VIRGINIANS OF INTEREST

Brian Campbell and Carthan Currin
  • 5.0 (5)
  • Society & Culture
  • Updated Weekly

Hosts Brian Campbell and Carthan Currin interview some of Virginia's most interesting and illuminating people. Carthan and Brian have been friends for more than 30 years and share a passion for all things Virginia!  They lost touch for many years, but reconnected in 2020 while Carthan was involved with the Economic Development Office for the City of Petersburg and Brian was working on the Medicines for All Project at Virginia Commonwealth University.  Both talked frequently about various issues facing the Commonwealth and started kicking around the idea of a podcast.  Both Carthan and Brian consider themselves a bit technically challenged, so when the opportunity to host a podcast at Blue Ridge PBS in Roanoke presented itself, they jumped in with both feet! We hope you enjoy the conversations!

  1. 2d ago

    E47: How J. Emerson’s Built A Neighborhood Wine Culture In Richmond

    A great wine shop can change how a city drinks, not by being flashy, but by being thoughtful, consistent, and genuinely helpful. We’re in Roanoke at Blue Ridge PBS Studios, talking with James, Jim, and Helen from J. Emerson’s Wine Shop on Grove Avenue in Richmond, the oldest continuously operated wine store in the city. They share the shop’s story from its founding on Bastille Day in 1985 to the way it’s adapted through decades of shifting wine trends in the United States. We get practical about what makes specialty wine retail work: careful storage, an eclectic selection, and service that doesn’t make people feel stupid for asking basic questions. Helen’s background in restaurants and WSET wine education helps explain how the shop turns tastings into confidence, and why trips, from Virginia winery visits to Italy-focused travel, can be one of the best ways to learn wine fast. Then we zoom out to the Virginia wine industry itself. Why has Virginia started to earn serious attention in the wider wine world? What grapes are thriving, and what happens when winemakers stop trying to copy other regions and instead make wines that fit Virginia’s climate? We also talk about the biggest viticulture hurdles here, especially humidity and fungi pressure, why “organic” is so hard in the Commonwealth, and how different state alcohol laws shape what customers expect when they move to Richmond. Subscribe for more conversations with Virginians shaping culture and community, share this with a friend who loves wine, and leave us a review with your favorite Virginia bottle. Support the show

  2. Sep 11

    E46: Fort Monroe Holds 400 Years Of American History

    Fort Monroe looks like a postcard, but it reads like a full American biography. We sit down with Scott Martin, executive director of the Fort Monroe Authority, to trace how a sandy spit at Point Comfort becomes a coastal defense powerhouse, a cradle of layered Virginia history, and a place where the story of freedom is literally written into the ground. We talk about why Fort Monroe is called Freedom’s Fortress and why the 1619 landing narrative matters right now, including the evolving memorial work that helps visitors connect trauma, resilience, and the long arc of American identity. Along the way, we hit the lesser-known chapters too: the fort’s engineering legacy, famous figures who passed through, and the role Fort Monroe played as the Army’s intellectual hub for training and doctrine that shaped modern military thinking. Then we shift to what happens next. Fort Monroe is a massive adaptive reuse challenge with aging infrastructure, complicated transitions, and a coastline that forces every plan to take sea level rise seriously. Scott shares how world-class landscape architecture, walkability, food, lodging, public art, and restored wetlands can turn this National Historic Landmark into a destination that strengthens Hampton Roads and the Commonwealth, not by copying other cities, but by building a quality place you cannot duplicate anywhere else. Subscribe for more stories of Virginia’s people and places, share this episode with a friend who loves history and design, and leave a review with your favorite Fort Monroe memory or the change you most want to see. Support the show

  3. Sep 9

    E44: Virginia State University Builds Careers Through Relationships Rather Than Degrees

    A lot of people are asking the same blunt question right now: is college still worth it? We tackle that head-on with Jonathan Young, Director of Corporate Relations at Virginia State University (VSU), who believes the answer depends on what students leave with. If a graduate walks away with only a diploma, he says the institution has missed the point. Jonathan explains how Virginia State University, a historic HBCU and land-grant university, is building a different kind of career pipeline through experiential learning and relationship-first education. He shares what “matchmaking” looks like in practice, including bringing hundreds of employers into the classroom to coach, challenge, and connect with students. We talk soft skills, career awareness, internships, and why an open-door mentoring culture can be a game changer for first-generation college students navigating higher education. We also dig into the future of work and the pressure AI, automation, and machine learning put on entry-level jobs. Jonathan makes the case that human connection still wins, and that students need a portfolio of people who know them, not just a transcript. Along the way, we cover VSU’s campus growth, Petersburg partnerships, the impact of major philanthropy like the McKenzie Scott donation, and even VSU’s surprising aquaculture strength with ponds producing catfish and tilapia. If you found this useful, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s weighing college decisions, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show. Support the show

