With Good Reason

Nobody knows their exact price tag, but the Sochi Olympics were widely hailed as the most expensive Olympic games ever. And the real question: is it worth the cost? Political science professor Patrick Rhamey (Virginia Military Institute) says hosting the games doesn’t actually give countries a political advantage, but winning the medal count can. Plus: The United States is the only country that attaches big-time sports to universities. Alan Levinovitz (James Madison University) says it’s time to get big sports out of schools. And: Any proposal to end college athletics would get a big pushback from fans. Kiran Karande’s (Old Dominion University) MBA class recently completed a study looking at exactly who the football fans are at their university—and what keeps them coming back.

Later in the show: Sports Illustrated recently published an astounding statistic: one out of every 14 players in top college footballs programs has a criminal record. Many of these crimes involved violence toward women. Chris Kilmartin (University of Mary Washington) believes a new kind of motivation is needed on the field. Chris says anti-feminine taunts—like “let’s go ladies; take off your skirts and play like a man”—reinforce a fiction that men are sexually indiscriminate. Also featured: We tend to associate hazing with the humiliating, sometimes violent, initiation rituals of sororities and fraternities. Tod Burke and Stephen Owen (Radford University) say the phenomenon occurs elsewhere, too—even workplaces. They also say that people who have experienced hazing often view it positively.

Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison was born Chloe Wofford in 1931. She was 39 when she published her first novel about a black girl’s painful coming of age in a white society. The Bluest Eye and many subsequent works have earned Morrison the highest accolades in literature and established her as one of America’s leading fiction writers. Nikki Giovanni (Virginia Tech) and Joanne Gabbin (James Madison University) paid tribute to Morrison with an extravaganza at Virginia Tech that included nationally renowned writers, singers, and poets, including Maya Angelou. With Good Reason interviewed Morrison and shares highlights from the night of tributes.

Later in the show: The author of Equal Time: Television and the Civil Rights Movement explores how the newly created evening news shows shaped attitudes about race relations during the Civil Rights Movement. Aniko Bodroghkozy (University of Virginia) investigates the network news treatment of events including the 1965 Selma voting rights campaign, integration riots at the University of Mississippi, and the March on Washington. Also featured: Stephen Alcorn (Virginia Commonwealth University) is the illustrator of the children’s book Odetta: The Queen of Folk, which tells the story of the legendary singer and social activist known as “the Voice of the Civil Rights Movement.” The book follows her renowned career and her influence on many of the most important singers of the folk revival of the 1960s.

The Civil Rights Movement was the United States’ first major domestic news story to be televised. The author of a book exploring television’s relationship to the movement says that Civil Rights leaders adapted quickly to the medium. Allison Quantz reports.

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. Later in the show: The Golden Age of Radio refers to a period lasting from the proliferation of radio broadcasting in the early 1920s until television’s replacement of radio as the primary home entertainment medium. During this period, entire families would gather round and listen together to their favorite shows. Bill Kovarik (Radford University) looks at the history of radio and its effects on American politics and popular culture. Also featured: Local sports segments have been a mainstay on television news for decades, but they might be disappearing. Former sportscaster Jeff Halliday (Longwood University) recently surveyed network-affiliated TV sports personnel across the country and found a bleak picture—one that includes fewer jobs, reduced air time, and lots of anxiety.

Sonali Gulati’s (Virginia Commonwealth University) new film, I Am, chronicles her personal journey to Delhi, India, where she confronts the loss of her mother whom she never came out to as gay. And: For parents who are gay or transgendered, the act of coming out to their adult children can be scary. Jennifer Apperson and Sarai Blincoe (Longwood University) conducted a survey that found adult children are more accepting than their parents might think.

Later in the show: In their book, Waking up Together: Intimate Partnership on the Spiritual Path, Ellen and Charles Birx (Radford University) explore how a spiritual practice can enhance intimacy and partnership. As they say in the first chapter: “In one sense we journey alone, but in another we wake up together.” Also: On the flip side of Valentine’s Day, Nina Brown (Old Dominion University) has written a new book of advice called Coping with Infuriating, Mean, Critical People. These people might include colleagues, bosses, friends, parents, and lovers who boast and brag constantly, take credit for other people’s work, expect favors, and never listen.

American teens spend approximately two million minutes in high school. Producer Sandy Hausman talks with Bob Compton about how kids in America, China, and India are using those two million minutes. And: There’s a difference between hands-on science that asks kids to make models out of Jell-O and hands-on science that puts kids in front of microscopes. Molli Logerwell (George Mason University) is part of an initiative called VISTA that’s helping teachers understand how to get kids involved while staying serious about science. Plus: Science education doesn’t stop after schooling is finished. Michelle Prysby (University of Virginia) created a “science café” where community members can eat, drink, and talk about science.

