Airing this Month

The Dark Side of Teen Popularity (May 3 - 9 )

"Losers shop at Target." That's one of the messages coming through in 'Gossip Girls,' a popular teen book and TV series.  Naomi Johnson (Longwood University) says these books are filled with product placements that try to convince young girls that the most important thing in life is to get a boy through buying and wearing high status couture. 

Also: We all want our children to be well-liked, but new study shows there are risks that come with being popular.  University of Virginia psychologist Joseph Allen says popular kids are more likely to drink, smoke and vandalize. They seem like leaders, but in reality they may only be tracking peer opinion, as politicians do with polls.

WGR News Feature: There's a disturbing new trend in popular fiction marketed to teenage girls.  A Virginia researcher says some of the hottest books may be selling a lot more than just a good read.  Nancy King, with the radio program "With Good Reason," has more. Listen to the two and a half minute feature.

 

Stories from the Streets (May 10 – 16)

Dan Kerr (James Madison University) says America has a homelessness crisis. To find out why, he spoke to homeless people on the streets and in the shelters of Cleveland, Ohio, and he has recordings of those conversations to share. He’s found that the causes of homelessness lie in the lack of affordable housing and the decline in well paying industrial jobs.

Also: historian Dirk Philipsen (Virginia State University) says America is in the midst of a 30-year erosion of public policy and its victims are children, workers, homeless people, and prisoners.

Web-only interview clips:

Dirk Phillipsen argues that the American people define prosperity differently than economists and politicians.

Dirk Phillipsen asserts that the government can take the lead in helping us solve what he calls our addiction to fossil fuels.

WGR News Feature: Thousands of homeless people are living in shelters or in abandoned buildings or out of their cars in the Commonwealth.  A Virginia historian--who has spent years interviewing those who live from hand-to-mouth--says the homeless are less visible today but they are still very much with us.  Nancy King, with the radio program "With Good Reason," has more. Listen to the two and a half minute feature.

William Faulkner and Zelda Fitzgerald (May 17 - 23)

William Faulkner was a rich presence on the University of Virginia grounds fifty years ago. Steve Railton (University of Virginia) discusses Faulkner’s influence on American literature and what the recordings from his time at UVa offer visitors to a current Faulkner exhibit.

Also: Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald had a celebrity marriage during the Jazz age of the 1920s. However, from 1930 until her death in 1948, Zelda was in and out of mental hospitals. Karen Tatum (Norfolk State University) is exploring the possibility of a link between the medication she took for eczema and her debilitating mental illness.

WGR News Feature: William Faulkner's literary voice looms large in the pantheon of Twentieth Century American authors.  Now the University of Virginia is releasing audio tapes of Faulkner when he lectured at UVa fifty years ago.  Nancy King, with the radio program "With Good Reason," has more. Listen to the two and a half minute feature.

Intelligent Design on Students Minds (May 24 - May 30)

“Intelligent Design” is the idea that the universe and human life are so complex, neither could have emerged without the guiding hand of a creator. Most scientists consider the idea of “intelligent design” more philosophy than science. Aaron Johnson (University of Virginia’s College at Wise) says the debate reflects the public’s confusion over what science is and that this confusion has its origins in the way we teach science in schools.

Also: Emile Lester (The University of Mary Washington) examines a pioneering high school class that is teaching the religions of the world to promote tolerance among students.

Middle Eastern Melodies (May 31 - June 5)

Most Americans are only superficially acquainted with Middle Eastern music, as presented in movie soundtracks. However, music from the Arabic speaking countries is very diverse and is integral to the spiritual life of the people who listen to it. Anne Rasmussen (The College of William and Mary) leads an ensemble of music students who perform Middle Eastern melodies. On this show, she plays traditional instruments like the ‘Ud' (an 11-stringed lute) and the ‘Riqq’ (a percussion instrument).

Also: Craig Naylor (University of Mary Washington) conducts musical concerts by contemporary Native American composers and is himself a composer who is influenced by this country’s Native culture.