In less than a week, Donald Trump told Americans not to let coronavirus “dominate” them, spread falsehoods about the flu, and told a violent hate group to “stand back and stand by.” These are just the sort of statements that make him a demagogue, says Texas A&M rhetorician Jennifer Mercieca. This time, Mercieca helps Will and Siva make sense of the president’s penchant for inflammatory language. How has it overshadowed the public sphere for five years, and what does it say about the state of our democracy?

“Our Demand is that they Give Back Land” - October 2, 2020 by wtju

Ambassador for American music - loved, admired and respected all over the world.

Perhaps the most famous and well-traveled painting in the museum’s collection, The Natural Bridge by Frederic Edwin Church, is for any Virginian an immediately recognizable scene. Church painted this picture in 1852 based on sketches he made on a trip to Natural Bridge the previous summer with friends Cyrus and Mary Field. Church took precise notes on his sketches of the geological formations as well as the surrounding flora and there is an oft repeated anecdote that Cyrus Field kept a rock fragment from the trip and compared it to the painting for accuracy.

Frederic Edwin Church

American, 1826-1900

The Natural Bridge, 1852

Oil on canvas

38 x 33 in

Gift of Thomas Fortune Ryan, 1912.1

When Phil Howard lived in Budapest, he watched as Hungary’s fledgling democracy was polluted with polarizing stories spread online. It’s a phenomenon now threatening political discourse everywhere, and recent tweaks meant to improve social media policies and algorithms, he says, amount to “a drop in the bucket.” But find out why Howard, a professor of internet studies at Oxford University, thinks we need more social media, not less; and how machine learning and big data might be democratized for good.

This week in 1903… The wreck of the Old 97 inspired a popular ballad. For nearly a century, country crooners from Woody Guthrie to Johnny Cash have sang about the wreck of the Old 97. But what was the Old 97?

Subscribe to this podcast in Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and find out more at https://virginiaaudio.org/#/this-week-in-virginia-history/

This weeks episode is another one for the newcomers who didn't have time to listen to the previous two episodes. Our tale follows Urza's New project the Bloodlines project: A eugenics program designed to make the perfect person. We'll also get a look at the phrexian's new project the artifical plane of Rath

Music by: Chad Crouch, Ketsa, and Kai Engel.

freemusicarchive.org/music/Chad_Crouch

freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa

freemusicarchive.org/music/Kai_Engel

Contact me: [email protected]

I know I'm a bit late but the set isn't out yet so I thought I'd throw my hat into the ring and talk about the upcoming magic the gathering set Zendikar Rising

Music by: Chad Crouch and Ketsa

freemusicarchive.org/music/Chad_Crouch

freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa

Contact me: [email protected]

Check out the new set: https://magic.wizards.com/en

If you've gotten your ballot for the upcoming election, you may have noticed a question about a proposed Amendment to the Virginia State Constitution. 

The Amendent proposes a bipartisan commission to end the process of gerrymandering--politicians drawing districts to suit their own interests--in Virginia. That's important, because next year, Virginia will be holding its state elections based on those districts.

But does the amendment go far enough? How did Virginia get here in the first place? This week we talk to journalist Peter Galuszka and historian Brent Tarter, author of Gerrymanders: How Redistricting Has Protected Slavery, White Supremacy, and Partisan Minorities in Virginia.

Since the early days of jazz, composers, arrangers, and players have sought out large ensembles for their potential for rich expression and vibrant musical color. Even in the heyday of small-group dominated bebop, Dizzy Gillespie formed a big band as soon as he was able. To this day, while few bands can hold together as touring units, some find regular work in public radio, especially in Europe, some hold weekly residencies in a few major cities and, more frequently, a number reassemble periodically for purposes of recording. Big Band charts from Marshall Gilkes, Gerald Wilson, Brian Lynch, Electric Squeezebox Orchestra, Ed Palermo, and Christian McBride in this hour of Jazz at 100 Today!