Radford faculty share expertise on fighting corruption and Biblical beasts

From fighting corruption worldwide to exploring the giants and monsters throughout religious texts, two Radford University professors shared their vast experiences and expertise in interviews recently on public radio.

Tay Keong Tan, professor of political science and director of Radford's international studies and leadership studies programs, joined the "With Good Reason" program in late May to discuss his "rewarding" pre-teaching career working to fight corruption across the world - sometimes in risky situations.

For more than a decade, Tan worked as a consultant specializing in governance, anti-corruption and public management in more than two dozen countries, including Armenia, Bhutan, Bulgaria, Cambodia, China, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Mongolia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

Tan, who has been instrumental in developing the university's wicked problems initiatives, said in the interview that fighting corruption today depends tremendously on education and public awareness.

"I think the new generation of anti-corruption crusaders know exactly what they're up against," Tan said. "They have their work cut out for them. I salute them. I think that whatever they do will make a difference for societies and people without a voice. People who are really disadvantaged have very few people to speak up for them and will bring their cause to justice, and these anti-corruption agents are the only ones standing in the way of corrupt, powerful people."

Tan's interview is part of a show titled "A Crack in the System" and can be heard on the With Good Reason website or your favorite podcast app.

On the radio program's June 12 episode, "The Monsters Among Us," Professor of Religious Studies Paul Thomas delivered a deep dive into Biblical stories involving monsters and giants and what tales of monsters often reveal about society and culture.

"Thomas has been studying monsters and giants in the Bible since graduate school and is now writing a book about the relationship between monsters and religion." The professor shared multiple examples in the interview, including one involving Noah's Ark, a giant named Og and a unicorn.

On some level, monsters, Thomas explained, represent society's cultural fears and anxieties, and those fears and anxieties never fully go away.

Therefore, "the monster always comes back," Thomas said.

"With Good Reason" is produced by Virginia Humanities for the Virginia Higher Education Broadcasting Consortium, which comprises all of Virginia's public colleges and universities.

The award-winning program is broadcast each week on 136 radio stations in 36 states, including Virginia and Washington, D.C. Thousands more download the episodes via iTunes.