Accessibility links
History History

History

Saturday

Freemasons Say They're Needed Now More Than Ever. So Why Are Their Ranks Dwindling?

In 1959, about 4.5% of all American men were Freemasons, but in recent years membership has fallen off roughly 75%. Above, the Scottish Rite temple in Washington, D.C. Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty hide caption

toggle caption
Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty

National

Freemasons Say They're Needed Now More Than Ever. So Why Are Their Ranks Dwindling?

Freemasons once counted Founding Fathers, ex-presidents and titans of industry among their members. But for many, the allure is gone from the once shadowy fraternity, and membership has fallen off.

Opinion: Reading William Butler Yeats 100 Years Later

Irish poet William Butler Yeats circa 1920. Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Opinion

Simon Says

Opinion: Reading William Butler Yeats 100 Years Later

NPR's Scott Simon reflects on what a 100 year-old poem by William Butler Yeats means today.

Opinion: Reading William Butler Yeats 100 Years Later

Listen · 2:43
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/939561949/939629432" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

Thursday

The Spotted Owl

A Northern Spotted owl sits on a branch. Tom Gallagher/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Tom Gallagher/AP

Throughline

The Spotted Owl

The story of how the Endangered Species Act went from unanimous passage under a Republican president to becoming a deeply partisan wedge. The act was passed to protect big, beloved animals like bald eagles and blue whales; no one thought it would apply to a motley, reclusive owl. In this episode from Oregon Public Broadcasting's Timber Wars, a story about saving the last of America's old growth forests and the push to roll back environmental protections.

The Spotted Owl

Listen · 33:30
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/937992911/1200556911" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

Monday

Researchers Hope To Re-Create Historic Scents From History

What did history smell like? A new project wants to help you find out. The project is bringing together historians, chemists and perfumers.

Researchers Hope To Re-Create Historic Scents From History

Listen · 1:49
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/937876784/937876785" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

The CIA's Secret Quest For Mind Control: Torture, LSD And A 'Poisoner In Chief'

Fresh Air

Journalist Stephen Kinzer reveals how the CIA worked in the 1950s and early '60s to develop mind control drugs and deadly toxins that could be used against enemies. Originally broadcast Sept. 9, 2019.

The CIA's Secret Quest For Mind Control: Torture, LSD And A 'Poisoner In Chief'

Listen · 36:05
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/937009453/937117144" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

The Invention of Race

Portrait of Dr. Franz Boas. Corbis via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Corbis via Getty Images

Throughline

The Invention of Race

The idea that race is a social construct comes from the pioneering work of anthropologist Franz Boas. During a time when race-based science and the eugenics movement were becoming mainstream, anthropologist Franz Boas actively sought to prove that race was a social construct, not a biological fact.

The Invention of Race

Listen · 40:54
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/936346847/1200556915" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

Author Says The Chicago 7 Trial Reflected 'All The Conflicts In America'

Fresh Air

The Chicago 7 were activists who were charged with conspiring to start a riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Jon Wiener's 2006 book, recently reprinted, is Conspiracy in the Streets.

Author Says The Chicago 7 Trial Reflected 'All The Conflicts In America'

Listen · 26:31
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/936164085/936277228" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

Kotchakorn Voraakhom: How Can We Better Design Cities To Fight Floods?
Callie Giovanna/Callie Giovanna / TED

TED Radio Hour

Kotchakorn Voraakhom: How Can We Better Design Cities To Fight Floods?

Thai landscape architect Kotchakorn Voraakhom designed a way to offset flooding in Bangkok by designing a park with underground tanks. She says her design can protect delta cities that are sinking.

Kotchakorn Voraakhom: How Can We Better Design Cities To Fight Floods?

Listen · 6:10
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/934257652/934504092" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Rahul Mehrotra: How Can Impermanent Cities Permanently Change Our World?

rahulmehrota_2019-embed Bret Hartman / TED hide caption

toggle caption
Bret Hartman / TED

TED Radio Hour

Rahul Mehrotra: How Can Impermanent Cities Permanently Change Our World?

Every twelve years, 100 million people descend upon a temporary city built for the Kumbh Mela festival in India. Architect Rahul Mehrotra says other cities can learn from this ephemeral megacity.

Rahul Mehrotra: How Can Impermanent Cities Permanently Change Our World?

Listen · 17:51
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/934262070/934504152" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Marwa Al-Sabouni: How Can The Architecture Of A City Play A Role In War?
Courtesy of TED

TED Radio Hour

Marwa Al-Sabouni: How Can The Architecture Of A City Play A Role In War?

Architect Marwa Al-Sabouni says French colonial design segregated Syria's cities and laid the groundwork for division and civil war. The future of the country may depend on how it decides to rebuild.

Marwa Al-Sabouni: How Can The Architecture Of A City Play A Role In War?

Listen · 12:15
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/934252404/934503803" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Alyssa Loorya: What Can A 300-Year Old Farmhouse Tell Us About Metropolitan New York?
Chrysalis

TED Radio Hour

Alyssa Loorya: What Can A 300-Year Old Farmhouse Tell Us About Metropolitan New York?

In the heart of urban Brooklyn, a 300-year old farmhouse still stands. Archaeologist Alyssa Loorya explains how artifacts found at the site trace the life cycles of New York City--from 1720 to today.

Alyssa Loorya: What Can A 300-Year Old Farmhouse Tell Us About Metropolitan New York?

Listen · 12:28
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/934236641/934502929" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

The Shadows of the Constitution

The preamble to the US Constitution. Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty hide caption

toggle caption
Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty

Throughline

The Shadows of the Constitution

The Constitution is like America's secular bible, our sacred founding document. In her play, What the Constitution Means to Me, Heidi Schreck goes through a process of discovering what the document is really about – who wrote it, who it was for, who it protected and who it didn't. Through Heidi's personal story, we learn how the Constitution and how it has been interpreted have affected not just her family but generations of Americans.

The Shadows of the Constitution

Listen · 44:19
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/933825483/1200556923" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript