Roundup

Regency journalist Pierce Egan is father of sportswriters [audio 15min]

The man accepted by many to be the father of sports journalism is Pierce Egan. As well as documenting the exploits of the prize fighters of the day, Egan was also known for his wonderfully colourful depictions of London life and a style of writing that is the direct forebear of Dickens. Thus our current obsession with sporting prowess is not really such a modern phenomenon. Well-known English TV presenter William G Stewart argues that the Georgians were just as likely to sing the praises of men

The Paston Letters ~ Money Worries [audio 15min]

John III Paston is badly wounded in the battle of Barnet. John II Paston nurses him back to health, bringing the two brothers closer. Meanwhile, plague ravages the country. This is Part 7 of a dramatisation by Vanessa Rosenthal, in ten 15-minute programmes, of the lives and loves of three women spanning three generations of a medieval family, based on the Paston Letters. This extraordinary collection of per

Wax museums demystified saints and monarchs [audio 13min @14:10]

Host Laurie Taylor talks to Kate Berridge about her new book Waxing Mythical: The Life & Legend of Madame Tussaud, published by John Murray. Exhibitions of wax effigies in 18th century Paris were the first opportunity for many members of the public to study likenesses of the monarchy and other powerful figures in detail. This set in motion the process by which royalty became regarded increasingly as 'normal' people and celebrities became the new objects of admiration. Kate Berridge descri

Nathaniel Hawthorne's wife and daughter re-interred with author [audio 6min]

The remains of the wife and daughter of 19th-century author Nathaniel Hawthorne have been removed from their graves in England and re-interred alongside his grave in Concord, Mass. Hawthorne's wife, Sophia, and their daughter, Una, both died in England in the 1870s and were buried there. But recently a Hawthorne tree planted next to their graves fell over, damaging Una's headstone. Hawthorne's descendants decided it was time to bring them home. This Monday more than three dozen family members pa

Building work keeps Dublin archaeologists busy [1st 5:30]

Dublin City Council are the first in Ireland to hire a fulltime city archaeologist. Now there can be several digs going on in the city at any one time. New buildings, however, mean that another fraction of our history is lost forever.

Book examines 1st Black Senator to serve full term [audio 5min]

Ed Gordon talks with Lawrence Otis Graham, author of a new book about Blanche Bruce called The Senator and the Socialite. Bruce was the first African American to serve a full term in the U.S. Senate. He and his wife Josephine lived and socialized in Washington during the last decades of the 19th century.

Bare-knuckle prize-fighters were the David Beckhams of Georgian England [audio 15min]

Well-known English TV presenter William G Stewart remembers the bare-knuckle prize-fighters of Georgian England, who were enormously popular and crowds measured in thousands would turn up to see them in action. They may have operated on the edge of the law but their reputation and support from the full breadth of Georgian society was a match for any of today's sporting celebrities. Thus our current obsession with sporting prowess is not really such a modern phenomenon. Stewart argues that the Ge

A Voice in a Million ~ Mary O'Rourke was the 'Phenomenal Boy Singer' [audio 30min]

She was born Mary O'Rourke of Helensburgh, Scotland, in 1913 but rose to fame as Master Joe Petersen, 'The Phenomenal Boy Singer'. John Fitzsimmons tells her remarkable bitter-sweet story. Audiences loved her but behind the choirboy image and the wonderful voice was a chaotic personal life. With contributions from Johnny Beattie, Madie Murray and biographer Frank Wappatt.

The U.S. Interstate System turns 50 [audio 18min]

It’s the 50th Anniversary of the U.S. Interstate System, and"Living on Earth" takes a ride in a 1951 Hudson along I-95 in Boston. Our chauffeur: Dan McNichol, author of The Roads That Built America: The Incredible Story of the U.S. Interstate System. Along the way we meet a livery driver who remembers the days before the Interstate, and a trucker who makes a pit-stop on his regular cross-country run. ~Visit The U.S. In

Morehouse College to Get MLK Collection [audio 12min]

Nearly a week before its scheduled auction at Sotheby's auction house, the collected personal correspondence of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., was bought by a group of investors and philanthropic leaders to be given to King's alma mater, Morehouse College. Ed Gordon talks to Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and King family attorney Phil Jones about the sale.

The Legacy of TV Hitmaker Aaron Spelling [audio 11min]

Writer Matt Roush remembers Aaron Spelling, who produced a long string of television hits and redefined the way TV is produced.

In 1809 Capt Barclay walked 1000 miles in 1000 hours for 1000 guineas [audio 15min]

Is our current obsession with sporting prowess really such a modern phenomenon? William G Stewart argues that the Georgians were just as likely to sing the praises of men like Tom Cribb, John Gulley and Jem Belcher as they were Nelson, Wellington or William Pitt. Prize-fighters in particular were enormously popular and crowds measured in thousands would turn up to see them in action. The subject of the first programme is Captain Rob

Nina Lugovskaya was the Russian Anne Frank [audio 13min]

Nina Lugovskaya was a Moscow teenager who lived under Stalin in the 1930's. Her diaries, which have recently been discovered in KGB files, are being likened to those of Anne Frank. There's a tragic reason for their preservation. When Stalin's secret police ransacked Nina's home and discovered the journals, they were deemed to be evidence enough to convict her whole family of treason and they were all sent to a Siberian gulag for seven years. Nina's diaries have just been published in English and

Rome revives pagan past with Solstice festival [audio 4min]

A Summer Solstice festival on the Tiber River in Rome revived the spirit of the city's ancient, pagan past. The dusk-to-dawn celebration included a sound-and-light show created by Italian and American composers and artists. Sylvia Poggioli reports.

Dealer stole rare maps [audio 1min]

Rare map dealer Edward Smiley admits to stealing millions of dollars worth of rare maps from libraries around the country. Scott Simon reports.

Arthur Frommer recalls 50 years of international travel [audio 54min]

It's been almost 50 years since Arthur Frommer first published his groundbreaking travel guidebook "Europe on Five Dollars a Day." In the 1970s, Frommer's books helped instruct a young Rick Steves how to travel light, on a tight budget, and "through the back door" to interact with the people and authentic cultures overseas. Arthur Frommer is Rick's special guest as they reminisce and chat about how much international travel has changed over the past half-century.

For 100 years, Summer Solstice has meant midnight baseball in Alaska [audio 6min @19:33]

For many, the summer solstice signals the start of warm weather and daytime fun. In Alaska, the solstice brings nighttime fun in cold weather. For one hundred years, our national past-time has been played at midnight in Fairbanks, Alaska. But only in Alaska is this possible. Libby Casey of KUAC tells us why.

What it was like to grow up under Communism [audio 54min]

We'll visit with three of Rick Steves' tour guide friends from Eastern Europe. We'll find out what it was like being raised in different types of Communist countries, and how their lives have changed since capitalism was introduced to Poland and the republics of the former Yugoslavia.

The Who are 'Live at Leeds' again [audio 30min]

Andy Kershaw takes us exclusively behind the scenes of The Who's return to Leeds University, where their seminal live album was recorded in 1970.

American Lives, American Promise ~ Thomas Paine, Mark Twain, Studs Terkel [audio 60min]

1) Harvey Kaye talks with Steve Paulson about visionary founding father Thomas Paine. Kaye's book is Thomas Paine and the Promise of America. Kaye asserts that Paine made the case for a new egalitarian kind of government. Also, Charles Monroe-Kane prepared a profile of singer/songwriter Neko Case, a country singer who's haunted by the American Dream. Her latest solo album is called The Tigers Have Spoken. 2) Ron Powers is the author of Mark Twain: A Life. He tells Jim Flemin