Later in the show: The ink’s been dry for 160 million years—but scientists have now confirmed pigment in two fossilized ink sacs from squid-like animals. John Simon (University of Virginia) examined the Jurassic ink sac from the floor of a long-gone sea in the United Kingdom. Also featured: The benefits of taking Fido to work may not be far-fetched. In a new study, Sandra Barker (Virginia Commonwealth University) found that dogs make a positive difference in the workplace by reducing stress and making the job more satisfying for other employees.

The spice turmeric may be the spice of life. Aarthi Narayanan (George Mason University) is studying the power of curcumin, a molecule found in turmeric, in stopping the spread of potentially deadly viruses. Narayanan grew up in India, where turmeric has long been used to treat illness and inflammation. Also: A new method of fighting melanoma using electric pulses is proving effective on cancer patients in a trial at the University of South Florida. Richard Heller (Old Dominion University) pioneered the cancer killing treatment. And: Sleep apnea can interfere with the rehabilitation of heart patients, but often the patients don’t realize they have sleep apnea. Adrian Aron (Radford University) has helped devise a simple diagnostic test.

Later in the show: In the 1970s, only 3% of patients with pancreatic cancer survived for five years. Today the fatality rates are still high. Todd Bauer and Kimberly Kelley (University of Virginia) hope to begin clinical trials that would allow earlier detection of the cancer, and increase survival rates. Also featured: Latinos share an increased incidence of diabetes. Some, like Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor, have learned to live well with the disease. Exercise physiologist Sheri Colberg-Ochs (Old Dominion University) focuses on this unique segment of the population in her latest book on diabetes Diabetes? No Problema! A Latino’s Guide to Living Well with Diabetes.

What if you could change not just how much you know, but your actual intelligence? Psychologist Oliver Hill (Virginia State University) believes that 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 the way 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: You know what it’s like to have a song stuck in your head. But what if your brain was constantly making music of its own without your knowledge? “Brainwave Chick” Paras Kaul (George Mason University) has found a way to tap into the natural melodies of her mind, convert them to digital sound, and make brain music. She explains how using music to alter one’s mental state can heighten concentration and problem-solving ability. Also: Dennis Proffitt (University of Virginia) is developing technology that allows the brain to express itself artistically without the use of any muscles. He hopes to facilitate the participation of fully paralyzed or “locked-in” individuals in society through the use of “brain painting.”

You can’t finish something you haven’t started. Francis Bush (Virginia Military Institute) started running late in life and has now completed more than 60 marathons. Plus: Women’s soccer coach Corey Hewson (University of Mary Washington) shares advice for new runners and those training for a half-marathon. Also: In American religious life, east often meets west, evidenced by the still growing interest in religions like Buddhism and Hinduism. Kenneth Rose (Christopher Newport University) looks at spiritual seeking and mysticism in our society.

Later in the show: The link between obesity and health problems is evident, but how to get healthy and lose weight isn’t always so clear. Cathy Roy (Longwood University) says it’s not necessarily the fat making people sick. Her research suggests a lack of physical activity might be more to blame. And: Water might help you lose weight. The latest research shows that drinking two 8 oz. glasses before each meal helps decrease calorie intake. Brenda Davy (Virginia Tech) investigates lifestyle strategies that prevent obesity, and her latest studies about the role of water in diets are making a huge splash. Also featured: Don’t let the economy get you down this year. Psychologist Holly Schiffrin (University of Mary Washington) suggests that lifestyle changes brought on by the recession might actually be better for our well-being. She says one of the surest ways to find happiness doesn’t have to cost a nickel: spending time with friends and family.

The fear of public speaking can be debilitating. For some, it’s the stuff of nightmares, and so many of us avoid doing it altogether. Molly Bishop Shadel (University of Virginia) and Robert N. Sayler (University of Virginia) are the authors of Tongue Tied America. They say the art of verbal persuasion can be taught and there are tried and true techniques that can make one a better public speaker. Also: It’s a highly debated approach to improving workplace relations: emotional intelligence training. But there’s a reason EI, as it’s called, is growing in popularity. Ronald Humphrey (Virginia Commonwealth University) says emotionally intelligent people—those with an ability to understand the emotions of themselves and others—make better workers, which is good for business.

Later in the show: The election of Abraham Lincoln as President touched off a secession crisis in the South. In his book Showdown in Virginia, Bill Freehling (Virginia Foundation for the Humanities) focuses on turning points in Virginia’s months-long, bitter battle over whether to secede from the Union. Also: Historians estimate that of the nearly 5,000 pirates who terrorized America’s Atlantic coast in the early 1700s, 25-30% were of African descent, many of them freed slaves. Cassandra Newby-Alexander (Norfolk State University) argues these black pirates experienced more freedom on their outlaw ships than on ‘civilized’ dry land.