History

American GIs line up in the street in Troina, Sicily, utensils and dishes in hand, as they wait for a meal from a large pot, July 1943. Oregano grows abundantly in Southern Italy, where many GIs encountered the herb for the first time, and fell in love. M

GIs Helped Bring Freedom To Europe, And A Taste For Oregano To America

4:45pm May 11, 2015

by Nina Martyris

Now ubiquitous, oregano was a rarity in U.S. cuisine before World War II. But the GIs who encountered it in Sicily fell for the herb, especially in pizza, fueling a boom in Italian-American cuisine.

Whalebone stays and pannier from France, 1740-1760. The hoops of the pannier fold up, making it easier for the wearer to climb into carriages.

Arts

Shake What Your Mama Didn't Give You: Shapewear Through The Ages

6:29am May 10, 2015

by Jacki Lyden

From corsets and codpieces to shapewear and Spanx, people have tried to change their silhouettes for centuries. From The Seams, Jacki Lyden takes us on a sartorial tour of shapewear.

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The right to dine out alone in public during the day was an early victory in the women's rights movement. And as brunch took off in post-war America, for some, it became an exercise in women's lib.

Arts

Taking Mom Out For Brunch? It's A Feminist Tradition

7:33am May 09, 2015

by Tove Danovich

The right to dine out in public alone during the day was an early victory of the women's rights movement of the 1900s. And in post-war America, brunch became an exercise in women's lib for some.

National

WWII Planes Fill D.C. Skies For V-E Day

10:38pm May 08, 2015

NPR's Robert Siegel attended Friday's V-E Day celebration at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., which featured a fly over of vintage World War II planes.

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National

Thousands Gather On National Mall For Victory In Europe Day Celebration

4:34pm May 08, 2015

Thousands gathered on the National Mall Friday to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, commonly known as V-E Day, with a ceremony and a fly over of vintage World War II planes.

Books

Six Weeks In World War I Transformed How Wars Are Fought

7:22pm May 07, 2015

NPR's Robert Siegel talks with historian Diana Preston about her book A Higher Form of Killing: Six Weeks in World War I That Forever Changed the Nature of Warfare.

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Swimming Hole by Jerrold Beim, published in 1950.

National

4 Hot-Button Kids' Books From The '50s That Sparked Controversy

7:58am May 07, 2015

by Linton Weeks

Mostly forgotten or out of print, these picture books triggered conversations about integration.

Former House Speaker Jim Wright of Texas in 2005. He died Wednesday at the age of 92.

Remembering A Former House Speaker Whose Fall Signaled New Era Of Polarization

1:14am May 07, 2015

by Ron Elving

The short line of Jim Wright's bio is that he made history as the first speaker of the House to resign under pressure, and his fall signaled the rise of a long era of partisan divide.

"I think that we think that language is something neutral and not at all political" — Jamila Lyiscott

What Does It Mean To Be 'Articulate'?

1:25pm May 06, 2015

by NPR/TED Staff

Educator and poet Jamila Lyiscott is a "tri-tongued orator." She unpacks the three distinct flavors of English she speaks with her friends, family, and colleagues.

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Bedford Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library — a gift from Andrew Carnegie, 1905.

National

Do We Really Need Libraries?

2:02pm May 05, 2015

by Linton Weeks

Between 1886 and 1919, Andrew Carnegie planted nearly 1,700 libraries across America. Over the years they grew. Now they are trying to survive.