History

National

Tommy Oliver On His Documentary About 1978 MOVE Standoff In Philadelphia

3:44pm December 21, 2020

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with filmmaker Tommy Oliver about 40 Years a Prisoner — his documentary about the fallout of a 1978 standoff between Philadelphia police and the back-to-the-land group MOVE.

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A statue of Robert E. Lee was removed from the U.S. Capitol early Monday.

Virginia Removes Its Robert E. Lee Statue From U.S. Capitol

9:54am December 21, 2020

by Merrit Kennedy

The Confederate general's statue is expected to be replaced by one of civil rights activist Barbara Johns, who at 16 led a student walkout protesting inferior conditions at an all-Black high school.

August Wilson at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colo., in 2004.

'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' Shines A Light On August Wilson's Vision

1:39pm December 18, 2020

by Tom Vitale

The late August Wilson's first Broadway hit, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, has been adapted for the screen, starring Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman in his final film role.

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Health & Safety

Laura Spinney: What Does The 1918 Flu Teach Us About Our Response To Pandemics?

9:52am December 18, 2020

by NPR/TED STAFF

A century after the 1918 flu, we see similar patterns in the ways we've responded to COVID-19. Laura Spinney reflects on the Spanish flu and how societies learn to move forward after pandemics.

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Daniel Streicker: What If We Could Stop A Virus At Its Animal Source?

9:52am December 18, 2020

by NPR/TED STAFF

MERS, Ebola, and COVID-19—the viruses that cause these diseases likely have the same patient zero: bats. For researcher Daniel Streicker, the key to preventing an outbreak is the bats themselves.

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The History Of Scabby The Rat

6:14am December 18, 2020

by Amanda Aronczyk

A longtime symbol of labor protests, Scabby the Rat, can be seen outside stories, factories or other places where unions don't like hiring practices. But these days, Scabby is in the courts, too.

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Virginia Lawmakers To Decide On Fate Of Robert E. Lee Statue

5:03am December 18, 2020

Virginia lawmakers will vote on whether to replace a statue of Robert E. Lee with one of Barbara Rose Johns. In 1951, she led a student walkout to protest her high school's segregated facilities.

Arush Nand plays the young Arjie at his make-believe wedding in Funny Boy.

In 'Funny Boy,' A Young Sri Lankan Gay Man Comes Of Age As Ethnic Tensions Explode

7:49pm December 16, 2020

by Bilal Qureshi

Deepa Mehta's new film, Funny Boy, is Canada's Oscar submission. It's being distributed by Ava DuVernay's company and premieres on Netflix. It's based on the novel by Shyam Selvadurai.

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'Throughline' Examines When The Supreme Court Got Ultimate Power

7:33am December 16, 2020

The U.S. Supreme Court has the final say over what is and isn't constitutional. NPR's history podcast — Throughline — explores the evolution of that power.

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Politics & Government

Biden Studies FDR's Presidential Transition For Guidance

8:18am December 15, 2020

by Steve Inskeep

President-elect Biden is looking to Franklin Delano Roosevelt's 1933 transition to the presidency for inspiration, as he and his team prepare to tackle a nation in the midst of numerous crises.

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