Roundup

Book Recounts 'Tiger Force' Crimes in Vietnam [audio 37min]

In 1967, a special platoon of U.S. Army soldiers dubbed"Tiger Force" fought in the jungles of Vietnam and spun wildly out of control. Forty years later, two reporters from the Toledo Blade uncovered Tiger Force crimes. Their new book Tiger Force: A True Story of Men and War examines the platoon's crimes and why they still matter. Guests: Mitch Weiss, co-author of Tiger Force; and Michael Sallah, co-author of Tiger Force investigations editor for The Miami Herald, awar

America Loses a Treasure: Stanley Kunitz [audio 6min]

The former U.S. poet laureate Stanley Kunitz has died. He was 100. The Pulitzer Prize-winner was known for his expressive verse, social commitment and generosity to young writers. His career spanned three-quarters of a century. Melissa Block talks with poet Marie Howe, a former student and close friend of Stanley Kunitz. She teaches creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College.

Two Biblical Kings: 'David and Solomon' [audio 21min]

Neil Asher Silberman tests the historical accuracy of some of the Bible's oldest stories in a book he co-authored with Israel Finkelstein, David and Solomon. The book focuses on the first two great kings of the Bible as a means of exploring the wider question of how the stories of the Bible evolved. Finkelstein and Silberman are archaeologists who also co-authored 2000's The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts. ~Website off

United States to Restore Diplomatic Relations with Libya [audio 4min]

The Bush administration announced Monday that it would restore diplomatic relations with Libya, more than 20 years after relations with that country were suspended because of Libya's involvement with terrorism. Noah Adams speaks with Michele Kelemen about the events leading up to the change in policy.

Politics with Ron Elving: Bush's Immigration Plan [audio 4min]

President Bush is set to give a prime-time speech Monday night to announce details of a new policy on immigration. Noah Adams discusses the president's speech and other events likely to dominate the week in politics with NPR senior Washington, D.C., editor Ron Elving.

After Peace Deal, Next Steps in Darfur [audio 4min]

The main rebel group fighting government forces and militia in the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan signed on to a peace agreement earlier this month. Madeleine Brand speaks with the U.S. State Department's Jendayi Frazier, assistant secretary for African affairs, about the next steps in the peace process.

An Argument Against Calling Darfur Violence Genocide [audio 12min]

Michael Clough talks about his op-ed that appeared in Sunday's Los Angeles Times, where he argues that using the word"genocide" is both misleading and counterproductive when applied to the violence occurring in Darfur.

Fresh Efforts to Get Northern Ireland Peace Process Back on Track [audio 7min]

Tommie Gorman, Northern Editor, speaks to Taoiseach [Prime Minister] Bertie Ahern about the task ahead in the next six months.

Irish American Community to Lobby US Congress [audio 7min]

Grant Lally, attorney and president of the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform, says that there are over 50,000 undocumented Irish people living illegally in the US.

'Stasiland': Terry Lane interviews Anna Funder [audio 55min]

Anna Funder discusses her book Stasiland, and its reception in Germany, with Terry Lane. Anna Funder is a lawyer by professional training, a multi-lingual government negotiator by previous employment and a writer by inclination. Her first book, Stasiland, won the BBC 4 Samuel Johnson prize for non-fiction in 2004 and was shortlisted for several other prizes in Australia and Britain.

The Mexico/US Border [audio 30min]

Allan Little analyses four parts of the world where the 'tectonic plates' of history keep bringing the regions into the news headlines generation after generation. Allan travels to Arizona and Mexico border towns to meet Mexican migrants about to embark on a 100-mile trek across the desert to find work in the US. He explores the part 'Manifest Destiny' played in the United States' claim to just over half of Mexico's territory when it re-drew its border in the late 19th Century. It propelled the

Balmaidens, Forgotten Cornish-Mining Women [audio 10min]

During the 18th and 19th Centuries the area of Cornwall and North Devon was the world’s greatest producer of tin and copper. But in 1998 the last working Cornish mine, South Crofty in Redruth, closed down. Now, crumbling engine houses and chimneys, looking picturesque against the sea and the wild Cornish coast, are the only reminder of that great mining history. But Cornish mining didn’t just involve men. Although few records have survived, 60,000 thousand women and girls, in one conservative es

Empire (66th of 90) -- Queen Victoria and Abdul Karim [audio 15min]

The man who replaced John Brown in the heart of Queen Victoria was an Indian servant by the name of Abdul Karim. He had arrived to be a khitmagrar -- to wait at table -- but quickly became so powerful in Victoria's affections that, on more than one occasion, her Royal Household threatened to resign. Victoria ignored this. Abdul Karim, or the Munshi (Teacher), as he was also known, was always at her side, assisting in her daily administration with letters and, most significantly, conversing in Hi

Grigorii Efimovich Rasputin...Almost the Truth [audio 90min]

Has history been unjust to Rasputin? Was he anything more than a 'mad monk' and evil influence on the Russian Royal family?

14 May -- On This Day [multiple clips]

Video and audio from the BBC news archive, WWII and 1950-2004, include 1955: Communist states sign Warsaw Pact; 1991: Mandela's wife jailed for kidnaps; 1964: Nasser and Khrushchev divert the Nile; 1957: Cheers as petrol rationing ended; 2001: Scientists warn of more CJD cases.

Waco Recalls a 90-Year-Old 'Horror' [audio 6min]

On Monday, a small interracial organization will meet on the steps of the Waco Texas courthouse to read a resolution condemning and apologizing for the lynching of 17-year-old Jesse Washington. Washington’s lynching 90 years ago was so astonishingly brutal that the incident became known nationally as the "Waco Horror." The Waco Interracial Coalition is forcing Waco to confront some of its painful history and there are many in this city of 200,000 who have no interest in apologizing for

13 May -- On This Day [multiple clips]

Video and audio from the BBC news archive, WWII and 1950-2004, include 1981: Thousands see Pope shot in Rome; 1989: British war hero 'seized' in Beirut; 1968: Workers join Paris student protest; 1995: British woman conquers Everest; 1977: Cricket captain sacked over 'circus'.

The Warren Cup [audio 5min @15:16]

Kirsty Lang visits the British Museum where, just inside the imposing main entrance, there stands a beautiful Roman silver cup. It's the Warren Cup. The museum bought it six years ago for £1.8 million, making it the most expensive single item they'd ever purchased at the time. However, that's probably not the thought that will be uppermost in visitors' minds when they look at it -- for the Warren Cup is covered with sexually-explicit images. Curator Dyfri Williams explains the history of the War

Remembering New York City's Opera Riots [audio 5min]

Staged riots at cultural events were routine in the 1840s. But the Astor Place riots of 1849 cost 22 lives, ending the practice. Theater historian Bruce McConachie helps Scott Simon recall the story.

Parallels Between the Holocaust and the Rwandan Genocide [audio 28min]

This special edition of Press Conference USA features representatives of the European Union of Jewish students who just returned from a trip to Rwanda. As the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors, they met with their Rwandan counterparts who had survived the genocide that took place 12 years ago. Representatives from Germany, the Netherlands and the UK discuss with host Carol Castiel some parallels between the Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide and what it's like to be a young Jew in an increasi