History

Arts

Ken Burns Says U.S. Has 3 Viruses: COVID-19, White Supremacy And Misinformation

2:59pm January 19, 2021

by Rachel Martin

Documentarian Ken Burns believed there were three major crises in the nation's past: The Civil War, the Depression and World War II. Now, he says, we are living through the fourth.

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An illustration shows medical student Elizabeth Blackwell at Geneva Medical College (later Hobart College) in upstate New York, as she eyes a note dropped onto her arm by a male student, during a lecture in the college's operating room.

'Doctors Blackwell' Tells The Story Of 2 Pioneering Sisters Who Changed Medicine

2:40pm January 19, 2021

by Dave Davies

Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman in America to earn her medical degree. Her sister Emily followed in her footsteps. Janice Nimura tells the story of the "complicated, prickly" trailblazers.

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Biden's Inauguration Will Be Different But The Oath Remains The Same

8:42am January 19, 2021

The inauguration of President-elect Biden will look different from the past — with no crowds and troops guarding the Capitol. But the oath of office remains the same.

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Martin Luther King Jr.'s Vision For Economic Justice

4:19pm January 18, 2021

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Michael Tubbs, Stockton, Calif., ex-mayor and founder of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, on how Martin Luther King Jr. impacted the fight for universal basic income.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a man who had a "tremendous amount of burdens he had to deal with, both politically, socially and personally," says MLK/FBI director Sam Pollard.

Arts

Documentary Exposes How The FBI Tried To Destroy MLK With Wiretaps, Blackmail

9:00am January 18, 2021

by Sam Briger

MLK/FBI director Sam Pollard chronicles the FBI's campaign against Martin Luther King Jr., which included sending King a letter suggesting that he kill himself.

Books
Arts

There's Pain And Tragedy In 'Yellow Wife' — But Also Great Joy

11:07am January 17, 2021

by Denny S. Bryce

Sadeqa Johnson's novel — inspired by a real historical figure — pulls no punches in its tale of an enslaved woman trying to survive and make a life for herself and her family.

On March 1, 1954, Puerto Rican nationalists from New York carried out a shooting attack on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C. Front row, from left to right: Irving Flores Rodriguez, Rafael Cancel Miranda, Lolita Lebron and Andres Figueroa Cordero, stand in

Politics & Government

Listen: Eyewitnesses Recount The 1954 Shooting Attack On The U.S. Capitol

7:58am January 17, 2021

by Ben Shapiro

There's been more than one attack on the U.S. Capitol. More than 60 years ago, four Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire on lawmakers debating on the House floor.

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Pro-Trump protesters seeking to force Congress to overturn the election results swarm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, two weeks before President-elect Joe Biden is scheduled to gives his inaugural address there.

In His Inaugural Address, Biden Seeks To Move Past 'American Carnage'

7:33am January 17, 2021

by Tamara Keith

With the country reeling from the pandemic, racial injustice, and the Capitol riot, President-elect Joe Biden must transcend the "typical gauzy appeals to national unity" of past inaugural addresses.

Books
Arts

The History In 'Angel Of Greenwood' Could Not Be More Timely

7:00am January 16, 2021

by Caitlyn Paxson

Randi Pink's new novel follows a young couple, Angel and Isaiah, whose budding love is set against the backdrop of historical tragedy: the Tulsa race massacre of 1921.

Reconstruction Era Expert On Why Politicians Use Terms Unity And Healing

4:04pm January 15, 2021

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Eric Foner, a history professor at Columbia University, about what people mean when they talk about unity and healing during a moment of national division.