History

On the recommendation of Kenichi Zenimura, manager Lonnie Goodwin (far right) took his ballclub on a tour of Asia in April 1927. Here, he's pictured with (from left) catcher O'Neal Pullen, pitcher Ajay Johnson and shortstop Biz Mackey.

The Secret History Of Black Baseball Players In Japan

2:41pm July 14, 2015

by Dexter Thomas

Decades before Jackie Robinson broke American baseball's color line, a long-standing camaraderie between black and Japanese players would shape the future of baseball in Japan.

Baseball In Skirts, 19th-Century Style

9:46am July 14, 2015

by Linton Weeks

For Victorian athletes in America, the game on the diamond gave them a chance to compete against men — and win. Re-enactment teams offer the same opportunity to modern women.

John A. Williams, a renowned poet and novelist, died July 3. He was 89.

A Tribute To John Williams, The Man Who Wrote 'I Am'

10:14pm July 13, 2015

by Karen Grigsby Bates

The prolific author tackled difficult issues of race in novels and poetry. He used his writing to challenge assumptions about African-Americans, including civil rights hero Martin Luther King Jr.

Harper Lee's friend Michael Brown took this picture of the author in October 1957, the same month she signed with publisher J.B. Lippincott.

Books
Arts

How Harper Lee Went From Wannabe Writer To The Jane Austen Of Alabama

2:34pm July 13, 2015

by Joel Rose

Lee once said she wanted to be the chronicler of "small-town, middle-class Southern life." Even without her highly anticipated second novel, Go Set a Watchman, many fans would say she succeeded.

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Waiter carriers pass food to passengers on a train stopping in Gordonsville, Va., in this undated photo. After the Civil War, local African-American women found a route to financial freedom by selling their famous fried chicken and other home-made goods

Arts

'The Fried Chicken Capital': Where Racial Progress Began Along The Rails

12:01pm July 13, 2015

by Maria Godoy

Fried chicken is a racially fraught food. But for African-American women in Gordonsville, Va., the dish became a route to financial independence after the Civil War.

Winning Is For Losers: The Great Stories Of The Guys Who Finish Last

10:38am July 11, 2015

by NPR Staff

Author Max Leonard says that, when it comes to the Tour de France, the riders in the back often have far more interesting stories than the riders in the front. His new book is called Lanterne Rouge.

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'Raising Ali' Remembers The 'Worst Mess In The History Of Sports'

1:20am July 11, 2015

NPR's Robert Siegel talks to Gary Robinov, director of Raising Ali, a film about the 50th anniversary of the heavyweight boxing match between Mohammed Ali and Sonny Liston in Lewiston, Maine.

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An organ grinder and child in Chicago, 1891.

Music & Culture

Strange Stories Surrounding Street Pianos

4:13pm July 10, 2015

by Linton Weeks

Designed to provide pleasure, street pianos in 19th and 20th century America were also magnets for some mischief and malevolence.

Belgrade's Ruined Defense Ministry Serves As Reminder Of NATO Airstrikes

9:13pm July 09, 2015

by Ari Shapiro

After national trauma, some countries build memorials, and others forget. Sixteen years after bombs struck, the defense ministry in Belgrade remains a ruin, serving as a daily reminder of the NATO war against Serbia.

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Before distilleries used glass bottles, many of them offered liquor stores branded ceramic jugs that could be filled and sold to customers. This pair of George Dickel jugs was used around 1900. From The Art of American Whiskey by Noah Rothbaum.

Books
Arts

From Medicine To Modern Revival: A History Of American Whiskey, In Labels

11:57am July 09, 2015

by Tove Danovich

During Prohibition, booze was banned, but "medicinal" spirits weren't, a loophole whiskey makers exploited. That's just one of the tidbits a new book tracing the history of whiskey labels reveals.