With Good Reason

Deirdre Enright is perhaps best known to fans of the super-popular podcast Serial as the legal sleuth questioning the guilt of convicted murderer Adnan Syed. As director of the University of Virginia's Innocence Project, Enright has a front row view of failures in our judicial system, from underpaid and inept lawyers to over-eager and biased police officers. Plus: Steve Helvin was a district court judge for 21 years. He says that incorrect rulings probably happen more than you might expect and the court system should be ready to reverse bad decisions.

Later in the show: When it comes to love, jealousy is sometimes thought of as “natural” or even desirable. But a recent survey led by Mindy Erchull (University of Mary Washington) suggests that women who see jealousy as a positive thing may be more likely to find themselves in abusive relationships. Also: Tragedies like the Newtown shootings dominate the debate over gun ownership. But in an average year, suicides outnumber homicides by 3 to 1 and most are by firearm. Alex Tabarrok (George Mason University) and Justin Briggs say a causal relationship is clear: more gun ownership means more suicides.

From Marian Anderson’s 1939 concert at the Lincoln Memorial to Marvin Gaye’s singing of the National Anthem at the NBA Finals, the theme of patriotism can be heard throughout African American music. Benjamin Ross offers selections from this rich musical heritage. Also: Published in 1946, The Street by Ann Petry was the first million-selling novel by an African American author. Keith Clark (George Mason University) says Petry deserves to be in the pantheon of other great American writers like James Baldwin and Toni Morrison.

Later in the show: In 1862, Poet Walt Whitman went to Fredericksburg, Virginia, searching for his brother George who had been wounded in a Civil War battle. Mara Scanlon and Brady Earnhart (University of Mary Washington) say Whitman was so moved by the carnage he found that he worked as a nurse for the rest of the war. Also featured: 19th-century poet and author Edgar Allan Poe is still considered the master of the macabre. Jerome McGann (University of Virginia) says Poe, whose influence is probably unmatched by any American author, was more charming and humorous than his famous dark fiction suggests.

f you swipe a stranger’s car and nobody sees, what do you do? Do you leave a note? Do you track the owner down? Bill Hawk and Erica Lewis (James Madison University) give coping strategies for deciding what to do when faced with an ethical dilemma. Plus: Zooplankton are microscopic animals in the ocean that are critical to both the food chain and the recycling of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Deborah Steinberg (William and Mary Virginia Institute of Marine Science) says that due to climate change there’s been a change in the distribution and variation of zooplankton.

mushiLater in the show: In Japan, insects are pets, medicine, and even vehicles for spirits. Mary Knighton researches Japan’s special relationship with insects. And: One of the most unpopular insects in the U.S. is the tick, which can be a carrier of Lyme disease. David Livingston, Jay Sullivan, and Jim Squire (Virginia Military Institute) have invented a tick-removal robot that rolls over a lawn, attracting and killing these unwanted insects. Tick expert Holly Gaff (Old Dominion University) has tested the “tick rover” with surprising results. Plus: Between errands and dishes and kids, it sometimes feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day. Louisa Igloria (Old Dominion University) has managed to make time to write one poem every day—for 1,270 days!

Plantations in America’s South are physical testaments to the great wealth accrued through slave labor. Yet, Stephen Hanna (University of Mary Washington) has found that plantation museums often gloss over that economic history in favor of more romanticized depictions of plantation life. Plus: There’s little historical evidence that African Americans supported the Confederate cause by becoming soldiers. Yet this myth of the “black Confederate” remains in circulation. Gabriel Reich (Virginia Commonwealth University) studies the way collective memories of the Civil War are shaped and offers ways school curricula could address these problematic narratives.

Later in the show: Mom’s home cooking, wives’ infidelities, and slaves dining with white families—Jonathan White (Christopher Newport University) says you can write a whole history of the Civil War through the dreams of people who lived through it. Also featured: Jesse James was a thief and a cold-blooded killer who gunned down unarmed civilians. So why did newspapers at that time portray him as a folk hero? Cathy Jackson (Norfolk State University) looks at the myth and the reality of one of America’s most notorious outlaws.

hat if you could change not just how much you know, but your actual intelligence? Psychologist Oliver Hill (Virginia State University) says special cognitive training can rewire the way brains work and help kids succeed in math and science. And: Stereotypes affect the way others see us and how we see ourselves. They can also lead to lower test scores. Claude Steele (Stanford University) and Margaret Shih (University of California, Los Angeles) explain that stereotypes about math and science can self-handicap. Plus: Cheryl Talley (Virginia State University) is helping students overcome self-handicapping through things like journaling and text-messages.

Later in the show: A tornado that devastated Fayetteville, Tennessee the week author Clint McCown (Virginia Commonwealth University) was born is the setting for his award-winning novel, Haints. The real-life tornado reached wind speeds up to 260 miles per hour and damaged or destroyed 1,820 buildings. Also: Biologist Wally Smith (University of Virginia College at Wise) fell in love with hiking when he was in high school. Now he and his biology students have created online trail guides for others to explore the beauty of the Appalachian foothills.

