History

National

Reactions are mixed to the removal of a Confederate monument from Arlington cemetery

5:53pm December 22, 2023

by Alana Wise

Workers at Arlington National Cemetery will finish removing a monument to Confederate soldiers from the grounds Friday, drawing mixed reactions.

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This Frederick Douglass mural in Easton, Md., is a modern-day makeover that has some in the abolitionist's hometown divided.

A Frederick Douglass mural in his hometown in Maryland draws some divisions

10:41am December 21, 2023

by Alana Wise

A mural depicting Frederick Douglass in a chunky wristwatch, a slim-cut suit and crisp white Converse has divided the town of Easton, Md., in his birth county of Talbot.

Queen Elizabeth II, as portrayed by Olivia Colman (left) Imelda Staunton (center) and Claire Foy (right).

Arts

As 'The Crown' ends, Imelda Staunton tells NPR that 'the experiment paid off'

5:01am December 20, 2023

Imelda Staunton was the third actress to portray Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown, which is ending its six-season run.

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The removal of the Confederate Memorial in Section 16 of Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Va., is on hold after a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order.

A judge halted the removal of a Confederate memorial at Arlington National Cemetery

8:18pm December 18, 2023

by Sarah McCammon

A group filed suit saying that the removal of the memorial was disturbing surrounding graves. A federal judge ordered workers to stop and scheduled a hearing for Wednesday.

Sonar image presumed to be of the George L. Newman shipwreck

National

A father and daughter went fishing. What they found was a 152-year-old shipwreck

3:28pm December 18, 2023

by Diba Mohtasham

Tim Wollak and his 5-year-old daughter Henley first thought they came across an octopus. But their discovery is presumed to be a shipwreck connected to the deadliest wildfire in American history.

Arts

600 U.S. planes crashed in the Himalayas during WWII. A new museum shows the artifacts

8:41am December 16, 2023

by Scott Simon

In World War II, hundreds of U.S. planes crashed in the Himalayas. NPR's Scott Simon asks William Belcher, a forensic anthropologist, about a new museum that displays artifacts from the crashes.

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A man and his daughter find remains of a ship that ran aground over 150 years ago

6:57am December 15, 2023

by Leila Fadel

A father and his 6-year-old daughter in Wisconsin discovered a piece of history during a fishing trip on Lake Michigan — remains of a sailing ship that ran aground during a deadly fire in 1871.

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Black soldier killed during Jim Crow era now honored with historical marker in N.C.

4:38pm December 13, 2023

by Jay Price

In 1944, the city of Durham, N.C., was riveted by the killing of a Black soldier – and the trial of the white bus driver who shot him. The soldier is now being honored with a historical marker.

Music & Culture

In 1977, a 12-year-old invented record scratching and changed hip-hop forever

5:10pm December 09, 2023

Dusty Henry of KEXP's 50 Years of Hip Hop podcast explores a groundbreaking innovation by 12-year-old Theodore Livingston, aka Grand Wizzard Theodore.

A woman is facing charges after pouring what appears to be gasoline on the porch of the Queen Anne style house in Atlanta where Martin Luther King Jr. spent the first 12 years of his life. The home was not damaged.

National

Visitors to Martin Luther King Jr.'s birth home stop a woman from setting fire to it

5:42pm December 08, 2023

by Bill Chappell

"That action saved an important part of American history tonight," Atlanta's police chief told media gathered at the scene late Thursday.