Roundup

A Worldly 'History,' Now in English

The late Sir Ernst Gombrich wrote A Little History of the World in 1936, in German. The book tells the story of human kind from the stone age to the atomic bomb and has been translated into 17 languages. A more popular work for young people, The Story of Art, was published in 1950 and sold 6 million copies for the author. Yet for many years, Little History was not translated into English. Then, before Gombrich died in 2001 -- at the age of 92 -- he began to update and transl

Terror, Faith and the Arts

It is 400 years since Guy Fawkes and others plotted to blow up King and Parliament on 5th November 1605. This failed plot had a profound effect on political, religious and cultural life of the time. David Skinner investigates how writers, artists and composers responded to the plot, some censoring their own work or blatantly playing the royalist card to survive, and some such as the Catholic composer William Byrd defying king and country and keeping true to his Catholic faith. David explores lif

Women and the Gunpowder Plot

A great deal is known about the thirteen men who conspired to blow up Parliament and the King 400 years ago. But what of the women who were involved either by accident or design? Gunpowder Women, the Woman's Hour drama from Monday, 31 October to Friday 4 November, looks at the women affected by the plot through a series of short plays. Martha Kearney is joined by Kate Shaw, who wrote one of the episodes, and Alice Hogge, whose book about the story of the hatching of the plot, God's Sec

Legendary Jazz Singer, Pianist Shirley Horn, Dies

Grammy-winning jazz vocalist and pianist Shirley Horn died Thursday at a nursing home in Cheverly, Md., after an extended battle with diabetes. She was 71. Horn became a major influence on younger jazz singer/pianists such as Diana Krall and Norah Jones.

Bringing It Home: Alvin Josephy Jr., 1915-2005

Journalist and historian Alvin Josephy Jr. died this week at the age of 90. He's most remembered for his writing on Indians of the American West. But in his earlier life as a reporter, he was best known as one of very few correspondents recording the sounds of World War II for the people back home. WNYC archivist Andy Lanset plays some of Josephy's old tapes for Brooke Gladstone.

Milosevic and Saddam: Two Trials, Two Tales

Mark Vlasic served as a prosecuting attorney in the trial of Slobodan Milosevic and helped train Iraqi judges serving on Saddam Hussein's tribunal. He discusses similarities and differences in the two cases with Scott Simon.

Cheese-Making Tradition Melts Away in Camembert

France is known for its hundreds of cheeses, but the most famous is perhaps the soft, round Camembert. To be considered a true Camembert, the cheese must be made in Normandy, in northwest France, from the milk of Norman cows. But in the village of Camembert itself, there's only one man making the cheese in the traditional way.

Saying Goodbye to Shirley Horn

Lost to us at 71, jazz pianist and vocalist Shirley Horn's slow pace and rich voice will be missed. She made more than 20 albums. Perhaps her most memorable effort was "Here's to Life."

'The Story of Chicago May': An Irish Life

In The Story of Chicago May, Irish author Nuala O'Faolain tells the true story of a young Irish woman who steals her family's money and runs off to America, where she begins a life of crime at the turn of the 20th century. O'Faolain talks with Scott Simon about the book.

The Threepenny Opera & The Beggar's Opera

The Threepenny Opera by Kurt Weill is a simple story of 18th century life in London's Soho -- or so it would seem. The Beggar's Opera, on which it was based, is a satirical panning of British society and establishment, with Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole and the composer Handel directly in the line of fire. Both operas were runaway successes. Huw Edwards looks at why The Threepenny Opera was as relevant and explosive to its 20th century Weimar Republic audience as its pre

Katrina Disperses New Orleans' Voodoo Community

Since the late 1960s, visitors to the French Quarter in New Orleans have thrilled to its evocative little voodoo shops. One of those shops, however, caters not to tourists but to those for whom voodoo is a spiritual tradition and a community. New Orleans Mistic owner Don Glossup has returned to his shop in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, but says most of the homes near his store are too damaged for habitation. Many of Glossup's locally born customers practice a sort of a vernacular voodoo, less o

British Coronation Rites

Sandi Toksvig and guest co-hosts Annie Caulfield and David Rose welcome Roy Strong, author of Coronation: A History of Kingship and the British Monarchy (HarperCollins). This podcast begins with the hosts' discussion of tatoos, sin, and the deaths of Shakespeare and Marlowe.

Our Island Story

Sandi Toksvig and guest co-host Stella Duffy welcome publisher Nicholas Oulton and his 12- and 14-year-old daughters for a discussion of his centenary edition of Our Island Story, a classic children's history of Britain from the Romans to the death of Queen Victoria. First published in 1905, this beautifully written narrative sets out the history of Britain in a way that has delighted and enthused children for generations. This podcast begins with Sandi and Stella's interview of Henry Cha

Seymour Hersh and Scott Ritter on Iraq, WMDs and the Role of the Clinton Administration in the 1990s

Former chief UN weapons inspector in Iraq, Scott Ritter, and investigative journalist Seymour Hersh had a public discussion Octiber 19th, in New York City titled"Iraq Confidential: How We Got Into Iraq and How to Get Out." We play an excerpt of the discussion between Ritter and Hersh focusing on the role of the Democrats and the Clinton administration in Iraq during the 1990s. Hersh is the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for The New Yorker, who first exposed the prisoner abuse scandal i

Trafalgar

On 21 October 1805, England engaged in a massive sea battle against Napoleon's navy. It was the definitive naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars and it established Britannia's position as ruler of the seas for the following century and a half. It is a genuine turning point in our island's history for if Britain had lost, it would have been impossible to prevent Napoleon's full-scale invasion of the British Isles. But what really happened at Trafalgar? The anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar is

New Bio Offers Sinister View of Chairman Mao

A new book paints Mao as a monster on par with Hitler and Stalin and challenges almost every part of the conventional biography. Mao Tse-Tung (also written Zedong) led the Communist Party of China from 1943 until his death in 1976. Mao: The Unknown Story was written by Jung Chang, who described the suffering of her family during the cultural revolution in the bestseller Wild Swans and her husband, the historian Jon Halliday. They spent 10 years documenting the life of Chairman Mao,

'Active Liberty' from Justice Stephen Breyer

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer has written about his interpretation of the constitution in the new book Active Liberty: Interpreting Our Democratic Constitution.

Bettany Hughes on Helen of Troy

Sandi Toksvig and guest co-host Bonnie Langford welcome historian and TV presenter Bettany Hughes, author of Helen of Troy: Goddess, Princess, Whore (Jonathan Cape). This podcast begins with Sandi and Bonnie’s interview of former MP Gyles Brandreth, author of Charles and Camilla: Portrait of a Love Affair. (Century).

RCMP Rwanda Arrest

Five years ago, the Canadian government passed the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, which brought Canada into line with the statues of the International Criminal Court. Today, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police made their first arrest under the law. Desire Munyaneza of Toronto has been charged with seven crimes against humanity for his alleged actions during the Rwandan genocide of 1994 Interviewee: Inspector Graham Burnside, the officer in charge of the War Crimes Section of the RCMP.

Was Archimedes' Mirror Real?

Legend has it that the mathematician Archimedes invented a giant mirror that used the sun to set Roman warships afire during battle in 212 B.C. But many have wondered whether the story is a myth. Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor David Wallace decided to test it out with a team of students.