Roundup

What Do We Call This Decade? [5min]

We had the '70s, the '80s, the '90s. But as we approach the halfway point of this decade, we still have no name for it. What do we call this decade? Guest: Timothy Noah writes the"Chatterbox" column for Slate magazine and edited Marjorie Williams's posthumous collection of essays, The Woman at the Washington Zoo: Writings on Politics, Family, and Fate.

Finding Priscilla's Children [7min]

Thomalind Polite spent her whole life in South Carolina. But she went to Sierra Leone this year. Her aim was to see where a young girl almost 250 years ago took her last steps on African soil before boarding a slave ship for America. That girl was Polite's great great great great grandmother. Host Marco Werman speaks with Polite and the man who traced her ancestry, African-American history professor Joseph Opala.

George Elsey's 'Unplanned Life' [7min]

George McKee Elsey quietly witnessed and participated in the making of American history as an aide to two presidents. Now 88, he has told his story in An Unplanned Life. Elsey writes about working in war and peace under Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman. Elsey started out as a young U.S. Naval Reserve officer working for Roosevelt in the Map Room -- the White House communications and intelligence operation. He handled Roosevelt’s cabled exchanges with Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, a

Greenmantle -- WWI Germans Plot to Restore the Caliphate [2 x 60min]

In a March 2004 book review in The Atlantic, Christopher Hitchens recommended that we could learn more about Islamic fundamentalism by reading John Buchan's novel Greenmantle than by reading most of the post-9/11 glut of books on Islam. And in July 2005, following the London tube and bus bombings, the BBC cancelled its broadcast of Greenmantle because of its"unsuitable and insensitive" theme. Though Buchan (1875–1940) is now best known for his early-20c novels about British

The Legacy of Mozart's 'Requiem' [30min]

Commissioned to write it in 1791, Mozart died before he completed his Requiem. On Mozart's 250th birthday, John Suchet looks at Mozart's musical legacy, focusing on the last work that Mozart wrote in a particular musical genre. Suchet asks the experts in what way these works are great pieces of music, and how they've gone on to influence the music that has come after them.

Mozart's Women 3rd of 5 [15min]

Wolfgang and his new wife Constanze take delight in their new status, but they still have to win the approval of Wolfgang's father, Leopold. Lindsay Duncan reads from Jane Glover's chronicle of the women closest to the musical genius, Mozart's Women: His Family, His Friends, His Music.

Norman Vaughan Obituary [4min @ 10:41]

"Dream big, and dare to fail." Words to live by, certainly. For most of us, though, they might mean giving a PowerPoint presentation without backing up the file, or driving for an extra half hour with the fuel gauge on "E". For Norman Vaughan -- explorer, dog-sled racer, and all-'round adventurer -- those words were his personal motto, and he dreamed bigger than the average person. Norman Vaughan was the last surviving member of Admiral Richard Byrd's expedition to Antarctica

Character Actor Vincent Schiavelli Dies [2min]

Vincent Schiavelli died of lung cancer Monday at age 57 in Italy. Schiavelli had memorable turns as a mental-ward patient in One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest and as a science teacher in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. In 1997, Vanity Fair named him one of America's best character actors.

Tales from the Stave [30min]

Frances Fyfield tracks down the stories behind the scores of well-known pieces of music. She is joined by pianist Mitsoku Uchida to examine a remarkable manuscript by Mozart.

The Legacy of 'The Jupiter Symphony' [30min]

The musical world is about to celebrate Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 250th birthday. John Suchet looks at Mozart's musical legacy, focusing on the last work that Mozart wrote in a particular musical genre. Suchet asks the experts in what way these works are great pieces of music, and how they've gone on to influence the music that has come after them.

Mozart's Women 1st of 5 [15min]

Lindsay Duncan reads from Jane Glover's chronicle of the women closest to the musical genius, Mozart's Women: His Family, His Friends, His Music. The Mozart parents proudly show off the prodigious talents of the young Wolfgang and his sister Nannerl.

The Legacy of 'The Magic Flute' [30min]

Mozart wrote this piece just after France's Revolution and just before he died. On Mozart's 250th birthday, John Suchet looks at Mozart's musical legacy, focusing on the last work that Mozart wrote in a particular musical genre. Suchet asks the experts in what way these works are great pieces of music, and how they've gone on to influence the music that has come after them.

Mozart's Women 2nd of 5 [15min]

As a young man in Mannheim, Wolfgang encounters the vivacious and talented Weber sisters, who are to play major roles in the story of his life. Lindsay Duncan reads from Jane Glover's chronicle of the women closest to the musical genius, Mozart's Women: His Family, His Friends, His Music.

17c Parish Constables of Manchester [15min]

In the 17th century the parish constables of Manchester were volunteers, and it cost them 2d to keep someone in a cell overnight. Are there any parallels between their lives and the career-constable of today? Richard Foster with stories which stem from that basic piece of a historians research -- a bill.

The Harry Belafonte Story 1st of 4 [30min]

A new four part series presented by Whoopi Goldberg telling the life and times of the singer, actor, political activist and social historian -- the first person to sell a million albums, the first ever black television producer and the man behind the American Band Aid.

Reviving the Rich Legacy of the Bayeux Tapestry [3min]

The Bayeux tapestry is not only a pictorial history of the Norman invasion of England -- it's also a 900-year-old work of art. Its unique stitch had fallen out of use over the centuries, but now a woman in Bayeux is leading a worldwide revival of interest in tapestry and the Bayeux stitch.

Did Melville Borrow the Idea for 'Moby Dick'? [5min]

Literary historian Paul Collins found an odd ad in a rare first edition of Moby Dick author Herman Melville's 1849 novel Redburn. The ad was for another novel -- The Whale and His Captors -- by Rev. Henry Cheever. Collins and Scott Simon discuss the once-common practice of"improving upon" another author's work.

Exploring the Life of Adventurer Norman Vaughan [2min]

South Pole explorer Norman Vaughan died Friday, just days after celebrating his 100th birthday. Vaughan was a dog handler in the 1928 polar expedition led by Admiral Richard Byrd.

Baroque Pipe Organ on Display in Rochester [7min]

A full-size Italian Baroque organ -- a 17th-century marvel with 600 pipes and more than 2,000 parts -- is on display at the University of Rochester's Memorial Art Gallery. It's the only organ of its kind in the Americas.

The 'Big Talk' to My Son about FDR [4min]

Of all the dreaded "big talks" that parents have to deliver to their kids, the discussion of politics may seem like an easy one. But that’s not so, according to writer Kate Krautkramer, who offers this essay about trying to explain her reverence for President Franklin Roosevelt to her 6-year-old son.