Roundup

Final Words: Cronkite's Vietnam Commentary [podcast 2 min 18 sec]

Parting words from Walter Cronkite: His famous Vietnam commentary, originally aired on a special CBS News broadcast Feb. 27, 1968 Walter Cronkite, the CBS News anchor who famously became the most trusted man in America, died Friday at the age of 92. For nearly two decades, tens of millions of Americans tuned in to Cronkite to learn "that's the way it is" every night during a rancorous age. Although Cronkite left the anchor's desk at CBS Evening News more than

On 40th Anniversary, Moon Landing Examined [podcast 3 min 20 sec]

Forty years ago today, astronaut Neil Armstrong took that fateful first step onto the moon, effectively putting an end to the space race and expanding the boundaries of science and engineering. Drive 30 miles south of Houston in the dead of summer, and it's easy to imagine what it must have been like back in 1963, cruising along with your young wife, hearts pounding with anticipation as you close in on your incredibly bright future as one of America's chosen astronauts.

Thomas Bender - “American History: Views from Abroad” [video 1 hr 8 min 8 sec]

NYU Professor of the Humanities Thomas Bender argues that the idea of American exceptionalism has hobbled the study of American history. Bender traces the study of history from the “men of letters” historians of the nineteenth century up to the present, and explains why a more worldly history curriculum would help students to better understand events throughout American history.

John Lewis Gaddis - “The Origins of the Cold War” [video 58 min 24 sec]

The Cold War was more than the product of post-World War II tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union argues John Lewis Gaddis, Robert A. Lovett Professor of History at Yale University. Rather, it was the product of events extending all the way back to the 1830s, when Alexis de Tocqueville predicted that Russia and the United States would become the world’s foremost powers. In this lecture, Gaddis examines U.S.-Soviet relations from the nineteenth century through the end of World W

First Black President To Address NAACP Convention [podcast 4 min 30 sec]

President Obama delivers the keynote address at the NAACP's convention Thursday night in New York. It's the 100th birthday of the nation's oldest civil rights organziation.

At 100, NAACP Shifts Focus From Rights To Justice [podcast 4 min 24 sec]

President Obama told the NAACP on the group's 100th anniversary Thursday that there was no stronger weapon against inequality and no better path to opportunity than education. Obama, the nation's first black president, also told the nation's oldest civil rights group that his own political rise was made possible by civil rights leaders. In the Obama era, Wright says, African-Americans may be able to declare victory in their fight for rights, but when it comes to opportu

"What the Heck Are You Up To, Mr. President?" [video 3 min 44 sec]

Kevin Mattson talks about his new book, "What the Heck Are You Up To, Mr. President?"

Enhanced Moon footage revealed [video 3 min 15 sec]

Nasa has released clips of digitally enhanced footage of the Apollo 11 Moon landing, to coincide with the event's 40th anniversary. Dick Nafzger, who was a 28-year-old engineer at Nasa when Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon, said the results so far were "very exciting". It is hoped the restoration and enhancement work will be completed by September.

Encore Booknotes: Robert McNamara, "In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam" [video 2 hr 20 sec]

Robert McNamara, secretary of defense during the Johnson and Kennedy administrations, appeared on Booknotes in 1995 to discuss his book "In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam." According to Mr. McNamara, U.S. policy was based on a "domino" theory in which the loss of Vietnam would initiate a collapse of nations, which could include the United States. In the book, he identified eleven reasons for the outcome in Vietnam and six stages at which the U. S. withdrawal w

A History Of Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings [podcast 5 min 40 sec]

The U.S. Senate didn't begin holding confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominees until 1916. Legal historian Scot Powe tells NPR's Guy Raz about what triggered the first hearing: Woodrow Wilson's controversial nomination of Louis Brandeis. Powe traces the history of such hearings.

The Gay Rights Movement Since Stonewall [video 1 hr 21 min]

This panel offers a rare look at the defining moments of the gay rights movement as seen through the eyes of journalists, historians, and media advocates. Panelists discuss these pivotal events; the role the media played in generating visibility for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people; and what the media accounts got right and wrong.

Van Gogh letters 'bring his work alive' [audio 3 min 30 sec]

Maev Kennedy looks forward to a major exhibition of Vincent van Gogh's paintings and letters at London's Royal Academy.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) [podcast 18 min 36 sec]

On December 10th, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We present here a Librivox reading of the Declaration. For an excellent Web site with details on the history of the Declaration and much more, see: http://www.columbia.edu/ccnmtl/projects/mmt/udhr/index.html. To access other LibriVox recordings, go to: www.lib

Was Explorer Meriwether Lewis Murdered? [podcast 3 min 54 sec]

When explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark blazed a trail through the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean in 1806, they were hailed as heroes. But three years later — at the age of 35 — Lewis was dead. Most historians call his death a suicide, but Lewis' descendants aren't so sure. In October 1809, Lewis stopped at a nearby inn en route to a meeting with President Thomas Jefferson. The next day, servants found Lewis shot dead. A companion, James Neely, wrote a l

China Unrest Has Roots In History [podcast 3 min 45 sec]

This week's deadly clashes in Xinjiang province between ethnic Uighurs and China's majority Han are rooted in tensions that go back more than two centuries, an expert on the Uighurs says. "Since the 1750s, essentially, there has been almost constant tension between the two groups," Sean Roberts, director of International Development Studies at George Washington University, tells Robert Siegel.

McNamara Dies at 93, Putting Complex Vietnam Legacy Back in Focus [video 16 min 8 sec]

Robert McNamara, one of the primary architects of the Vietnam War, died Monday at age 93. Jim Lehrer talks to Deborah Shapely, the author of a McNamara biography, and Errol Morris, the documentarian who made "Fog of War" about the former defense chief's legacy.

Remembering Last Reunion Of Civil War Veterans [podcast 8 min 54 sec]

Commentator John McDonough recalls the last great reunion of Civil War veterans from the North and South. It took place July 3-5, 1938, on the 75th anniversary of Gettysburg — at Gettysburg, Pa. At the time, the whole country was almost painfully aware that the last living links to a decisive event were about to slip away.

Decades After WWII, Female Pilots Finally Honored [podcast 9 min 14 sec]

President Obama signed a bill Wednesday granting the Congressional Gold Medal to a group of women most Americans have never heard of: the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASP. These were the first women to fly military aircraft. During World War II, they volunteered for noncombat duty, as test pilots and trainers. They freed up their male counterparts to go to Europe and fight in the war. But even though they wore uniforms and worked on bases, they were never consider

Thomas Jefferson's Natural Passion [podcast 9 min 13 sec]

Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States. He was an architect, an inventor and a statesman. But his passion was nature. Host Liane Hansen visits Monticello, Jefferson's primary residence on a mountaintop in Virginia, and tours Jefferson's magnificent gardens.

The Messrs. Craft [podcast 5 min 59 sec]

As told by NPR story teller Nate DiMeo.. [Ellen Craft was born in 1926 in Clinton, Georgia, where her mother was a slave, and her father her owner. Her skin was so light that she was often mistaken as being part of her master’s family. This angered her mistress that she was given to her daughter as a wedding gift, and moved to Macon, Georgia to work in the fields. There, she fell in love with another slave, William, and they got married. They plotted their escape, fi