Roundup

Many Americans refuse to elect President based on candidate's religion [audio 4min]

A poll from the Los Angeles Times and the Bloomberg News Service finds substantial fractions of the U.S. electorate would refuse to vote for a presidential candidate based on that candidate's religious affiliation. Madeleine Brand and Ron Elving report.

Schama reveals slaves' hopes, frustrations during War of American Independence [audio 10min]

Author Simon Schama explores the dilemma for African and African American slaves fighting for America’s independence but not their own in his book Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves and the American Revolution.

21c enthusiasts play 19c base ball game [audio 28min]

CBC producer Sam Levene presents this documentary about a league of base ball (that's 2 words) enthusiasts who play the game the way it was first devised in the mid 19th century. Across the U.S. and Canada, teams regularly meet in period costume, and without gloves to play a polite, very gentlemanly (and womanly) version of the game that's become America's favorite sport.

Author reconstructs FDR's 'Defining Moment'a [audio 12min]

Franklin Delano Roosevelt held the office of president during one of the most trying economic times in U.S. history, The Great Depression. In his new biography, The Defining Moment, Jonathan Alter goes behind FDR's handling of the crisis. One new find revealed in Alter's book is a draft of a radio speech Roosevelt planned to give on his first day in office, one that included a bold assertion of authority to draft a private army from members of the American Legion. The draft was discarded,

British SF authors reveal their nation's history [audio 30min]

Author and broadcaster Francis Spufford, charting the history of Britain through its Science Fiction, asks why the utopian visions of British writers succumbed so often to invasion, disaster and collapse. Francis won't quite be arguing that every starship in British SF is a milkfloat in disguise, but the diversity of ideas in British SF means that these novels do give startling alternative snapshots of Britain down the years. Science Fiction has always been a genre of ideas and, so, contrary to

Controversy over Koizumi's shrine visit ripples across Pacific [audio 4min]

A visit by Japan's prime minister to a national shrine is increasing tensions around the Pacific. Scholar Michael Yahuda talks with Susan Stamberg about Junichiro Koizumi's visit to a shrine that honors Japan's war dead, including convicted war criminals.

Georgian sports hero became Member of Parliament [audio 15min]

From debtor's prison, John Gulley rose to be a boxing champion, a Derby-winning horse owner, a member of Parliament and something of a hero to our presenter, well-known English TV presenter William G Stewart.sult. Stewart argues that the Georgians were just as likely to sing the praises of men like Tom Cribb, John Gulley and Jem Belcher as they were Nelson, Wellington or William Pitt, and our current obsession with sporting prowess is not really such a modern phenomenon.

Virginia town targets mystery train's secrets [audio 6min]

In 1925, the Church Hill Tunnel caved in while a train was passing through it. At least two workers were killed at the site in southern Virginia, and the locomotive was never recovered. But now there are plans to uncover the site, which has inspired many local legends and mysteries. Preliminary drilling of"spy holes" is expected to begin on July 10. Melissa Block talks with Mark Holmberg, staff writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Holmberg is one of the few living people left who has b

Taking a tour of the MLK Collection at Sotheby's [audio 7min]

Ed Gordon takes a tour of the personal papers and books of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., on display at Sotheby's auction house. The collection, valued at about $30 million, was meant to be auctioned this week. Instead, private donors purchased the collection and will donate it to Morehouse College in Atlanta, the civil rights icon's alma mater.

How Morehouse plans to safeguard MLK's legacy [audio 4min]

Ed Gordon talks with Lawrence Carter, dean of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College, about what the donation of the civil rights icon's personal papers will mean for Morehouse, and how the school plans to safeguard King's legacy.

Specter challenges presidential signing statements [audio 4min]

President Bush has regularly added signing statements to laws passed by the Congress, with some statements noting an unwillingness to enforce the law. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) says the president's actions are a challenge to the Constitution. He wants to be able to sue the president over signings. Ari Shapiro reports.

