Big Band And Beyond

It began as a baking competition between two friends and has now become a national movement of goodwill during a pandemic. Jeremy Uhrich and Scott McKenzie of Pennsylvania donate their homemade cookies to essential workers and others as a show of kindness and thankfulness. And from that initial effort there are now similar groups all across the nation and even in Canada. The two men and their Cookies for Caregivers mission have been featured on CNN, the Rachel Ray Show, the Today Show and in People Magazine. During a time when physical hugs are discouraged, Jeremy and Scott are delivering hugs one sweet treat at a time.

Dr. Cheryl Hopson is a dedicated teacher and a committed advocate for those marginalized by society. But at her very heart she is a poet. Hopson, also a essayist and the author of two books, "Fragile" and  "Black Notes," takes her own life experiences, some heart wrenching, as well as her observations of the world around her and creates beautiful prose. On this episode of The Human Condition with Lisa Gregory, Hopson, an assistant professor of English and African American Studies at Western Kentucky University, talks about her life as a queer black woman and a feminist. She also talks about her love for creating the written word and what it means to her and what she hopes it means to others.

Justice was only four months old when he was killed by his mother's boyfriend in January 2007. The much-loved baby boy with his deep blue eyes and hearty laugh left behind a devastated family. Despite their overwhelming grief, the family was determined to do something good in honor of baby Justice and his memory. For years they worked desperately to change Maryland's law to increase the maximum sentence for the conviction of child abuse leading to death. Justice's Law, which passed in 2016 and was part of a criminal justice reform bill, increased the law to 40 years to life. They also established a fundraising effort with the annual Rock Me Don't Shake Me concert which benefits mothers and children. On this episode of The Human Condition with Lisa Gregory we talk to Justice's mother, Ashley Rutherford, and his grandparents, Dee and Nink Myers, about their "biggie boy" as they lovingly called him and how they turned loss and pain into hope. All in the name of Justice.

From the ancient Egyptians to surprisingly even the Amish, we humans are driven by the appearance of having more and doing better than those around us. The middle class of modern day is especially drawn to the idea of keeping up or surpassing the Joneses. So, why are we so enamored with the idea of more and better? And, what impact is it having on our society? On this final episode of a three-part series exploring the research of Jeffrey Podoshen, a professor of marketing at Franklin and Marshall College, he talks about the allure of material things and the role marketing plays in convincing us that our value as human beings can be gauged by the material items we acquire. Even to our own detriment.

When one thinks of vacations, images of beaches and Disney World come to mind. But there are those who seek a darker path. Dark tourism, as it is called, is a growing industry. It caters to those interested in sites where great calamities, historical atrocities and horrific crimes have taken place, such as Auschwitz and Pompeii and even the Manson and Jack the Ripper murders. Jeffrey Podoshen, a professor of marketing at Franklin and Marshall College, has done extensive research on dark tourism. On this episode of The Human Condition with Lisa Gregory, part two of a three-part series discussing Podoshen's research, he talks about why so many are intrigued by these darker places. He also talks about where we draw the line between selfies at Auschwitz and commemorating and respecting these places and embracing the lessons for humanity that many of them hold.

Death Metal and Black Metal music, violent video games, graphic horror movies and even infant onesies decorated with skulls. Society is becoming more and more fixated on death as our world becomes ever more unpredictable and chaotic. Jeffrey Podoshen, a professor of marketing at Franklin and Marshall College, is one of the world's leading scholars on this very topic - death consumption. On this episode of The Human Condition with Lisa Gregory, part one of a three-part series discussing Podoshen's research not only on death consumption but on dark tourism, consumer behavior and materialism, he talks about our growing obsession with the macabre, and why it may not necessarily be a bad thing. After all, "Learning about death is learning about life," says Podoshen.

They are the firsthand stories of America and our history. The stories of veterans and their sacrifice. And through the Veterans History Project, which is part of the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress, they are being gathered and saved. During the last 20 years, the Veterans History Project, under the direction of Army Colonel Karen Lloyd, has received over 110,000 submissions from veterans and their families, covering World War I through the Iraq War. This people's collection as it is called is giving a face and a voice to those who stood up and did their part in the name of democracy.

Heather Quinlan was in the midst of working on her book, "Plagues, Pandemics and Viruses" when Covid 19 hit. And the author unexpectedly found herself writing about a pandemic in real time. In her book, she provides a front-row seat for readers to the challenges of the current pandemic while also exploring the history of those decimating diseases that came before it. Heather takes us on a journey of how disease and death shaped the Renaissance and influenced the Treaty of Paris and how lemonade and gerbils played their part in past plagues.

We've been here before. A 100 years ago the world was facing another pandemic - the Spanish flu. James Rada Jr., the author of "October Mourning", a historical fiction novel set during the Spanish flu, offers a unique perspective on the current pandemic. Conducting extensive research for "October Mourning", Rada learned much about the Spanish flu and its impact, from the creation of a business empire for Vicks VopRub to perhaps why women cut their long hair into bobs. He talks about the similarities and differences between the two pandemics and how the earlier pandemic may or may not have impacted how we are dealing with the current one.

The job is not easy. And, Tracy Yingling, a forensic nurse and coordinator of Carrol Hospital's Forensic Nurse Examiner program in Maryland, will be the first to tell you that the emotional toll is great. But she will also tell you that what she and other forensic nurses do is well worth its challenges. Working in health care and with the criminal justice system, forensic nurses like Tracy can help provide evidence needed to find justice for the victims of rape, child abuse, domestic violence and human trafficking. And by doing so, they are impacting countless lives from the hospital to the court room.