Roundup

Matthew A. Wasniewski: Appointed the New Historian of the U.S. House of Representatives

Basic FactsPosition: Appointed the 4th House Historian. Area of Research: 19th & 20th Century United States History, Diplomatic History. Education: Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park, 2004. Major Publications: Wasniewski is the author of"Walter Lippmann, strategic internationalism, the Cold War, and Vietnam, 1943--1967." Ph.D. Di

Oral Histories: Wisconsin Holocaust Survivors [24 Audio clips]

Each oral history presents a vivid eyewitness account of an odyssey through the Holocaust of World War II. Roll your cursor over a photo or name to see a brief biography. Click on a photo or name to access the full biography, transcript, audio recordings and pictures.

A gold elixir of youth in the 16th century French court [video 12 minutes]

Miracle beauty products may be a staple Christmas present today, but they're not a recent invention. Diane de Poitiers, a French noble woman and mistress of Henry II of France, tried to use gold to preserve her looks - in alchemical law, gold was immutable, and alchemists and apothecaries created various potions to pass this gift onto their customers. For Christmas, the BMJ has made a video about a French research team's investigations of Diane's remains, and its discovery that the

Historian/Documentary Editor, Joseph Smith Papers Project

The Joseph Smith Papers Project is engaged in producing a comprehensive edition of Joseph Smith documents featuring complete and accurate transcripts with both textual and contextual annotation. The scope of the project includes Joseph Smith's original correspondence, revelations, journals, historical writings, sermons, legal papers, and other documents. Besides providing the most comprehensive record of early Latter-day Saint history they will also provide insight into the broader religious la

“Unaccommodated Man” in Vietnam [video 4 minutes 51 seconds]

Robert Stone’s experience as a war correspondent is forever linked in his mind with a haunting passage from “King Lear.”

Panic!: A History of Financial Crisis [podcast 53 min 00 sec]

Speculation…deregulation…crash…bailout. Sound familiar? Probably. Sound modern? It shouldn’t. Financial panics have occurred regularly throughout American history, and each time we were left holding the bag when the bottom fell out of the market and banks called in their debts. Why do we think we'll ever beat the business cycle? On this week's show, economic historian Michael Bernstein says you can’t have the boom without the bust. Then historian Scott Nelson outlines the eerie similarities betw

British Army 'waterboarded' suspects in 70s

Evidence that the British army subjected prisoners in Northern Ireland to waterboarding during interrogations in the 1970s is emerging after one of the alleged victims launched an appeal against his conviction for murder.

In Germany, 'National Guilt' Stirs Against Afghan War [video 7 minutes 48 seconds]

Germany has the third largest contingent of forces in Afghanistan, yet among a population still haunted by World War II a deep-rooted anti-war sentiment persists. Margaret Warner reports.

A 19th-Century Mathematician Finally Proves Himself [audio 5 minutes 59 seconds]

Charles Babbage, the man whom many consider to be the father of modern computing, never got to complete any of his life's work. The Victorian gentleman was a brilliant mathematician, but he wasn't very good at politics and fundraising, so he never got the financial backing to finish any of his elaborate machine designs. For decades, even his fans weren't certain whether his computing machines would have worked.

The Pearl Harbor Attack Remembered (”The Back Door to War Theory”) [video 8 minutes, 45 seconds]

Today is Pearl Harbor Day in the United States, when the country remembers the surprise Japanese attack on this day in 1941 that temporarily crippled the U.S. Fleet and resulted in the United States’ entry into World War II. The video below describes the events of that momentous day. But was there a “back door to war,” as revisionist historians have long claimed? According to this view, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, inhibited by the American public’s opposition to d

Celebrating 350 Years Of Notable Scientific Papers [audio 5 minutes 33 seconds]

To celebrate its 350th birthday, the Royal Society of London selected 60 of the most notable scientific papers it's published over the past four centuries. And it's posting them online — with images of the original manuscripts. These are many of the biggest names in scientific history — Isaac Newton to Ben Franklin to Stephen Hawking. Host Guy Raz reviews a few of them with Michael Thompson, the man in charge of choosing from the society's 60,000-paper collection.

