Roundup

The Spanish Armada -- Things We Forgot to Remember [30min]

Former British Conservative politician Michael Portillo presents a series which revisits the great moments of history to discover that they often conceal other events of equal, but forgotten, importance. We remember a lot about the Spanish Armada of 1588; Drake and his bowls, Elizabeth I on Tilbury Docks and a glorious naval victory -- but are we remembering the right history? Michael Portillo investigates the real history of the Armada

The English Civil War and Andrew Marvell [30min]

British Shakespeare scholar and literary biographer Jonathan Bate presents a series which examines historical events through the poetry they inspired. Jonathan visits Westminster to work on Andrew Marvell's"An Horatian Ode upon Cromwell's Return from Ireland", in which Marvell (1621-1678) wrestles with his loyalty to the recently beheaded King Charles I and his respect for the energy of Oliver Cromwell. Visit website to read"An Horatian Od

Jean-Jacques Rousseau vs David Hume [8min]

Anyone who desires further proof that there is no verifiable connection between intellect and character may consult Rousseau's Dog, which details how two great minds of the Age of the Enlightenment -- Scottish philosopher David Hume (1711-76) against Franco-Swiss philosopher and political theorist Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-78) -- became consumed by petty and irrational hatred for each other. Authors David Edmonds and John Eidinow, who recounted the story of another philosopher showdown

America's History of Violins [11min]

The violin takes center stage in an exhibit at the Library of Congress. The instrument's popularity has cut across economic, racial and regional lines and helped drive new forms of American music, from blues and jazz to bluegrass and swing.

Lloyd George & the Fat Man [30min]

The years after the First World War saw the then Prime Minister David Lloyd George splitting from the main body of his Liberal Party and setting up a coalition with the Conservatives. He decided to pay for his new coalition party by raising money from the sale of political honours, establishing a brokerage system for titles. At the centre of the system was Maundy Gregory, a curious and shadowy figure. Gregory set up shop in opulent offices in Whitehall and went about his task with gusto, selling

San Francisco to Mark Centennial of 1906 Earthquake [2min]

The city of San Francisco is preparing to mark the 100th anniversary of one of the most devastating natural disasters ever to strike the United States. VOA's Chris Mitchell has more on the devastating 1906 earthquake.

The Manhunt for John Wilkes Booth [55min]

The Book Guys -- book appraiser Allan Stypeck and Washington DC radio host Mike Cuthbert -- welcome James Swanson, author of Manhunt, who discusses the 12-day search for John Wilkes Booth following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, April 14, 1865.

Renoir's 'Boating Party' Returns to the Potomac [7min]

Susan Stamberg reports that, in a town full of museums, the Phillips Collection has always been Washington, D.C.'s most intimate, personal home for paintings. Now about 60 of its European masterworks -- by Renoir, Van Gogh, Cezanne and others -- are back at the Phillips after a four-year absence. They went on tour while the museum was expanded, reconstructed and refurbished. Duncan Phillips, founder of the museum, had an impeccable eye for beauty, form, composition and color. Some of the finest

Andrew Carnegie [30min]

In 1901, when Andrew Carnegie sold his steel making empire to the banker J.P Morgan for $480 million, the financier congratulated him on becoming “the richest man in the World”. But it’s not just Carnegie’s wealth that inspired this week’s guest, Daily Telegraph’s Editor-at-Large, Jeff Randall, to nominate him for ‘Great Lives’. By the time he died, Carnegie had given most of his vast fortune away. Presenter Matthew Parris invites Jeff Randall to explore the life of an extraordinary busi

London, This Is Washington [60min]

A radio play by Mark Lawson. The patrician grandee Macmillan encounters a beguiling young Jack Kennedy, overflowing with energy and charm; a wily Lyndon Johnson pits himself against a Harold Wilson who is easily able to match his American counterpart for cunning. But observers - and indeed Kennedy himself -- are in for some surprises. David Calder as Harold Macmillan, Nathan Osgood as John F Kennedy, Philip Jackson as Harold Wilson, Kerry Shale as Lyndon B Johnson, Ian Porter as Dick, Simon Robs

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon in Today's Iraq [30min]

The site of the famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon lies only about 70 kilometres south of Baghdad. It remains in our imagination as one of the great centres of early civilisation, but recent events have created a threat to its survival. Used as a base camp by military forces, there are reports of serious damage to the archaeological remains. Jonathan Charles attempts to make the dangerous journey to find out what has happened to Babylon.

