History

National

Anita Hill Testimony: The Witness Not Called

5:28pm September 23, 2018

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Sukari Hardnett, who wanted to corroborate Anita Hill's testimony about then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas but was not called before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Activists chant during a protest outside the office of Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa.

A Timeline Of Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill Controversy As Kavanaugh To Face Accuser

3:00pm September 23, 2018

by Nina Totenberg

As another Supreme Court nominee faces allegations of sexual misconduct, what can be learned from the handling of the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill controversy?

cover detail from Transcription by Kate Atkinson

Books
Arts

Secrets Of A Teenage WWII Spy In 'Transcription'

7:53am September 23, 2018

by Renee Montagne

The young protagonist of Kate Atkinson's latest historical novel finds herself working for British intelligence during the war — and suddenly confronting that experience years later.

Law professor Anita Hill takes oath on Oct. 12 1991, before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C. Hill accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment.

Anita Hill's Challenge To Clarence Thomas: A Tale Of 2 Lives And 3 Elections

2:03pm September 20, 2018

by Ron Elving

The electoral connection was critical throughout the Thomas nomination process. Two elections that took place in the 1980s were not only preludes but determinants of the drama that would unfold.

National

Documenting The History Of Mob Violence Against African-American Veterans

7:36am September 20, 2018

by Jay Price

A large number of African-American military veterans were murdered by lynching after returning from war. An annual re-enactment of a lynching in Alabama tells one such story.

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Politics & Government

Cokie Roberts On The History Of Natural Disasters And Politics

7:29am September 20, 2018

Commentator Cokie Roberts answers listener questions and talks with NPR's Steve Inskeep about the history of natural disasters and politics.

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Henri Langlois created The Cinémathèque Française — an archive dedicated to preserving and exhibiting movies from many countries and eras.

Arts

'Savior Of Film,' Henri Langlois, Began Extensive Cinema Archive In His Bathtub

5:28am September 20, 2018

by The Kitchen Sisters

One of the most important figures in the history of filmmaking never made a film. Langlois created the Cinémathèque Française, where he preserved and exhibited movies from many countries and eras.

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Identity Politics Unmasked

1:54pm September 18, 2018

Francis Fukuyama is in favor of national identities based on creed, like the American one, rather than identities based on race or heritage.

'These Truths' Looks At America Through The Promises Of Its Beginning

9:54am September 18, 2018

by Michael Schaub

By engaging with our country's past — and present — in an intellectually honest way, Jill Lepore has created a book that truly does encapsulate the American story in all its pain and triumph.

The entrance of Rio de Janeiro's treasured National Museum, one of Brazil's oldest, on September 3, 2018, a day after a massive fire ripped through the building.

World News

Stool From Slave Trade Era Is Likely Destroyed In Brazil's Museum Fire

10:03am September 17, 2018

by Philip Reeves

As researchers sift through the ashes at the museum in Rio de Janeiro, they expect to find little that survived the fire — including an African royal throne from the days of the Atlantic slave trade.

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