History

The Rodin Museum in Paris is selling sculptures to pay the bills — and that's exactly as the artist intended. When he died in 1917, Auguste Rodin left the museum plaster casts for just this purpose. Above, The Thinker (Le Penseur) is pictured ahead of t

Arts

Good Thinking: How Rodin Ensured The Financial Future Of His Paris Museum

7:55am August 09, 2020

by Rebecca Rosman

The Rodin Museum in Paris is selling sculptures to pay the bills — and that's exactly as the artist intended. When he died in 1917, Rodin left the museum plaster casts for just this purpose.

Since Aug. 6, 1945, artists of every stripe have had to reckon with a world forever altered by nuclear weapons — Hollywood included. Above, Stanley Kubrick's 1964 film, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

Arts

'And The World Went Crazy': How Hollywood Changed After Hiroshima

5:24pm August 06, 2020

by Bob Mondello

Nuclear weapons have given Hollywood a host of dramatic plot possibilities, from the threat of nuclear war to wholesale destruction to over-the-top fireworks.

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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows Thursday in front of a memorial to people who were killed in the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

Hiroshima Atomic Bombing Raising New Questions 75 Years Later

12:51pm August 06, 2020

by David Welna

The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were said at the time to be justified as the only way to end World War II. Seventy-five years later, legal experts say they would now be war crimes.

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Matthew Bruce of Des Moines, Iowa, signs a note during a Black Lives Matter demonstration outside Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds' office in June. The Republican governor has signed an executive order restoring voting rights to people convicted of a felony.

Governor Acts To Restore Voting Rights To Iowans With Felony Convictions

4:02pm August 05, 2020

by Katarina Sostaric

Iowa was the only state to automatically restrict voting rights to anyone with a felony conviction. Wednesday, Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed an order to restore those rights to most people.

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Like his predecessors, President Trump often uses the Rose Garden for ceremonies and news conferences.

Politics & Government

Melania Trump To Oversee 'Renewal' Of White House Rose Garden

5:25pm August 02, 2020

by Brian Naylor

The overhaul of the well-known grove used for receptions and statements is being funded by private donations and is expected to be completed later this summer.

The memorial will lead people from nearby history museums to the bank of the Ohio River. There, they can sit on limestone benches looking out across the water from Kentucky to southern Indiana.

Arts

'Somebody Knew Them': New Monument Will Honor '(Un)Known' Enslaved People

5:09pm August 01, 2020

by Stephanie Wolf

As monuments come down around the U.S., a group in Louisville, Ky., is putting one up. An artist-run nonprofit is planning a memorial dedicated to Black people whose names have been lost to history.

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A photograph shows Toyama, Japan, aflame after the U.S. attack on Aug. 1, 1945. Most of the city's population was left homeless.

World News

Opinion: 75 Years On, Remember Hiroshima And Nagasaki. But Remember Toyama Too

2:17pm August 01, 2020

A U.S. firebombing campaign targeted Toyama and other Japanese cities, killing 180,000 before the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, write geographer Cary Karacas and historian David Fedman.

Members of the "Wall of Moms" march during a Black Lives Matter protest at the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse last week in Portland, Ore.

National

How Portland's Racist History Informs Today's Protests

6:22pm July 30, 2020

by Ari Shapiro

Oregon was founded on white supremacist principles. But it also has a long history of anti-racist protests, says Lisa Bates, who teaches urban studies at Portland State University.

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Sheep graze in front of southern England's Stonehenge in April. Scientists say they've determined some of the structure's sandstone megaliths came from 15 miles away.

Researchers Solve A Question About Stonehenge Megaliths' Origin

6:56pm July 29, 2020

by Alana Wise

Scientists found that the outer stones of the prehistoric structure originated about 15 miles away from where the structure stands.

NPR Shares Archival Tapes With 1st Mentions Of Apple, Google, Facebook And Amazon

4:05pm July 29, 2020

Four Big Tech leaders testified before Congress Wednesday. NPR looks through its archive to find when and in what context each was first mentioned on the network.

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