History

Politics & Government

Cokie Roberts Answers Questions About Presidential Condolence Calls

8:14am October 25, 2017

Rachel Martin talks with commentator Cokie Roberts, who answers listener questions about the tradition of presidents offering condolences when members of the armed services are killed.

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Politics & Government

Documents About JFK Assassination To Be Released

5:19am October 25, 2017

Presidential historian Robert Dallek talks with Steve Inskeep about classified documents related to the assassination of President Kennedy that are set to be released Thursday.

A scans of the astrolabe reveal not only the emblems on its face (left) but also the degree markings (right) that would have aided sailors in navigation.

Left By Explorer's Armada, Shipwreck Yields 'Earliest Known' Marine Astrolabe

7:28pm October 24, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

Sunk off Oman, the ship once sailed in the fleet of Vasco da Gama, who found a sea route from Europe to India. Now, researchers say an artifact found on board is a 500-year-old navigation tool.

A runner passes a ghostly sculpture on display between Bondi Beach and Tamarama Beach in Sydney.

This Halloween: What Does It Mean To Call Something 'Spooky'?

6:18am October 24, 2017

by Leah Donnella

Scared, fine. Frightened, sure. But spooked? This week, we dive into the racial history behind one of Halloween's most fraught descriptors.

National

Sisters Remember WWI Through Grandfather's Found Diary

6:47pm October 22, 2017

by Eleanor Beardsley

For most Americans, World War I lies in the distant past. But for two Illinois sisters, the sacrifice made by millions of American troops is brought home as they trace family footsteps in France.

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500 Years Since 95 Theses, Martin Luther's Legacy Divides Some Of His Descendants

8:28am October 21, 2017

by Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson

Five centuries ago, Martin Luther started the Protestant Reformation. The anniversary prompted a recent meeting of his descendants to discuss the legacy Luther left when he nailed his theses on a church door.

A trader at the New York Stock Exchange reacts on Oct. 19, 1987, when the Dow Jones industrial average plunged more than 22 percent — the biggest single-day drop in history.

The 30th Anniversary Of Black Monday: A Day That Made Wall Street Quake

6:13pm October 19, 2017

by Emily Sullivan

On Oct. 19, 1987, Wall Street had its single worst trading day ever. Even after three decades, Black Monday still marks the biggest one-day crash, and its impact continues to reverberate.

Onlookers watch as suited men stand in front of a large copper kettle still for making illegal liquor, with boxes of bottles and funnels spread before them all for the manufacture of booze, circa 1900.

Arts

Moonshine Makes A Comeback in Virginia. And This Time, It's Legal

1:28pm October 19, 2017

by C. Jarrett Dieterle

While the revival has taken off around the country, it's especially strong in Virginia, where many of the twists, turns and car chases that are a part of moonshine lore took place.

Indonesian soldiers stand guard over members of the youth wing of the Indonesian Communist Party, who were packed into a truck to be taken to a Jakarta prison in October 1965. Over the next few months, the government's military leadership carried out the

Declassified Files Lay Bare U.S. Knowledge Of Mass Murders In Indonesia

8:47pm October 18, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

The Indonesian military systematically killed at least half a million people in the 1960s. Documents released Tuesday show U.S. officials knew about it from the start — and stood by as it unfolded.

Where Do We Come From?

3:55pm October 18, 2017

Look in a microscope to find out.