History

Is Trump Setting A Historical Precedent By Refusing To Concede?

5:41pm November 20, 2020

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks to presidential historian Michael Beschloss about what kind of historical precedent there is, if any, for President Trump's battle to overturn the 2020 election results.

Books

The CIA's Secret Quest For Mind Control: Torture, LSD And A 'Poisoner In Chief'

1:45pm November 20, 2020

by Terry Gross

Journalist Stephen Kinzer reveals how the CIA worked in the 1950s and early '60s to develop mind control drugs and deadly toxins that could be used against enemies. Originally broadcast Sept. 9, 2019.

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Books
Arts

Author Says The Chicago 7 Trial Reflected 'All The Conflicts In America'

1:45pm November 18, 2020

by Terry Gross

The Chicago 7 were activists who were charged with conspiring to start a riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Jon Wiener's 2006 book, recently reprinted, is Conspiracy in the Streets.

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Alyssa Loorya: What Can A 300-Year Old Farmhouse Tell Us About Metropolitan New York?

9:44am November 13, 2020

by NPR/TED Staff

In the heart of urban Brooklyn, a 300-year old farmhouse still stands. Archaeologist Alyssa Loorya explains how artifacts found at the site trace the life cycles of New York City--from 1720 to today.

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Marwa Al-Sabouni: How Can The Architecture Of A City Play A Role In War?

9:44am November 13, 2020

by NPR/TED STAFF

Architect Marwa Al-Sabouni says French colonial design segregated Syria's cities and laid the groundwork for division and civil war. The future of the country may depend on how it decides to rebuild.

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Kotchakorn Voraakhom speaks at TEDWomen 2018: Showing Up, November 28-30, 2018, Palm Springs, California. Photo: Callie Giovanna / TED

Kotchakorn Voraakhom: How Can We Better Design Cities To Fight Floods?

9:44am November 13, 2020

by NPR/TED Staff

Thai landscape architect Kotchakorn Voraakhom designed a way to offset flooding in Bangkok by designing a park with underground tanks. She says her design can protect delta cities that are sinking.

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Arts

Rahul Mehrotra: How Can Impermanent Cities Permanently Change Our World?

9:44am November 13, 2020

by NPR/TED Staff

Every twelve years, 100 million people descend upon a temporary city built for the Kumbh Mela festival in India. Architect Rahul Mehrotra says other cities can learn from this ephemeral megacity.

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Former President Obama Tells His Story His Way — And Makes His Case For History

1:03pm November 12, 2020

by Ron Elving

Obama's ascent thrilled millions but also stirred a countermovement that is still on the march. His new memoir, A Promised Land, covers his rise through the second year of his presidency.

First Principles: What America's Founders Learned from the Greeks and Romans and How That Shaped Our Country, by Thomas Ricks

Author And Journalist Tom Ricks: Founding Fathers Expected Today's Political State

11:00am November 10, 2020

by Steve Inskeep

"I think Madison, especially, would be very proud to see that when America deeply disagrees, as it does now, that things grind to a halt," Ricks, author of a new book, First Principles, tells NPR.

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Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat seen at a 2014 press conference at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.

Longtime Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat Dies Of Complications From COVID-19

7:20am November 10, 2020

Often the voice of the Palestinians in peace talks with Israel, Erekat's pursuit of peace through negotiation never prevailed. He was 65.

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