  4. Sep 8

    E45: Inside The Virginia Museum Of History And Culture With CEO Jamie Bosket

    Virginia history isn’t just a timeline, it’s a living argument about what matters enough to save. We’re joined by Jamie Bosket, president and CEO of the Virginia Museum of History and Culture in Richmond, to talk about what it means to steward one of America’s great historical collections and how you even begin to “wrap your arms around” a place that sits at the center of so much of the nation’s story. From his first museum experience as a teenager to leading the oldest museum in the Commonwealth, Jamie shares the personal path that turns curiosity into public service.  We get into the museum’s scope and why Virginia can’t be separated from American history, while also correcting a common blind spot: Virginia’s story doesn’t start in 1607. Jamie explains how VMHC works with Virginia’s 11 state-recognized tribes and why tribal leaders keep emphasizing a simple truth that too many people forget: they’re still here. We also look ahead to the 350th anniversary of the 1677 Treaty of Middle Plantation and what that reveals about the long, complicated relationship between Indigenous communities and colonial government.  Then we go behind the scenes of what a major history museum and archive actually does. We talk about the Virginia Historical Society’s origins in 1831, the role of figures like John Marshall and James Madison, and the ways collections have been moved, protected, and expanded over time. Jamie highlights a few unforgettable artifacts, including a surviving George Washington diary, plus how the VMHC research library, fellowships, published books, streamed lectures, and high-resolution virtual tours help researchers and the public access Virginia primary sources. We close with the remarkable story of Virginia House in Windsor Farms and what preservation looks like when the “artifact” is a place.  If you care about Virginia history, Richmond museums, archives, or the stories behind the objects, subscribe for more conversations, share this with a friend who loves the past, and leave a review so more listeners can find us. What piece of Virginia history do you think deserves a closer look? Support the show

  5. 12/08/2025

    E43: Building A Health Innovation Corridor From Roanoke To DC

    A biotech revolution is taking root in Virginia, and we brought in someone who’s building it from the inside. Sally Allain—Chief Health Science Growth and Innovation Officer at Virginia Tech and a double Hokie—shares how a career that began with undergraduate research evolved into leading global collaborations at Johnson & Johnson, launching JLABS in DC, and now accelerating translation and industry partnerships across the Commonwealth. We dig into how a medicine actually gets made, from picking a target in the lab to surviving toxicology, raising venture capital, filing the IND, and navigating clinical trials. Sally breaks down the “valley of death” that stalls promising science and how smart alliances, philanthropic support, and experienced operators can close the gap. Along the way, we explore how Roanoke’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute is reshaping the region’s identity with physician‑scientist hires, a state‑backed Patient Research Center in oncology, neuroscience, and cardiovascular disease, and a plan with Children’s National to bring small‑scale GMP cell and gene therapy manufacturing to Southwest Virginia. Zooming out, we connect the dots between AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, and Merck’s major investments; Virginia Tech’s strengths in engineering, robotics, and AI; and the growing Mid‑Atlantic corridor that stretches from Washington to Roanoke and links into North Carolina. The result is a clearer picture of what it takes to convert academic breakthroughs into therapies, jobs, and regional growth—plus real steps for building a workforce pipeline that keeps graduates in the Commonwealth. If you’re curious about how ideas become medicines and why Virginia is suddenly on the pharma map, this conversation brings strategy, science, and urgency together. Enjoyed the show? Follow, rate, and share with a friend who loves science, startups, or Virginia’s future. Your review helps more listeners discover these stories. Support the show

  6. 12/03/2025

    E42: A Former Speaker Explains Why Internships, Innovation, And Affordability Decide Virginia’s Economic Growth

    Want a front‑row seat to how Virginia plans to stay a top state for talent? We bring in former Speaker of the House and VBHEC president Kirk Cox to connect the dots between policy, campuses, and paychecks. From the first spark of a career in high school to paid internships that flip underemployment on its head, this conversation lays out a concrete roadmap for students, families, and employers who want results, not buzzwords. Kirk explains why the Virginia Business Higher Education Council is uniquely positioned to make change—its board blends all 16 public university presidents, private colleges, the community college system, and CEOs under one roof. We dig into the Impact Agenda’s four pillars: talent pathways and internships, affordability and ROI, innovation and entrepreneurship, and solving local problems through regional partnerships. Expect real examples, like ODU’s one‑stop internship hub, the Blue Ridge Partnership’s healthcare pathways, and FastForward credentials that put adult learners back on track after years away from school. We also get honest about the budget: how to protect key investments, why Virginia’s state support lags peer leaders, and what ROI data shows about the billions higher education contributes to jobs and growth. The episode also tackles the future of work head‑on. AI is changing entry‑level tasks, but it’s also opening doors in healthcare, engineering, and data‑driven fields—making hands‑on internships and human skills more valuable than ever. We talk “universities without borders,” interdisciplinary learning that breaks silos, and flexible models that meet regional demand without pigeonholing campuses. If you care about paid internships, tuition you can afford, and pathways that actually lead somewhere, you’ll leave with practical insights and a clearer view of how Virginia can scale what works. Listen, share with a friend, and tell us the one change you think would move the talent needle most—then hit follow so you don’t miss what comes next. Support the show

