Roundup

What's historical significance of 'sundown towns'? [audio 7min]

Ed Gordon discusses the historical significance of so-called "sundown towns," some of which are now promoting inclusiveness. Guests include Jim Hunt, president of the National League of Cities, and Harvard law professor Charles Ogletree.

Historian Naftali comments on conspiracy theories on the Internet [audio 5min]

Conspiracy theories surrounding the events of Sept. 11 are popping up on the Internet. The documentary Loose Change is an Internet sensation that explores many of these theories. Renee Montagne talks to Dylan Avery, director and narrator of Loose Change. She also talks to historian Timothy Naftali to understand what's behind the fascination with conspiracy theories.

Rory Stewart recounts 1st-hand experiences of nation-building in Afghanistan, Iraq [audio 20min]

British diplomat and journalist Rory Stewart walked alone across Afghanistan following the fall of the Taliban. The former fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Havard's Kennedy School of Government wrote about it in the memoir The Places in Between. Stewart was later appointed a provincial governor in post-invasion Iraq, and has a memoir about that experience as well, The Prince of the Marshes: And Other Occupational Hazards of a Year in Iraq.

Benedict Arnold's navy lost Battle of Lake Champlain but won American Revolution [video 59min]

In Benedict Arnold's Navy, James Nelson strives to characterize Benedict Arnold as more than a traitor. Nelson traces Arnold's role in the Army during the American Revolution, including Arnold's role in the battles at Ticonderoga and Valcour Island on Lake Champlain. Nelson chronicles the wit with which Benedict conducted his military endeavors and argues that his entire reputation is marred by Arnold's ultimate abandonment of the American army and alliance with the British. Nelson is a f

Upton Sinclair was 'radical innocent' [video 42min]

Anthony Arthur discusses his new biography of Upton Sinclair, titled Radical Innocent. Arthur suggests that Sinclair was a writer whose work blurred the line of politics and art. Mr. Arthur examines Sinclair's The Jungle, a novel that was published 100 years ago about the bad conditions at meat-packing plants. Arthur discusses Sinclair's campaign for the California governorship in the early 1930s and his late career start as a historical novelist. Mr. Arthur describes how Sinclair'

Bataan Death March POWs seek restitution from Japanese companies that used them for slave labor [video 57min]

WWII soldier Harold Poole joins trial lawyer James Parkinson and newspaper columnist Lee Benson to discuss their new book Soldier Slaves: Abandoned by the White House, Courts, and Congress, which chronicles Poole's life and his legal battle, along with other POWs, to seek restitution from Japanese companies that used them for slave labor following the Bataan Death March of April 1942. In the Bataan Death March, the Japanese soldiers marched Poole and other POWs 85 miles in Manila's blist

Hitchens lauds Trotsky [audio 30min]

A fiery return for the biographical series in which journalist Matthew Parris chooses the living, and the living choose the dead. Christopher Hitchens proposes Leon Trotsky, hero of the Russian Revolution later assassinated with an ice pick in the skull. He sees him as the perfect combination of the man of ideas and man of action, and says Trotsky's writings still make the hairs on his neck stand up. Matthew Parris is joined by Professor Robert Service in resisting him all the way.

George II chose Handel for coronation music [audio 30min]

Bridget Kendall turns the clock back to 18th century London and Westminster Abbey for the last programme in the series looking at the role played by music at some of the most significant political and royal events in history. After the unexpected death of George I in 1727, his son George II was keen to make a big splash. Sweeping aside tradition and clearly possessing a theatrical bent, the new king decided on Handel, the famous composer of opera as the best person to write four anthems for his

MLK Papers find new home [audio 5min]

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s papers are going home to Atlanta. The city's mayor rounded up donors to pay $32 million to avoid a public auction of the papers. Instead, the collection will end up at the library for all the historically black colleges and universities in the area -- the Woodruff Library. ~Visit website for extended report by Kathy Lohr.

British history goes online [audio 3min]

Imagine being able to look up who was living in your house in the eleventh century. Britons can now do that with the online version of the Domesday Book. The book is Britain's nationwide inventory, commissioned by King William I in 1085, and was put on online Friday by the British National Archives.

