University of Mary Washington Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Emile Lester will be featured on the With Good Reason public radio program, March 28 to April 3.

Associate Professor Emile Lester

The show, “Secrecy in the ‘Sunshine Era,’” will include a segment regarding new history textbooks approved by the Board of Education in Texas that a commission of experts have claimed were pushing a specific ideology. Lester was one of three faculty scholars asked by a Texas watchdog agency to review the textbooks.  He discovered that the textbooks were not only misleading, but were false. The show also will feature professors from Virginia Commonwealth University and the College of William and Mary.

With Good Reason is a program of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. The show airs weekly in Fredericksburg on Sundays from 1-2 p.m. on Radio IQ 88.3 Digital. To listen from outside of the Fredericksburg area, a complete list of air times and links to corresponding radio stations can be found at http://withgoodreasonradio.org/when-to-listen.  Audio files of the full program and its companion news feature will be available online March 28 at http://withgoodreasonradio.org/2015/03/secrecy-in-the-sunshine-era/.

An expert in church and state issues, Lester specializes in three key areas: controversies surrounding the teaching of religion in schools, research on tolerance of vulnerable minority groups and liberal and conservative political philosophy.

Lester is the author of Teaching About Religions: A Democratic Approach for Public Schools, which has been featured on the Washington Post’s book review website. His research on religious education has been featured by The New York Times, C-SPAN, USA Today, National Public Radio and Voice of America, in addition to With Good Reason and New York City talk radio.

In his previous teaching position at the College of William and Mary, Lester was named one of the best professors at the college by the 2005 Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s College Guide.

Lester received a bachelor’s degree in government from George Washington University, a master’s degree in political theory from the London School of Economics and a doctorate in government and foreign affairs from the University of Virginia.