July 26, 2010     A Wildlife Update He heads up the Wildlife Center of Virginia, so you might expect Ed Clark’s focus to be on environmental challenges within the Old Dominion. But these days his concern extends much farther. On this edition we get an update on the latest Wildlife Center work in the Commonwealth, and also news from Mr. Clark’s recent journeys to the Gulf of Mexico -- and his attempts to help with animal rescue efforts following the oil spill disaster. Listen to the program   Guest: Ed Clark - President of The Wildlife Center of Virginia. Additional Contributors: Antonia Herzog, Ph.D. - Assistant Director of the National Resources Defense Council Climate Center. Frank Wagner - Virginia State Senator from the 7th District, representing the Virginia Beach area.  Senator Wagner has long been one of the General Assembly’s leading proponents for bringing off-shore drilling to the Virginia coast. July 19, 2010     A Virginia Politics Update You may have noticed a bit of Old Dominion politics in the news lately. The state Attorney General taking on the federal government over health care and climate change... The Governor pushing for a total revamping of state government -- with taxpayer savings in mind... And then there are those plans for off-shore drilling... Our Political Roundtable is back to entertain listener questions and opinions about the latest in Virginia politics.     Listen to the program   Guests: Bob Gibson - Executive Director of The Thomas C. Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership and former political writer at The Charlottesville Daily Progress. Anita Kumar - Richmond-based political reporter for The Washington Post. Bob Roberts, J.D., Ph.D. - Government Policy Specialist.  Author of numerous books on American politics, including Ethics in U.S. Government: An Encyclopedia of Investigations, Scandals, Reforms and Legislation (Greenwood, 2001).   Professor of Political Science and Public Administration, James Madison University. July 12, 2010     Homeschooling For Love Parents who homeschool their kids almost always do it because they have religious or political objections to what goes on in public schools.  Right? Well, that may be the perception of many people not involved in homeschooling.  But it will be hard to hold on to that perception once you hear this author’s story of her year at home with her oldest daughter.     Listen to the program   Guest: Laura Brodie, Ph.D. - Author, and visiting assistant professor of English at Washington and Lee University.  Her newest book, Love in a Time of Homeschooling: A Mother and Daughter's Uncommon Year (Harper, April 2010), chronicles the year she and her eldest daughter Julia spent in a homeschooling adventure. June 28, 2010     Investigating Allergies In a few weeks he travels to London to place his name in a book more than 350 years old.  It contains the signatures of such scientific luminaries as Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin, and all scientists ever named to the United Kingdom’s Royal Society of Fellows, the world’s oldest scientific academy. And he is the first researcher of allergies named to the Society. But before he makes his historic journey,  Dr. Tom Platts-Mills has agreed to a return visit to Virginia Insight, to tell us about his research team’s latest investigations into the causes of -- and cures for -- allergies. Listen to the program   Guest: Thomas A. E. Platts-Mills, M.D., Ph.D. - Professor of Medicine, Allergy and Clinical Immunology, and Head of the Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology at the University of Virginia. Additional Contributor: Scott Commins, PhD, M.D. - Allergy Researcher and Assistant Professor of Medicine in the University of Virginia’s Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.  Lead author of a first-of-its-kind study about delayed allergic reaction to red meat, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, (February 2009). June 21, 2010     Summer in the Garden Some people find it invigorating. Others say the sense of satisfaction is almost indescribable. One thing is certain: This time of year it can surely make you sweat.  Not just because of the heat.  