Roundup

Harvey J. Kaye on Thomas Paine [54min]

Harvey J. Kaye discusses his latest book, Thomas Paine and the Promise of America. Paine's reputation as a true American revolutionary has lasted through history. His pamphlet Common Sense is frequently credited as the inspiration for the American Revolution. It was a call to action, urging common people in America to resist Britain, not reconcile with them, establish a constitution, and support the Continental Army. It helped unite the colonists under a common cause: Liberty. Thou

The Statue of Liberty - From France with love... [audio 47min]

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free". With these words, inscribed inside her pedestal, the Statue of Liberty has welcomed immigrants to America since 1903. But the Statue of Liberty is herself an immigrant. Born in Paris she was shipped across the Atlantic in 214 separate crates, a present to the Americans from the French. She is a token of friendship forged in the fire of twin revolutions, finessed by thinkers like Alexis de Tocqueville and expressed in

Patrick Hunt on 'Ten Discoveries That Rewrote History' [video 57min]

Renowned archaeologist Patrick Hunt discusses his book Ten Discoveries That Rewrote History. He brings his top ten list of ancient archaeological discoveries to life, including the Rosetta Stone, Troy, King Tut's Tomb, Machu Picchu, Pompeii, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Thera. He explains how they permanently altered our worldview. Between 1996 and 2006 Hunt led annual teams from Stanford University across at least ten Alpine passes in search of topographic clues matching the texts of Polybi

Richard Carwardine on Lincoln's life of purpose and power [audio 34min]

Richard Carwardine discusses the reason that he believes Lincoln has a claim to political greatness as a "historical figure." Keeping in mind that this term, "historical figure," has often been a subject for debate. Within this context, he explains different aspects of Lincoln's life as support for his claim to greatness. Analyzing Lincoln's greatness as well as his humility, Carwardine answers such questions as Why is Lincoln a mythic figure? How early in his career did he d

Remembering FDR's accomplishments, influence [video 50min]

This Presidents Day, take a look back at the role played by the legendary President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in shaping American politics — and ultimately history — during the Great Depression era. Pulitzer prize-winning historian David M. Kennedy examines Roosevelt's presidency in the context of the 20th century in "Rendezvous with Destiny: Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the Shape of the 20th Century." A history professor at Stanford University, Kennedy compares and contrasts Roosevel

Archivist charged with stealing historic documents [audio 5min]

Archivist Daniel Lorello was arrested this past week, charged with stealing hundreds of historic documents from the New York State Library over the last six years. Lorello sold the historic documents — some to collectors and some on eBay. And it was eBay that led to Lorello's demise. An amateur historian and lawyer named Joseph Romito helped crack the case after he found an 1823 letter written by John C. Calhoun for sale on eBay.

Symphonic Forensics: Alsop's 'CSI Beethoven' [audio 12min]

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is trying to solve two of music history's most enduring mysteries: Why did Beethoven lose his hearing, and what was the cause of his death? Conductor Marin Alsop leads the investigation, along with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, in a series of concerts called CSI Beethoven. The orchestra plays selections from Beethoven's symphonies, joined by a team of forensic scientists — including Dr. Charles Limb, from the Department of Otolaryngology at Johns Hopkins Univ

How close did America come to attacking Pakistan’s nuclear base in 1970s? [audio 29min]

America suspects that a particular country is developing a nuclear bomb even though it's leader strongly denies it. Prolonged economic and political pressure fails to persuade that nation to abandon it's weapons programme and there's talk of a military strike. This is not about the current stand-off with Iran but concerns the fierce row that developed between the USA and Pakistan during the late 1970s. India had recently tested its first nuclear bomb and its smaller neighbour, Pakistan, was desp

The Legless Ladies of Creswell Crags [audio 15min]

Over a series of five programmes, archaeologist Dr George Nash of Bristol University visits five rock art sites in England, Wales, Ireland, Portugal and Italy, to attempt to unravel the real, hidden meaning of rock art. Who creates rock art, and why? Can our present day graffiti artists provide some clues? In Programme One, "The Legless Ladies of Creswell Crags", George Nash explores Church Hole cave on the former estate of the Duke of Portland, at Creswell Crags, North East Derbyshire

Tim Weiner on 'Legacy of Ashes' [video 60min]

