History

Vice President Pence arrives at the Senate to cast a tie-breaking vote for Betsy DeVos to be education secretary on Tuesday.

Pence Becomes First VP To Break Senate Tie Over Cabinet Nomination

1:28pm February 07, 2017

by Ron Elving

Mike Pence is not the first vice president to break any Senate tie, though; the right gives vice presidents a rare chance to be in the limelight and cast a consequential vote that makes a difference.

Charles Dickens, possibly inspired by his own hunger while his father was in debtor's prison, has plenty to say about food in his novels.

Books
Arts

It Was The Best Of Fries, It Was The Worst Of Fries: Charles Dickens, Food Scribe

12:33pm February 07, 2017

by Nicole Jankowski

Charles Dickens, born Feb. 7, 1812, was likely inspired by his own hunger to write some of the finest descriptions of Victorian food and cooking that have ever been recorded in literature.

Illustration of Dr. J. Marion Sims with Anarcha by Robert Thom. Anarcha was subjected to 30 experimental surgeries.

Health & Safety

Remembering Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey: The Mothers of Modern Gynecology

12:00am February 07, 2017

J. Marion Sims is remembered as the father of modern gynecology. Forgotten are the mothers of that medical specialty — the enslaved women whose bodies were used for the advancement of his research.

Books
Arts

'Pachinko' Is A Family Saga Of Exile, Discrimination ... And Japanese Pinball

8:31am February 06, 2017

by Lynn Neary

The multibillion-dollar pinball industry is dominated by Korean Japanese, an immigrant community that has been ill-treated for generations. Author Min Jin Lee explores that history in a new novel.

Queue Listen Now

A History Of Supreme Court Nominations, And Fights Over Confirmations

8:11am February 05, 2017

by Ron Elving

Senate pushback on nominations for Supreme Court justices has been more common than most people think, especially over the last half-century.

Eric Braeden plays business magnate Victor Newman on CBS' The Young and the Restless.

Arts

From Post-War Germany To Hollywood, A Soap Star Dishes On His Journey

8:11am February 05, 2017

by NPR Staff

Actor Eric Braeden was born in Kiel, Germany, during World War II, and this year marks his 37th anniversary with The Young and the Restless. His new memoir is called I'll Be Damned.

Queue Listen Now

The Pyramids of El-Geezeh from the South West, from Egypt, Sinai and Jerusalem: A Series of Twenty Photographic Views, c. 1860.

Long Before There Was 'Fake News,' There Were 'Fake Photos'

7:00am February 05, 2017

by Angus Chen

The pictures of 19th-century Egypt and other scenes, in an exhibit at the Clark Art Institute, don't always show the truth.

The Monday Night Massacre: Current Parallels To Nixon Administration

7:57am February 04, 2017

President Trump's firing of the acting attorney general reminded some of Nixon's sacking of a special prosecutor in 1973. Scott Simon speaks with Nixon's White House special counsel John Dean.

Thanks, Obama: Trump Administration Uses Obama's Record As Defense

7:57am February 04, 2017

by Tamara Keith

There's a well-worn tradition of new administrations blaming past presidents for their problems, but the Trump administration appears to be taking it to an extreme.

A still from Budweiser's Super Bowl ad tells the story of one of Budweiser's founders.

Budweiser's Super Bowl Ad And The Great Debate Over What It Means To Be An American

6:32pm February 03, 2017

by Maria Godoy

Despite taking some historical liberties, Bud's new ad about its founder gets some things right — like the hostility toward new immigrants and suspicion of their un-American ways (like drinking).