But because in summertime, gardeners can face all kinds of challenges. Two gardening experts take questions, and offer a slew of all-purpose advice, in hopes that digging in the dirt will be that much more rewarding for all who want to give it a try. Listen to the program   Guests: Guinevere Higgins - Organic gardening specialist and co-founder of the home garden consulting firm Blue Ridge Backyard Harvest in Charlottesville. Dave O’Neill - Organic farming specialist and co-owner of Radical Roots Community Farm in Keezletown. June 14, 2010     Protect the Air Like You Would Your Home? When it comes to the environment, Bill Shobe wants you thinking in terms of property rights. For example, say an oil company comes and makes a mess on your front yard. What kind of penalty would you want them to have to pay? Now how could we apply the same idea to air and water? The celebrated environmental economist gives us his suggestions, and asks for yours. Listen to the program   Guest: William M. Shobe, J.D. Ph.D. - Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Studies at the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center. June 7, 2010     The Rademacher Journey He left a successful construction business to attend Princeton Theological Seminary and become a Protestant minister. But after 15 years as a church leader,  he decided he was on the wrong path for spiritual enlightenment. So he left the ministry and went to work for a Virginia group that researches metaphysical phenomena. Now he is that group’s leader.  And he has written a new book designed to help “the spiritually perplexed.” Listen to the program   Guest: Paul Rademacher, M.Div. - Former Presbyterian minister.  Current executive director of the Monroe Institute in Faber.  Author of A Spiritual Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe: Travel Tips for the Spiritually Perplexed  (Hampton Roads; 2009). May 24, 2010     Differing Doctors They have respected each other’s medical work for years. But when it comes to their political activism, they could not be more different. One fears growing government interference could lead to the destruction of American medicine.  The other thinks government involvement has not gone nearly far enough. We ask two family doctors, one a Tea Party sympathizer,  the other a liberal activist, to explain to us -- and to each other -- their differing views of the future of health care. Listen to the program   Guests: Greg Gelburd, D.O. - Family Physician, co-founder of Charlottesville's Downtown Family Health Center.   Dr. Gelburd considers himself a political liberal and says he is guided by Christian principals of social responsibility.   Raymond Marotta, M.D. - Family Physician, a partner in the Family Medicine of Albemarle practice.   Dr. Marotta considers himself a political conservative and says he is sympathetic with the Tea Party Movement's objections to the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" signed into law by President Obama this year. Additional Contributor: Bob Roberts, J.D., Ph.D. - Government Policy Specialist.  Author of Ethics in U.S. Government: An Encyclopedia of Investigations, Scandals, Reforms and Legislation (Greenwood, 2001).   Professor of Political Science and Public Administration, James Madison University. May 17, 2010     Pushing for a ‘DREAM’ Act You grew up American. Or so you thought, until you realized in your teens that you are not a citizen. It turns out your parents brought you here illegally back when you were so young you cannot remember the journey. What do you do now? We talk with a group of Virginians pushing for passage of the Development, Relief and Education for Minors Act -- federal legislation that would create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented children. Listen to the program   Guests: Nicole Budzius - Co-Founder of Dream Activist Virginia, a state chapter of the nationwide Dream Activist organization that lobbies for Congressional approval of the DREAM Act. Bob Dane - Press Secretary, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), a group that opposes the Dream Act. Alexandra de Havilland - A former James Madison University student who spent most of her childhood in the U.S., Ms. de Havilland was forced to leave America for a time when her father lost his Washington, D.C. job and, along with it, the family’s visa. Elizabeth A. Kohler Maya - Attorney specializing in immigration law with the Washington, D.C. Bromberg Law Firm. Additional Contributor: Anonymous - A phone conversation with a young Valley woman who graduated from high school near the top of her class,  then graduated from college with honors,  but cannot gain legal employment because she was brought to this country illegally as a small child. May 10, 2010     Saving Lives with Philosophy? Some people call her a philosophy teacher.  But a more accurate title might be “professional instigator” -- because she works to make philosophy relevant to our everyday lives and struggles. Marietta McCarty’s philosophy book for children was an international hit -- so now she’s out with a new one for adults. We’ll get McCarty to explain why that new book is titled “How Philosophy Can Save Your Life.” Listen to the program   Guest: Marietta McCarty - Education Consultant.  Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville.  