History

The Road To The Supreme Court Arguments On Gay Marriage

11:27am March 29, 2013

The much-anticipated Supreme Court arguments on California's Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act represent a historic moment in the Court's history. Legal analysts and activists are contemplating what the Court's decisions could mean for the future of United States law.

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Nick Wiseman, partner at DGS Delicatessen, inspects the kitchen as an employee prepares pastrami sandwiches for lunch in Washington, D.C.

Reviving The Spirit And Schmaltz Of The Jewish Deli

10:55am March 28, 2013

by Padmananda Rama

Smoked salmon pastrami may sound heretical, but owners of a revisionist Jewish deli in Washington, D.C., say it's all part of a revival of traditional Jewish cuisine.

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The Rev. Craig Benson, who fought the civil unions law, says he remains opposed to both civil unions and same-sex marriage. But he also said his focus is on other issues.

How Vermont's 'Civil' War Fueled The Gay Marriage Movement

9:55pm March 27, 2013

by Liz Halloran

As the Supreme Court considers the constitutional case for gay marriage, we look back at the role Vermont played just 13 years ago in the historic metamorphosis of the issue. The state's governor, who wore a bulletproof vest that year, called it "the least civil public debate in the state in over a century."

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World News

The Fear That Drives Russia's Support For Syria's Assad

2:11pm March 27, 2013

Russian President Vladimir Putin has consistently supported President Bashar Assad through Syria's violent crisis. Fiona Hill, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, argues that Putin's support is linked to Russia's own history.

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Lynne Olson, a former journalist for The Baltimore Sun, is also the author of Citizens of London.

Books
Arts

'Angry Days' Shows An America Torn Over Entering World War II

3:30pm March 26, 2013

World War II is often thought of as a good and just war — a war the U.S. had to fight. But it wasn't that simple. Public debate was heated between interventionism, which President Roosevelt supported, and isolationism, which aviator Charles Lindbergh became an unofficial spokesman for.

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Richard Breitman (left) and Allan Lichtman are distinguished professors of history at American University in Washington, D.C.

Books
Arts

'FDR And The Jews' Puts A President's Compromises In Context

9:17am March 24, 2013

by NPR Staff

President Franklin D. Roosevelt said little and did less on behalf of Jews trying to get out of Nazi Germany; but he also won Jewish votes by landslide margins and led the Allies to victory in World War II. A new history by Richard Breitman and Allan Lichtman revises FDR's performance upward.

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David Wilson (left) and Rob Compton embrace after being married by a Unitarian minister at the Arlington Street Church in Boston on May 17, 2004. They were one of the first couples in Massachusetts to be legally wed.

As Gay Marriage Heads To Court, A Look Back At The Bumpy Ride

4:28pm March 21, 2013

by Ari Shapiro

The Supreme Court hears two gay marriage cases next week. These will be the next major steps on a path the country has traveled for decades. Those who have been affected by the gay marriage battle reflect on the changes so far.

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Gustave Whitehead and the No. 21. Connecticut claims that Whitehead's half-mile flight in 1901 was the first flight, not the well-known Wright brothers' flight that occurred two years later.

Historian Propels Connecticut To Claim 'First In Flight'

8:35pm March 19, 2013

by Neena Satija

Gustave Whitehead, a German immigrant who lived in Bridgeport, Conn., was the first to fly a plane, according to one expert who examined a photo recently unearthed in a Bavarian museum. This claim has reignited a debate among researchers, and a fight with the Smithsonian.

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Economy

After 50 Years, A State Of Crisis For The Right To Counsel

2:19pm March 19, 2013

On Mar. 18, 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that state courts are required to provide counsel in criminal cases to those unable to afford it. Just before the 50th anniversary of the decision, Attorney General Eric Holder said that the nation's public defense systems "exist in a state of crisis."

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Arts

'Bowery Boys' Are Amateur But Beloved New York Historians

4:12pm March 18, 2013

by Caitlin Dickerson

For their popular podcast, two longtime friends sit down at a kitchen table and share little-known anecdotes and historical facts about New York. Its bare-bones production hasn't hurt its popularity — it's been downloaded 5 million times in the past five years.

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