History

A quirky museum in Hollywood casts a nostalgic glow on movies' golden era

5:11am March 10, 2023

by Susan Stamberg

The Oscars will be handed out on Sunday. Ahead of this year's Academy Awards, we visit the Hollywood Museum in Los Angeles, a chance to browse through movie artifacts from years gone by.

Music & Culture

'Throughline,' NPR's history podcast, digs into the origins of house music

5:11am March 10, 2023

Since Beyoncé's Renaissance album dropped last summer, house music has found its way back to mainstream audiences. Some are asking, "Is House back?" The truth is it never went away.

The first Oscar presentation and banquet was held in the Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, Calif., in May 1929.

The first Oscars lasted 15 minutes — plus other surprises from 95 years of awards

8:13pm March 09, 2023

by Mandalit del Barco

A lot can happen in 95 years. Ahead of the Academy Awards on Sunday, we take a look back at the surprises, the scandals, the slap and — yes — even the streaker.

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Biden administration releases Guantánamo inmate, its fourth transfer in a month

8:04pm March 09, 2023

by Sacha Pfeiffer

A Saudi man held at Guantánamo for more than two decades without being put on trial has been released by the U.S., making him the fourth inmate transferred out of Guantánamo in about the past month.

Fossilized egg shell pieces are revealing lost information about the elephant bird

5:19pm March 07, 2023

Before they were driven to extinction, giant elephant birds roamed Madagascar, weighing up to 2,000 pounds and towering 10 feet tall. A new analysis gives hints as to how many species there once were.

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How Alice Winn found inspiration for her debut novel in school newspapers from WWI

4:34pm March 07, 2023

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with author Alice Winn about her debut book In Memoriam, a love story following two boarding school classmates fighting for Britain in the trenches of World War I.

National

Bills targeting drag have a long history in the U.S., says historian

4:26pm March 06, 2023

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with historian Jules Gill-Peterson of Johns Hopkins University about the long history of laws targeting drag in the U.S.

Vice President Kamala Harris marches on the Edmund Pettus Bridge after speaking in Selma, Ala., on the anniversary of "Bloody Sunday," on March 6, 2022.

How this year's Selma Bridge Crossing could mark a community renaissance

3:14pm March 04, 2023

President Biden visits Selma for the 58th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday." Residents there are still recovering from tornadoes that ripped through the city in January.

Britney Banks speaks to protesters outside the Tennessee state Capitol on Feb. 14, 2023, as the legislature hears testimony on two bills that would restrict the rights of LGBTQ people in the state.

Tennessee becomes the first state to pass a ban on public drag shows

7:56pm March 02, 2023

by Marianna Bacallao

Tenn. Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill banning drag performances the same afternoon he signed a ban on youth gender-affirming care. Advocates say some are asking whether staying in the state is worth it.

Wattstax drew 100,000 people — this 1972 concert was about much more than music

4:35pm March 02, 2023

by Allyson McCabe

Although the fight for racial equality is ongoing, Stax co-owner Al Bell says so is the hope for a better future envisioned by Wattstax a half-century ago.