Roundup

DW-Radio Looks Back at 30 Years of the Islamic Republic [audio 2 min 50 sec]

The Palin Effect [3 min 4 sec]

A couple days after presidential hopeful, John McCain, announced first term Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for his VP pick everyone was buzzing about the so called Palin Effect. Sarah's ability to energize the GOP. Palin was a surprising pick as she was practically unknown outside Alaska and she certainly lacked experience, a key point of the McCain campaign. However, her effect was supposed to be three fold. First, she is a woman and feminist. She had the potential to pick up disgr

Lesson #1 for Obama: The Half Step Rule (Timing, Timing, Timing) [9 min 37 sec]

Each year, the Hauenstein Center invites at least one presidential historian or political scientist to Grand Valley to present his or her “course” on the American presidency. Here is your opportunity to enter the classrooms of renowned presidential historian H. W. Brands. H. W. Brands, professor of history at the University of Texas, visited the Hauenstein Center as a scholar in residence in March 2008. He is author of two dozen books, including biographies of Benjamin Franklin (2

Markus Deggerich: Will Germany Finally Rehabilitate Nazi-Era 'Traitors'?

When Ludwig Baumann sees posters for the movie "Valkyrie," in which Tom Cruise plays Hitler's would-be assassin Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg, he gets choked up every time. The 87-year-old feels once again the same mixture of despair, bitterness and anger that has accompanied him his whole life. "How can we celebrate Stauffenberg as a hero," he says, "when Johann is still considered a traitor here in Germany?"

"Itty bitty bombs" [podcast 2 min 54 sec]

The bat bomb idea was conceived by dental surgeon Lytle S. Adams, who submitted it to the White House in January, 1942, where it was subsequently approved by President Roosevelt. Bat bombs were bomb-shaped casings with numerous compartments, each containing a Mexican Free-tailed Bat with a small timed incendiary bomb attached. Dropped from a bomber at dawn, the casings would deploy a parachute in mid-flight and open to release the bats which would then roost in eaves and attics. The

Pope Benedict Reinstates Bishop who Denies Holocaust [video 1 min 19 sec]

The rehabilitation by Pope Benedict on Saturday, Jan. 24, of a traditionalist Bishop who denies the Holocaust threatens to harm Catholic-Jewish relations and foment anti-Semitism, Jewish leaders warn.

Valkyrie director Bryan Singer: 'Brits make good Nazis' [video 3 min 21 sec]

The man behind the X-Men movies tells Paul MacInnes about his love for British stage actors, the parallels between would-be Hitler killer Claus von Stauffenberg and Valkyrie star Tom Cruise, plus why he thinks Eddie Izzard is a rock star.

Beatles unseen footage [video 37 sec]

Unseen footage of the Beatles playing during the height of 1960s Beatlemania has been discovered.

William Greider Weighs in on the Current Economic Crisis [mp3]

We’re losing more jobs, our financial system is in meltdown, and people are losing their homes. I entered this race to confront this crisis. I’m not a career politician. But, I have fought for working people my entire life. Crisis as the saying goes, offers opportunity. I believe for the first time in a long time, we have the opportunity to create a new progressive economic platform. To do this, we need to question many of the economic assumptions of the last 30 years.

“Lunch atop a Skyscraper” [video 4 min 1 sec]

Most of the videos featured in this “guide” to careers are humorous and light-hearted, but this one is an exception. Its genesis is the famed photograph “Lunch atop a Skyscraper,” taken by Charles Ebbets in 1932, and highlights the workers who risked their lives on a daily basis in construction of our modern skyscrapers and bridges. The video is set to the music from Once Upon a Time in America by Sergio Leone.

Footage of Edwardian London [video 1 min 04 sec]

While reading Time Out magazine's 'The Big Smoke' London blog, I came across this rather remarkable clip of Edwardian London. According to the author, Alex Barlow, the clip was:- Filmed in 1904... [and] intended as a travelouge to give Australians an idea of what London was like at the turn of the century.

Three generations: Little Rock to Obama [video 5 min 51 sec]

For generations of African-Americans, a black US president was an impossible dream. Civil rights veteran Terrence Roberts explains his family's journey from segregation to the inauguration of President Obama.

Carl Bernstein author of "A Woman in Charge" on The Alcove [video 5 mins]

Naomi Wolf on The End of America [video 7 min 03 sec]

Naomi Wolf's polemical book was last year made into a stark documentary about the erosion of civil rights in America and the parallels with 20th-century fascism. The DVD is released on 19 January, the eve of Barack Obama's inauguration

New Egyptian gallery at the British Museum [video 1 min 32 sec]

Who says accountants are boring? Some of the ancient world's most entrancing paintings celebrate the life of a man who kept tallies for a living. And this month, freshly restored, they at last go on show again for the first time in almost ten years, when the British Museum opens a new gallery. This will be dedicated to the display of 11 large wall fragments from the tomb chapel of a relatively low-ranking Egyptian official named Nebamun, a grain accountant who, almost three and a half millennia

Obama follows in footsteps of Abe Lincoln and JFK [video 2 min 06 sec]

As Barack Obama's inauguration as US president approaches, historians compare him to Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy.

Istanbul's ancient past unearthed [video 2 min 35 sec]

The skeletons of two adults and two children lie curled-up, perhaps to save space. Alongside them are pots: gifts placed in the grave to use in the afterlife. The ancient family was unearthed at the site of a 21st Century rail project. "We found the grave, pots and other artefacts. There were signs of houses made of tree-branches and next to the settlement was a swamp where we found small tools, wooden pieces and bones," explains Ismail Karamut, head of the

Fidel and Che: a revolutionary friendship [audio 2 min 57 sec]

When Argentinian doctor Che Guevara and Cuban lawyer Fidel Castro met in Mexico City, it was the beginning of a friendship that would change the world. Simon Reid-Henry talks about the contrasting personalities of the leading men in his groundbreaking dual biography, Fidel and Che.

Spain's Roman heritage on show [video 1 min 46 sec]

Seville has assembled a collection of ancient artefacts representing Andalucia's Roman heritage.

Iron Mountain: Where the US stores records for the ages [video 2 mins 51 sec.]

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