History

Former Secretary Of State On 2 Decades Of U.S.-Putin Summits

6:39pm June 15, 2021

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright about the U.S.-Russia diplomatic relationship and how it changed under the Trump administration.

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Container ships sit idle in San Francisco Bay just outside of the Port of Oakland in San Francisco in March.

How 'Chaos' In The Shipping Industry Is Choking The Economy

8:55am June 15, 2021

by Greg Rosalsky

The U.S. trade deficit is hitting record highs — and it's fueled by a surge in demand for imports, mostly from East Asia. On both land and at sea, the shipping industry is struggling to keep up.

Arts

Inspired By Northern Ireland, Poet Tess Taylor Suggests 'Art As Civic Repair'

5:36am June 15, 2021

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with poet Tess Taylor, discussing her proposal for the U.S. moving political division through the arts.

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This Jan. 26, 1965, file photo shows Mildred Loving and her husband Richard P Loving. Bernard S. Cohen, who successfully challenged a Virginia law banning interracial marriage.

June 12 Is Loving Day — When Interracial Marriage Finally Became Legal In The U.S.

10:33pm June 12, 2021

"Loving Day" celebrates the historic ruling in Loving v. Virginia, which declared unconstitutional a Virginia law prohibiting mixed-race marriage — and legalized interracial marriage in every state.

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrive on Air Force One at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk on June 9 ahead of a series of summits and meetings in Europe.

Politics & Government

Biden's Summit With Putin Follows A Harrowing History Of U.S. Meetings With Russia

7:00am June 12, 2021

by Ron Elving

When Russia was still the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, summits with its leaders were largely about fears of a thermonuclear duel and mass annihilation. Here's a look back at the highlights.

Australotitan cooperensis is the new species confirmed by paleontologists in Australia. It's the biggest dinosaur discovered in Australia.

Science

Dinosaur Found In Australia Was 2 Stories Tall And The Length Of A Basketball Court

8:07pm June 08, 2021

by James Doubek

"Cooper," a gargantuan dinosaur that roamed the Outback, is the first of its kind found outside South America. The new species had a long neck and tail, as well as four legs, and ate plants.

Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, reopened to the public for the first time since 2018 on Tuesday. The Virginia mansion where Robert E. Lee once lived underwent a rehabilitation that includes an increased emphasis on those who were enslaved the

National

Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, Reckons With Its History Of Slavery

6:50pm June 08, 2021

by Catherine Whelan

Arlington House has reopened after a 3-year renovation. It seeks to memorialize Robert E. Lee and acknowledge his role in the Confederacy while also telling the story of those enslaved there.

A photograph of the 1856 One-Cent Magenta used an infrared filter to suppress the stamp's red surface, making the black printing more visible.

Arts

World's Most Valuable Postage Stamp Falls Short Of Anticipated Auction Record

11:58am June 08, 2021

by Neda Ulaby

The most valuable stamp in the world, the British Guiana One-Cent Black on Magenta, failed to set yet another world record at auction.

To Make Birding Inclusive, Some Birds Will Need New Names Without Colonial Roots

4:46pm June 07, 2021

by Jeff St. Clair

Across the country, efforts are underway to change the names of birds that commemorate a colonial and racist past. It's part of an effort to move birdwatching away from being a mainly white activity.

National

A New Nevada Law Bans Racial Mascots In Schools And 'Sundown Sirens'

4:28pm June 06, 2021

by Dustin Jones

The measure prohibits racially discriminatory mascots, images, sounds or songs in schools. And counties can no longer sound sirens that once signified it was time for certain people to leave town.