It's so easy to hear those nine banjo notes from the movie "Deliverance" and think about the people of Appalachia in a quintessentially stereotypical way. This half-hour piece explores how popular culture looks at Appalachia, and the vocabulary and lexicon of the region.

Word of caution: there is a dated reference to a television show called "The Real Beverly Hillbillies." Also note that this piece comes in at 29:46, but it looks like the producers would be willing to customize it to fit your half-hour slot.

Sarah McConnell is the producer and host. This is part of the series "With Good Reason," a "conversational exploration with professors of the newest, quirkiest and most interesting research taking place at colleges and universities." The series is by VFH Radio, based at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.

This comes from independent reporter/producer Keliang Jiang, who is also program controller at London Chinese Radio.

We hear lots of voices, both Chinese and western, carefully unfolding the cultural stereotypes attached to Chinese people, culture and government. It looks thoughtfully at the stereotypes westerners have of China, ranging from a romanticized version of ancient wisdom to "big bad China." This is very timely, as China's role on the world stage and depiction in the media evolves.

Great access in this piece to some American soldiers' attitudes toward Iraqis. Some of this is not pretty, but like the other pieces in this month's picks, uncomfortable subjects are hit head-on and dissected a bit. We hear not only from the soldiers, but a war correspondent, an Iraqi and a professor.

Phillip Martin is the reporter. He's the executive producer for Lifted Veils Productions, a non-profit public radio journalism company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, dedicated to exploring issues that divide society.