With Good Reason

During the holiday season, it feels like more and more consumers are skipping the department stores and opting for handcrafted goods instead. Ben Brewer (James Madison University) says this current “third wave” craft renaissance we’re experiencing is tied to politics. And: We visit mOb, an innovative design studio at Virginia Commonwealth University, where students in the disciplines of Graphic Design, Fashion Design, and Interior Design come together to solve design problems in the city of Richmond. Also: We stop in at the Virginia Center for the Book, where Kristin Keimu Adolfson is printing a collaborative book called Bird Talk using an antique Vandercook printing press. Plus: Craft brewer Gabe Mixon (Blue Ridge Community College in Flatrock, NC) shares a lesson in making beer.

Later in the show: Chef and food activist Alice Waters argues that every child in America should be fed free, organic food at schools. Waters speaks candidly about her life before she opened Chez Panisse, her seminal farm-to-table restaurant in Berkeley, California.

Dr. Rochanda Mitchell is an expert in fetal medicine. She’s also a black woman pregnant with her first child who understands all too well that even highly education African American women are three and a half times more likely to die in childbirth than white women. She tells us the steps she's taking to protect her life.

Jalane Schmidt (University of Virginia) recently brought a group of Virginia teachers to see Charlottesville’s tiny monument to its enslaved residents. One teacher had a startling personal revelation at that site. And: Elgin Cleckley (University of Virginia) is an architect who studies empathy. He says redesigning public space can help heal racial wounds. Plus: Danville, Virginia was once a Confederate capital. Now, teams of citizens are working together to tell the story of a different Danville: a city that hosted Martin Luther King Jr. and Thurgood Marshall, a city where brave teenagers forced the public library to integrate, and where opportunity for all is on the rise. Karise Luck-Brimmer (History United) recently took students and teachers from Averett University on an eye-opening tour of African American Danville.

Later in the show: In this intimate conversation, Chioke I’Anson (Virginia Commonwealth University) and producer Kelley Libby (UnMonumental) share their thoughts on Confederate statues and compare experiences growing up of different races in the deep South.

A yellow-eyed witch who sucks the life from unknowing strangers; fish-obsessed ghosts who lure lone men to a watery death; and ghosts who call out in the voice of a loved-one, sealing a murderous fate. Suchitra Samanta (Virginia Tech) says Bengali culture is filled with stories like these of ghostly women who wield supernatural powers after death. And: Horror films often mirror the anxieties and concerns of the times they were produced in. For example, the “creature films’ of the 50’s mirrored the fears of the post-atomic age. Todd Platts (Piedmont Virginia Community College) says the latest box office horror films like “Get Out” and “It” are a reflection of the political climate of the Trump presidency. Plus: When you think about theater, you might think of Shakespeare or Hamilton--but what about a haunted house? This year, theater professor Ben Mays (University of Virginia College at Wise) is working with his students to build an elaborate haunted house for their community, including all of the set design, costumes, and storytelling of a good stage performance.

Later in the show: Despite what many people believe, fall leaf color is remarkably consistent every year. Dendrologist John Seiler (Virginia Tech) has been studying fall leaf color for decades. Also: biologist Dan Cristol (William & Mary) says mercury pollution in waterways is not only bad for fish-eating birds, but for songbirds as well, who are absorbing the toxin through the spiders they eat.

The most important architectural thinker of the young American republic was Thomas Jefferson. He also held captive more than 600 enslaved men, women, and children in his lifetime. Architects Mabel O. Wilson (Columbia University) and Louis Nelson (University of Virginia) discuss Jefferson’s conflicting ideals. Also featured: Erik Neil (Chrysler Museum of Art) takes us through the new Chrysler exhibit that explores the inherent conflict between Jefferson’s pursuit of liberty and democracy and his use of enslaved laborers to construct his monuments.

Later in the show: Phillip Herrington (James Madison University) says the white-columned plantation house is one of the most enduring and divisive icons of American architecture. Also: The history of segregation is not just in our architecture, but in other public arts. John Ott (James Madison University) is studying how artists in the early 20th century represented integration in their works, particularly in public murals and sculptures.

What is a Hogzilla Chuck Norris Duck Ape? It’s the creation of a special education class in St. Louis and winner of the 2014 Global Monster Project. Terry Smith (Radford University) explains how creating monsters can help kids learn and grow. Plus: After a viral video raised new concerns about how teachers should be disciplining young children Kevin Sutherland (Virginia Commonwealth University) talks about training teachers to address bad behavior before it happens, not after. And: Rhonda Brock-Servais (Longwood University) says that gothic or horror literature for young kids is more popular than ever. She explores why and shares some of her favorites.

From all-African American sports teams to pioneering black opera singer Camilla Williams, many people thrived while living parallel lives during segregation.

Blown glass is one of the most beautiful and versatile mediums in art. Today, the art of glass blowing may involve up to date technology, but the essence of working with glass remains an ancient art. Jutta Page is an internationally acclaimed glass curator and the executive director of the Barry Art Museum at Old Dominion University. And: 3D printmaking gets a lot of attention these days as technology advances. But UVA Wise art professor Ray Stratton has been a 3d printmaker his entire career--and it doesn’t involve a fancy printer.

Later in the show: Sam Blanchard (Virginia Tech) is a digital artist who uses technology to interweave everyday objects into extended metaphors of experience. He says his relationship between his art and his life flows through stages of inspiration, anticipation, and frustration. Also: Artist Marcia Neblett (Norfolk State University) talks about the physically intense process of woodblock printmaking and how she finds inspiration in fairy tales.

Imagine if Beyonce had a secret recording of her singing Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical Hamilton, from before they were both famous. It would be epic! Music professor Brooks Kuykendall (University of Mary Washington) has worked with a graduate student to uncover the epic musical crossover of the 19th century--a John Philip Sousa arrangement of Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore. And: Stephen Vitiello (Virginia Commonwealth University) works with some unusual musicians: insects! Along with his collaborator, University of St. Louis biologist Kasey Fowler-Finn, Vitiello makes sound art out of the calls of insects, bringing these tiny songs to big galleries. And: Greg Howard (University of Virginia) remembers his friend Paul Koors, a physician and gifted songwriter, by encouraging others to play the songs that Koors left behind.

Later in the show: In 2013, Caroline Shaw’s composition “Partita for 8 Voices” made her the youngest recipient ever of the Pulitzer Prize for Music. Today, Shaw’s compositions range from traditional quartets and solo piano pieces to a cappella and hip-hop collaborations.

The best defense against conspiracy theories and fake news is robust journalism--but only if people trust their sources. Mallory Perryman (Virginia Commonwealth University) studies why people distrust their news sources and what we should do to change their minds. And: Why do people believe weird things? That’s what Jason Hart (Christopher Newport University) wants to find out. He delves into the psychology behind ghost encounters, anti-vaccine hoaxes, conspiracy theories, and more.

Later in the show: Lieutenant General George Crocker says that when he was first introduced to Rick Atkinson he was told, “If you like the truth, you’ll love Rick.” Over his long career as a journalist and historian, Atkinson has won three Pulitzer Prizes for works that he has written and edited. As part of the Pulitzer Centennial Campfire Initiative, we honor Rick Atkinson’s career, from Vietnam Veterans, WWII, and the Persian Gulf War to DC police shootings and the War in Iraq.