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Sunday

Who Gets To See The President's Pajamas?

Photograph by President Obama's photographer, Pete Souza Pete Souza hide caption

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Pete Souza

The Picture Show

Who Gets To See The President's Pajamas?

What's it like to see the president in his pajamas? There are a few people who might know: his children, the first lady, perhaps his highest aides — and his photographer.

Who Gets To See The President's Pajamas?

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Saturday

Election 2010

Even If House Is Lost, Obama Finds Hope In History

Three times in the past century, a sitting president's party has lost its majority in at least one house of Congress. And all three times, the president -- Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower and Bill Clinton -- went on to win re-election.

Even If House Is Lost, Obama Finds Hope In History

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How A Quest To Save Soviet Jews Changed The World

Gal Beckerman is the author of When They Come for Us, We'll Be Gone: The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt hide caption

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Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Author Interviews

How A Quest To Save Soviet Jews Changed The World

A rally that drew a quarter-million people to the National Mall 23 years ago was a crucial turning point for Jews yearning to escape the Soviet Union. Author Gal Beckerman explores that moment, and that movement, in his new book When They Come For Us, We'll Be Gone: The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry.

How A Quest To Save Soviet Jews Changed The World

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A City's Revolutionary Past Shapes Brazil's Election

Presidential candidate Dilma Rousseff (center) campaigns in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, alongside outgoing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Pedro Vilela/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Pedro Vilela/AFP/Getty Images

The Americas

A City's Revolutionary Past Shapes Brazil's Election

The favored candidate in Brazil's presidential runoff Sunday was born in the middle-class mountain city of Belo Horizonte, now the country's third-largest metropolis. Dilma Rousseff and her hometown helped shape Brazil's democratic movement.

A City's Revolutionary Past Shapes Brazil's Election

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The Magic Of Harry Houdini's Staying Power

Born Ehrich Weiss, Harry Houdini, a rabbi's son, emigrated from Budapest to Appleton, Wis., in 1878. Courtesy of The National Portrait Gallery/Smithsonian Institution hide caption

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Courtesy of The National Portrait Gallery/Smithsonian Institution

Performing Arts

The Magic Of Harry Houdini's Staying Power

Harry Houdini was known for escaping from handcuffs, straitjackets and water tanks, but his greatest trick was escaping from the dustbin of history. A new exhibit at the Jewish Museum in New York asks how Houdini's fame managed to survive.

The Magic Of Harry Houdini's Staying Power

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Thursday

Michel Martin Remembers Her One-Of-A-Kind Uncle Ronald

The late Maj. Ronald Keith McQueen poses in an undated photo. McQueen died recently and was the uncle of NPR's Tell Me More host Michel Martin. Family photo hide caption

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Family photo

Opinion

Tell Me More

Michel Martin Remembers Her One-Of-A-Kind Uncle Ronald

Host Michel Martin tells readers where she’s been for the past few days – laying her Uncle Ronald or, as she called him, “Unc,” to rest. Martin reflects on his life, explains why her uncle was so special and tells why he will be sorely missed.

Probe Details Culpability Of Nazi-Era Diplomats

Adolf Hitler (right) with his foreign minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop, in 1941. A new study states that Germany's foreign ministry staff cooperated in the Holocaust much more than has previously been acknowledged. Von Ribbentrop was hanged for war crimes after the Nuremberg trials. AFP/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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AFP/AFP/Getty Images

Europe

Probe Details Culpability Of Nazi-Era Diplomats

In Germany, a new government-sponsored study finds that the country's foreign ministry staff was much more involved than previously believed in the mass killing of Jews and others during the Holocaust.

Probe Details Culpability Of Nazi-Era Diplomats

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Culture

'Essence' Explores Race, Same-Gender Love

Essence magazine’s latest issue aims to stimulate a national dialogue about race in America that informs and empowers African American women. Another recent feature from Essence is an online profile of an African-American lesbian couple.

'Essence' Explores Race, Same-Gender Love

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Wednesday

Dear John, Dear Abigail: A Love Story Through Letters

Historian and author Joseph Ellis' First Family draws from decades of correspondence between John Adams and his wife, Abigail, to reveal the achievements of America's second president, and the sacrifice and influence of his first lady.

Dear John, Dear Abigail: A Love Story Through Letters

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Friday

Science Diction: The Origin Of The Word 'Cancer'

Around 400 B.C., Hippocrates is said to have named masses of cancerous cells karkinos -- Greek for crab. Science and medical historian Howard Markel discusses a few hypotheses on why Hippocrates named the disease after a crab, and how well cancer was understood in the ancient world.

Science Diction: The Origin Of The Word 'Cancer'

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Wednesday

The Two-Way

Robert Dallek On 'The Lost Peace'

Robert Siegel interviews Robert Dallek about his new book. Dallek argues that after WWII leaders fears and misconceptions of each other drew the world into the Cold War.

Robert Dallek On 'The Lost Peace'

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Sunday

Could Another Stimulus Help Rebuild The Economy?

Construction worker Jimmy Martinez works at a site funded by federal stimulus money in Lakewood, Colo. Economic historian Niall Ferguson cautions that another stimulus would carry tremendous risk. John Moore/Getty Images hide caption

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John Moore/Getty Images

Economy

Could Another Stimulus Help Rebuild The Economy?

"Stimulus" may be a dirty word in Washington these days, but many economists say we need another boost to kick-start the economy. Economic historian Niall Ferguson, however, says a second round carries with it a tremendous risk.

Could Another Stimulus Help Rebuild The Economy?

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How Cafe Culture Helped Make Good Ideas Happen

Paris' Cafe de Flore is known for its history of serving intellectual clientele, including existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, journalist and writer Albert Camus and Cubism co-founder Pablo Picasso. AP hide caption

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AP

Author Interviews

How Cafe Culture Helped Make Good Ideas Happen

It is easy to talk about great ideas as if they were light-bulb moments — sudden epiphanies where everything comes together for you. But Steven Johnson, author of Where Good Ideas Come From, says the great ideas of the past have taken a lot more hanging out than you'd expect.

How Cafe Culture Helped Make Good Ideas Happen

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Friday

'The Uncensored Story' Of The Smothers Brothers

Author Interviews

'The Uncensored Story' Of The Smothers Brothers

Fresh Air

In the late 1960s, Tommy and Dick Smothers challenged those who tried to tame their wildly popular show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. TV critic David Bianculli joins host Terry Gross to talk about the legendary comedy duo who tackled political issues and censorship.

'The Uncensored Story' Of The Smothers Brothers

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