On July 5, 1852, in Rochester, New York, abolitionist Frederick Douglass delivered a speech titled “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” His speech challenged some of America’s most sacred principles and exposed what he saw as the hypocrisy in America’s founding documents. Listen to hear a historian analyze this momentous speech and the powerful way Douglass used rhetoric as a weapon in the war against slavery in America.
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Phillis Wheatley was the first black poet in the United States. Born in Senegal, Wheatley was taken to Boston, Massachusetts and enslaved. Since she was too weak for manual labor, Wheatley was taught to read and write instead. She published her first poem in 1767. A two-page letter by Wheatley, previously unpublished, was recently auctioned. Listen to learn more about Phillis Wheatley, the contents of this letter, and why it is so significant to scholars, historians, and collectors.
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George Washington was the hero of the American Revolution with a victory at Yorktown in 1781. He could have used his victory to seize power, but he went home to Mount Vernon. In this audio story, the remarkable characteristics of George Washington are considered. He is a historic figure not only because he was a great general, statesman and politician, but also because he voluntarily gave up power. His action cemented the United States as a democracy, in which citizens, rather than absolute rulers, have the power to govern the nation. Listen to hear how Washington’s actions are analyzed and interpreted.
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Published in 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin changed the way Americans viewed slavery and was a driving force that steered the political direction of the country during the 1850s as well. For many Americans, the characters in the novel are familiar, although their names have taken on new and unexpected meanings, and the novel’s theme still resonates today. Listen to learn more about the cultural impact of Uncle Tom’s Cabin in America and discover Harriet Beecher Stowe’s inspirations for writing the novel as well as how the novel still reminds us of what “freedom” means today.
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Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech was delivered at the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. In this public radio story you will hear from activists who were present that day and heard the speech. They remember that its power came not only from the words MLK spoke, but the way he spoke them, in rolling cadences that “raised his audience.”
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Nadine Gordimer was a white South African who was also an observer of the everyday experience of 'Blacks under Apartheid'. She wrote 15 novels including 'Lying Days,' 'A World of Strangers,' 'A Sport of Nature,' and 'The Conservationist.' She won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1991 and died in 2014 at the age of 90. Listen to learn more about this influential writer.
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The Second Amendment is only one sentence long. It allows for individuals to own and use guns. But since its inception, the meaning has been debated. There is still no public consensus around its meaning. Listen to this public radio story to learn more.
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Thomas Paine was a British essayist and political philosopher in the years leading up to and during the American Revolution. His writings and the pamphlets he published were very popular among American colonists and politicians alike. He took on such ideas as America as universal concept, the supreme importance of liberty, and the proper role of a just government. His essay, “Common Sense,” written less than two years after Paine’s arrival from England, was the single most influential document leading to the Declaration of Independence. This audio story takes a brief look back at this influential writer and contains several passages from “Common Sense.” Listen to learn more about Thomas Paine’s life and ideas, and about how his writings helped inspire a revolution.
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Each year, a pageant is held to crown the next Miss Navajo Nation. The winner is chosen for her deep knowledge of Navajo culture and traditions and a demonstrated ability to care for her community. This audio story features an interview with Miss Navajo Nation 2019, who served during the pandemic. Listen to hear her thoughts on competing for the title and keeping her community safe, and why she believes the Miss Navajo Nation pageant benefits young Indigenous women.
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Thomas Stearns Eliot OM, best known as T.S. Eliot, was one of the great modernist poets of the 20th century. His work was part of a specific moment in history and art, before and after World War I, when identity, nations and art were fractured. Listen to learn more about the world in which Eliot wrote and why his poem "The Waste Land" remains one of the pillars of the high modernism movement.
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The New York Botanical Garden created an exhibit to honor Emily Dickinson. She was a nineteenth-century American poet who wrote unique verses, often about the nature of life and death. The new exhibit celebrates her hobbies, family, and experiences from a surprising perspective. Listen to learn what Dickinson was actually known for in her lifetime (hint: it’s not poetry!).
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The Caste systems plays a major role in Indian society. It a system that divides people into categories, giving privileges to higher castes and denying them for lower castes. The family you are born into can determine your job, where you live, and whom you marry. Even after discrimination based on the caste system was banned in the 1950s, it has certainly not been forgotten. One woman born into the untouchable caste, the lowest caste in Indian society, moved to America and became a subway conductor in New York. Listen to her story of discrimination and how the caste system still follows her.
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During the Gilded Age of the late 1800s, leaders of industry and finance had unprecedented wealth, influence, and power. These men made fortunes and also donated money to build colleges, museums, and libraries. Today we are seeing a new rise of influential moguls, which is a very small group of men with incredible power and money with the ability to change the world. This story discusses the similarities and differences between the super-rich of today and of the Gilded Age. Listen to hear more about the characteristics of the incredibly wealthy.
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For many, Henry David Thoreau is best known for his 1854 experiment on simplicity, where he lived in the woods of Massachusetts on Walden Pond. The resulting book Walden; or, Life in the Woods, has connected generations of readers to his vision of self-reliance, closeness to nature and transcendentalism. An art museum located near Walden Pond has launched a show, Walden Revisited, with works inspired by and responding to Thoreau’s work.
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Widespread protests have erupted in Iran after Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman, died in a hospital due to alleged police brutality. She had been arrested by the morality police, a military group that enforces the Islamic state’s strict dress code. In this interview, a young Iranian chess player and medical student now living in the U.S. shares her own past experience with the morality police after her head covering, or hijab, had slipped down in public. Listen to hear the details of her story and her hopes for change in Iran.
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In Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy, an all powerful Capitol controls and exploits the districts of Panem for resources. The inequality and concentration of power in Panem has struck a nerve for readers, reflecting on their lives and their governments. Heroine Katniss Everdeen has become a symbol of resistance adopted by political parties and protest movements across the globe. Why and how does this dystopian novel reflect the real world? Listen to learn more about the link between The Hunger Games and our world today.
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The white supremacist and neo-Nazi protest in Charlottesville, VA killed one woman and injured 19 people. Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke thanked President Trump for criticizing the counter-protesters and Duke then called Black Lives Matter a “leftist terrorist group.” Black Lives Matter is a national organization working to fight against anti-Black racism, spark dialogue and encourage social action and engagement. The violence of Charlottesville brought urgency and attention to addressing attacks against people of color in the United States. Listen to hear from the leaders of Black Lives Matter and the NAACP and their attention to safety concerns.
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There are parallels between the race struggles of Martin Luther King half a century ago and the Black Lives Matter movement of today. This story tells of how attention is being brought to the disparities between races in the United States, and how the message has changed from an aspirational tone to a commitment to truth-telling. Protesters in both struggles were working to transform America and focus on respect. Listen to hear more about civil rights activism in this interview recorded on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
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Colin Kaepernick has been an elite quarterback in the National Football League. But he’s also one of the most controversial athletes in the NFL. Kaepernick has faced a backlash for refusing to stand during the national anthem. Instead he kneels in silent protest against social injustices such as police brutality. Some people saw this as disrespect for America, and some people supported his protest. Now he is a player without a team as no football franchise has selected him for the 2017/18 season. Listen to hear about Kaepernick’s situation and the NFL’s reaction and then debate: Should a social protest affect football?
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Betty Friedan’s 1963 book, The Feminine Mystique, remains one of the landmark works of feminist literature. At a time in American history when most women were expected to find fulfillment as housewives and mothers, Friedan’s book challenged the male-dominated post-WWII culture and helped pave the way for the “Women’s Liberation Movement" of the 1960s and 1970s. This audio story looks at The Feminine Mystique on the 50th anniversary of its publication, featuring three women discussing their relationship with the groundbreaking book. Listen to learn more about the origins of The Feminine Mystique and what relevance it may still hold to the gender politics of today.
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The grand jury decision not to indict the white New York City police officer responsible for the chokehold death of Eric Garner during an arrest, has led to protests across the country. From die-ins that block traffic to shutting down shopping malls, these efforts require organization, passion and a high degree of communication. This public radio story looks at how today’s social actions are organized and what they’ve learned from the civil rights movement.
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John Lewis, a celebrated civil rights leader and long-time member of Congress, has died. As a young man, Lewis fought courageously for racial justice alongside Martin Luther King, Jr., and others. Among other acts of nonviolent resistance, he led the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama in support of voting rights, where he was severely beaten and arrested. Lewis continued to champion issues of justice as a legislator, earning him the nickname, “the conscience of Congress.” Listen to learn more about the life of John Lewis and how his passion and commitment to racial equality has inspired lawmakers and citizens for generations.
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Across the country students walked out of their classrooms to protest the mass shooting that happened at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL and called for stricter gun laws. The protest was 17 minutes long in honor of each person killed during the shooting. There was another protest on March 24 in Washington D.C. and cities across the country called March for Our Lives, which aimed to end gun violence and mass shootings. Listen to hear from students at a high school in Philadelphia during the walk out, and more about these protests.
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Protesters throughout the U.S. and the world are speaking out against racism and police brutality after the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many others. In this interview, a state representative from Louisville, Kentucky discusses why the demonstrations are fueled by frustrations, built up over decades, about inequities between white and minority communities. Listen to hear the representative describe how a peaceful protest she attended turned violent and how she hopes the movement will motivate young people to act.
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Eddie Huang is an American chef, lawyer, and author. Both of Huang’s parents are Taiwanese immigrants. Huang’s father ran a number of restaurants when Huang was growing up, where Huang would often work after school. As an adult, Huang visited China to reconnect with his roots, and, while there, he cooked and served food to locals. Following this trip, Huang wrote his second memoir, Double Cup Love (his first, Fresh Off the Boat, was turned into a popular television series). Listen to learn more about why Huang went to China, what he learned while there, and how he views the connection between food, culture, and identity.
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Outdoor recreation is enjoyed around the world. The U.S. has its own particular set of traditions, which, for a variety of reasons, have not always been inclusive of all Americans. Ambreen Tariq, an immigrant from India, explores the meaning of camping for immigrants and people of color in her children’s book, Fatima’s Great Outdoors. She argues that the urge to connect with nature is universal, and camping offers immigrants the chance to participate in a fun, quintessentially American activity while maintaining their own cultural identities and traditions. Listen to the author describe her own experiences camping as a child and why she begged her parents to serve bacon for breakfast.
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Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960) was an American anthropologist and writer who focused her research and writing on African American folklore and racial struggles in the American South. In the mid-1930s, Hurston was hired by the Works Progress Administration, an arm of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal aimed at creating jobs, to write a travel guide for Florida. In this story, a present-day writer details what she observed and learned as she made her way through Florida with Hurston’s work as her guide. Listen to learn more about Hurston’s experience working for the WPA and how specific areas in Florida have or have not changed over the past 70 years.
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American author and journalist Ernest Hemingway exemplified his literary style with novels like The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Old Man and the Sea. Hemingway’s adventurous life inspired these stories. From running with the bulls in Spain to fighting in World War II, Hemingway was a larger than life celebrity known for his machismo and literary skill. Hemingway’s talent was recognized with the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. His writing style, which consists of short sentences that describe the external world, changed American literature forever.
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The Grand Canyon National Park recently celebrated its 100th birthday. A park ranger there created a “pop-up project,” placing an old typewriter on an overlook more than six miles into the canyon and inviting people to write notes reflecting on the moment. Listen to learn what inspired the project and hear some of the writing that hikers left behind.
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In 1967 Nobel prize winning Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez wrote "One Hundred Years of Solitude". The novel takes place in the fictional and fantastical town of Macondo. Macondo serves as a setting as well as a metaphor for Colombia itself. The novel’s magical realism inspired a genre of writing and in an ironic twist of fate inspired the naming of the oil field that was blown out by the Deepwater Horizon explosion in 2011. Listen to learn more about the literary and thematic connections between the two.
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Mia Kang, a reality TV show host, martial arts fighter, and cover model, has written a book titled Knockout about overcoming her eating disorder. In this interview, Kang discusses how she developed problems with eating at age 13 and how traveling to Thailand and discovering Muay Thai martial arts helped her control them. Listen to hear about Kang’s struggle with food and self-image and how she eventually learned to love and respect her body.
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In response to the popular, yet controversial Netflix show "13 Reasons Why," one school began sharing some personal stories from students struggling with suicidal thoughts. Instead of sharing the reasons why someone might make the choice to end their life, however, they shared messages of hope and positive influences on the lives of its students. Listen to hear those stories and how they impacted the students at the school.
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Fear of terrorism is rising in the United States. Scientists have been studying reactions to terrorist events, and how those reactions shape public policy. Polls show Americans are currently as afraid of terrorism as they were the weeks after the 9/11 attacks. A research study showed people thought they had a one in three chance of being the target of an attack. The emotional responses are out of proportion to the actual risk. Listen to hear more about how emotions trump reality and then debate whether fear of terrorism is rational.
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When we imagine a witch today, we think about a halloween costume with a pointy black hat, warts and a broom. This public radio story takes us back to a darker period in colonial America, when people believed that witches lived among them unnoticed. At this time, accusations of being a witch led to the Salem witch trials and the execution of more than a dozen women. We hear from an author who recently compiled a book about the reality behind these accusations of witchery, and what they say about society and stereotypes.
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Senator Joseph McCarthy led a crusade against Soviet spies he believed were operating in the United States government. He called Democrats "soft" on the war on communism. This audio story describes why the American public's view of Republican Senator McCarthy’s anti-Communist campaign in the early 1950s continues to be sharply divided.
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In 1630s New England, English Puritans came to the colonies to start a new life. This is a few decades before the Salem witch trials, and it’s hard to imagine living in this time and in this very particular culture. One writer made a movie that describes this experience, following one family that was struggling to survive in the New England wilderness. Learn about the social norms and unconscious fears that film explores. Listen to hear more about the inspiration for this movie and what might really scare us.
