We recorded this interview at the beginning of basketball season 2025.

Do you ever notice the referees in big-time basketball games?

Do you ever wonder about their lives...their families...the constant travel... and what it's like to be jeered and taunted by unhappy fans? Find out in this interview with Division I basketball referee Justin Porterfield. And... by the way... he's a 2000 Emory & Henry graduate with a degree in Mass Communications.

Odeliya Matter grew up within yards of her Palestinian neighbors. She didn't ever meet any of them, but she learned about the Palestinians in school, at home, and in the community. She was told that they were dangerous and they wanted to kill Jews.

Then Odelyia met a Palestinian man while doing volunteer work with refugees in Lesbos, Greece. She found great commonality with his story and the story of her relatives who had to flee the persecution of Jews.

In this episode of This Conversation, you'll hear what came next for Odelyia and the emotional toll it has taken. You'll also hear the reasons Odelyia says she's optimistic in her role as a peace activist. She holds additional titles such as lobbyist, Program Associate for Middle East Policy, and Friends Committee on National Legislation.

This episode is a chat with Tarah Taylor about how we make our cars go -- and the full spectrum of energy possibilities -- from gas and electric to hydrogen and propane. Taylor is Economic Development Director of Southwest Virginia's chapter of Virginia Clean Cities.