Roundup

Washington ate here: Olbermann highlights Washington's dentures on 'Oddball' [video 2 minutes, 21 seconds]

In honor of dental hygiene month, George Washington’s dentures as well as the lone original tooth found in his mouth when he was inaugurated, are now on display in his home in Mount Vernon, Virginia.

Brown's Descendents Return To Harper's Ferry [audio 5 minutes 51 seconds]

Across the country, people are honoring the 150th anniversary of abolitionist John Brown's unsuccessful raid on the U.S. arsenal at Harpers Ferry. Most historians cite the attempt as an opening salvo in the Civil War. This weekend, more than 50 descendants of one of Brown's raiders returned to the place where Brown and his men fought and died, with the goal of freeing slaves. Karen Schaefer of member station WKSU in Kent, Ohio, reports.

Race to preserve the world's oldest submerged town [video 8 minutes, 12 seconds]

Underwater archaeologists surveying the worlds oldest submerged town have found ceramics dating back to the early Bronze Age. This suggests that Pavlopetri, off the southern Laconia coast of Greece.

Cuban mummy finally laid to rest [video 1 min 28 sec]

A long-suffering mummy has finally settled at a Cuban museum. Buried nearly 140 years ago, she was discovered, unearthed and decapitated and then kept in a family home before finally being restored and preserved.

Bob Dylan: American Poet [video 1 hour 20 minutes 39 seconds]

Noted cultural historian and music critic Greil Marcus talks with composers John Corigliano and Howard Fishman about their respective projects based around the works of Bob Dylan. Afterwards, pianist Stephen Gosling and soprano Amy Burton perform excerpts from Corigliano's 'Mr. Tambourine Man', and Fishman and his band perform several songs from their 'Basement Tapes Project'.

The Grateful Dead Scrapbook: Ben Fong-Torres [video 39 minutes 37 seconds]

Grateful Dead fans are legendary for their Dead-ication to the band and its enduring legacy of freewheeling musical exploration. The Grateful Dead Scrapbook collects rare removable memorabilia and evocative images culled from the Grateful Dead Archives at the University of California, Santa Cruz, including never-before-published photos, flyers, fan letters, and other ephemera. To accompany the eye-popping visuals, renowned journalist Ben Fong-Torres draws on his personal knowledge o

This Ungainly Fowl [audio 4 minutes 36 seconds]

Edgar Allen Poe was supposed to go be on his way to New York City, but instead found his way to Baltimore, Maryland. Baltimore will be the place of Poe’s death, but what really killed the man? Poe was in rough shape when he arrived in Baltimore, whether if it was cholera or rabies we don’t know for certain, but something killed him while he was in that city: local politics. His first wife, Virginia, passed away two years before his death. Virginia was the love of his life, his first

Mark Benjamin talks about Arlington's new unknown soldier [video 6 minutes, 64 seconds]

Salon's Mark Benjamin was on "Morning Joe" Thursday morning to discuss his investigation into continuing problems at Arlington National Cemetery. Specifically, he was discussing what he reported last week, that Arlington has its first unknown soldier in 25 years, because of a bureaucratic snafu -- the cemetery lost the paperwork identifying the remains.

U.S. Is Main Foe In North Korea's 'History' Lessons [audio 5 minutes 51 seconds]

The chasm between North Korea and the U.S. sometimes seems insurmountable, especially on questions of history — and the way it's portrayed in North Korea's propaganda. In the United States, the Korean War — fought between 1950 and 1953 — is known as the Forgotten War. But in Pyongyang, it's known as the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War. Those different names underscore the immense gulf between the two countries' different versions of history. Nowhere was this most o

Historian Taylor Branch on the 'Clinton Tapes' [video 8 minutes 59 seconds]

JEFFREY BROWN: It's an intimate look at the modern presidency compiled from late-night conversations at the White House between Bill Clinton and his friend, journalist and historian Taylor Branch. The talks recorded from 1993 to 2001 range from personal observations, to domestic politics, and international flash points, and became the basis for a new book,"The Clinton Tapes: Wrestling History with the President." Taylor Branch is Pulitzer Prize-winning author of a three

Six Years After Saddam, Iraq's History Is Updated [audio 3 minutes 43 seconds]

After a delayed start due to the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Iraqi students are heading back to school. Many of Iraq's schools lack electricity and running water, but they will be getting something new this year: a history book that reflects the enormous changes the country has been through and includes historical events that were once forbidden topics. At a boys' high school in central Baghdad, history teacher Naba Abbas begins a lesson about the Crusades. The changes in the curr

Author: Pakistan, India At War In Afghanistan [audio 5 minutes 32 seconds]

Journalist Steve Coll, author of Ghost Wars, talks with Steve Inskeep about how Pakistan and India are fighting a proxy war in Afghanistan. Coll says Pakistan uses terrorist elements in Afghanistan to keep its regional rival off balance — while India sees Afghanistan as the key to meeting its vast energy needs.

Painting Could Be Previously Unknown Da Vinci Work [audio 3 minutes 51 seconds]

A portrait by Leonardo da Vinci may have been discovered thanks to a centuries-old fingerprint. Art collector Peter Silverman, who paid $19,000 for the painting, Profile of the Bella Principessa, on behalf of an anonymous Swiss collector two years ago, says a spectral camera penetrated the varnish, and found a print comparable to similar ones found on other works by da Vinci.

The Hawk and the Dove: Nicholas Thompson [video 39 minutes 46 seconds]

Nicholas Thompson talks about The Hawk and the Dove. Despite their very different views and influence throughout the Cold War, Paul Nitze and George Kennan remained good friends all their lives. In this double biography, Thompson (Nitze's grandson) brings Nitze and Kennan to vivid life and paints a portrait of our nation.

Moscow mobster's funeral draws crowd [video, 1 minute 5 seconds]

Hundreds of mourners have gathered at a Moscow cemetery for the funeral of the man dubbed the godfather of the Russian mafia.

"Anne Frank: The Book, the Life, the Afterlife" [video 50 min 28 sec]

Francine Prose talks about Anne Frank: The Book, the Life, the Afterlife. With the understanding one great writer has for another, Prose deftly parses the artistry, ambition, and enduring influence of the text millions have come to know as The Diary of a Young Girl. Prose is the author of Blue Angel.

Mary Rose treasures revealed [video 2 min 37 sec]

Carefully preserved relics revealing what life was like on board Henry VIII's warship, the Mary Rose, have been revealed for the first time. A Tudor fiddle and a leather "manbag" are just a few of the items The Mary Rose Trust has allowed to be filmed.

How Meriwether Lewis Might Have Really Died [audio 6 minutes 31 seconds]

Sunday is the bicentennial of explorer Meriwether Lewis's death. His death was ruled a suicide. Host Liane Hansen speaks to historians John Jackson and Thom Danisi about another possible explanation

MI5 History Book Stirs Debate On Spy Secrets [audio 4 minutes 1 second]

The British publisher Penguin launched an unusual book Monday — an authorized history of MI5, the British domestic intelligence agency, to mark the centenary of its founding in 1909. It's the first authorized history of any Western intelligence agency. Allowing an academic to write it and comb through the agency's files has raised questions about why its secrets shouldn't be kept secret.

Armenia And Turkey Reach For Cooperation Over Conflict [audio 4 minutes 4 seconds]

Turkey and Armenia are signing an agreement Saturday that aims to reopen their border and ease more than a century of sometimes bloody tension. Host Scott Simon talks to Hugh Pope, Turkey Project Director for the International Crisis Group about the two countries' resumption of diplomatic relations for the first time since World War One.