Roundup

Northumbrian Rock Art | Victorian Cartography | When Did the Great War End? | A Short History of the Apple [audio 30min]

Vanessa Collingridge and the "Making History" team answer listeners' historical queries and celebrate the way in which we all 'make' history. 1) She approaches Britain’s leading experts on the rock art of Northumbria, Dr Aron Mazel of the University of Newcastle and Stan Beckensall, a former teacher who has devoted 40 years of his life to this subject; 2) Listeners' help is requested for information on Lillian Lancaster, a young Victorian cartographer whose first work was published in

Lawrence Rees recounts horrors of WWII [audio 1st 14min]

Laurence Rees discusses his new book, Their Darkest Hour: People Tested to the Extreme in WWII (Ebury Press, 2007), with David Musgrove, editor of BBC History Magazine. Rees describes ordinary people who made terrible choices in the Second World War, such as Zinaida Pytkina, a female member of the infamous SMERSH department of the Soviet Army, who felt joy when killing a German prisoner; and Petras Zelionka, a Lithuanian who shot Jewish men, women and children for the Nazis. Rees w

BBC celebrates raising of 'Mary Rose' from seabed 25 years ago [audio last 20min]

David Musgrove, editor of BBC History Magazine, presents an audio tour of The Mary Rose Museum (Portsmouth, England) on the 25th anniversary of the raising of Henry VIII's sunken flagship. John Lippiett, Chief Executive of the Mary Rose Trust, describes artifacts in the museum collection, such as equipment used by the ship's barber-surgeon, utensils from the ship's galley, wollen and leather clothing and accessories, over 150 longbows and thousands of arrows, and a shawm, a predecessor of

Alison Weir publishes Katherine Swynford biography [audio 8min]

Katherine Swynford was a royal mistress with four children by her lover and the subject of great scandal in the 14th century. Now she is the subject of a new biography, which dispels the idea of her as a scheming enchantress, describing her instead as woman of integrity who left a legacy that has shaped the history of Britain. Historian Alison Weir joins presenter Jenni Murray to explain why she wants to resurrect John of Gaunt's mistress from the footnotes of history. Katherine Swynford: The

Allen Guelzo discusses Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation

Henry L. Luce Professor of the Civil War Era and Professor of History at Gettysburg College, Allen Guelzo examines Abraham Lincoln’s motivations for issuing the Emancipation Proclamation in January of 1863. Guelzo contends that the proclamation is among the most misunderstood of the Civil War era, a necessary and even desperate attempt by Lincoln to enact a form of emancipation that would pass legal muster. Guelzo traces the evolution of Lincoln’s views on emancipation with particular emphasis o

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Artie Traum's Halifax commemorates the expulsion of Acadians from Canada

Halifax tells how Acadians were driven from Canada in 1755, an early example of ethnic cleansing in colonial-era North America. Beausoleil was an Acadian resistance fighter who waged a guerrilla war against the British near Halifax. He did not prevent thousands of Acadians from being loaded on boats and sent to Virginia, French Guiana and Louisiana. I learned much of this story from Michael Doucet, the irrepressible fiddler and Cajun scholar behind the band Beausoleil. I've been drawn to Cajun c

CASTING CALL-HOST For “Experiential History” TV Show

High Noon Entertainment is seeking a hands-on host for a new series in development with The History Channel tentatively entitled Warriors in which the host immerses himself in the culture, rituals and weapons of a legendary Warrior such as William Wallace, Genghis Kahn, or Crazy Horse, to discover what makes him tick. The Idea Candidate is: *Male, in his 30s *Credentialed Historian, Anthropologist or comparable expert) *Outgoing, naturally curious, asks great

Thelma Mothershed Wair speaks out about the Litte Rock 9

Thelma Mothershed Wair was one of the Little Rock 9.

Mavis Staples: Interviewed by Brian Williams on NBC

Mavis Staples, whose music career has lasted half a century, was the subject of a long video essay on NBC. Scroll or search on MSNBC for: " Remembering soul legend Mavis Staples."

James Rodger Fleming: A Historical Perspectives on Climate Change

The briefing features Professor James Rodger Fleming, Professor of Science, Technology and Society at Colby College, Maine. He currently holds the Roger Revelle Fellowship in Global Environmental Stewardship from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and is a Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars where he is completing a book on "Weather and Climate Engineers: Fantasies of Control."

Are archaeologists and historians loath to take on the Bible?

University-trained archaeologists and historians are loath to take on the Bible, says Eric H. Cline, an associate professor of classics at George Washington University. He talks about his new book, From Eden to Exile: Unraveling Mysteries of the Bible, in which he argues that Bible studies have become dominated by "junk science" (Noah's ark found in Turkey!) because academics have yielded the field.

The Case to Impeach the President

Generally, conservatives and progressives are on opposite sides of every issue. But on the July 13 edition of Bill Moyers Journal, conservative constitutional scholar Bruce Fein, who prepared articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton, and Nation Washington Correspondent John Nichols agreed that there is a substantial case for impeaching President Bush.

General Breaking News History Buzz Historians in the News Washington DC News Hist

Andrew Delbanco talks about "The Real American Dream"

Julian Clarence Levi Professor in the Humanities and Director of the American Studies Program at Columbia University, Andrew Delbanco examines the evolution of the American Dream—the idea that anyone may rise above his or her station, regardless of birth. Beginning with the Puritans, Professor Delbanco traces the origins of the American Dream from the Calvinist fire-and-brimstone of Jonathan Edwards, to the swelling optimism of Emerson and Melville, to the present day.

Joseph Ellis interviewed about qualities of leadership

A historian talks about the qualities that defined some of history's great leaders. Joseph Ellis: Author of "American Sphinx" and "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation."

Maryland town recalls racial unrest in 1967

The small town of Cambridge, Md., went up in flames 40 years ago this summer. A speech by black activist H. Rap Brown helped incite unrest there. But the town's problems were rooted in a painful history of racial discrimination.

Detroit Disturbance 1967

July 23, 1967: Police raid a "blind pig" (an after-hours club), located on 12th Street (later, Rosa Parks Blvd.) and Clairmount in Detroit. Civil unrest ensues, described by some as a riot and by others as an uprising or rebellion. In the course of the next three days, 44 people are killed, 7,331 are arrested, mostly for curfew violations, and $50 million dollars of property is damaged. Forty years later, WWJ examines the legacy of 1967 and what it means to the city, whil

Bushwick, Then and Now

Residents recall fires and looting during the 1977 blackout, and worry about the neighborhood's growing gentrification.

Sixty Years for the AK 47

A surreal mix of capitalism and communism surrounds the AK-47 on the rifle's 60th anniversary in Moscow.