Roundup

Theary Seng on Cambodia's Killing Fields

Theary Seng, author of "Daughter of the Killing Fields", was forced from her home when the Khmer Rouge took control in Cambodia. She was only three. Theary's father was murdered, and she was imprisoned with her brothers and her mother. Then her mother disappeared. She tells "Everywoman": "For me it was the clearest time when I experienced the separation of the material body and the soul. As a six year old, I felt that sensation. I didn't see the killing, and nobody told

Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando is a genuine icon of modern cinema. His performances in films such as "A Streetcar Named Desire", "On the Waterfront" and "The Godfather" are the stuff of legend. He transformed screen acting and inspired generations of actors yet he was hounded by demons which haunted him most of his life. His dysfunctional childhood and his volatile relationship with his father left severe scars. They affected his relationships with women, his 11 children, and his at

Tracy Kidder's Vietnam Memoir

Author Tracy Kidder chronicles his experience as an intelligence officer in Vietnam in his new book, "My Detachment: A Memoir" (Random House). In it, he writes about how as a recent college graduate, he was assigned to the intelligence division and deployed soon thereafter to Vietnam where he led eight other young men in his command. The book deals with life in battle as well as the downtimes in between the fighting. Kidder has been the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Aw

Alexander Hamilton • Civil War recollections 3rd of 8

(1) This week, Bryan Le Beau is joined by Ron Chernow, whose biography of Alexander Hamilton has gained widespread acclaim. Their conversation reveals not only the familiar highs and lows of Hamilton’s life but its depth and breadth. (2) Replacing the program's commentary and site-of-the-week segments during our new fall 2005 season, "Talking History" will air a series of readings from an unpublished manuscript, "Recollections of Field Hospital Service During the War of Secession,

Audio News from Archaeologica

(1) Statues of Athena and Hera found on Crete; The statues date from between the 2nd and 4th centuries A.D., a period of Roman rule in Greece, archaeologists said. (2) Lost Maya city of Site Q found in Guatemala during a mission to the northwest Petèn region; the evidence -- an in-situ panel carved with over 140 hieroglyphs that fill in a key 30 year chapter in classic Maya history -- was found in a little known ancient royal center called La Corona. (3) Proving Homer's "Odyssey"; Brit

Popular History

In Britain, history is more and more popular on primetime TV and in airport blockbusters and, indeed, at universities, but less and less popular in schools. Libby Purves discusses the appeal of history with Kate Mosse, author and broadcaster, whose historical novel, "Labyrinth", has been in the bestseller list for the past twelve weeks; and Jonathan Phillips, senior lecturer in Medieval History at Royal Holloway, University of London.

19c British origins of musical comedy

Ned Sherrin presents a programme about the origins of musical comedies, that very British genre of musical theatre which first took London by storm in the late-19th century with shows such as The Gaiety Girl, The Shop Girl and The Dollar Princess. Created, if that's the right word, by the enterprising George Edwardes, manager of the Gaiety Theatre, the musical comedy genre was characterised by simple romantic plots, set in the modern era, punctuated by songs which became classics of their day, s

The Birth of William the Conqueror

Guillaume le Bâtard's genealogy is Professor Bob Packett's topic today. Packett teaches at Maple Woods Community College, in Kansas City, Missouri.

Empire (7th of 90) -- Martin Frobisher and Fool's Gold

The Dutch and Portuguese were in the Far East long before the English. But in the middle to late 1500s the journey was still hazardous for the English and investors chose to trade overland via the Levant or elsewhere. Some thought it possible to sail over the top of Russia to the East Indies or at least discover some grand river system that would achieve the same. Sir Humphrey Gilbert was convinced that it would be possible to sail to China in a northwesterly direction, hence the continuing drea

