With Good Reason

In the 1970s, a series of laws ushered in a new “sunshine era” of unprecedented government transparency. In his new book Secrecy in the Sunshine Era, Jason Ross Arnold (Virginia Commonwealth University) investigates how, despite these reforms, government officials developed new workarounds, including overclassification, concealment, shredding, and burning. And: Has the Magna Carta’s 800-year legacy been a snowball of misinterpretations? Thomas McSweeney (College of William and Mary) says he doesn’t think its authors intended it to be the foundational text for common law that it became. Plus: Last year, a commission of experts found new history textbooks approved by the Board of Education in Texas were pushing a specific ideology. One of the experts, Emile Lester (University of Mary Washington), says parts of the textbooks weren’t just misleading; they were false.

Later in the show: Waldo Jaquith is a pioneer in using the web to foster more open and accessible government. His projects include Ethics.gov for the White House, States Decoded, and a website that allows users to watch video of floor action in state capitols and even vote on what they’d like to see in a bill. Also featured: Electronic health records can save billions of dollars and increase patient safety. But in the United States, they can also put individual privacy at risk, more so than in the European Union. Janine Hiller (Virginia Tech) spent a semester in Sweden studying Europe’s approach to balancing patient privacy and health rights. And: Wikipedia has been viewed with skepticism or worse in the academic community. But Kyle Nicholas (Old Dominion University) has his students edit Wikipedia pages to develop their critical thinking skills and media literacy.

In the 1970s, a series of laws ushered in a new “sunshine era” of unprecedented government transparency. In his new book Secrecy in the Sunshine Era, Jason Ross Arnold (Virginia Commonwealth University) investigates how, despite these reforms, government officials developed new workarounds, including overclassification, concealment, shredding, and burning. And: Has the Magna Carta’s 800-year legacy been a snowball of misinterpretations? Thomas McSweeney (College of William and Mary) says he doesn’t think its authors intended it to be the foundational text for common law that it became. Plus: Last year, a commission of experts found new history textbooks approved by the Board of Education in Texas were pushing a specific ideology. One of the experts, Emile Lester (University of Mary Washington), says parts of the textbooks weren’t just misleading; they were false.

Later in the show: Waldo Jaquith is a pioneer in using the web to foster more open and accessible government. His projects include Ethics.gov for the White House, States Decoded, and a website that allows users to watch video of floor action in state capitols and even vote on what they’d like to see in a bill. Also featured: Electronic health records can save billions of dollars and increase patient safety. But in the United States, they can also put individual privacy at risk, more so than in the European Union. Janine Hiller (Virginia Tech) spent a semester in Sweden studying Europe’s approach to balancing patient privacy and health rights. And: Wikipedia has been viewed with skepticism or worse in the academic community. But Kyle Nicholas (Old Dominion University) has his students edit Wikipedia pages to develop their critical thinking skills and media literacy.

Call it affordable, sustainable transportation. Call it public health. Ralph Buehler (Virginia Tech), in his book City Cycling, emphasizes that bicycling shouldn’t be limited to those who are trained, fit, and daring enough to battle traffic on busy roads. Also featured: In an effort to curb pollution and congestion, cities across the U.S. have adopted bike share programs, and now colleges and universities are following suit. Eddie Hill and Bridget Nemeth started a bike share program on the campus of Old Dominion University, which offers free bikes to students. And: The electric bicycle, or e-bike, is growing in popularity and creating jobs. Jerry Franklin (Danville Community College) takes us on a spin through the world of e-bikes. Plus: Many runners today are taking off their shoes in favor of barefoot running. Silvia Blemker and Geoffrey Handsfield (University of Virginia) are mapping the muscles to learn how running barefoot compares to running with shoes.

