Roundup

Leakey fossils enlisted in evolution-creation battle [audio 7min @14:35]

The battle between creationists and evolutionists is taking a novel twist in Kenya. Powerful evangelical groups are pushing the country's national museum to move its world-famous collection of hominid fossils from its marquee position in the front of the museum to an out-of-the-way back room that people aren't ever likely to visit. The fossils show the evolution of humans' early ancestors and include the Turkana Boy, the most complete skeleton yet found of Homo erectus. Turkana Boy was di

Israeli textbooks must map Palestinian 'Green Line' [audio 4min @7:45]

Israeli Education Minister Yuli Tamir has ordered that maps in new school textbooks are to include the "Green Line" border between Israel and the West Bank. The so-called Green Line is the border that existed between Israel and the West Bank, prior to the 1967 Six Day War. Today, it represents the border of what the Palestinian Arabs claim as their future state. The decision to depict the Green Line in school books has earned the education minister vigorous criticism from right-wing op

American singer was 'Red Elvis' of Soviet bloc [audio 60min]

BBC presenter and comedian Mark Lamarr looks at the life of American singer and actor Dean Reed. Often dubbed the Red Elvis, Dean was virtually unknown in the West but became one of the Soviet bloc's biggest stars. [HNN links a shorter, 17min report on Dean Reed from NPR here.]

Harmonica's history tells story of global commerce [audio 4min]

For those with a love of the harmonica, now is your chance to learn more about its history. The German Harmonica Museum is on tour right now in the United States. But to learn more about the instrument, reporter Ethan Lindsey went straight to the source: the small town of Trossingen, Germany, where the harmonica was invented.

Ritual artifacts 75,000 years old found in Kalahari [audio 8min @9:45]

Seventy-thousand years ago, our human ancestors were most concerned with survival. It wasn't easy to find food, dodge predators and keep warm. So archaeologists didn't believe that humans had the time or inclination millennia ago to hold anything like an organized "ritual". But now an archaeological team has uncovered some artifacts in the Kalahari Desert that may change the way we think about those early humans, and their propensity for rituals. Dr. Sheila Coulson led the team. She's

Freed from New York mud, 'Intrepid' moves anew [audio 2min]

In New York City, the historic aircraft carrier Intrepid was towed down the Hudson River after being moored for a quarter-century at a Manhattan pier. The trip was supposed to take place last month, but the ship got stuck in the mud a few feet from shore. Veterans who had once served on the Intrepid reported for duty before sun-up. The Intrepid was scheduled to be towed to a shipyard in New Jersey for a face-lift, but it only made it a few feet before its giant propellers dr

Religious texts and the swearing-in tradition [audio 4min]

Keith Ellison of Minnesota became the first Muslim elected to Congress, last month, and he plans to use the Quran instead of the Bible when he's sworn in. Some are outraged about straying from the tradition of using the Bible to swear in government officials. But that tradition isn't as solid as some might think. Report by Luke Burbank.

Dick Clark's rock'n'roll memorabilia up for auction [audio 2min]

Would you like Bruce Springsteen's guitar? How about John Lennon's Nehru suit? They belong to Dick Clark, who hosted the TV show American Bandstand for three decades. Once called America's oldest teenager, Clark is now 77 and recently suffered a stroke. His immense collection of rock'n'roll memorabilia is up for auction Tuesday and Wednesday in New York City. The collection includes Bob Dylan's harmonica, Elton John's shoes, Paul McCartney's guitar, Bo Didley's handmade guitar, and a whit

Jimmy Carter seeks peaceful, comprehensive solution to Israeli-Palestinian conflict [video 3½hr]

Former President Jimmy Carter is the guest on Book TV's December"In Depth." He is the author of a new book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, and more than 20 others.

Niall Ferguson examines 20c's 100 years of conflict [video 64min]

Historian Niall Ferguson examines the conflicts of World War I to the Cold War and how they influenced the 20th century. In The War of the World: Twentieth Century Conflict and the Descent of the West, he argues that globalization, wealth and technological breakthroughs led to much of the violence, genocide and fanaticism of the 20th century. The talk was hosted by the World Affairs Council in Washington, DC. Includes Q&A.

Karen DeYoung publishes first full Colin Powell biography [video 56min]

With her book, Soldier: The Life of Colin Powell, author Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post, provides the first full biography of Powell. The book begins with Powell's childhood in the Bronx and follows his rise through the military ranks, finally ending with his role as Secretary of State in the Bush administration. While not an authorized biography, Powell participated in six on the record interviews and also provided DeYoung with unrestricted access to his personal and profess

Thomas Fleming examines FDR's leadership on eve of WWII [video 57min]

In an interview from 2001, historian and author Thomas Fleming discuses his book on the WWII policies of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in an interview from 2001. The New Dealer's War examines FDR's leadership as the nation entered and fought World War II. Fleming contends that FDR's insistence on Germany's unconditional surrender prolonged the war for at least a year, at the cost of thousands of lives. Fleming is a historian and the author of several books, including Duel: Alexan

19c prefab buildings were made of tin [audio 7min @1:22]

Dylan Winter reports on the pre-fabricated, corrugated iron buildings that were thrown up to meet the demands of a rapidly urbanising society in the 19th century and which still survive to this day. Largely used to provide places of worship, they are sometimes referred to as 'tin tabernacles'. Dylan speaks with Ian Smith, author of Tin Tabernacles: Corrugated Iron Mission Halls, Churches & Chapels of Britain (Camrose).

Darwin, Livingstone, Disraeli, Walter Scott, Byron papers to be released [audio 15min]

One of the most extraordinary literary archives in the world is about to be revealed to the public. The John Murray publishing house saved more than 150,000 documents, manuscripts and letters from writers including Walter Scott, Disraeli, Darwin and Livingstone. Biographer Vanessa Collingridge discovers how these great writers would meet at Murray's home each day, forming a group they called The 4 O'Clock Friends. In 1st of 5 weekly parts, she discovers how Byron's memoirs were burned in John Mu

1920s distance runner ran coast-to-coast [audio 30min]

Mark Whitaker tells the story of a man who might have been Britain's greatest distance runner, whose name has been forgotten because he was a professional at a time when athletics was dominated by an amateur elite. Peter Gavuzzi, the son of an immigrant Italian chef, took part in two of the most extraordinary foot races ever held -- from one side of the American continent to the other in 1928 and 1929.

Stories from the Great American Dust Bowl [audio 30min]

Timothy Egan is the author of the book The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl. Now out in paperback, the book was awarded the National Book Award for nonfiction. Egan is a national enterprise reporter for the New York Times, and was part of the team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2001 for a series on race in America.

Why have we forgotten British victories of 1918? [30min]

Former British Conservative politician Michael Portillo presents a series revisiting the great moments of history to discover that they often conceal other events of equal but forgotten importance. Close to 100 years after World War I began, the popular memory of the conflict is of mud, blood and futility. We remember the incompetent Generals of Oh! What a Lovely War, the doomed youth of the War Poets, fields of poppies, the stal

Victorian John Snow proved cholera was water-borne disease [10min @10:12]

Award-winning journalist Andrew Marr starts the week by discussing Victorian John Snow, who proved cholera was a water-borne disease, with writer Steven Johnson. In late August 1854 a virulent outbreak of cholera struck Soho in London which would eventually lead to a countrywide epidemic that would kill 50,000 men, women and children in England and Wales. This was not all that unusual in Victorian Britain, where cholera epidemics were a regular occurrence. What made this epidemic so singular is

18c Londoners celebrated themselves through satirical engravings [12min @19:52]

Award-winning journalist Andrew Marr starts the week by discussing 18th-century Londoners' sense of London itself with Vic Gatrell, Professor of British History at the University of Essex. Gatrell has written a book that gives us an insightful look into London of the late 18th, early 19th century. Looking at satirical prints from this period, joyfully unearthed from the British Museum's archive, we find that behind the wigs and satin fans lies a world of ribaldry, outrageous behaviour and exuber

World War I Museum opens in Kansas City, Mo. [audio 5min]

World War I was a cataclysm that destroyed the old world order, killed at least 9 million combatants, and vaulted the United States into world prominence. But the conflict, with its trench warfare and devastating new weapons, has been largely overshadowed by World War II. The hard lessons of the "Great War" are on display at the National World War I Museum in Kansas City, Mo., which opened this weekend.