Roundup

Civil rights lawyer Constance Baker-Motley (1921-2005)

A look back at the life of Constance Baker-Motley, civil rights lawyer and first African-American woman appointed to the federal judiciary, with guest Ted Shaw, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

Internal migration in the U.S.

Hurricane Katrina could potentially cause hundreds of people to relocate to new parts of the U.S., and it is just the latest catalyst in a history full of internal migration. What effects do these population movements have on our country? Historian James Gregory (Professor of History and Labor Studies, University of Washington, Seattle) and geographer Kavita Pandit (Professor of Geography, University of Georgia, Athens) join Chicago Public Radio's Gretchen Helfrich for the discussion. Gregory is

Saying farewell to Jeeves and other corporate mascots

The Internet search engine AskJeeves.com is retiring its cartoon mascot, Jeeves the butler. Jeeves will have plenty of company at the corporate mascot retirement home, where other advertising staples rest in obsolescence. Editor's note: This brief story is made worthwhile by its clips of Speedy Alka-Seltzer, the Frito Bandito, the Budweiser Frogs, and Mr. Whipple.

Homer's Ithaca

We know where Troy is. But where was Homer's Ithaca, the home of Odysseus?

Britain's curry craze

A special ceremony has taken place in London to mark the spot where Britain's first Indian curryhouse, the Hindustanee Coffee House, opened back in 1810. The country's Indian food business is now worth over six billion dollars and accounts for over two thirds of all eating out. Europe Today's Jon Donnison reports.

Glasgow's monument to Lord Nelson • Weightlifting stone • Family history research • Lost 18c Wm Adam mansion

Got an historical itch to scratch? Then look no further than Past Lives for help! Mark Stephen sets out across Scotland to answer your questions about the country's past -- from Wick to Dumfries and Vikings to Mods, his curiosity knows no bounds. This week Mark Mark Stephen was in Largs -- holding to his hat in the face of the strong onshore winds whipping up the Firth of Clyde. He met Douglas Easton from Largs Historical Society to find out about the Battle of Largs in 1263, when King Alexander

Edith Henry's extraordinary life in Revolutionary Mexico

In 1905, Frank Henry a young Cornish tin minor took his wife, Edith and young family to Mexico to start a job as a surveyor in the country's growing and lucrative silver mining industry. The move was supposed to have led to a better life, but their timing couldn't have been worse. Within five years the country was caught up in the violence of the Mexican Revolution. Edith Henry charted the growing unrest in her letters home to her family in Devon. When Edith returned home with her children the l

History of Jewish characters in drama & fiction

Mark Lawson investigates changing ideas about the portrayal of Jewish characters in drama and fiction, in the light of Roman Polanski's new film version of "Oliver Twist", starring Ben Kingsley as Fagin, and focuses on the portrayal of Jewish characters from Fagin and Shylock to the latest plays by Mike Leigh and David Mamet.

Magnetism

Pliny the Elder, in his "Historia Naturalis", tells a story of a legendary Greek shepherd called Magnes who, while guiding his flock on Mount Ida, suddenly found it hard to move his feet. The nails of his sandals held fast to the rock beneath them, and the iron tip of his crook was strangely attracted to the boulders all around. Magnes had stumbled across the lodestone, or 'Magnetite', and discovered the phenomenon of magnetism. Plato was baffled by this strange force, as were Aristotl

What blew up the "Maine"

History Professor Bob Packett remembers the "Maine" in today's "History According to Bob." Packett teaches at Maple Woods Community College, in Kansas City, Missouri.

Mao Zedong (4th of 5)

In episode 4 of Jung Chang and Jon Halliday's interpretation of the life of Chairman Mao -- "Mao: The Unknown Story" -- the jockeying of power continues and takes in one of the most famous treks in modern military history. It is a trek that means the abandonment of family members and the exhaustive transportation of treasure hoards such as gold, silver and jewels. However, the political significance of the journey was to have much greater value.

Empire (4th of 90) -- Searching for the Northwest Passage

By the 16th century, the English still had no imperial ambitions. The great quest was to go to China by sea but the easterly route was difficult and uncertain. Accepting that the world was a globe, it was then believed that a westerly passage to Asia must exist. This was the reason Henry VII patronized the explorers and navigators, John Cabot and his three sons. "This Sceptred Isle: Empire" is a narrative history of the British Empire from Ireland in the 12th century to the independenc

Empire (3rd of 90) -- Elizabeth I and Ireland

It took until 1540 before an English monarch (Henry VIII) could declare himself King of Ireland. Until Henry broke with Rome, the English monarchy was lord of Ireland. When Rome was discarded, so was the fiction. The English ruled, or at least they tried to."This Sceptred Isle: Empire" is a narrative history of the British Empire from Ireland in the 12th century to the independence of India in the 20th, told in 90 programmes written by historian Christopher Lee and narrated by actor Juliet Steve

29 September 1979: Pope calls for peace in Ireland

Pope John Paul II has called on the people of Ireland to end all violence and return to "the ways of peace". The 57-year-old pontiff made his appeal in front of a 300,000-strong crowd at Drogheda, a few miles from the Northern Irish border, during the first day of an historic tour of southern Ireland. The Pope touched down at Dublin airport earlier today where he was met by the Irish president, Dr Patrick Hillery and a host of religious leaders. It is the first time a reigning Pope has

29 September 1978: Catholics mourn Pope's death

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church has died after the shortest papal reign in history. Pope John Paul, the surprise candidate elected just 33 days ago, died of a heart attack while reading in bed. The body of the "smiling pope", who charmed crowds with his easy manner, is lying in state in the Clementine Hall in the Vatican, and a growing throng of mourners are gathering to file past it. The church's cardinals must now return to Rome to elect a new pope in the secret Sistine Chape

29 September 1960: Khrushchev anger erupts at UN

The Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev has disrupted a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly with several angry outbursts. Twice he pounded his desk and twice he shouted interruptions to show his disapproval at the way UN forces have intervened in the recent trouble in former Belgian Congo. Mr Khrushchev is calling for the UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold to be replaced by a three-man executive representing the western, Soviet and neutral camps. His interruptions came during a speech

Archeologists locate source of Mayan relics

In the mid-1960s, a trove of new Mayan artwork began appearing in museums and auction houses. Archeologists quickly determined that those pieces probably came from a single site -- known to looters but not to scholars. Now, the site has been found. It's in Guatemala near the Mexico border.

Voices from the past

A CD of famous voices from the past has just been brought out by the British Library. Among the thirty-eight recordings selected are some of the earliest spoken recordings ever made, such as those by the explorer Henry Morton Stanley, the composer Arthur Sullivan and the American showman P.T. Barnum. Other notable items include recordings from Malcolm Campbell and Sigmund Freud.

Kingship

Why has the monarchy been such a prevalent institution throughout history and in such a diverse range of societies? Laurie Taylor talks to Declan Quigley, Honorary Research Associate at the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Oxford, and editor of a new book, "The Character of Kingship", which examines the vital yet precarious role of the monarch. They discuss how the dual nature of kingship, as being sacred and being society's scapegoat, gives the monarchy ver

Audio news from Archaeologica

(1) Google search finds new Roman ruin: Google’s satellite-mapping service helps an Italian computer programmer find an ancient Roman villa near his home. (2) American Civil War ship uncovered at modern navy base: The remnants of what appears to be a Civil War-era brig have been partially unearthed by construction crews at Pensacola Naval Air Station. (3) Scottish monastery dig finds burial of early medieval monk: Archaeologists excavating the site of a Pictish monastery in Easter Ross have unea