Roundup

Sex-Change Pioneer, Dr. Stanley Biber [4min]

The king of sex-change procedures has died. Dr. Stanley Biber performed nearly 4,000 such operations over 30 years, probably more than anyone else. In the process, he turned the tiny town of Trinidad, Colo., into the sex-change capital of the world.

Vatican Paper Weighs In on Intelligent Design [7min]

The Vatican newspaper on Tuesday ran an article saying intelligent design is not science and should not be taught alongside evolution in schools. It also says that evolution does not necessarily exclude God from the process of creation. Guest: John Allen, Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter.

Puppets Through America 4th of 5 -- The Great South West [15min]

Puppeteer Walter Wilkinson's 1938 account of his adventures in America with his travelling peep-show in the 1930s, read by David Timson and abridged by Roy Apps. 4/5. Wilkinson and his peep-show entertain lively and appreciative audiences in New Mexico.

Morocco: Between Tradition and Modernity [51min]

Throughout its history the kingdom of Morocco has found itself at the crossing of numerous cultures. We'll explore how the people and government of Morocco are working to reconcile sometimes-conflicting goals and traditions, as well as the lingering dispute regarding the Western Sahara region. Guests: Robert Holley, President, Moroccan-American Center for Policy; Claire Spencer, Head, Middle East Program - Chatham House; I. William Zartman, Director, African Studies and Conflict Management - J

History in the East Anglian Fens [29min]

Brett Westwood presents a series of puzzles involving links between local history and the countryside. 3/6. The East Anglian Fens: Nine thousand wild swans, a gun in a punt and why water has to flow uphill into the fenland rivers. Brett Westwood is back with more puzzles in the landscape, unearthing the lines that have linked people and places over the centuries. The programmes are researched with the help of local historians and residents and, out on location, the puzzle they have helped put to

London Public Advertiser: Monday May 13, 1765 [30min]

Peter Snow returns with a series that brings alive stories found in individual newspapers from history. Child star Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart nears the end of a 14-month stay in London - so what did we make of him? What did he compose while he was here? The mighty little racehorse Gimcrack still a legendary name - risks a long unbeaten record at Newmarket. Has he nibbled off more than he can chew? And does the newspaper hold a clue to the origins of the French Revolution as it reports life in the B

Dr Martin Luther King v Malcolm X [45min]

Allan Little chairs a restaging of the debate between two towering figures of the Civil Rights Movement -- Dr Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Both men were charismatic leaders, committed to achieving freedom for African-Americans yet they held very different views on how to achieve equality. Should one use non-violent direct action and work to shame one's oppressors, or should civil rights be achieved by 'any means necessary'? To debate this in front of an invited audience in Birmingham are Dr

The Ducking Stool: Reconciliation and Re-Enactment [9min]

The middle ages were not kind when it came to punishments. There was hanging, drawing and quartering or burning at the stake for the serious offender and the stocks or the whipping post for more minor misdemeanours. The ducking stool was reserved for women who could be publicly humiliated for simply speaking their minds -- or, as it was put at the time, being a nag or a scold. One of the few ducking stools still remaining is in the 13th century Priory Church in Leominster. The congregation decid

Understanding MLK Day's Controversial Comments [4min]

Commentator Robert Franklin is a professor of theology at Emory University in Atlanta. He explains some controversial statements with racial overtones made by Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin on Martin Luther King.

Presidential Power [51min]

Critics charge that this administration has extended its power beyond Congressional oversight and judicial review. We talk about the limits of Presidential authority and ongoing concerns regarding domestic surveillance. Guests: Lee Casey, lawyer in private practice, former Justice Department official in the Reagan adminstration and the first Bush administration; David Cole, professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center and author of Enemy Aliens and Terrorism and the Constitutio

Lessons Learned from Abuses of COINTELPRO [4min]

Farai Chideya talks with former federal prosecutor and George Washington University law professor Paul Butler about lessons learned from COINTELPRO, the 1960s-era federal domestic spying program. Two new lawsuits accuse the Bush Administration of new cases of illegal domestic surveillance.

Honour Killings -- How Can Deaths Be Reduced? [19min]

The UN Population Fund estimates that 5000 women worldwide may be the victims of honour killings every year and police believe that there may be as many as 12 honour killings each year in the UK. Many killings are disguised as suicide, fire or accidents and for each killing many more women are likely to be suffering abuse. "Woman's Hour" looks at Turkey where their aim to join the EU has caused laws governing human rights to change, giving women more protection. And Jenni Murray also s

European Parliament CIA Inquiry [14min]

The European Parliament has voted to set up a committee of inquiry to investigate allegations that the American CIA has been interrogating terrorism suspects at secret prisons in Eastern Europe. So how will this inquiry work?

Puppets Through America 3rd of 5 -- The City of Puppets [15min]

Puppeteer Walter Wilkinson's 1938 account of his adventures in America with his travelling peep-show in the 1930s, read by David Timson and abridged by Roy Apps. 3/5. Wilkinson is amazed by the sophistication of the puppets he is invited to view at the Annual Festival of the Puppeteers of America, in Cincinnati.

Archives Help Businesses Learn from Mistakes [6min]

Public museums were founded in part to help societies hold onto their cultural and historical memories. But businesses collect, too: The documents, products and records a company keeps in its archive help create institutional memories. Sometimes those memories are of products that worked, sometimes not.The Texaco Star Theater was a Tuesday night TV staple from 1948 to 1954. Each week four men in crisp matching gas station uniforms sang their jingle and introduced the

The Father of Ireland [8min @ 19:49]

It's potentially the father of all paternity tests. A genetic study undertaken by an Irish Ph.D. student suggests that millions of Ireland's men are the descendents of one fifth-century warlord. Turns out that, when he wasn't sacking cities, Niall of the Nine Hostages was siring sons. Those progeny went on to produce... and produce... and produce. Professor Dan Bradley works at the Smurfit Institute of Genetics. We reached him in Dublin, Ireland.

Unearthing a Family Tree's Diverse Roots [20min]

Journalist, novelist and playwright Thulani Davis traces her roots in her new book, My Confederate Kinfolk: A Twenty-First Century Freedwoman Discovers Her Roots. Among the revelations Davis uncovered was that her ancestors include a Scots-Irish clan of cotton planters as well as Africans from Sierra Leone. Davis's previous books include the novels 1959 and Maker of Saints. She also wrote the librettos for Amistad and Malcolm X.

Remembering Ben Franklin on his 300th Birthday [5min]

As Philadelphia gets ready to celebrate Ben Franklin's 300th birthday on Jan. 17, Joel Rose of member station WHYY gives us a sense of Franklin's lasting impact on America. Franklin was a man of diverse talents: publisher, inventor, ambassador, politician, wit. And one key to his appeal may lie in his all-too-human failures.

Taylor Branch Concludes King Trilogy [50min]

Terry Gross talks with author Taylor Branch, who has written the third in a trilogy of biographies on Martin Luther King Jr. The book is called At Canaan's Edge.

Teaching Martin Luther King Jr.'s Story [5min]

Racial tensions between blacks and Latinos have developed recently in Los Angeles high schools. Youth Radio reporter Jennifer Obakhume visits a South Los Angeles high school to find out how Martin Luther King's legacy is taught there, and how those lessons are received.