Double Vision: The Science and Ethics of Cloning
The appearance of Dolly, the cloned Scottish ewe, sparked worldwide controversy over scientists’ newfound ability to clone mammals. Medical College of Virginia geneticist Walter Nance describes the science behind animal cloning, as …
Buried Treasures: Unearthing Historical Sites in Virginia
Virginia is rich in archeological sites from the grand plantations along the James to primitive forts and simple schoolrooms long since abandoned. Longwood anthropologist James Jordan joins Mary Washington historic preservationist Douglas Sanford for …
Danger Underfoot: Efforts to Remove the World’s Land Mines
Some 60 nations, including Bosnia, Cambodia, and Laos, lose thousands of lives each year to land mines left behind by warring parties. In many cases, the mines remain years after …
Images of Madness: Media and the Mentally Ill
From The Silence of the Lambs to news coverage of Jeffrey Dahmer case, the media paints a detailed and disturbing picture of mental illness. George Mason University sociologist Otto Wahl, author of Media Madness, …
The Roots of a Cure: Native American Medicinal Plants
Part I: Virginia Commonwealth University pharmacologist John A. Rosecrans describes his research on the neurological effects of nicotine and how anti-smoking efforts may be stifling research on the beneficial applications of nicotine in …
New Advances in Medical Research
Part I: University of Virginia oncologist Dr. Leland Chung is working with a team of scientists, who may be just two years away from testing on humans a vaccine for prostate cancer. Chung …
Bound for Glory: New Books and Poetry by Virginia Writers
Part I: Novelist George Garrett of University of Virginia and poet Lucinda Roy of Virginia Tech discuss their latest works, the role of poetry in modern life and ways to encourage its appreciation among young …
Changing Places: Coal Towns and Appalachian Oral Tradition
Chronic underemployment and mass media threaten to erase unique cultures and traditions in mining towns throughout Appalachia. Scholars are racing to document the lives and lore of these communities before …
Drawing the Line: The Legacy of Warren Burger
Chief Justice Warren Burger presided over the Supreme Court from 1969-86, issuing/landmark decisions on abortion, pornography, and Constitutional questions related to Watergate. Law professor John Jeffries, who clerked in the Burger …
Stories Seldom Told: A Celebration of Black History Month
Negro History Week was changed to Black History Month in 1976. Why do we have it? And how does it help us to understand the contributions of African-Americans. Historians Edgar Toppin of …
Tragic Endings: Suicide and the Elderly
The rate of suicide among the elderly is 50 percent higher than that of the general population. And it continues to climb. For some people, suicide is becoming a ritualized …
Blacks, the Law, and Lynching
Virginia was one of the first states to be readmitted to the Union after the Civil War, perhaps because its post-war constitution promised equal treatment under the law to former …
Both Sides Now: Multiculturalism in the Classroom
Many people feel multiculturalism is a plot by liberal professors to undermine the accomplishments of dead, white, European males. Not true, says George Mason historian Lawrence Levine, author of The Opening of …
You Must Remember This: Advertising and Memory
Advertisers will spend millions of dollars on this year’s Super Bowl to get us want to wear their jeans, drink their sodas, and drive their cars. When we’re happy, their …
