History

Texas Democrats See Opportunity In Changing Demographics

8:36am July 02, 2013

by Don Gonyea

For most of the 20th century, Democrats were the only game in town when it came to Texas politics. But that changed and Republicans have been in charge for decades. For Democrats to return to power, they'll have to hold together a coalition of minority voters.

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An ancient tablet contains records written in Linear B — a script that was discovered in the 19th century and remained undeciphered for decades.

Books
Arts

How One Woman Nearly Deciphered A Mysterious Script

12:17pm July 01, 2013

by NPR Staff

For decades, no one could crack the code to a mysterious ancient script called Linear B. In her new book, Margalit Fox tells the story of the forgotten woman who almost figured it out.

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Throughout the '70s and '80s, the radical African-American MOVE organization had several dramatic encounters with police.

'Let The Fire Burn': A Philadelphia Community Forever Changed

2:05pm June 26, 2013

by NPR Staff

On May 13, 1985, after a long standoff, Philadelphia municipal authorities dropped a bomb on the headquarters of the African-American radical group MOVE. In the documentary Let the Fire Burn, director Jason Osder uses archival footage to chronicle the years of tension that ended in tragedy.

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For octopus flesh to be tender enough to grill, it must be dried in the sun at least one full day.

Mastering A Sea Monster: From Greece, A Lesson In Grilling Octopus

3:09pm June 25, 2013

by Joanna Kakissis

The Greeks have been eating octopus since ancient times, but there's an art to grilling these tentacled sea creatures. An octopus has to be dried in the sun for at least a day first. Otherwise, the flesh just steams and turns into "a rubbery mass."

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National

A Look Back At How Newspapers Covered The Civil Rights Movement

6:07pm June 21, 2013

by Audie Cornish

This week Audie Cornish travels to Birmingham, Ala., to revisit some of the stories that shaped that city and the nation in the summer of 1963. Today she talks with Hank Klibanoff, co-author of The Race Beat about how the newspapers covered the civil rights struggle fifty years ago.

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National

The Desegregation Of Birmingham's Golf Courses

6:07pm June 21, 2013

by Audie Cornish

This week Audie Cornish takes us deeper into the news that shaped the city of Birmingham, Alabama in the summer of 1963. Today, she visits the Boswell-Highlands golf course and talks to black golfers about the journey to desegregate the city's public greens.

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Sarah Dunant is also author of the novels The Birth of Venus and Sacred Hearts.

Books

'Blood & Beauty' Breathes New Life Into The Borgias

12:48pm June 21, 2013

by NPR Staff

In the 1500s, Italy was bursting with some of the most influential and vivid figures in history. In her latest book, Blood & Beauty: The Borgias, novelist Sarah Dunant explores the story of the powerful and notorious family.

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Thousands of students from around the world flock to courses near Bologna, in central Italy, at the headquarters of Carpigiani, the leading global manufacturer of gelato-making machines.

World News

Italian University Spreads The 'Gelato Gospel'

4:12pm June 18, 2013

by Sylvia Poggioli

Among the many culinary treats Italy has given the world is gelato, a frozen dessert with roots in ancient Mesopotamia. Gelato lovers from all over the world are flocking to a university outside Bologna, Italy, to master the art of gelato-making. Here's a free lesson: Don't call it ice cream.

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World News

When A Language Dies, What Happens To Culture?

1:49pm June 18, 2013

Nearly half of the 7,000 languages spoken in the world are expected to vanish in the next 100 years. One of them is Athabaskan, a language of the Siletz tribe in the Pacific Northwest. Bud Lane, vice chairman of Siletz tribal council, explains the importance of language diversity.

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The Deserters is Charles Glass' second book relating to World War II. His last book, Americans in Paris, told the story of the U.S. citizens who remained in the French capital after the 1940 German invasion.

WWII 'Deserters': Stories Of Men Who Left The Front Lines

5:11pm June 17, 2013

In his new book, journalist Charles Glass explores the little-known history of thousands of American and British soldiers who deserted during World War II. Glass describes how the strain of war can push a soldier to the breaking point — and how the line between courage and cowardice is never simple.

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