History

Books

'Worn This Day' Lets You Step Into Historical Figures' Shoes, Vests, Dresses And More

8:47am November 30, 2019

by Scott Simon

Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell's new book is a year-long daily walk through history, and the place of clothing in it. She talks to NPR's Scott Simon about some of the articles she featured.

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World News

When Militants Took Mecca: A Short Siege With An Immense Legacy

5:10am November 29, 2019

by Ramtin Arablouei

Forty years ago, militants held one of Islam's holiest sites — Saudi Arabia's Grand Mosque — and thousands of pilgrims hostage for two weeks. Though they failed, they shaped the future of the region.

All 257 people aboard the Air New Zealand flight were killed when it crashed into Mount Erebus in Antarctica in 1979.

World News

New Zealand's Prime Minister Apologizes For Government's Handling Of 1979 Plane Crash

4:57pm November 28, 2019

by Jackie Northam

"I know the time has come to say I am sorry," New Zealand's prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said at a memorial. An initial investigation had blamed pilot error in the crash that killed 257 people.

Snippet of a letter that F.B. Haviland sent to President Herbert Hoover in 1929 asking him to move Thanksgiving to Friday.

National

Why We Celebrate Thanksgiving On The 4th Thursday Of November

5:00am November 28, 2019

by Tanya Ballard Brown

There is an explanation, but you have to go back to things decreed by Presidents Washington, Lincoln and Roosevelt (FDR, that is).

What Do Billionaires Owe The Rest Of Us?

12:56pm November 25, 2019

Questions like these come up as the public contemplates a wealth tax.

Adolf Hitler's birth house in Braunau am Inn, Austria, as seen in 2012. Austrian officials said Wednesday the building will be renovated and turned into a police station.

World News

Hitler's Birth Home In Austria Will Become A Police Station

3:00pm November 20, 2019

by Paolo Zialcita

Austrian officials hope the decision to turn the three-story building in the town of Braunau am Inn into a police station will be a deterrent to those who would make the site a neo-Nazi shrine.

United Nations Security Council Meets To Discuss North Korea's Recent Rocket Launch Attempt

A Conversation With Susan Rice

3:28pm November 19, 2019

We hear from the former national security advisor and U.N. ambassador about her memoir "Tough Love."

A Sudanese protester waves a national flag on a bridge during a protest outside the army headquarters in the capital Khartoum on April 19, 2019.

A New Chapter For Sudan

6:31am November 19, 2019

by Cynthia Betubiza

With a dictator gone, a peace deal in place, and a historic joint civilian-military council sworn in, what's next for Sudan's economy?

Illustration of four of the United States' Founding Fathers: John Adams, Robert Morris, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson.

Politics & Government

Fractured Into Factions? What The Founders Feared About Impeachment

3:09pm November 18, 2019

by Jessica Taylor

The Founding Fathers saw impeachment as a release valve from another "crisis of a national revolution." But they also worried it would devolve into partisan bickering if put into action.

"The Report" European Premiere - 63rd BFI London Film Festival

Politics & Government

Releasing "The Report"

1:24pm November 18, 2019

Scott Z. Burns' new film dramatizes the process of releasing a report on "enhanced interrogation techniques" during the Bush administration.