History

Duke Ellington at the piano at Fairfield Halls in Croydon, during a British tour in 1963.

Wade In The Water Ep. 21: Jazz And The Wider World Of The Sacred (Part I)

9:08am June 20, 2019

Jazz as sacred music within and beyond the boundaries of the organized African American church. Duke Ellington, Mary Lou Williams, John Coltrane and others are featured.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe at a press conference during a British tour in 1957.

Wade In The Water Ep. 20: Beyond Text: Instruments In The Service Of The Lord

9:08am June 20, 2019

Music without words: an experience of the power of instrumental African American sacred music.

Wade In The Water Ep. 19: The Many Ways Of The Crossover

9:08am June 20, 2019

The connecting lines between sacred and secular, explored through performances, texts, careers, recordings and the audiences who shared, exchanged and crossed over.

Wade In The Water Ep. 23: Sing 'Till The Power ...

9:07am June 20, 2019

Virtuoso performances created by masters and documented through audio recordings that set the mold for specific vocal and performance styles.

Sun Ra (left) performs with his Arkestra at the Newport Jazz Festival, circa 1970.

Wade In The Water Ep. 22: Jazz And The Wider World Of The Sacred (Part II)

9:07am June 20, 2019

Jazz as sacred music within and beyond the boundaries of the organized African American church, featuring Pharoah Sanders, Sun Ra, Max Roach, Charles Mingus and others.

Bessie Griffin at the Monterey Jazz Festival in the early 1970s.

Wade In The Water Ep. 24: The Story Of The California Gospel Movement

9:05am June 20, 2019

The migration and effects of geographical considerations on the sound, as African Americans moved west to Texas, Louisiana and California.

Politics & Government

Why The Appearance Of High-Profile Witnesses Before Congress Is Appealing

6:39am June 20, 2019

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to columnist and commentator Cokie Roberts, who answers listener questions about the history of high-profile witnesses who testify before Congress.

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Tensions With Iran Unlikely To Lead To Repeat Of 'Tanker War'

5:26am June 20, 2019

by David Welna

The recent attacks on oil tankers amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran has happened before. In the 1980s, the U.S. needed Gulf oil. Today, not so much.

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Religion

'Throughline' Traces Evangelicals' History On The Abortion Issue

5:21am June 20, 2019

by Rund Abdelfatah

NPR's history podcast, Throughline, examines how the issue of abortion became a defining political issue for evangelicals.

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Standing on the downtown corner that was once the city's slave market, Lorna Woods holds up the rusty shackles she found under an old box spring in her grandmother's house.

National

Alabama's Africatown Hopes For Revival After Slave Ship Discovery

8:24pm June 19, 2019

by Debbie Elliott

The Clotilde was discovered last month in the Mobile River, bringing new attention to a small community founded by African captives who were brought to the U.S. on the ship.

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