History

Image of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

In Thriller Form, 'The Lincoln Conspiracy' Details Early Plot To Kill The President

5:37pm May 05, 2020

by Michael Schaub

Authors Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch prove gifted at providing essential context, including deftly painting a picture of 19th-century America and the prevailing attitudes toward race and politics.

Looking Back On Kent State University Shooting 5 Decades Ago

7:03am May 04, 2020

by Jeff St. Clair

Fifty years ago, National Guard troops opened fire on protesting students at Kent State University killing four and wounding nine — changing the perception of the Vietnam War in the U.S.

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Health & Safety

The Great Influenza: Lessons To Learn From The Spanish Flu

8:34am April 30, 2020

John Barry, the author of The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History, talks about the lessons we can learn from the 1918 Spanish Flu and answers listener questions.

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Pandemics like the coronavirus "serve like looking glasses" that reflect society's vulnerabilities, author and Yale medical historian Frank Snowden says.

Medical Historian Says Pandemics Are 'Looking Glasses' For Societies

5:07pm April 29, 2020

by Steve Inskeep

Frank Snowden, author of the book, Epidemics and Society: From the Black Death to the Present, describes how pandemics stretching back centuries and our responses to them have shaped history.

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The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 hit a new milestone, surpassing the number of Americans who died in the prolonged conflict with Vietnam. Here, the Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens, N.Y., holds a vigil for medical workers and patients who have died in

Coronavirus Has Now Killed More Americans Than Vietnam War

8:29pm April 28, 2020

by David Welna

The number of lives taken by COVID-19 in the U.S. has reached a grim milestone: More people have died of the disease than the 58,220 Americans who perished in the Vietnam War.

(From L) World Health Organization leaders at a press briefing on COVID-19, held on March 6 at WHO headquarters in Geneva. From left: emergencies program director Michael Ryan, director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and technical lead Maria Van Kerkh

What Is WHO And What Does It Do?

6:15pm April 28, 2020

by Pien Huang

The organization at the eye of the coronavirus pandemic is taking heat from U.S. critics. Here's a look at its history, its mission and its role in the current crisis.

'Throughline': The Mosquito's Impact On The Shaping Of The U.S.

8:12am April 28, 2020

NPR's History Podcast Throughline looks at the outsized role of the mosquito on the outcome of the American Revolution.

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Ocean Beach in San Francisco, Calif., as seen on March 25.

'Why We Swim' Looks For Answers In People And Places Across The Globe

8:04am April 25, 2020

by Scott Simon

Author Bonnie Tsui reminds us that humankind once sprang from — and still seeks — water. "Even if we can't get in the water right now," she says, "the ocean will be waiting for us."

National

Freddie Gray's Death, 5 Years Later

5:05pm April 24, 2020

Five years ago, the death of Baltimore resident Freddie Gray in police custody sparked civil unrest. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with West Baltimore community organizer Ray Kelly.

Politics & Government

Immigration Crackdowns Are Not Unusual In Trying Times

4:13pm April 22, 2020

Anti-immigration sentiments have a long history of being tied to times of hardship: diseases, economic downturns and war. U.S. immigration history professor Erika Lee speaks with NPR's Ailsa Chang.

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