4 October 1957: Sputnik satellite blasts into space (2 clips)

A Russian satellite has been launched into space -- the first man-made object ever to leave the Earth's atmosphere. The Russian news agency, Tass, said the satellite Sputnik was now 560 miles (900 kilometres) above the Earth and circling it every hour-and-a-half. Scientists predict the metal sphere will eventually burn up in the atmosphere but they hope it will send important data back to Earth before doing so. Dr A A Blagonravov, who is believed to have been closely involved with the preparatio

3 October 1995: OJ Simpson verdict: "Not guilty" (7 clips)

OJ Simpson has been found not guilty of the murders of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ronald Goldman. The jury took less than four hours to reach a unanimous decision in the trial that has gripped America for an entire year. Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were stabbed to death outside her Brentwood townhouse on June 12 1994. Former American football star Simpson was arrested soon after the killings but insisted from the start he was"absolutely, 100% not guilty". Judge Lance Ito order

Germany commemorates unification (3 clips)

In cities and towns across Germany, the country is looking back on fifteen years of German unity. In the central ceremony in Potsdam, politicians praised the accomplishments of the"peaceful revolution" in East Germany. More clips: Unification: A tale of two cities on Deutsche Welle"World"; and U.S. Supreme Court/Germany Reunification on WAMU"The Diane Rehm Show."

August Wilson, 1945-2005 (4 clips)

A tribute to Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson, who died Sunday of liver cancer. Wilson reached one of the greatest accomplishments in American theatre with his cycle of 10 plays chronicling 20th century Black American life. More clips: August Wilson and"Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" on NPR"Talk of the Nation"; A look at the life of August Wi

US parents begin legal action to stop children learning intelligent design in schools

Its critics deride it as creationism in a cheap tuxedo, but the concept of intelligent design is edging its way into American classrooms. This is a theory that living beings are so complex that they didn't simply evolve, and that some form of higher intelligence must have had a crucial role. With an increasing number of school boards now endorsing intelligent design as an alternative to evolution, some parents in Pennsylvania have decided to take a stand. Last week they began legal action in a b

Oppenheimer & "Trinity" tests inspire new opera by Adams & Sellars

Fifty years after the U.S. tested the first atomic bomb, science and art collide in a new opera about that pivotal moment in history, by John Adams and Peter Sellars. "Weekend America" host Barbara Bogaev talks with science correspondent Rebecca Roberts about "Doctor Atomic" and the birth of the bomb.

James Dean: Death of a Hollywood icon

Fifty years ago this week James Dean died on a California highway. The 24-year-old actor had only three major films under his belt, but decades later, fans still make the pilgrimage to the site where he crashed his sports car in Central California. "Weekend America" host Bill Radke retraces Dean's last ride with Chris Epting, author of the book "James Dean Died Here: The Locations of America's Pop Culture Landmarks."

Bound feet: Last generation of Chinese women

You have to suffer to be beautiful is a commonly heard expression. But some women have been forced to go through unimaginable pain to conform to the required standard. It is estimated that two-billion Chinese girls had their feet bound in order to achieve the tiny feet that were seen as the epitome of beauty. The practice continued until the beginning of the twentieth century, but today the last generation of women with bound feet is dying out. Louisa Lim reports from Beijing.

Jules Verne, Soviet Union, the Planets, the Internet -- Travel in the imagination

Sandi Toksvig asks whether a journey in the imagination will ever make up for the real thing. The fantastical voyages of French writer Jules Verne, a childhood spent dreaming of the 'free world' in the former Soviet Union, and richly researched planetary travels are just some of the journeys to be made without having to leave home. This week's guests: (1) Professor Tim Unwin, Professor of French at the Department of French, University of Bristol, and author of "Jules Verne: Journeys in Writ

Voices in the news

A sound montage of some of the voices in this past week's news, including: Former FEMA Director Michael Brown, Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT), President Bush, Chief Justice John Roberts, New York Times reporter Judith Miller; Prosecutor Ronnie Earle, Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

Garbo centennial

One hundred years ago, the actress Greta Garbo was born. She became Hollywood's biggest star in the 1920s and '30s. Library of Congress film historian Mike Mashon recounts her memorable roles.