Science and politics mix in 19c racial classifications [audio 30min]

Science seeks objectivity. So how, in the 19th century, did it come to the consensus that intelligence and character were determined by the shape and size of the skull, and that this explained racial difference? Kenan Malik examines the boundary of science with politics through the history of one of its most controversial subjects.

Regency journalist Pierce Egan is father of sportswriters [audio 15min]

The man accepted by many to be the father of sports journalism is Pierce Egan. As well as documenting the exploits of the prize fighters of the day, Egan was also known for his wonderfully colourful depictions of London life and a style of writing that is the direct forebear of Dickens. Thus our current obsession with sporting prowess is not really such a modern phenomenon. Well-known English TV presenter William G Stewart argues that the Georgians were just as likely to sing the praises of men

The Paston Letters ~ Money Worries [audio 15min]

John III Paston is badly wounded in the battle of Barnet. John II Paston nurses him back to health, bringing the two brothers closer. Meanwhile, plague ravages the country. This is Part 7 of a dramatisation by Vanessa Rosenthal, in ten 15-minute programmes, of the lives and loves of three women spanning three generations of a medieval family, based on the Paston Letters. This extraordinary collection of per

Wax museums demystified saints and monarchs [audio 13min @14:10]

Host Laurie Taylor talks to Kate Berridge about her new book Waxing Mythical: The Life & Legend of Madame Tussaud, published by John Murray. Exhibitions of wax effigies in 18th century Paris were the first opportunity for many members of the public to study likenesses of the monarchy and other powerful figures in detail. This set in motion the process by which royalty became regarded increasingly as 'normal' people and celebrities became the new objects of admiration. Kate Berridge descri

Nathaniel Hawthorne's wife and daughter re-interred with author [audio 6min]

The remains of the wife and daughter of 19th-century author Nathaniel Hawthorne have been removed from their graves in England and re-interred alongside his grave in Concord, Mass. Hawthorne's wife, Sophia, and their daughter, Una, both died in England in the 1870s and were buried there. But recently a Hawthorne tree planted next to their graves fell over, damaging Una's headstone. Hawthorne's descendants decided it was time to bring them home. This Monday more than three dozen family members pa

Book examines 1st Black Senator to serve full term [audio 5min]

Ed Gordon talks with Lawrence Otis Graham, author of a new book about Blanche Bruce called The Senator and the Socialite. Bruce was the first African American to serve a full term in the U.S. Senate. He and his wife Josephine lived and socialized in Washington during the last decades of the 19th century.

Bare-knuckle prize-fighters were the David Beckhams of Georgian England [audio 15min]

Well-known English TV presenter William G Stewart remembers the bare-knuckle prize-fighters of Georgian England, who were enormously popular and crowds measured in thousands would turn up to see them in action. They may have operated on the edge of the law but their reputation and support from the full breadth of Georgian society was a match for any of today's sporting celebrities. Thus our current obsession with sporting prowess is not really such a modern phenomenon. Stewart argues that the Ge

A Voice in a Million ~ Mary O'Rourke was the 'Phenomenal Boy Singer' [audio 30min]

She was born Mary O'Rourke of Helensburgh, Scotland, in 1913 but rose to fame as Master Joe Petersen, 'The Phenomenal Boy Singer'. John Fitzsimmons tells her remarkable bitter-sweet story. Audiences loved her but behind the choirboy image and the wonderful voice was a chaotic personal life. With contributions from Johnny Beattie, Madie Murray and biographer Frank Wappatt.

The U.S. Interstate System turns 50 [audio 18min]

It’s the 50th Anniversary of the U.S. Interstate System, and"Living on Earth" takes a ride in a 1951 Hudson along I-95 in Boston. Our chauffeur: Dan McNichol, author of The Roads That Built America: The Incredible Story of the U.S. Interstate System. Along the way we meet a livery driver who remembers the days before the Interstate, and a trucker who makes a pit-stop on his regular cross-country run. ~Visit The U.S. In