In Portsmouth this summer, the last families moved from Washington Park public housing community. Their departure brought an end to a long battle by residents to escape land contaminated by lead and other metals buried by workers from a foundry that once occupied the site. Lawyers for the residents called the court settlement that brought about the residents' relocation a victory for the environmental justice movement. Sociologists Timmons Roberts (W&M), co-author of Chronicles from the Environmental Justice Frontline, and Tom Dietz (GMU) examine this movement that's often pitted the poor against the rich and powerful. Also featured: Virginia's stands of eastern hemlock are being decimated by a small insect from Asia. Entomologist Scott Salom (VaTech) and biologist Henry Wilbur (UVa) discuss the tree's decline and the small beetle that could prove its savior.

Second Week (Nov. 10 – 16) Civil War Medical Myths

The Union army had only 100 surgeons at the start of the Civil War. But that number grew to 11,000 by the war's end. Most had never seen a gunshot wound or participated in orthopedic surgery. Civil War re-enactor Steve Frysinger (JMU), a professor of integrated science and technology, debunks the myths about amputations, anesthetics and antiseptics during the clash between the armies of the North and South. Also, historian Brian Wills (UVa-Wise) explores how the Civil War affected the lives of the people of Southside Virginia. Wills, author of The War Hits Home: The Civil War in Southeastern Virginia, shows how the ordinary person-black, white, soldier, citizen-endured the severest tests the War could impose on human beings.

Third Week (Nov. 17 – 23) The Power of Speech

In the days immediately following the Sept. 11 attacks, George W. Bush was criticized for not sounding more rousing in his comments to the American people. But some of those critics changed their minds after the President's address to Congress on Sept. 20. Bush won praise for words that united Americans behind the "War on Terrorism". His speech stands in a long line of political oratory - from Lincoln's Gettysburg Address to F.D.R.'s Declaration of War on Japan - designed to bring Americans together. Communications professor Gwen Brown (RU) examines great speeches in American history and the tricks of rhetoric that made them so.

Also featured: Whether anthrax or the bombings of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the Bush administration has confronted a series of crises since Sept. 11. Most modern presidents have dealt with at least one great crisis during their term in office. And the ways they've handled such tense moments have often defined their administrations. Political scientist Glen Sussman (ODU) compares the Bush administration's approach to crisis with that of his predecessors.

Fourth Week (Nov. 24 – 30) In Search of the Eastern Cougar

Victim to hunters and a decline in its primary source of food - deer - the last Eastern Cougar is thought to have disappeared from Virginia in 1882. Except for a few in Florida, the cougar is officially listed as extinct in the eastern United States. But several times a year, sightings of the tawny-colored, 140 pound cats are reported to wildlife officials in the Old Dominion. Biologist Don Linzey (Wytheville Community College) is one of those who investigates the reports. He's never seen a cougar but believes they indeed do wander the mountains of Virginia. Also featured: For centuries, the sleek, sinewy creature has captured our imagination. Chris Bolgiano (JMU), author of Mountain Lion: An Unnatural History of Pumas and People, looks back at the lore and lure of the cougar.