Tim Weiner discuses his book Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA with Washington Post columnist David Ignatius. Weiner's research included the use of over 50,000 documents and interviews with ten CIA Directors. He analyzes the inherent difficulties in maintaining classified information in an open democracy and argues that the CIA has consistently struggled in the field of espionage. A finalist for the 2007 National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, Weiner is a journalis

Hillary, Barack & the future of liberalism [audio 52min]

Psychologist Drew Weston, author of The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation, tells host Jim Fleming that Democrats need to learn to sell their core issues by speaking in emotionally effective language, as the Republicans have since the days of Ronald Reagan. Paul Krugman, one of the most prominent liberal pundits in America, talks with interviewer Steve Paulson about his latest book, The Conscience of a Liberal. Interviewer Anne Strainchamps talk

America's search for purpose in the post-Cold War world [video 60min]

Hal Brands analyzes America's foreign policy following the fall of the Soviet Union and prior to September 11. He reports that, during this time, the GHW Bush and Clinton administrations struggled to create a comprehensive policy that was easily communicated to the American public due to multiple objectives. Brands discusses his book at BookPeople bookstore in Austin, Texas. He is a doctoral history student at Yale University.

The dark history of medical experimentation on black Americans from Colonial times to the present [video 81min]

Journalist and medical ethicist Harriet Washington details medical research on African Americans from Colonial times to the 20th century. Describing the Tuskegee Syphilis Study that began in 1932 and was conducted by the U.S. Public Health Service, she contends that this is just one of several experiments that shaped the way in which African Americans relate to today's medical industry. Washington is a Visiting Scholar at DePaul University School of Law and has been awarded the Congressional Bla

Arnold Rampersad on Ralph Ellison [video 66min]

Arnold Rampersad researches the life of Ralph Ellison, author of Invisible Man, whose meditations on African American identity won the 1953 National Book Award and critical acclaim. In 1936 Ellison came to New York, where he became politically radical and the essence of cosmopolitan intellectualism. Rampersad relays that Ellison ever wrote a second novel and would denounce his radical ideologies later in his life, when his lifestyle would be construed as a form of elitism and create a sch

Roy Harris on 'Pulitzer's Gold' [audio 51min]

Ninety years ago newspaper owner Joseph Pulitzer created an award system recognizing the best in both American journalism and arts and letters. Author Roy Harris examines the history of the most prestigious of Pulitzer Prizes -- the Joseph Pulitzer Gold Medal for Public Service. Harris is senior editor of The Economist Group's CFO magazine and previously a reporter with the Wall Street Journal.

The MLK and LBJ tapes [audio 5min]

This weekend is the start of Black History Month and we thought we'd take a look back at the working relationship between Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and President Lyndon B. Johnson. Both historical figures have been raised recently in the contest between Senators Clinton and Obama as they vie for the democratic presidential nomination. But we thought, what about it? How did President Johnson and Martin Luther King, Jr., actually work together? Joining us is historian Nick Kotz. He wrote a book

Napoleon, Egypt and the beginnings of archaeology [audio 55min]

The Book Guys -- book appraiser Allan Stypeck and Washington DC radio host Mike Cuthbert -- interview Nina Burleigh, author of Mirage: Napoleon's Scientists and the Unveiling of Egypt.

Daniel Walker Howe on 'What Hath God Wrought' [video 49min]

Historian Daniel Walker Howe explores the history of the United States from 1815 to 1848, documenting the transformation of the country from a rural landscape to the development of economic centers and expansion to the Pacific. He is the American History professor emeritus at Oxford University and UCLA, and the author of Making the American Self: Jonathan Edwards to Abraham Lincoln. He is a finalist for the 2007 National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction.

Timothy Naftali on GHW Bush's difficult monetary decisions on monetary policy [video 72min]

Timothy Naftali, historian and director of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, profiles the presidency of the 41st President in George H.W. Bush. Naftali contends that Bush had to make difficult economic decisions following the fiscal exuberance of the Reagan administration. Naftali is the author of numerous books, including Khrushchev's Cold War: The Inside Story of an American Adversary and Blind Spot: The Secret History of American Counterterrorism. He discusses his b

The Pollyanna Spirit [audio 12min]

In 1913, American author Eleanor Porter tried to revitalize the spirit of a depressed wartime society with a character who embodied optimism. Radio host Liane Hansen seeks to understand the role of the literary figure, Pollyanna, within its historical context. By 1946, millions of copies of the book had been sold in eleven languages. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the term Pollyanna describes "a person of airrepressible optimism and the ability to find good in everythin