With Good Reason

Each week scholars explore the worlds of literature, science, the arts, politics, history, religion, and business through lively discussion with host Sarah McConnell. From the controversies over slave reparations and global warming, to the unique worlds of comic books and wine-making, With Good Reason is always surprising, challenging and fun!

With Good Reason is a society podcast hosted by Virginia Humanities, with 463 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Virginia Humanities hosts With Good Reason, a society show with 463 episodes published.

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  With Good Reason

  The Rumpelstiltskin Effect

  Oct 1, 202652 min

  Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said that America is the “sickest country in the world,” citing that 76.4% of Americans suffer from a chronic disease. And maybe so. But Alan Levinovitz says that getting a diagnosis relieves symptoms. It’s a medical and psychological phenomenon called the Rumpelstiltskin Effect. Levinovitz says that an official diagnosis gives people a name for what they’re experiencing and takes them off of the book for their suffering and shortcomings. Even self-diagnosis brings relief. Plus: We have a Greek comic to thank for our favorite sitcoms. Mitchell Brown says that the Greek comic Menander was the first to write plays focused on daily life. Later in the show: Thousands of enslaved men, women and children began working in railroads, coal mills and ironworks when Richond, Virginia transformed into a major manufacturing hub in the mid-19th century. Businesses started to sell life insurance policies on enslaved people working industrial environments. Michelle Oliver explains how these enslaved life insurance policies reduced commodified enslaved people, dead or alive.

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  With Good Reason

  Unheard

  Sep 24, 202652 min

  Sitting in a doctor’s office trying to understand “medicalese” is really frustrating. Suzanne Makarem found forty women who switched to nontraditional medical professionals after years of feeling unheard by their doctors. Many of them now only see their traditional doctors for blood tests, vaccines and annual check ups. Plus: The United States and New Zealand are the only countries that allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise directly to consumers. So ever since the late 90s, American cable stations are littered with direct-to-consumer drug ads that urge people to ask their doctor today if a certain drug is right for them. Staci Defibaugh says that these ads are not just promoting drugs to patients. They’re showing people how to be an “activated patient.” Later in the show: It’s baffling to think that by and large, African-American men have a shorter life expectancy than most other groups of people in America. There are many factors involved in that. But Alton Coleman says that being perceived as a threat in public spaces plays a huge role. And: There are many barriers to accessing good healthcare in Appalachia. Troy Makal was shocked to find that the greatest barrier wasn’t transportation, money or insurance, but a fundamental distrust in medical providers.

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  With Good Reason

  Women at Work

  Sep 18, 202652 min

  At colleges and universities, women professors are doing a lot more emotional work on top of teaching and research. Linda Waldron explains how that happens and how it affects long-term career paths. And: Geoffrey Pollick shares the story of one remarkable woman who made her career as an ordained minister in the late 1900s. Later in the show: In the mid-20th century, LIFE magazine changed the way Americans saw the world around them. Dolores Flamiano says that Hansel Mieth’s groundbreaking work as a woman photojournalist opened up new ways of seeing women, work, and race in America.

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  With Good Reason

  Love in the Digital Age

  Sep 10, 202652 min

  Stumbling into your soulmate while running errands used to be romantic. But Jenny Rosier says this romcom fantasy has gone out of style. She studies the ever-changing dating habits of Gen Z. Plus: Asking your crush out is the ultimate leap of faith. But what if something existed - free and easily accessible - that could boost your odds of landing the date? David Roaché researches the power of AI to make love connections. Later in the show: There’s something universally human about love, but it’s also shaped by the values and traditions of cultures around the world. Nicole Willock teaches a class called Love, Sex, and Desire through the lens of Asian philosophies.

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  With Good Reason

  Voices Behind Walls

  Sep 3, 202652 min

  College classrooms are opening up behind federal prison walls, sparking a massive shift in American higher education. Driven by the return of Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated students, community colleges across the country are meeting communities where needs are greatest–in prisons. Beth Benson and Maria Durso of are part of a two-year degree program inside the federal prison complex in Petersburg. Later in the show: The number of young people held in juvenile facilities, adult prisons, and jails has dropped by nearly 75% over the last 20 years, yet America still imprisons its children and youth at double the global rate. Judith Dunkerly-Bean is an advocate for more humane attention to the emotional needs of teenagers in the judicial system. Plus: Dr. Monika Rhue is a professional archivist and Griot storyteller who advocates that more common folks be involved with the archiving of their own histories.

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