Roundup

15 Years Later, Rodney King Looks Back [6min]

Fifteen years ago Friday, grainy video images were broadcast showing white Los Angeles police officers beating Rodney King during a traffic stop. King and Milton Grimes, his attorney in the days after the attack, look back on that night and the days that followed. King's saga began on March 3, 1991, when he was pulled over for driving recklessly in Lake View Terrace, a residential suburb of Los Angeles. King reportedly resisted arrest and charged at one of the police officers. An amateur videota

Lessons Learned from the King Beating and Riots [6min]

Some say there's still much work needed to eliminate police brutality and improve race relations in America. Ed Gordon talks with radio show host Earl Ofari Hutchinson and Washington Post reporter Lou Cannon about the lessons of the 1991 Rodney King beating.

William Jennings Bryan, the President Who Wasn't [6min]

A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan is the new history from Michael Kazin. Bryan has been described by Kazin as"one of the most crucial Americans never to win a presidential election."

Using Teamwork to Crack the Enigma Code [4min]

A global team of computer users has cracked one of the remaining World War II messages encoded by the Nazi Enigma machine. Noah Adams talks to Ira Flatow, host of NPR's "Talk of the Nation Science Friday," about how the code was broken -- and a serious risk to users of the program used to crack the encryption.

Finding Shakespeare's True Face at London Museum [5min]

London's National Portrait Gallery is displaying six portraits of William Shakespeare -- but which is the real one? For centuries, scholars have argued about what the great writer looked like. The museum believes it has determined the portrait that most likely represents his true appearance. Known as the Chandos portrait, the painting is attributed to a little-known artist named John Taylor. The museum's current exhibit includes his work, as well as five other contenders. Guest: Sandy Nairne, di

Abyssinia & Sir Robert Napier [15min]

Abyssinia was not a colony but it illustrated the anxieties and vulnerability of the British in spite of their apparent global authority. In the 19th century the new emperor, Tewodros II, Theodore as the British called him, complained that he needed help to defend Ethiopia against Islam -- specifically from the Muslim Egyptians of the Ottoman Empire. But the British did not condemn the Ottoman Empire, which they thought might keep the Russians in check nor Egypt because it was an important sourc

Newton's Papers [1st 8min]

Isaac Newton is revered for his scientific theories. Theology and alchemy are not the subjects that spring to mind when you think of his work. But Newton wrote a lot about them and two pioneering projects are making these texts available to a wide audience. Dr Rob Iliffe from Imperial College is Editorial Director of the Newton Project, which has put online nearly half of the two and a half million words he devoted to the subject of theology, as well as a large selection of his personal and scie

Bettany Hughes on the Medici: Renaissance, what renaissance? [30min]

Classicist Bettany Hughes continues her journey through the beauty and the blood-letting of Renaissance Florence. Could it be that the Renaissance as we know it wasn't a renaissance at all? Could Donatello's David really be a political statement for the Medici? And what has Liverpool got to do with it? Bettany finds that the Renaissance is more than it's cracked up to be.

The Viceroys of India [15min]

In 1858, while the Mutiny was still at large in Bengal, the Crown took the last powers from the East India Company. The immediate consequence was that the Governor-General assumed also the title Viceroy. He was, effectively, the monarch in India. "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 Steven

Carl Bernstein [24min]

Stephen Sackur talks to one of America's most celebrated reporters, Carl Bernstein. Is investigative political journalism a thing of the past? The Watergate scandal is the most celebrated example of the media's capacity to expose corruption at the heart of Government. But if a similar scandal were brewing in the US today how would the media respond? Carl Bernstein is one of the journalists responsible for one of the greatest scoops of all time. He argues that the journalistic spirit of the Water

Noor Inayat Khan, Spy Princess [9min]

Noor Inayat Khan was a descendant of Indian royalty, brought up in the Sufi tradition of non-violence. Born in Moscow in 1914, she was brought up in Paris and London and was a dreamy young woman who loved music and writing children's stories. But there was another side to Noor; she was the first female radio operator to be sent into occupied France during the war, and single-handedly did the work of six people as the Nazis closed in on her network. She was eventually captured but attempted escap

End of Mutiny [15min]

Officially the Indian Mutiny ended in 1859. The rebellion rattled the British Establishment and surprised the British public, most of which thought the Raj was invincible. The main consequence of the uprising was the removal of the last responsibilities in India of the East India Company and the taking over of the sub-continent by The Crown. "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 20t

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'Big Chiefs' Continue Mardi Gras Indian Tradition [6min]

In neighborhoods throughout New Orleans, black men don Indian costumes they worked on all year -- suits they carefully stitch and bead by hand. The history of this tradition is as varied and mysterious as the city of New Orleans. There are many accounts, but the most widely accepted is that the ritual dates back to the days of slavery when Native Americans sheltered runaway slaves. Michele Norris talks with some of the "Big Chiefs," who, like much of the city, have mixed feelings about

Culture Destroyed by 1815 Volcano Rediscovered [4min]

It's not often someone stumbles over a "lost kingdom." But that's what a volcano scientist has done on a remote island in Indonesia. The kingdom, called Tambora, disappeared in a matter of minutes in 1815, under billions of tons of rock and ash during a violent volcanic eruption. University of Rhode Island volcanologist Haraldur Sigurdsson has spent 20 years roaming the islands of Indonesia, a place known for apocalyptic eruptions. He was especially drawn to a huge volcano on the islan

Hall of Fame Announces Negro League Inductees [4min]

The Baseball Hall of Fame announces 17 of its newest members, all associated with The Negro League and Pre-Negro League. Commentator Carole Boston Weatherford remembers some of the leagues achievements. Weatherford is the author of Negro League Scrapbook.

Carnival Culture from Around the World on Display 7[min]

The revelry of the Mardi Gras celebrations are not exclusive to New Orleans. Mardi Gras is part of the tradition of Carnival, a festival of excess which began in 12th century Rome. The word "Carnival" literally means "flesh farewell." Eating, drinking, and overall merry-making lead up to the fasting and self-sacrifice of Lent in the Christian Calendar. The Museum of International Folk Art has compiled an audio-visual history of carnival celebrations around the world. It highl

Mardi Gras Indians Trace Roots to Slaves [6min]

When black slaves were brought to the Gulf region, they were not allowed to participate in Mardi Gras revelries. But the elaborate celebration was difficult to resist and blacks found a way around the racist law: They "masked" themselves as Native American Indians. NPR's Farai Chideya spoke with Cherice Harrison Nelson and her brother Donald Harrison Jr. about carrying on the tradition.

Baseball Hall of Fame Inducts Class of 18 [10min]

The Baseball Hall of Fame announces its newest inductees, its biggest" class" ever of 18. Also, a preview of the upcoming World Baseball Classic. Guest: Alan Schwarz, senior writer for Baseball America and the author of The Numbers Game.

Mexico Confronts History of Government's 'Dirty War' [4min]

A leaked draft of a Mexican government report accuses former presidents of planning and carrying out an anti-insurgency campaign from the 1960s to the 1980s. According to the report, soldiers carried out summary executions, raped women and set entire villages on fire. Lourdes Garcia-Navarro reports.