I was recently a guest on the public radio program With Good Reason. From the show’s website:
With Good Reason brings together higher education institutions and Virginia Humanities to make scholarly research accessible to all. Each week, we share exciting discoveries, rigorous debates, and new knowledge, with ever-curious host Sarah McConnell guiding the conversation.
Our show has won five Gabriel Awards for Best Documentary or Public Affairs Programs and is also the recipient of top honors from the Public Radio News Directors, Radio and Television Digital News Association, and the Virginia Association of Broadcasters.
The latest episode, “Underground and Taboo,” on which I am interviewed, tackles gambling; prohibition; organ, gamete, and surrogacy markets (that would be me); and the dark web. From the episode description:
In the 1990s, a group of single Black mothers known as The Circle formed an underground gambling ring in Danville, Virginia. Their winnings went a long way in easing the struggle of raising a family as a single mother. With Good Reason producer, Matt Darroch, has the story. And: Now close to a century removed from prohibition – speakeasies, gangsters, and moonshine still loom large in the public imagination. But Michael Lewis (Christopher Newport University) says our understanding of the era isn’t a very accurate one. Also:There are currently more than 100,000 people in the US in need of an organ transplant. Every year, thousands die while waiting for their turn on the transplant wait list. Kim Krawiec (University of Virginia) studies how we view organ donation as admirable, as long as money isn’t involved.
Later in the show: Most of us know the dark web as this scary and mysterious corner of the internet where online criminals go to break the law. But Babur Kohy (Northern Virginia Community College) says the dark web is more than just a hub for illegal activity, it can actually be used for good as well. Plus: Underground anti-Catholic sentiment in the US spiked right after WWI. John Kneebone (Virginia Commonwealth University) studies what he calls the anti-Catholic underground. He says there’s a long history in the US of the KKK and secret fraternal organizations preventing people of Catholic faith from holding office.
I’m interviewed starting at around 17:40, but the whole episode is interesting! The episode will air on radio from Saturday, July 15th – Friday, July 21st. Live broadcast times are here: https://withgoodreasonradio.org/schedule/
The episode is also available on the show’s website, and on Spotify, Soundcloud, or most other podcasting platforms.
Interestingly, one of the things they wanted to talk to me about was my own podcast, The Taboo Trades podcast, particularly the recent episode with the Israeli sociologist, Hagai Boas, a four-time organ transplant recipient and the author of The Political Economy of Organ Transplantation, who purchased a kidney on the black market. You can listen to that episode here: