Winston Churchill

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to the U.S. Congress by video at the Capitol on March 16, 2022, to plead for support for his besieged country.

Zelenskyy's plea to Congress recalls Churchill and others who fought for democracy

8:40am March 19, 2022

by Ron Elving

Other addresses to Congress by foreign leaders have paled compared to Winston Churchill welding with his words the alliance that overcame Adolph Hitler, until Volodymyr Zelenskyy's this week.

A protective covering was installed overnight to keep protesters from further damaging a statue of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Parliament Square in London.

World News

Statue Of Winston Churchill Is Covered Up In London

6:09pm June 12, 2020

by Jason Slotkin

The monument had previously been defaced amid anti-racism demonstrations. The U.K. is embroiled in a debate over monuments to noted British imperialists and slave traders.

Books

Exclusive 1st Read: Erik Larson's 'The Splendid And The Vile'

12:26pm February 20, 2020

by Meghan Collins Sullivan

The bestselling author of Dead Wake turns his attention to the first year of Winston Churchill's prime ministership, at a moment when Adolf Hitler overtakes France — and England could be next.

This image made by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows part of a group of five galaxies known as Stephan's Quintet.

Science

'Are We Alone?' Churchill Concludes It's Likely Life Circles Other Suns

7:54am February 18, 2017

by Scott Simon

In an essay written in 1939, Winston Churchill pondered the possibility that there might be life elsewhere in the universe. The document was recently rediscovered in a museum in Fulton, Mo.

Winston Churchill was so displeased with Graham Sutherland's portrait that his wife asked his secretary to destroy it. Pictured here is a preparatory sketch.

'The Face Of Britain' Tells A Nation's History Through Portraits

6:23pm September 19, 2016

by NPR Staff

Art historian Simon Schama shares the stories behind the artworks — from the portrait that made an 18th-century actor into a star, to the one Winston Churchill's secretary threw into a bonfire.

Queue Listen Now

The U.K. has begun circulating a waterproof, plastic 5-pound bill.

World News

Britain Releases A New Fiver That's A Real Survivor

4:11pm September 14, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

This week, the U.K. introduced a polymer 5-pound note that's designed to be waterproof, tear-resistant and chewable. The Bank of England still doesn't recommend setting it on fire.

Newly appointed Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson addresses staff inside the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in central London on Thursday.

Goats, Cannibalism And A Sadistic Nurse: The Insults Of Britain's New Top Diplomat

5:10pm July 14, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

Boris Johnson has compared Hillary Clinton to a "sadistic nurse" and written poetry about Turkey's president having sex with a goat.

British politician Winston Churchill and his wife, Clementine, make a toast upon their arrival in Switzerland in August 1946. Stories of Churchill's special relationship with alcohol are legendary — and champagne was his truest passion. A new book revea

Hitler Couldn't Defeat Churchill, But Champagne Nearly Did

11:06am April 01, 2016

by Nina Martyris

During the 1930s, as Hitler was rising to power in Germany, the man who would turn out to be his most implacable foe was drowning — in debt and champagne. A new book recounts the unbelievable excess.

A new app based on Winston Churchill's tweak on Solitaire was designed with the help of Donald Rumsfeld.

Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Tries His Hand At App Development

11:53am January 23, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

The former secretary of defense who grappled with "unknown unknowns" in the war in Iraq is back in the news. He worked with a team of developers to design a Winston Churchill-themed card game app.