they hadn't planned on opening a used bookstore. But a big Victorian house captured their imaginations and before they knew it they were setting up shop. Despite the growing popularity of e-readers and a downturn in the national economy, Jack and Wendy’s small-town bookstore is thriving—and fostering community. Wendy is writing a book about their experience, called The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap: a memoir of friendship, community and the uncommon pleasure of a good book.

World-renowned naturalist Joe Hutto, subject of the Emmy winning BBC documentary "My Life As a Turkey", discusses how he became a wild turkey mother in the hammocks of Florida. Plus: Fourth-generation pilot Eric Walden gives a play-by-play of the ninja-like moves of the wild turkey—mid-air. And: The once-scorned bronze-feathered turkey is making a comeback, with the help of organic, free-range farmers like Paul Kelly. Also: Jay Sullivan (Virginia Military Institute) sends his students off to Thanksgiving Break with a poem about a young engineer’s ingenuity and of course, a turkey.

Later in the show: With Good Reason takes a look at the indigenous perspective of a Thanksgiving table. Anton Treuer, author of Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask, shares how he and his family give thanks. Plus: Minnesota Chef Sean Sherman (the Sioux Chef) gives us a taste of pre-contact American Indian cuisine.

Even years after the end of the Great Recession, thousands who lost their jobs are still unemployed. Victor Tan Chen (Virginia Commonwealth University) in his book, Cut Loose: Jobless and Hopeless in an Unfair Economy, offers a poignant look at their struggle to support their families, rebuild their lives, and overcome shame and self-blame. Also: After working for Bernie Madoff for 15 years, Andrew Cohen (Old Dominion University) was offered a chance to invest in a “special fund” that Madoff himself managed. You can guess what happened. Now he warns his own students about the pitfalls in his course “Wall Street 101.”

Later in the show, There’s a small town in Idaho where prostitution was practiced openly and even embraced, until 1991. Heather Branstetter has been interviewing local residents, discovering who the madams were and what they did to cultivate widespread public acceptance of their work. Plus: If you’ve ever had a coworker write nasty or demeaning emails, undermine your credibility, or give you the silent treatment, you’ve experienced workplace incivility. Dan Davidson and Danylle Kunkel (Radford University) say it affects the bottom line and should be included in performance reviews.

The war in Vietnam touched many different lives, in many different ways. This special Veteran's Day episode of With Good Reason shares memories from an NBA All-Star who played pickup games with the troops in the jungle; a soldier who navigated the Mekong Delta in a patrol boat while his baby daughter was born back home; a flight attendant who firmly told the soldiers, "See you on the way back"; and a young marine whose life was saved by the sacrifice of a friend.

Later in the show: In the 1960s, it took almost three weeks to cross the sea from America to Vietnam. Three weeks for young men in crowded cabins with salt water showers and absolutely nothing to do but think about home, the war, and what might be next. In this episode we focus on a single troopship, the General Nelson M. Walker, and a few of the soldiers who traveled on it. There’s the man who wrote home about the voyage to Vietnam—about tanning oil, hillbilly radio, and a run-in with a typhoon. Another who survived the jungles of Vietnam, only to return home and feel as though democracy had passed him by. And then there’s the fiancée who snuck on board to say one last goodbye to her lover before he was killed in action. These stories were produced in partnership with The Vietnam Graffiti Project.

Women’s friendships take a lot of work: hangouts, texts, emails, phone calls, and even gift-giving. Amanda Herbert says all those expectations about what it means to be a good girlfriend to your girlfriends, might have carried through from the 18th century, when no less than the British Empire depended on them. And: With the evolution of social media, communication styles have changed. Anand Rao is working with college students to develop best practices for the world of Facebook, Instagram, and anonymous platforms like Yik-Yak.

Later in the show: An online database of Grimm’s fairy tales reveals the evolution of these stories. Robert Godwin-Jones created the database and says the earlier versions were often violent and sexually suggestive. Plus: Pro-choice advocates often complain about the way abortion is talked about—or not talked about—in pop culture. Mary Thompson says that two kinds of books, mommy memoirs and mother-daughter memoirs, are tackling the tough topic of abortion in new ways.