There are few things I like more than feminism and talking about kids books.  Girls of Summer is a little bit of both.  This is a story I did for Virginia Public Radio about two Richmond, VA writers who created a summer reading list just for strong girls–and no note-taking allowed.

My newsfeed is exploding with people returning from SXSW in Austin, just some of the hundreds of thousands who were estimated to have gone.  The music, film, and idea fest has helped cement Austin’s place in the new startup economy and now other cities around the nation are following their lead.  I made a piece for Virginia Public Radio reporting on Tom Tom Founders Fest in Charlottesville.  Tom Tom is trying to rebrand the city of our founding fathers as an incubator for new ideas.

The Virginia Folklife Program brought two bluegrass musicians together with a Malian musician and they meshed shockingly well.  The banjo originated in Africa and when you combine traditional bluegrass with Malian music, those roots are clear.  I reported on their transcontinental collaboration for Virginia Public Radio.