Later in the show: Psychologist Andrew Velkey (Christopher Newport University) describes the foraging behavior of men and women drivers searching for parking spaces. There are the “perchers” and then there are the “soarers.” Plus: The song “John Henry” is one of the most popular in American history, but for years nobody knew whether the legendary railroad tunneler was a real person or simply a tall tale. Scott Reynolds Nelson (College of William and Mary) discovered a historic record of a railroad worker named John Henry, who was buried secretly by the Richmond Penitentiary.

Call it affordable, sustainable transportation. Call it public health. Ralph Buehler (Virginia Tech), in his book City Cycling, emphasizes that bicycling shouldn’t be limited to those who are trained, fit, and daring enough to battle traffic on busy roads. Also featured: In an effort to curb pollution and congestion, cities across the U.S. have adopted bike share programs, and now colleges and universities are following suit. Eddie Hill and Bridget Nemeth started a bike share program on the campus of Old Dominion University, which offers free bikes to students. And: The electric bicycle, or e-bike, is growing in popularity and creating jobs. Jerry Franklin (Danville Community College) takes us on a spin through the world of e-bikes. Plus: Many runners today are taking off their shoes in favor of barefoot running. Silvia Blemker and Geoffrey Handsfield (University of Virginia) are mapping the muscles to learn how running barefoot compares to running with shoes.

Later in the show: Psychologist Andrew Velkey (Christopher Newport University) describes the foraging behavior of men and women drivers searching for parking spaces. There are the “perchers” and then there are the “soarers.” Plus: The song “John Henry” is one of the most popular in American history, but for years nobody knew whether the legendary railroad tunneler was a real person or simply a tall tale. Scott Reynolds Nelson (College of William and Mary) discovered a historic record of a railroad worker named John Henry, who was buried secretly by the Richmond Penitentiary.

Some say Monarchs, considered the “king” of the butterflies, are the most beautiful of all butterflies. But the Monarchs could soon end up on the endangered species list. Tatyana Lobova (Old Dominion University) is part of a national effort to provide sites for milkweed plants, which the butterflies need to survive. Plus: It’s hard to have a conversation in a noisy room, so how do birds get their messages across in highly urbanized areas? David Luther (George Mason University) says not only are song stylings changing, but the beaks of some birds are actually growing longer. And: For a full month, students enrolled in the Wilderness Institute eat, breathe, and sleep their course. The ultimate test of their leadership and wilderness skills comes when their professor Anja Whittington (Radford University) leaves the students to experience the final expedition on their own.

Later in the show: It’s a mystery to scientists why there is a string of relatively young volcanoes along the eastern side of North America. Elizabeth Johnson (James Madison University) examines rocks from the depths of extinct volcanoes to unearth what really caused these baffling eruptions. Also: Saxis, a tiny fishing community off the east coast, has lost so much shoreline it’s almost an island now. Russell Burke (Christopher Newport University) is using oysters as part of what he calls “living reefs” as a buffer against the encroaching waters. Plus: Researchers are experimenting with radar as a means of tracking the migration patterns of flocks of songbirds. Eric Walters and Andrew Arnold (Old Dominion University) have teamed up with NASA and environmental groups to study one of the major flyways in the United States.

Some say Monarchs, considered the “king” of the butterflies, are the most beautiful of all butterflies. But the Monarchs could soon end up on the endangered species list. Tatyana Lobova (Old Dominion University) is part of a national effort to provide sites for milkweed plants, which the butterflies need to survive. Plus: It’s hard to have a conversation in a noisy room, so how do birds get their messages across in highly urbanized areas? David Luther (George Mason University) says not only are song stylings changing, but the beaks of some birds are actually growing longer. And: For a full month, students enrolled in the Wilderness Institute eat, breathe, and sleep their course. The ultimate test of their leadership and wilderness skills comes when their professor Anja Whittington (Radford University) leaves the students to experience the final expedition on their own.

Later in the show: It’s a mystery to scientists why there is a string of relatively young volcanoes along the eastern side of North America. Elizabeth Johnson (James Madison University) examines rocks from the depths of extinct volcanoes to unearth what really caused these baffling eruptions. Also: Saxis, a tiny fishing community off the east coast, has lost so much shoreline it’s almost an island now. Russell Burke (Christopher Newport University) is using oysters as part of what he calls “living reefs” as a buffer against the encroaching waters. Plus: Researchers are experimenting with radar as a means of tracking the migration patterns of flocks of songbirds. Eric Walters and Andrew Arnold (Old Dominion University) have teamed up with NASA and environmental groups to study one of the major flyways in the United States.

There’s a small town in Idaho where prostitution was practiced openly—in effect, decriminalized. The practice was tolerated, even embraced, until 1991. Heather Branstetter (Virginia Military Institute) 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.

US Navy Cryptanalytic BombeLater in the show: In our series about STEM education, we ask: what does a scientist look like? Male or female, short or tall, black, or brown? We talk to four young scientists about their outreach project at William and Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science. And: Fewer than 2% of physical science degrees—like physics and chemistry—went to African-Americans in 2009. Considering African-Americans make up 12% of the U.S. population, these numbers are shockingly low and they’re getting lower. Plus: We hear about what might be keeping American girls out of laboratories, and Laura Puaca (Christopher Newport University) explains the WWII history of Edna the Engineer.

There’s a small town in Idaho where prostitution was practiced openly—in effect, decriminalized. The practice was tolerated, even embraced, until 1991. Heather Branstetter (Virginia Military Institute) 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.

US Navy Cryptanalytic BombeLater in the show: In our series about STEM education, we ask: what does a scientist look like? Male or female, short or tall, black, or brown? We talk to four young scientists about their outreach project at William and Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science. And: Fewer than 2% of physical science degrees—like physics and chemistry—went to African-Americans in 2009. Considering African-Americans make up 12% of the U.S. population, these numbers are shockingly low and they’re getting lower. Plus: We hear about what might be keeping American girls out of laboratories, and Laura Puaca (Christopher Newport University) explains the WWII history of Edna the Engineer.

Fairy tales like Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood are all part of early childhood literature. Robert Godwin-Jones (Virginia Commonwealth University) has created an online database of Grimm’s fairy tales that reveals the evolution of these iconic stories, whose 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 (James Madison University) says that two kinds of books, mommy memoirs and mother-daughter memoirs, are tackling the tough topic of abortion in new ways.

Later in the show: During the 1910s and 1920s, the question of whether one was “highbrow” or “lowbrow” became a concern in the minds of modernist Americans. Brooks Hefner (James Madison University) says this “brow anxiety” dominated the career of Willard Huntington Wright, who fancied himself an intellectual aristocrat while secretly writing a series of wildly popular detective stories under the pseudonym S.S. Van Dine. And: When Christopher McGee (Longwood University) first discovered the Hardy Boys books as a child, he had no idea the author, Franklin W. Dixon, was fictitious and that the books were written by ghostwriters. McGee, who now teaches children’s mystery, tells the story of this popular series’ creation and changes through the years.

Fairy tales like Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood are all part of early childhood literature. Robert Godwin-Jones (Virginia Commonwealth University) has created an online database of Grimm’s fairy tales that reveals the evolution of these iconic stories, whose 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 (James Madison University) says that two kinds of books, mommy memoirs and mother-daughter memoirs, are tackling the tough topic of abortion in new ways.

Later in the show: During the 1910s and 1920s, the question of whether one was “highbrow” or “lowbrow” became a concern in the minds of modernist Americans. Brooks Hefner (James Madison University) says this “brow anxiety” dominated the career of Willard Huntington Wright, who fancied himself an intellectual aristocrat while secretly writing a series of wildly popular detective stories under the pseudonym S.S. Van Dine. And: When Christopher McGee (Longwood University) first discovered the Hardy Boys books as a child, he had no idea the author, Franklin W. Dixon, was fictitious and that the books were written by ghostwriters. McGee, who now teaches children’s mystery, tells the story of this popular series’ creation and changes through the years.