April 2007

The Crooked Road (April 7-13)

“The Crooked Road” is Virginia ’s Musical Heritage Trail. It runs from the Eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains to the coalfields of deep Southwest Virginia and seeks to honor and celebrate the old-time bluegrass and mountain gospel music.  Jon Lohman (Virginia Folklife Program) will play CD recordings and offer commentary about some of the Commonwealth’s newest and most talented tradition bearers.  Also: cooking, quilting, and church-going are just some of the everyday activities that women in Appalachia use to teach literacy to their children.  Amy Clark (University of Virginia College at Wise) says just because this education takes place outside the classroom, doesn’t mean it has less value than formal instruction.

Hear more samples from the Crooked Road CD series

Visit the Crooked Road online

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It IS Who You Know! (April 14-20)

Every successful organization—from a baseball team to a Fortune 500 company--has its leaders, its behind-the-scenes worker bees, its savvy strategists who excel at their jobs.  They are the “go-to” people when something needs to get done. McIntire School of Commerce Associate Professor Rob Cross (UVA’s Batten Institute) says managers think they know who these people are, but surprisingly they are wrong half the time.   Cross uses a survey and matrix to reveal the invisible social networks in the workplace and to help business leaders across the nation identify these “office energizers.”

Visit the McIntire School of Commerce's Network Roundtable website to find out more about social networks in the workplace.

WGR's companion News Feature: Sometimes it takes an outsider to see what's really going on inside an organization...and what needs to change to make it better.  Nancy King, with the radio program "With Good Reason," has more on that story. Click to hear the 2 and a half minute feature.

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Mourning Katrina (April 21-27)

Joanne Gabbin and Alexander Gabbin (James Madison University) believe in the healing power of words.  They have collected more than 170 poems from survivors of Hurricane Katrina who, through poetry, bear witness and respond to one of America ’s worst natural disasters.  Under the auspices of the Furious Flower Poetry Center , the Gabbins have created a CD featuring 28 haunting poems, “My Soul is Anchored: Poems from the Mourning Katrina National Writing Project.” 

Also featured: in 1929 Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca left Spain to live in New York for a time.  English professsor Rei Berroa (George Mason University) (pictured above) says Lorca's visit changed the face of American poetry.

WGR's companion News Feature: April is National Poetry Month. A new CD collection of 28 poems, produced in Harrisonburg, VA, bears witness to the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina with raw energy and emotion. Nancy King, with the radio program "With Good Reason," has more. Click to hear the 2 and a half minute feature.

Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? (April 28- May 4)

Fifty million people were affected by the massive power outage that hit eight northeastern states and Ontario, Canada on August 14, 2003 .  The estimated cost of the largest blackout in North American history was a whopping six billion dollars.  Technology historian Richard Hirsh (Virginia Tech) suggests new policies for America’s power grid.  Also: A virus that may have been transported in the ballast water of big ships is causing fish to bleed to death in the Great Lakes.  Fred Dobbs (Old Dominion University) says more stringent measures for dumping ballast water may be needed.

WGR's companion News Feature: On August 14th, 2003, the lights went out in eight northeastern states and Ontario, Canada.  Southerners escaped that massive power outage...but maybe not next time.  Nancy King, with the radio program "With Good Reason," says a Virginia energy expert recommends that we expand our power sources. Click to hear the 2 and a half minute feature.