History

World News

Foreign Fighters A Fixture Of Conflict Throughout Modern History

7:01am October 22, 2014

Dutch bikers joined forces with Kurdish fighters in Iraq. Europeans have joined the ISIS ranks. But foreign fighters — volunteers that fight for a cause, and not for money — aren't a new idea. Robert Siegel talks with David Malet of the University of Melbourne, about foreign fighters over the last few centuries.

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Taqueria La Delicia is a lonchera, or food truck, that parks near a Lowe's Home Improvement store in New Orleans. The owner is Honduran, and so are many of the day laborers who eat there.

National

In The Big Easy, Food Vendors Create A Little Honduras

5:31pm October 20, 2014

by Laine Kaplan-Levenson

Thanks to a quirk of history, New Orleans has long had a Honduran population, but it exploded post-Katrina. Nearly a decade later, Hondurans have created a vibrant, if underground, culinary community.

Edet Belzberg's other films include the documentaries Children Underground and The Recruiter.

Arts

The Man Who Coined 'Genocide' Spent His Life Trying To Stop It

7:40pm October 18, 2014

by NPR Staff

Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin coined the word in 1943, as part of his lifelong campaign to make the world acknowledge and prosecute the crime. A new documentary, Watchers of the Sky, tells his story.

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Out Of The Lockerbie Bombing, A Bond And A 'Letter Of Note'

6:26pm October 17, 2014

Audie Cornish speaks with Frank Ciulla about a poignant letter cherished by his family. It was written after his father was killed in the Lockerbie bombing in 1988.

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Books

Alabama Attorney General's 1976 Letter Told KKK Off In 3 Short Words

6:35pm October 16, 2014

As part of our series Letters of Note, former Alabama Attorney General Bill Baxley tells Audie Cornish how he once replied to an angry letter from the Ku Klux Klan.

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How Presidential Speeches Have Changed Over Time

9:29am October 14, 2014

News site Vocativ.com analyzed more than 600 presidential speeches. In general, it says the earliest speeches were written at PhD levels, and that language has become less sophisticated over time.

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Native American protesters have been demonstrating against Columbus Day in Seattle for several years. Protest organizers say Columbus should not be credited with discovering the Western Hemisphere at a time when it was already inhabited.

National

Seattle Swaps Columbus Day For 'Indigenous Peoples' Day'

1:50pm October 13, 2014

by Tristan Ahtone

The city is the latest to honor Native Americans instead of Christopher Columbus. But not everyone is happy about the change.

The Greek god Hermes is seen in a newly found mosaic, leading a chariot and its rider into the afterlife.

Striking Mosaic Found In Greek Tomb Dates From 4th Century B.C.

6:29pm October 12, 2014

by Bill Chappell

Dating from the last quarter of the 4th century B.C., the mosaic covers a space of nearly 15 feet by 10 feet. It features two horses, a man and the god Hermes, in colorful detail.

Woman Finds Jeweled Treasure In Agatha Christie's Trunk

2:20pm October 11, 2014

When an English woman bought a trunk at an estate sale, she was surprised to discover a diamond brooch and other jewels that belonged to Agatha Christie. She speaks with NPR's Scott Simon.

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Mahatma Gandhi wasn't always a beloved figure; his defense of women and children rattled the world.

World News

In A Way, Gandhi Also Won 2014's Nobel Peace Prize

2:20pm October 11, 2014

by Scott Simon

In a week when two Nobel Peace Prize winners were announced, NPR's Scott Simon reflects on Mahatma Gandhi's life. Though Gandhi never won the prize, 2014's winners carry on his legacy.

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