Naughty & Nice: A History of The Holiday Season [podcast 54 minutes 56 seconds]

Christmas may be the big kahuna of American holy days, but it wasn’t always so. It used to be a time of drunken rowdiness, when the poor would demand food and money from the rich. The Puritans banned Christmas altogether. It wasn’t until the 1820s that the holiday was re-invented as the peaceful, family-oriented, and consumeristic ritual we celebrate today. In this episode, the History Guys examine the history of the “holiday season” in America. Has Christmas grown more or less rel

From Dickens Himself, Notes On 'A Christmas Carol' [audio 3 minutes 19 seconds]

Tis the season — every year at this time — for the various renderings of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. This year, the current animated version in the cinema — starring a computer-generated Jim Carrey in multiple roles — has won some plaudits for sticking with the spirit of the Dickens original. So it might come as some surprise to learn that when Dickens himself performed A Christmas Carol, he didn't do it as it's written. And during this holiday season, you can see the proo

Against the Grain: Frida Kahlo [audio 48 minutes 19 seconds combined]

From Against the Grain we bring you a discussion of the life and work of Frida Kahlo -- one that focuses on "what has become of the Mexican artist's radical politics? Art historian Margaret A. Lindauer argues that Kahlo's artistic legacy has been done a disservice by those who would read the painter's works off her personal life, instead of looking at the complex intellectual and political processes that created them." Margaret A. Lindauer is the author of Devouring Frida: The Art Hist

Henry Kissinger On The President's Afghanistan Speech [video]

Richard Nixon’s National Security Adviser and Secretary of State evaluates President Obama’s Afghanistan strategy.

"HappyBirthdaysUSA.com: A Funny Historical Skit on the Happy Birthdays of the USA" [video 10 min]

When is the birthday of the United States of America? July 4th, 1776 any first grader would answer. So how old is the United States of America? Let me see, 2009-1776, we are 233 years old, Happy Birthday United States of America! Typically, the first time one learns that the answer may not be the fourth of July is in junior high school during American history class. Here, students learn that the United Colonies of America actually declared their Independence on July 2nd and not the fourth. Next

Karen Armstrong, religious historian, on the Golden Rule [video 9 minute, 51 seconds]

Weeks from the Charter for Compassion launch, Karen Armstrong looks at religion's role in the 21st century: Will its dogmas divide us? Or will it unite us for common good? She reviews the catalysts that can drive the world's faiths to rediscover the Golden Rule. TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes.

Historian-author Thomas Flagel tells of Hood's charge at Franklin [video 1 minute, 10 seconds]

Historian and author Thomas Flagel spoke for several minutes tonight. He was his usual passionate-self as he talked about how Hood’s charge at Franklin is often compared to Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg, but the Franklin-charge was bigger in many ways.

Fingering Shakespeare's First Drafts [audio 8 minutes 19 seconds]

"There is a history in all men's lives," William Shakespeare wrote, and there are few better places to find out about his life and legacy than the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. Host Scott Simon visits the library with Weekend Edition's literary detective, Paul Collins, for a look into the vaults that hold early Shakespeare folios.

Studs Terkel 1912-2008: A Democracy Now! Special Tribute to the Beloved Oral Historian and Broadcasterm [video 59 minutes]

The legendary radio broadcaster, writer, oral historian, raconteur and chronicler of our times, Studs Terkel, died last month at the age of ninety-six in his hometown of Chicago. Today, a Democracy Now! special tribute: We spend the hour on Studs Terkel. Over the years, Terkel has been a regular guest on Democracy Now! We play a wide-ranging interview we did with him in 2005. We also feature a rare recording of Terkel interviewing the Rev. Martin Luther King at the bedside of the gospel singer M