  7. 10/27/2025

    E41: Patrick Henry, A Church, And The Vote That Tilted A Revolution

    Step into the pews where a colony weighed its future. We bring you inside St. John’s Church in Richmond for a gripping walk-through of the Second Virginia Convention, the razor-thin voice vote to arm a militia, and the eight-minute speech that helped turn a crisis into a revolution. Patrick Henry’s words didn’t just stir Virginia; they traveled across centuries and borders, inspiring people facing censorship and fear to risk speaking out. Stephen Wilson, executive director of the St. John’s Church Foundation, maps the road from the Boston Tea Party to March 1775, explaining why the church—then the largest building west of Williamsburg—became the stage for a defining choice. He lays out who stood where: Washington, Jefferson, Richard Henry Lee, Nelson, and the loyalist heavyweights who argued for caution. We also get rare context on the speech’s origins, how biographer William Wirt reconstructed it, and why the vote’s narrow margin still shocks audiences. Along the way, you’ll hear a powerful live excerpt that puts you back in the room. Kefu Huang shares a moving personal story linking “Give me liberty or give me death” to Tiananmen and the more recent white-paper protests, underscoring how liberty is both fragile and worth the cost. Then we shift from history to how you can experience it: immersive Liberty or Death reenactments, behind-the-scenes evenings with bell ringing and under-church tours, and a robust speaker series that has drawn voices from Pulitzer winners to governors. Stephen also highlights the Foundation’s preservation mission—cemetery care, stained glass repairs—and how individual support keeps this independent site alive. If you love American Revolution history, public history experiences, or simply want to stand where courage changed the course, this conversation will move St. John’s Church to the top of your list. Stream the episode, watch the full reenactment online, and plan your visit. If the story resonates, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find it. Support the show

  8. 10/07/2025

    E40: From Rats to Revelation: Uncovering Virginia’s Forgotten Plague

    A leaking steamship. A silent mosquito. And a summer that rewrote the map of fear along the Elizabeth River. We sit down with author and veteran journalist Lon Wagner to uncover the 1855 yellow fever outbreak that ravaged Portsmouth and Norfolk—and somehow faded from local memory. What begins with a “rat lady” explaining vector control becomes a gripping true story of a captain’s denials, a health system built on miasma theory, and a minister’s meticulous letters that tracked the spread long before germ theory took hold. Lon takes us aboard the Benjamin Franklin, a ship detouring from St. Thomas with sickness in its wake, and into the crowded Irish tenements of Barry’s Row where proximity and poverty turned risk into catastrophe. We explore the misguided remedies—tar barrels, lime-dusted streets, towering wooden walls—and the human calculus of who fled, who stayed, and who served as the city’s nerves frayed. Along the way, we draw clear lines to our present: Aedes aegypti still thrives; dengue, Zika, and West Nile still surface; and the tension between public health and commerce is as old as the docks themselves. This is a story about vectors and victims, but also about memory and readiness. Lon’s book, The Fever, restores names, places, and decisions to a crisis that once commanded national headlines. If you care about how cities actually work in a crisis—movement, communication, trust, and the physics of spread—you’ll find hard-won lessons here, told with empathy and detail. Press play, then tell a friend, and if the conversation hits home, subscribe, leave a review, and share your biggest takeaway so more people can find this story before the next one arrives. Support the show

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Ratings & Reviews

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About

Hosts Brian Campbell and Carthan Currin interview some of Virginia's most interesting and illuminating people. Carthan and Brian have been friends for more than 30 years and share a passion for all things Virginia!  They lost touch for many years, but reconnected in 2020 while Carthan was involved with the Economic Development Office for the City of Petersburg and Brian was working on the Medicines for All Project at Virginia Commonwealth University.  Both talked frequently about various issues facing the Commonwealth and started kicking around the idea of a podcast.  Both Carthan and Brian consider themselves a bit technically challenged, so when the opportunity to host a podcast at Blue Ridge PBS in Roanoke presented itself, they jumped in with both feet! We hope you enjoy the conversations!

Information

  • Creator
    Brian Campbell and Carthan Currin
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    48
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 VIRGINIANS OF INTEREST
  • Show Website
    VIRGINIANS OF INTEREST

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