Author of Little Big Minds: Sharing Philosophy with Kids  (Tarcher; December, 2006) and How Philosophy Can Save Your Life: 10 Ideas That Matter Most  (Tarcher;  December, 2009). May 3, 2010     Smashing Reality What is the universe made of? A science experiment aimed at answering that question finally went into operation on March 30 -- after more than 40 years in the making. We talk with two Virginia physicists about their work on the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. Listen to the program   Guests: Bradley B. Cox, Ph.D. - Professor of Physics at the University of Virginia and Head of the U.S. Division of the Compact Muon Solenoid [CMS] experiment team at the Large Hadron Collider outside Geneva, Switzerland. Christopher Neu, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor of Physics at the University of Virginia and member of the Compact Muon Solenoid [CMS] experiment team at the Large Hadron Collider outside Geneva, Switzerland. For more on particle physics, in addition to the links above, Dr. Neu also recommends seeing The Particle Adventure web page. April 26, 2010     Re-Thinking Depression Why do you get a fever when you get sick? Many scientists believe that it is an evolutionary adaption.  Fever helped our distant ancestors fight off the germs that caused infection.  Thus they were able to survive long enough to become our ancestors. Much of how our bodies work may have evolved this way.  But what about our minds?  Could some emotional illnesses be adaptations that evolved to serve a useful purpose? We talk with a psychiatrist who holds that view, plus a psychologist who’s been working on a related theory.  Both want to redefine how doctors -- and the general public -- view psychological traumas such as depression. Listen to the program   Guests: J. Anderson (“Andy”) Thomson, Jr., M.D. - Clinical Psychiatrist.  Staff member, Institute of Law, Psychiatry, and Public Policy at the University of Virginia.  Co-author of the journal article “The Bright Side Of Being Blue: Depression As An Adaptation For Analyzing Complex Problems.”  [July 2009, Psychological Review.] Gregg Henriques, Ph.D. - Clinical Psychologist. Director of the Combined-Integrated Doctoral Program in Clinical and School Psychology at James Madison University. April 19, 2010     Brain Training Consider the irony of being a neuropsychologist who has been diagnosed with a life threatening neurological disorder.  Chances are your motivation to understand brain health is likely to be very strong. Audie Gaddis is such a man. Since being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, he’s been told his risk of developing dementia is extremely high. We speak with him and one of his fellow researchers about strategies they believe we can all use to make our brains stronger.   Listen to the program   Guests: Audie Gaddis Ph.D. - Licensed Clinical Psychologist in private practice in Harrisonburg.  Specialist in Cognitive Training and Rehabilitation. Jessica James, CSP - Certified Specialist in Psychometry - the psychological testing of abilities, attitudes, knowledge, and other cognitive functioning. Additional Contributor: Cynthia O’Donoghue, Ph.D. - Director of the Neurogenic Communication Disorders Lab, and Associate Professor of Communication Sciences, at James Madison University. April 12, 2010     The World Peace Game (This show originally aired on February 15, 2010) John Hunter is an unusual teacher. He helps fourth-graders learn to resolve international conflict through something he calls the World Peace Game. It's an approach to teaching -- and to the cause of world peace -- remarkable enough to be the focus of a new movie. We'll talk with Hunter and the movie's director.   Listen to the program Guests: John Hunter - Elementary School Teacher in the Gifted Program at Albemarle County’s Agnor-Hurt School. Chris Farina - Producer/Director of the new documentary film "World Peace and Other Fourth Grade Achievements." April 5, 2010     The Jost View of Health Law Co-author of one of America's standard textbooks on Health Law, researcher of health care policies across the industrialized world, and now one of the most often quoted legal experts on U.S. health care reform, Tim Jost has been exceptionally busy in recent weeks. While debate over health reform was reaching a fevered pitch, news organizations across Europe and the America's were calling on Professor Jost for his insights. On this edition, he takes time out to describe the intricacies of the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" recently signed into law by President Obama. Listen to the program Guests: Timothy Stoltzfus Jost, J.D. - Author of Health Care at Risk: A Critique of the Consumer-Driven Movement (Duke University Press, 2007). Co-Author Health Law: Cases, Materials and Problems (West, 2008). The Robert L. Willett Family Professor of Law, Washington and Lee University School of Law. Bob Roberts, J.D., Ph.D. - Author of Ethics in U.S. Government: An Encyclopedia of Investigations, Scandals, Reforms and Legislation (Greenwood, 2001). Professor of Political Science and Public Administration, James Madison University.