Accessibility links
Lawrence Wu
Stories By

Lawrence Wu

Thursday

A.D.A. Now!

A group of people with disabilities crawl up the steps of the U.S. Capitol to draw support for the Americans with Disabilities Act, March 12th, 1990. Used by permission. © The Tom Olin Collection hide caption

toggle caption
Used by permission. © The Tom Olin Collection

Throughline

A.D.A. Now!

This month marks the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which is considered the most important civil rights law since the 1960s. Through first-person stories, we look back at the making of this movement, the history of how disability came to be seen as a civil rights issue, and what the disability community is still fighting for 30 years later.

A.D.A. Now!

Listen · 1:01:32
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/895896462/1200556987" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

Lives Of The Great Depression

A migrant family saying grace before their noonday meal by the side of the road east of Oklahoma, 1930. Three Lions/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Three Lions/Getty Images

Throughline

Lives Of The Great Depression

The Great Depression was a revolutionary spark for all kinds of things — health insurance, social safety nets, big government — all of which were in response to a national crisis. Through the personal accounts of four people who lived during the Great Depression, we look back at what life was like back then and what those stories can teach us about the last time the U.S. went through a national economic cataclysm.

Lives Of The Great Depression

Listen · 46:06
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/893672249/1200556993" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

Mecca Under Siege

The Kaaba in the centre of the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, 1979. Every year, millions of Muslims complete a Hajj, or pilgrimage, to this sacred spot. Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Throughline

Mecca Under Siege

Hajj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, is effectively canceled this year, due to concerns around the spread of the coronavirus. But, for two weeks in 1979, visits to the holy site were also upended when a group of Islamic militants seized Mecca, taking thousands of visitors hostage.

Mecca Under Siege

Listen · 43:21
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/886006766/1200557005" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Thursday

There's Something About Mary

An article on Mary Mallon where she was infamously labeled "Typhoid Mary." She was the first healthy person identified as a carrier of typhoid fever in the United States. Library of Congress hide caption

toggle caption
Library of Congress

Throughline

There's Something About Mary

When a cook who carried typhoid fever refused to stop working, despite showing no symptoms, the authorities forcibly quarantined her for nearly three decades. Perfect villain or just a woman scapegoated because of her background? What the story of Typhoid Mary tells us about journalism, the powers of the state, and the tension between personal responsibility and personal liberty.

There's Something About Mary

Listen · 40:39
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/882115755/1200557009" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

How The CIA Overthrew Iran's Democracy In 4 Days

A resident of Tehran washes "Yankee Go Home" graffiti from a wall in the capital city of Iran, Aug. 21, 1953. The new Premier Gen. Fazlollah Zahedi requested the clean-up after the coup d'etat which restored the Shah of Iran in power. (AP Photo) ASSOCIATED PRESS hide caption

toggle caption
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Throughline

How The CIA Overthrew Iran's Democracy In 4 Days

It's no secret that Iran and the U.S. have a history of animosity toward each other. But when and how did it begin? This week we look back at four days in August 1953, when the CIA orchestrated a coup of Iran's elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh.

How The CIA Overthrew Iran's Democracy In 4 Days

Listen · 36:29
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/690363402/1200557367" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Saturday

In An Era Of Fake News, Advancing Face-Swap Apps Blur More Lines

The advancement of AI-assisted face-swapping apps lets users apply the technology to an eerie new trend: pasting the faces of celebrities into pornographic videos. RobinOlimb/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
RobinOlimb/Getty Images

Technology

In An Era Of Fake News, Advancing Face-Swap Apps Blur More Lines

The ease of AI-assisted face-swapping apps lets users apply the technology to an eerie new trend: pasting the faces of celebrities onto actors in pornographic videos. And the law can't keep up.

In An Era Of Fake News, Advancing Face-Swap Apps Blur More Lines

Listen · 4:57
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/582767531/582968773" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript