Roundup

Idi Amin film prompts viewing of 1974 documentary [audio 7min]

The new film The Last King of Scotland has renewed interest in infamous Ugandan dictator, Idi Amin. Cory Turner discovers another film about Amin, the 1974 documentary General Idi Amin Dada. Webpage includes video clips.

US Park Service maps the Great Plains fire history [audio 4min]

Land managers now realize that fire plays a critical role in a healthy landscape. In some forests, the heat is needed to germinate seeds. Fire also can manage invasive plants. To better understand its role, the National Park Service is mapping the fire history of the Great Plains. Sarah McCammon of Nebraska Public Radio reports.

The Poincare Conjecture -- How a 19th-century mathematician changed how we think about the shape of the universe [audio 45min]

The great French mathematician Henri Poincaré declared:"The scientist does not study mathematics because it is useful; he studies it because he delights in it, and he delights in it because it is beautiful. If nature were not beautiful, it would not be worth knowing and life would not be worth living. And it is because simplicity, because grandeur, is beautiful that we preferably seek simple facts, sublime facts, and that we delight now to follow the majestic course of the stars." Poincaré's gro

Sandra Day O'Connor comments on threats to independence of judiciary [video 23min]

In the 1st of a series of interviews from America ahead of the US midterm elections, Stephen Sackur gets a rare interview with the former US Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O'Connor. She was the first woman justice to be appointed to the Supreme Court and for 25 years was one of its most influential voices. As the ultimate check on executive and legislative power, does she believe the independence of the judiciary is now under threat?

Black Civil War soldier gets overdue military honors [audio 5min]

More than 100 years after his death, a black Civil War-era soldier is getting the military honors he deserves. State and local officials honored Lt. Stephen Swails, one of the first black commissioned officers in the US Army, with an overdue military ceremony and a marker for his gravesite.

Muslim women, the veil and Western society [audio 30min]

Last month, former UK foreign minister Jack Straw reopened debate on Muslim women and the veil. Straw said that, when women visited his office with their faces covered, he asked them to remove the veil because he believes it makes communication easier; a female staff member was always present. Some British Muslims agreed with Straw, others protested, and there have been similar debates in Italy, in France and in the USA as well. Part of the argument is over cultural standards, about what types o

Former South African president Botha dies [audio 2min]

Tony Cox reports on the death of former outh African President P.W. Botha. Botha died at age 90 at his home on the southern cape coast of South Africa Tuesday night.

Museum recalls German hero of 'Rape of Nanjing' [audio 5min]

A new museum has just opened in Nanjing, China, commemorating the actions of a German businessman who saved lives during the 1937 Japanese invasion of the city, known as the "Rape of Nanjing." The Japanese are believed to have killed 300,000 Chinese during the invasion and occupation. The house where John Rabe sheltered 600 Chinese civilians has been turned into a museum and international research center for peace and reconciliation. Webpage includes photos.

Johnny Unitas towers over history of football [audio 3min]

One of football's greatest players was quarterback Johnny Unitas. But he was more than a great player. Unitas was a unique man who towered above his contemporaries, and the stars who have played after him.

Nasser's career fraught with contradictions [audio 30min]

Stephen Sackur presents a profile of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, still regarded by many Egyptians as the father of modern Egypt and inspiration to the Arab nationalist cause. Despite his victory over Suez and his progressive domestic policies, Nasser's career was fraught with contradictions. Part 1 of 2.

The Somme retains meaning for today [audio 45min]

In a repeat of a programme first broadcast on 30 June 2006, Philip Dodd and guests mark the 90th anniversary of the most costly land battle in British history. On July 1st 1916, on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, some 58,000 men were killed or wounded -- the highest ever battle casualties inflicted on a single day. The battle of the Somme, which British generals thought would be over in hours, went on to last nearly five months and claimed the lives of some 600,000 Allied Forces who ha

'What the World Needs Now' [audio 30min]

Paul Sexton profiles the man behind some of the greatest songs of the past 5 decades. Burt Bacharach, who with Hal David, stylised pop music with heart-wrenching, cool and elegant songs. Featuring new interviews with both Burt and Hal, Richard Carpenter, Noel Gallagher and Tim Rice.

Rushdie denounces Islamic extremism, calls for secularism [video 84min]

Salman Rushdie seeks a reform movement inside Islam at an event hosted by the Center for Inquiry's"Voices of Reason" series at the Ethical Culture Auditorium in New York City. During this event, entitled"An Evening with Salman Rushdie," he criticizes the new culture in both Europe and America that denounces the use of terms like Islamic terrorism and Islamic fascism. He argues that it is an individual's right to question a group's core beliefs. Rushdie received death threats from t

USA deploys military as world's only superpower [video 57min]

Hoover Institution fellow Josef Joffe talks about his book Uberpower: The Imperial Temptation of America. He discusses the major military actions taken by the USA since the decline of the USSR, including the 1991 Gulf War, the invasion of Afghanistan following 9/11, and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He argues that, while the first two were legitimate actions that enhanced the USA's credibility around the world, the 2003 invasion of Iraq was neither legitimate nor beneficial. He also talks ab

Sulfa was first miracle drug [video 60min]

Thomas Hager, author of The Demon Under the Microscope: From Battlefield Hospitals to Nazi Labs, One Doctor's Heroic Search for the World's First Miracle Drug, examines bacterial diseases and wartime medical care in the 1930s. He chronicles experiments, medicinal discoveries, and drug patents during World War II and details the challenges in creating antibiotics for bacterial threats of the 21st century. Hager is a correspondent for the Journal of the American Medical Association,

Mount Rushmore influenced local Sioux, national auto tourism [video 58min]

October 31, 2006, marks the 65th anniversary of the completion of Mount Rushmore. In the early 20th century, the US government conceived an art project that it hoped would serve as a testament to democracy, says author John Taliaferro. In Great White Fathers he describes artist Gutzom Borglum's realization of the idea by sculpting four presidents' heads into a cliff face in the South Dakota Black Hills. Taliaferro is the former senior editor of Newsweek. He is also the author of

Former South African president PW Botha dead at 90 [audio 4min]

PW Botha, who served as South Africa's last hard-line white president, has died at 90. Nicknamed "The Big Crocodile" for his belligerence and temper, Botha was the face of racist South Africa at the height of its anti-apartheid struggle. Known for his finger-wagging speeches in which he refused to accept the notion of black rule in South Africa, Botha's era passed him by when apartheid fell. He never accepted responsibility for some of the heinous crimes that transpired during his regi

Letters reveal Louis Braille's life, mission [audio 8min]

Louis Braille devised the most widely used system of reading for the visually impaired. Newly released letters by Braille have been made public in France and the documents shed new light on his life and mission. Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with author C. Michael Miller and publisher Diane Croft about their newly released book, A Touch of Genius.

WWII survivors found, lost God [audio 30min]

Would you keep your faith in the midst of the death and destruction of war? To mark Remembrance Day, Richard Holloway meets Scots who lived through World War II and hears their memories of how they found, and lost, their God in the upheaval of global conflict.

UK to celebrate bi-centenary of 1807 abolition of slavery [audio 1st 12min]

Nick Baker and the "Making History" team examine listeners' historical queries and get to the bottom of historical mysteries, local legends, family curiosities and architectural oddities. Nick Baker and the actor and writer Kwame Kwei Armah begin a journey that takes in three places associated with slavery in the UK, starting with Bristol, to see how they will be marking next year's bi-centenary and, more importantly, establishing just how each places 'slave history' informs the presen