D.C. Museums Near End of Pricey Facelift [7min]

The original Patent Office in Washington, D.C., considered one of the country's best examples of Greek revival architecture, is nearing the end of a $300 million renovation. When the building reopens on July 1, the two Smithsonian museums it houses -- the National Portrait Gallery and the American Art Museum -- will be newly accessible to the public. The Patent Office building was a pivotal part of President Andrew Jackson's plan to turn Washington into a great world capital. Jackson enlisted Ro

American History Museum to Close for Repairs [1min]

The most popular branch of the Smithsonian will be closing after Labor Day to undergo a planned two-year renovation. The American History Museum wants to update the building's infrastructure and create a better display for the Star Spangled Banner. A painstaking 8-year conservation project on the flag was completed Wednesday.

'31 Days': Between Two Presidencies [20min]

On Aug. 9, 1974, Richard M. Nixon's resignation as president of the United States became official, and Vice President Gerald Ford took office."I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your president by your ballots," he said in his swearing-in speech on that day."And so I ask you to confirm me as your president with your prayers." The period following that day, up until Ford's pardoning of Nixon, is the focus of Barry Werth's 31 Days. Werth delivers a blow-by-blow account of the

Darfur Violence Spills Into Neighboring Chad [5min]

Government troops using tanks and attack helicopters repelled a rebel assault on the capital of the central African nation of Chad on Thursday. The president says he blames Sudan because the Darfur crisis has spilled over into his country. Madeleine Brand speaks with John Prendergast of the International Crisis group about how the genocide in Sudan and the fighting in Chad are connected.

Who Decides to Declassify Government Documents? [33min]

Who decides what should be kept 'top secret'? And does classifying information protect national security -- or politicians? Guests: Steven Aftergood, director of the Project on Government Secrecy for the Federation of American Scientists; and Richard Kerr, deputy director of the CIA, 1989 to 1992.

Gospel of Judas Prompts Re-Examination of Bible [41min]

Last week the National Geographic Society made the remarkable announcement that it had completed the translation of the Gospel of Judas. The five-year project required major efforts of restoration, authentication and translation. The text, believed to be 1,700 years old, was found three decades ago in Egypt. Why was the Gospel of Judas not included in the Bible? There are other gospels that have been found over the last century that were not included -- among them, the Gospels of Thomas and Mary

The Oxford Movement -- Anglicans and Catholics in the 19th Century [45min]

Cardinal John Henry Newman is perhaps the most significant Christian theologian of the nineteenth century. He began as an evangelical, becoming a High Anglican before converting to Roman Catholicism in 1845. His is the story of the diversity of Victorian religious life. But his path also marks the waning of the ideas of Protestant nationhood at the close of the eighteenth century and the reaffirmation of the Catholic tradition at the turn of the twentieth century. For over a decade, between 1833

Rev. William Sloane Coffin Dies at 81 [5min]

The Rev. William Sloane Coffin has died. Coffin, a former chaplin at Yale University, was best known for his peace and civil rights activism during the Vietnam War. He was immortalized as the Rev. Sloane in the Doonesbury comic strip. Coffin, who was 81, had suffered from congestive heart failure. NPR's Michele Norris talks with Michael Ferber, a professor of English at the University of New Hampshire.

World Court at the Hague [3min Part I; 5min Part II]

The World Court at the Hague celebrates its 60th anniversary this month. I) Interview with President Roslyn Higgins, International Court of Justice. II) Host Lisa Mullins speaks with David Scheffer, former ambassador-at-large for war crimes during the Clinton Administration, about the role and impact of the World Court at the Hague.