Before the Korean War, the bodies of American soldiers killed in conflicts abroad were buried in overseas cemeteries. But the nature of the conflict in Korea changed that. Brad Coleman (Virginia Military Institute) says the Korean War brought about other changes, too, including the development of forensic anthropology. And: For U.S. military veterans, the benefits claims process can be daunting. The Lewis B. Puller Jr. Veterans Benefits Clinic at the William & Mary Law School is making that process faster and has been touted as a model for the solution to the nation’s backlog of claims. Plus: Bootcamp can be funny. Comedy Bootcamp at the William & Mary Center for Veterans Engagement is a stand-up comedy class exclusively for veterans and servicemen, and it serves as an outlet for veterans with PTSD, TBI, and combat-related injuries.

Later in the show: With its rolling green hills and its nearly 400,000 graves, Arlington National Cemetery is one of our nation’s most impressive military tributes. Also impressive is the work that goes on behind the scenes to create a meaningful experience for visitors. Debra Lattanzi Shutika (George Mason University) and Kerry Kaleba spent a month observing the inner workings of Arlington as part of the Field School for Cultural Documentation. Also featured: There are countless books on gardening and tree care. Joe Murray (Blue Ridge Community College) says some of the advice does more harm than good. Plus: From international competitions like the Van Cliburn to battles of high school marching bands, competition in music has become a way of life for aspiring musicians. Wayne Gallops (Radford University) says too much of it can stifle a young musician’s growth.

A new course is teaching veterans the art of stand-up comedy. “Veterans Comedy Bootcamp” is designed for vets with PTSD and combat-related injuries. Lilia Fuquen reports that the innovative program was launched by students at the College of William and Mary.

Yoko Ono is best known for her marriage to John Lennon and was vilified by the press in the 1960s for her perceived role in the breakup of the Beatles. Kevin Concannon (Virginia Tech), an expert on Ono’s work, notes she was an accomplished and innovative artist long before she met Lennon. Plus: A novel by Fred D’Aguiar (Virginia Tech) tells the story of a mother and daughter caught up in the tragic Jonestown mass suicide of 1978.

Later in the show: Americans have been getting their kicks from Route 66 since John Steinbeck labeled it “The Mother Road” in The Grapes of Wrath. Michael Lund (Longwood University) is fascinated by the nostalgic small town life found along “America’s Main Street.” Lund is the author of a series of Route 66 novels. And: Jack Kerouac wrote about his travels along Route 66 in On the Road, the novel that made him a literary success. Gordon Ball (Virginia Military Institute) says Kerouac’s novel about the Beat Generation is as relevant today as it was in the 195

The critically acclaimed film Mr. Turner examines the life and work of the British Romanticist painter J.M.W. Turner, whose style earned him the informal title “the painter of light.” Historian William Rodner (Tidewater Community College) is the author of J.M.W. Turner: Romantic Painter of the Industrial Revolution. Rodner says Turner was one of the first major artists to depict the Industrial Revolution. And: In the 1830s, thousands of women were involved in the movement to abolish slavery. Stephanie Richmond (Norfolk State University) says the presence and activity of women in the abolitionist movement laid the framework for another important movement: women’s suffrage.

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons user Oren neu dag

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons user Oren neu dag

Later in the show: The power of logos and branding wasn’t lost on the ancients. Bruce MacDonald (Virginia Military Institute) says after William the Conqueror defeated Harold, the Saxon king, William wisely combined the crests of the two forces into a new British logo—two winged lions on a yellow field—which helped him unify and govern his new land. Also featured: Sequoyah, or as he signed his name, (ᏍᏏᏉᏯ Ssiquoya, is the great Cherokee Indian who invented the Cherokee alphabet that made reading and writing in Cherokee possible. Ken Smith (Radford University) is having the students in his typography and design class create new typeface designs for the Cherokee language

The critically acclaimed film Mr. Turner examines the life and work of the British Romanticist painter J.M.W. Turner, whose style earned him the informal title “the painter of light.” Historian William Rodner (Tidewater Community College) is the author of J.M.W. Turner: Romantic Painter of the Industrial Revolution. Rodner says Turner was one of the first major artists to depict the Industrial Revolution. And: In the 1830s, thousands of women were involved in the movement to abolish slavery. Stephanie Richmond (Norfolk State University) says the presence and activity of women in the abolitionist movement laid the framework for another important movement: women’s suffrage.

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons user Oren neu dag

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons user Oren neu dag

Later in the show: The power of logos and branding wasn’t lost on the ancients. Bruce MacDonald (Virginia Military Institute) says after William the Conqueror defeated Harold, the Saxon king, William wisely combined the crests of the two forces into a new British logo—two winged lions on a yellow field—which helped him unify and govern his new land. Also featured: Sequoyah, or as he signed his name, (ᏍᏏᏉᏯ Ssiquoya, is the great Cherokee Indian who invented the Cherokee alphabet that made reading and writing in Cherokee possible. Ken Smith (Radford University) is having the students in his typography and design class create new typeface designs for the Cherokee language