Mike Pitts seeks prehistoric lifestyles in Britain and America [audio 5x15min]

Mike Pitts - the editor of British Archaeology - sheds light on the lifestyles of our forebears by recording on location around Britain and in America. He brings together professional archaeologists with present day crafts people to compare ancient and modern techniques for survival. Programme 1: Pitts talks to David Freeman and Ann Phipps, who spend up to 40 nights a year living in round houses, and to archaeologists John Coles and Stephen Minnit, who have found evidence that our ancesto

10 presidents, 1 dictator: US-Cuba policy [audio 9min]

Fidel Castro took power in Cuba in 1959, at the height of the Cold War, when the United States was focused on global communism as its greatest threat. Follow Washington's policy toward Cuba through 10 U.S. presidencies. ~Visit website for Tom Gjelten's extended report, photos. audio clips.

1981 strike leaves legacy for American workers [audio 5min]

Twenty-five years ago, on Aug. 3, 1981, more than 12,000 members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization walked off the job, setting off a chain of events that would redefine labor relations in America. In response to the walkout, President Ronald Reagan issued one of the defining statements of his presidency. He said the striking air-traffic controllers were in violation of the law; if they did not report to work within 48 hours, their jobs would be terminated. Reagan carried o

Hiroshima story reverberates in Amsterdam after 60 years [audio 29min]

On a sunny August morning in 1945, Keijiro Matsushima sat in his math class in Hiroshima. He looked out the window, saw two American bombers in the clear blue sky, and suddenly his world was torn apart. Now a retired English teacher, he fears young people today are no longer interested in his story. On a sunny June morning in 2005, Amsterdam English teacher Kevin Hogan’s 11th grade class are reading a novel about Hiroshima. They are the same age Mr. Matsushima was sixty years ago. How will they

Spectacular wedding of Ferdinando de'Medici and Christine of Lorraine still impresses after 500 years [audio 30min]

Bridget Kendall looks at three of the most colourful and flamboyant political and royal summits in history, and examines the role music played in such events. Part 2: The scale of the spectacle organised in Florence for the wedding celebrations of the Grand Duke, Ferdinando de'Medici, and the French Princess, Christine of Lorraine, still impresses five centuries later. This rich musical feast required the combined efforts of the entire artistic, intellectual and administrative forces of Tuscany

Historian recreates 18th-century city garden [audio 6min]

Nowadays there's the sense that anyone can aspire to a garden, even if it's only a window box or a pot of basil in the kitchen. At the beginning of the 18th century this was a new phenomenon. Gradually city dwellers began to realise that it wasn't just their country cousins who could have a patch of green to call their own. Jenny Uglow, author of A Little History of British Gardening (Chatto and Windus), shows Katy Hickman how this period is reflected in her own garden.

Cartimandua, was she a traitor queen? [audio 9min]

Cartimandua was a Celtic Queen who lived at the same time as Boudicca but, unlike her famous counterpart, she's largely forgotten. She ruled much of northern England and formed a controversial alliance with the Romans, designed to keep them from invading her kingdom. Seen as traitor, she was never romanticised by Britons quite like the rebellious Queen Boudicca. Barbara Erskine has written a novel about Cartimandua, Daughters of Fire (Harper Collins), and Dr James Fraser from Edinburgh Un

Lebanon pleas for safety of ancient Roman ruins [audio 5min]

Lebanon is asking Israel to avoid hitting ancient Roman ruins in Baalbek as the Jewish state attacks targets in the eastern Bekaa Valley. At the same time, Israeli operations continue to make it difficult to move humanitarian aid into many of Lebanon's rural regions.

Hampton Court Palace opens its doors [audio 10min]

Hampton Court Palace has not just been home to Royalty over the centuries. George II was the last monarch to have his court in the palace in 1737 and subsequently it was sub-divided into accommodation of varying size. Called 'Grace and Favour' residences, these were apartments and houses granted through the 'grace and favour' of the sovereign. They were formerly occupied by courtiers but latterly allocated on the basis that the recipient had performed some service to the country. This mainly fem

Lebanonese National Library fights to save rare manuscripts [audio 5min]

The national library of Lebanon had been struggling for years to preserve and exhibit its collection of rare manuscripts, some of which date back to the 15th century. An Israeli airstrike recently hit the port where the collection is stored.