How effective would the famous shower scene in Psycho be without the screeching violins? Director Alfred Hitchcock's own self-doubts led to an intense jealousy of Bernard Hermann, the composer of the film score and the director's longtime collaborator. Composer and film music buff Stephen Burton (GMU) tells this story and more as we take a post-Oscars look at notable movie music. Also featured: Composer-in-residence Nkeiru Okoye (NSU) shares her music and details the influences - from Nigerian highlife to Copeland fanfares - that shape it.

Second Week (Dec. 8– 14) Music As Therapy

Music therapy isn't mainstream health care, but there is mounting evidence that almost any musical stimulus, from Mozart to the Dixie Chicks, can have therapeutic effects. Jim Borling, director of music therapy at Radford University, discusses how music as a medium can bypass language to reach people in need of emotional and psychological support. Also featured: Jazz funerals in New Orleans, where somber dirges turn into celebratory dance music. The backbone behind such occasions is the brass band. Charles Kinzer (Longwood) offers a musical lesson on the New Orleans brass band tradition.  

Third Week (Dec. 15– 21) Danger in the Air

It's a disease that's nothing short of frightening. Highly contagious and disfiguring, smallpox once killed about 30 percent of those who fell victim to it. Health officials declared it eradicated worldwide in 1980. But now we worry smallpox may number among the weapons in the arsenals of biological terrorists. Epidemiologist Dick Wenzel (MCV/VCU) describes the disease and how we can prevent it. Also featured: Each year some 10 to 20 percent of Americans come down with the flu. Most of us know that a vaccine is available annually to prevent the virus. Infectious disease specialist Fred Hayden (UVa) outlines efforts to develop a drug that could augment the vaccine and, perhaps, even make it unnecessary.

 

 By February 1865 after Robert E. Lee's Gettysburg defeat had dashed southern hopes for the army Confederate leaders were at odds over whether to surrender. President Jefferson Davis wanted to fight to the last man. But his secretary of war felt differently. John Breckenridge tried to persuade Davis to surrender and strike the best deal possible with the North. Author and historian William C. Davis (Virginia Tech) discusses the desperate last days of the Confederate Government. Also featured, a look at the male friendships that formed in Civil War prison camps. Historian Scott Nelson (W&M) says many Union prisoners formed into loving couples in order to care for each other in the face of widespread death from disease.

Fifth Week (Dec. 29 – Jan. 4) Pet Therapy

Sandra Barker (VCU) is the director of a new center at the Medical College of Virginia studying the health benefits to humans of interacting with companion animals. One of the services involves counseling for people grieving over the loss of a pet. Veterinarian Marie Suthers-McCabe (VT) recalls caring for search and rescue dogs at Ground Zero in New York. Also featured: As Americans have increasingly looked to alternative medical therapies for themselves, they're also considering them for their pets. One of the most popular treatments is acupuncture. The ancient Chinese therapy is used for everything from stiff legs to asthma. Vet Mark Crisman (VT) discusses the techniques and demonstrates them on a horse.