Roundup

Santa -- A Life, 5th of 5 [15min]

The Santa Claus we know today is now fully fledged in 19th-century America and England. Jeremy Seal ends his journey of discovery in Santa Claus' new home at the northernmost point of the globe.

William Proxmire, Crusader Against Government Waste [5min]

Former Wisconsin Sen. William Proxmire died Thursday at the age of 90. Alex Chadwick speaks with NPR political editor Ken Rudin about the former Democratic lawmaker, who was known as a crusader against government waste.

Former Wisconsin Sen. William Proxmire Dies [7min]

Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) talks about the life of former Wisconsin Sen. William Proxmire, the political maverick who became Congress' leading scourge of big spending and government waste. Proxmire died Thursday at the age of 90. Guests: John Nichols, editor of The Capital Times in Madison, Wisc.; and Ron Kind, Democratic congressman from Wisconsin.

William Proxmire, 1915-2005 [2min]

Before there was Senator John McCain, there was Senator William Proxmire. Like McCain, he often stood apart from his party, favored campaign finance reform… and was a media darling. Proxmire died on Thursday at the age of 90. Brooke reminisces about the Wisconsin Senator's long career of media stunts, born of equal parts tenacity and conviction.

A Final Tribute to Richard Pryor [4min]

Commentator Todd Boyd says that as a critic of pop culture, he owes a debt of gratitude to the late Richard Pryor. Boyd is the Katherine and Frank Price endowed chair for the study of race and popular culture at the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television.

Origins of the Christmas Tree Tradition [3min]

Evangelical groups say they want to put the 'Christ' back into Christmas, and House Speaker Dennis Hastert has declared that the capital has a Christmas tree, not a "holiday tree." But debate over the tradition is not new, as a historical account illustrates.

The Peterloo Massacre [45min]

As British Foreign Secretary, Robert Stewart Castlereagh successfully co-ordinated European opposition to Napoleon, but at home he repressed the Reform movement, and popular opinion held him responsible for the Peterloo Massacre of peaceful demonstrators in 1819. Percy Bysshe Shelley's epic poem, The Mask of Anarchy, reflected the widespread public outrage and condemnation of the government's role in the massacre. Why did a peaceful and orderly meeting of men, women and children in St Pet

Billy Murray -- America’s First Recording Star [39min @ 12:20]

We look at the career of America's first recording star, Billy Murray, who made thousands of cylinders, discs, and radio appearances from the 1890s-1940s. We’ll learn about the birth of the recording industry and listen to a few archival recordings. Guests: Frank Hoffman, author of the biography and discography Billy Murray; Neal Lavon (co-host), director of VOA English Programs Division and sound collector; Dick Bertel, radio historian and former VOA"Talk To America" Executive Producer.

Santa -- A Life, 4th of 5 [15min]

Leaving southern Europe behind, Saint Nicholas heads north for Amsterdam where he becomes Sinterklaas and starts to play a very different role in the lives of his devotees.

Bart Ehrman's 'Misquoting Jesus' [39min]

Scholar Bart Ehrman's new book explores how scribes -- through both omission and intention -- changed the Bible. Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why is the result of years of reading the texts in their original languages. Ehrman says the modern Bible was shaped by mistakes and intentional alterations that were made by early scribes who copied the texts. In the introduction to Misquoting Jesus, Ehrman writes that, when he came to understand this process

Ancient Mayan Mural Found in Guatemala [6min]

Archaeologists have uncovered an elaborate wall of 2,000-year-old Mayan murals buried in a tunnel deep in Guatemala's northern jungle. Guest: David Stuart, professor of art history and director, Mesoamerican Center, University of Texas.

Iranian President Calls Holocaust a Myth [4min]

In a speech carried on state television Wednesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the Holocaust a myth. Steve Inskeep talks to Kasra Naji, a journalist in Tehran, about how the president's remarks are being viewed within the country.

Armenia: Was It Genocide? [38min]

A federal lawsuit filed against education officials in Massachusetts is sparking a new debate about history and how the controversial events are presented to students. The event in question here is known by most historians as the Armenian genocide, who believe that Muslim Turks methodically killed 1.5 million Christian Armenians beginning in 1915. Turkey has said that the deaths were the unfortunate offshoot of war as Armenians sided with the invading Russians, bringing on the collapse of the Ot

Scale of Charges [15min]

Richard Foster with stories which stem from that basic piece of a historians research -- a bill. From the detailed accounts of Thomas Green, a harpsichord tuner in 18th century Hertford, England, we detect his instrument's eclipse by the new-fangled piano as it percolates down from the aristocracy to his regular customers.

Santa -- A Life, 3rd of 5 [15min]

The battle ensues for the bones of Saint Nicholas (one day to be Santa Claus) in an 11th century Europe obsessed with relics.

St. Francis of Assisi [14min @ 13:28]

Steve Paulson prepared this report on Saint Francis of Assissi and his continuing influence in the modern world. Francis was an Italian mystic who lived 800 years ago, was a peace broker during the Crusades, and is the patron saint of animal lovers. Actress Sarah Day reads selections from Valerie Martin's novel, Salvation. And we hear a lot of location sound recorded where Francis lived in Italy.

Van Gogh and Gauguin [28min]

Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin were two of the greatest painters of the late 19th century. A brief but intense collaboration occurred between the two artists. They met in Paris in the autumn of 1887. Each man tried to learn from the other and admired the other's work. Their collaboration was marked at first by mutual support and dialogue, but there was also competition and friction. The men differed sharply in their views on art: Gauguin favored working from memory and allowing abstract menta

Christian Schools Sue Univ. of Calif. System over Content [4min]

More than 800 Christian schools are suing the University of California system. They say the nation's largest public university system won't credit certain high school courses in Science, History, Math and Literature because they contain too much religious content.

Santa -- A Life, 2nd of 5 [15min]

The Byzantine bishop, Saint Nicholas, becomes the saint of all things nautical and embarks on his long journey around the world towards his modern role as Santa Claus.

U.S. Museum Collections in Dire Condition [5min]

A new survey shows that museum collections are deteriorating. More than 3,000 institutions participated in the study by ranking their own preservation practices, and the results were alarming.