With Good Reason

Harsh U.S. policies forbade Virginian Indian tribes from speaking their own languages for generations. But when a friend asked then-Army linguist Ian Custalow "What about your language?", things shifted. Today, Custalow and the Powhatan Algonquian Intertribal Roundtable are bringing the Powhatan Algonquian language back to life. From kids to elders, tribal citizens are learning ancient words and crafting new ones to revive a living heritage. And: For many Virginia students, Indigenous history begins and ends at Jamestown. Kerry Canaday and Raven Adams-Ford are working to expand the K-12 curriculum, ensuring students learn the full, ongoing story of the Commonwealth's 11 federally recognized tribes.

Later in the show: Over the past five years, the American media landscape has been completely upended. Legacy journalism is losing ground to podcasts and Substacks, paywalls are everywhere, and massive layoffs continue to gut print, radio, and film.At the annual RESONATE festival, Chioke I’Anson brought together hundreds of journalists and audio pros to confront the industry's grim reality. It wasn’t pretty. He explains why hope isn’t a goal for journalists.

LARP stands for Live Action Role Play. Think of it like Lord of the Rings comes to life, where you get to create your own character and wield foam swords on a mock-battlefield. But for many players, LARP is more than just fun and games - it's a lifeline to belonging. And: Climate change, pollution, and development projects are threatening surf breaks all over the world. H. Gelfand says many surfers have taken up the mantle of environmental activism, becoming outspoken protectors of our oceans.

Later in the show: Bird watching isn’t a sport in the traditional sense. There aren’t any touchdowns or raucous crowds. But birders are no strangers to competition. Matthew Anthony charts the rise of birding as a sport. Plus: Jerry Beasely is a 9th degree blackbelt and member of the Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame. From the 1970’s until 2021, he developed and taught one of the only college-level Asian martial arts programs in the country.

Ghost stories aren’t just for campouts and slumber parties. Ingrid Johnson shares some of the great writers–from Shakespeare to Oscar Wilde–who have turned to ghosts for inspiration. And: Shaun Baker says adults have been trying to ban scary stories from school libraries for years, but the kids just can’t seem to get enough.

Later in the show: Step into the shadowy realm of vampires and the undead with Stanley Stepanic and Mark Sherriff as they trace the evolution of these iconic creatures—from their chilling origins in Slavic folklore to their modern incarnations in video games like Castlevania, Evil West, and Vampire Survivors.

Jennifer McDonel-Rivers and David Rivers have made children’s music together for years. And it’s led to one happy marriage and multiple albums of educational songs that kids love and parents don’t hate. Plus: Preterm babies are at a higher risk for autism and other developmental delays. Meghan Puglia studies how certain stimuli like touching, reaching, and talking can help improve outcomes for little ones in the NICU.

Later in the show: After more than two decades as a social worker, Christa Moore was overloaded with burnout and compassion fatigue. Now she’s leading a nationwide study on the child welfare system. She says much of the issues still plaguing the system feel very familiar.

Black Studies Departments on college campuses nationwide are facing mounting pressures. Shawn Utsey says they need to engage even more closely with the Black communities they often serve. Plus: Historically Black Colleges and Universities are owed billions from states that have underfunded them over the years. Virginia State University President Makola Abdullah highlights both the incredible strengths and chronic challenges impacting these universities.

Later in the show: Roi Boyd III is the author of Bless His Soul, The Agony, the Ecstasy, and the Destiny of Michael Jackson. He reflects on the years Jackson struggled to step away from the shadow of the Jackson Five to forge his own path to stardom.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said that America is the “sickest country in the world,” citing that 76.4% of Americans suffer from a chronic disease. And maybe so. But Alan Levinovitz says that getting a diagnosis relieves symptoms. It’s a medical and psychological phenomenon called the Rumpelstiltskin Effect. Levinovitz says that an official diagnosis gives people a name for what they’re experiencing and takes them off of the book for their suffering and shortcomings. Even self-diagnosis brings relief. Plus: We have a Greek comic to thank for our favorite sitcoms. Mitchell Brown says that the Greek comic Menander was the first to write plays focused on daily life.

Later in the show: Thousands of enslaved men, women and children began working in railroads, coal mills and ironworks when Richond, Virginia transformed into a major manufacturing hub in the mid-19th century. Businesses started to sell life insurance policies on enslaved people working industrial environments. Michelle Oliver explains how these enslaved life insurance policies reduced commodified enslaved people, dead or alive.

Sitting in a doctor’s office trying to understand “medicalese” is really frustrating. Suzanne Makarem found forty women who switched to nontraditional medical professionals after years of feeling unheard by their doctors. Many of them now only see their traditional doctors for blood tests, vaccines and annual check ups. Plus: The United States and New Zealand are the only countries that allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise directly to consumers. So ever since the late 90s, American cable stations are littered with direct-to-consumer drug ads that urge people to ask their doctor today if a certain drug is right for them. Staci Defibaugh says that these ads are not just promoting drugs to patients. They’re showing people how to be an “activated patient.”

Later in the show: It’s baffling to think that by and large, African-American men have a shorter life expectancy than most other groups of people in America. There are many factors involved in that. But Alton Coleman says that being perceived as a threat in public spaces plays a huge role. And: There are many barriers to accessing good healthcare in Appalachia. Troy Makal was shocked to find that the greatest barrier wasn’t transportation, money or insurance, but a fundamental distrust in medical providers.

At colleges and universities, women professors are doing a lot more emotional work on top of teaching and research. Linda Waldron explains how that happens and how it affects long-term career paths. And: Geoffrey Pollick shares the story of one remarkable woman who made her career as an ordained minister in the late 1900s.

Later in the show: In the mid-20th century, LIFE magazine changed the way Americans saw the world around them. Dolores Flamiano says that Hansel Mieth’s groundbreaking work as a woman photojournalist opened up new ways of seeing women, work, and race in America.

Stumbling into your soulmate while running errands used to be romantic. But Jenny Rosier says this romcom fantasy has gone out of style. She studies the ever-changing dating habits of Gen Z. Plus: Asking your crush out is the ultimate leap of faith. But what if something existed - free and easily accessible - that could boost your odds of landing the date? David Roaché researches the power of AI to make love connections.

Later in the show: There’s something universally human about love, but it’s also shaped by the values and traditions of cultures around the world. Nicole Willock teaches a class called Love, Sex, and Desire through the lens of Asian philosophies.

College classrooms are opening up behind federal prison walls, sparking a massive shift in American higher education. Driven by the return of Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated students, community colleges across the country are meeting communities where needs are greatest–in prisons. Beth Benson and Maria Durso of are part of a two-year degree program inside the federal prison complex in Petersburg.

Later in the show: The number of young people held in juvenile facilities, adult prisons, and jails has dropped by nearly 75% over the last 20 years, yet America still imprisons its children and youth at double the global rate. Judith Dunkerly-Bean is an advocate for more humane attention to the emotional needs of teenagers in the judicial system. Plus: Dr. Monika Rhue is a professional archivist and Griot storyteller who advocates that more common folks be involved with the archiving of their own histories.