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Playwright Arthur Miller wrote plays that spoke to the common man. From his commentary on the American dream in Death of a Salesman to McCarthyism in The Crucible, Miller wrote hard-hitting personal dramas that also resonated with a wide spectrum of American people, especially the working class. Listen to learn more about Miller’s roots, his writing process, and how his personal background—particularly his house and writing space—compare to backgrounds shared by his characters.
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For many high school students, stress related to academic achievement, extracurricular activities, and homework affects their mental and physical health. In this audio story, psychologists discuss when stress is helpful and when it is hurtful. Some parents and their teens discuss ways they have tried to lessen school stress, allowing life to be more manageable and enjoyable. Listen to hear more about how high school students and their parents have decided to make changes to lessen stress while still aiming to be high achievers.
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Just one day after President Obama urged citizens of the United States “to reject discrimination against Muslim-Americans,” Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in 2015 suggested that all Muslims be blocked from entering the U.S. He later softened his position. But some say that Trump’s idea was no different than when Japanese-Americans were detained by the U.S. government in internment camps during World War II. Xenophobia, a fear or dislike of people from other countries, may be triggered by real events, such as crime or terrorist attacks, but is often shown to be irrational. Listen to hear how the power of fear and anger can lead to hate and discrimination.
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Telling a good story takes thought and practice. People tell stories every day, in a variety of situations and for a variety of reasons. Knowing which stories to tell and how to tell them in an engaging and effective way is important. Storytellers need to consider what information to include (and not include), as well as how to organize important events and details. Listen to learn more about how to choose and tell a good story, and why knowing how to do so can strengthen social bonds.
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Author and teacher Annette Bird Saunooke Clapsaddle is the first published author from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Her mystery novel, Even As We Breathe, is set during World War II in the region of North Carolina where she spent her childhood, and it was written with her students in mind. Listen to hear how Clapsaddle’s experiences growing up and learning from her Cherokee ancestors helped her write a novel that high school students, especially those who are of Native American descent, could relate to.
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Death of a Salesman has been one of the most enduring plays on the American stage. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1949 when it was first produced and has been described as the first great American tragedy. The success of Arthur Miller’s play is in no small part due to the fascination Americans of every generation have had with its main character, Willie Loman. In many ways, Loman is a metaphor for the human condition in 20th century America. Listen to find out why this story of Willie Loman and his family has fascinated so many Americans for so long.
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In 1927, the automotive pioneer Henry Ford took his pioneering spirit in a new direction--to the jungles of the Amazon in Brazil. He built a fully functioning factory town in the middle of the Brazilian jungle, and called it Fordlandia. Fordlandia’s primary intention was to harvest rubber for Ford tires. But Ford also wanted create a kind of utopia, an experimental “ideal” community. Ford’s experimental plantation eventually failed, leaving it a forgotten ruin. Listen to learn more about the challenges Fordlandia faced and the ultimate reasons for its failure.
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Cells are used in research to make scientific discoveries. A certain set of cells are among the most widely used in biomedical research worldwide. These HeLa cells have been used to research almost every disease and have played an important role in many scientific breakthroughs including the development of the polio vaccine. The cells come from a woman named Henrietta Lacks who has been mentioned in more than 70,000 published scientific papers. Listen to hear more about how these cells are used and the issues of privacy with her family.
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian tells the story of Arnold Spirit, a young Native American who leaves the reservation to get a better education. In this semi-autobiographical book, author Sherman Alexie discusses big issues including choosing your identity, figuring out where you belong and the hardships American Indians face living on reservations.
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Author Natalie Babbitt has been writing books for young people for four decades. Her respect for young readers shines through in the themes of her novels, from love and everlasting life in Tuck Everlasting to money and dreams in her first non-fantasy novel, The Moon Over High Street. In this interview, Babbitt describes her perspective on writing for young people.
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During her short life, Shirley Jackson was a famous author. Jackson wrote several novels, including two best-sellers, one of which was nominated for the National Book Award. Her most famous book was her 1959 The Haunting Of Hill House, but her short story The Lottery, published in The New Yorker magazine, also made an impact on readers. Jackson’s novels incorporate both terror and humor as they relate to the human condition. Listen to an interview with Jackson’s biographer to learn more about Jackson’s life, the society in which she lived, and how her own background impacted her writing.
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What’s one overlooked way to build reading comprehension in middle and high schoolers? Listening to complex ‘texts’! Listening comprehension is fundamental to literacy.
Try this free listening challenge!
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