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Monday

At Holocaust Museum, Clinton And Wiesel Urge Young To Remember

In the Hall of Remembrance at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, visitors can light candles in memory of the 6 million Jews killed by the Nazis and their collaborators during World War II. Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images

The Two-Way

At Holocaust Museum, Clinton And Wiesel Urge Young To Remember

On the museum's 20th anniversary, a Nobel laureate and a former president say coming generations must preserve the Holocaust's awful history. We all needed to be reminded, Clinton said, that "no matter how smart a people are, if you have a head without a heart, you are not human."

Sunday

First He Invented The Phone. Then, Bell Left A Voice Message

A phonorecord by Alexander Graham Bell, one of the Smithsonian's trove of recordings left there by the inventor of the telephone. Richard Strauss/Smithsonian's National Museum of American History Via AP hide caption

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Richard Strauss/Smithsonian's National Museum of American History Via AP

First He Invented The Phone. Then, Bell Left A Voice Message

We finally know what the inventor of the telephone sounded like. Last week, the Smithsonian unveiled recordings of Alexander Graham Bell's voice from 1885. It's the first known recording of him speaking.

First He Invented The Phone. Then, Bell Left A Voice Message

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Saturday

Through Art And Industry, Chicago Shaped America

The term "third coast" refers to American cities that sit on the Great Lakes shoreline, like Chicago. Jeff Haynes/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Jeff Haynes/AFP/Getty Images

Author Interviews

Through Art And Industry, Chicago Shaped America

Blues, jazz and gospel; a civil rights movement that began with the Emmett Till case; modern glass and steel buildings that dared the sky. In Third Coast, Thomas Dyja writes that "the most profound aspects of American Modernity grew up out of the flat, prairie land next to Lake Michigan."

Through Art And Industry, Chicago Shaped America

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Friday

National

30 Years On, Educators Still Divided On Scathing Schools Report

On April 26, 1983, a panel appointed by President Ronald Reagan released an ominous report that painted a dire picture of the U.S. education system. Thirty years later, many educators point to the report as the catalyst for divides that still split education reformers.

30 Years On, Educators Still Divided On Scathing Schools Report

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Hard Hits, Hard Liquor In 'The Summer of Beer and Whiskey'
PublicAffairs

Author Interviews

Hard Hits, Hard Liquor In 'The Summer of Beer and Whiskey'

In the 1880s, it took a German immigrant to change America's pastime forever. Chris Von der Ahe founded the St. Louis Browns and later helped form a new baseball league. Author Edward Achorn recalls baseball's early days in his new book.

Hard Hits, Hard Liquor In 'The Summer of Beer and Whiskey'

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Thursday

EU Embraces 'Suspended Coffee': Pay It Forward With A Cup Of Joe

A barista serves coffee at a cafe in Naples, Italy. The Italian city's long-standing tradition of buying a cup for a less-fortunate stranger is now spreading across Europe. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images hide caption

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Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

The Salt

EU Embraces 'Suspended Coffee': Pay It Forward With A Cup Of Joe

About a century ago, a beautiful tradition emerged in the Italian city of Naples: Cafe-goers would buy a cup of coffee anonymously and in advance for a less-fortunate stranger. With much of Europe now in tight financial times, the custom is spreading across the continent.

First Western War In Afghanistan Was An 'Imperial Disaster'
Knopf

Author Interviews

First Western War In Afghanistan Was An 'Imperial Disaster'

In 1839, Great Britain and Russia were playing the world map like a chessboard — and for no reason other than geography, Afghanistan got caught in the middle. In Return of a King, historian William Dalrymple tells the story of Britain's calamitous invasion.

First Western War In Afghanistan Was An 'Imperial Disaster'

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Wednesday

Once Under Wraps, Supreme Court Audio Trove Now Online

People line up to enter the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday. All of the court's archived audio, dating back to 1955, has now been digitized for public access online. Mark Wilson/Getty Images hide caption

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Mark Wilson/Getty Images

It's All Politics

Once Under Wraps, Supreme Court Audio Trove Now Online

The Supreme Court began recording arguments nearly 60 years ago, but for much of that time, audio was difficult for the public to hear or available only after long delays. But now, the court's entire audio collection has been digitized for easy public access.

Once Under Wraps, Supreme Court Audio Trove Now Online

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How Coffee Influenced The Course Of History

An overseer sits in the shade while workers collect coffee beans on a Brazilian plantation, circa 1750. Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption

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Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The Salt

How Coffee Influenced The Course Of History

Once people figured out how to roast the seeds of the Coffea plant in the 1400s, coffee took over the world. In doing so, it fueled creativity, revolutions, new business ventures, literature, music — and slavery.

How Coffee Influenced The Course Of History

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Tuesday

Stumbling Into World War I, Like 'Sleepwalkers'
Harper

Author Interviews

Stumbling Into World War I, Like 'Sleepwalkers'

A new book by Christopher Clark describes the series of events that precipitated one the most complex and catastrophic conflicts of modern times. "It seems to me that our world is getting more like 1914, not less like it," Clark says.

Stumbling Into World War I, Like 'Sleepwalkers'

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Sunday

Rare Churchill Poem Fails To Sell At Auction

A portrait of Winston Churchill in 1900, around the time he wrote "Our Modern Watchwords." J.E. Purdy/Library of Congress hide caption

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J.E. Purdy/Library of Congress

World

Rare Churchill Poem Fails To Sell At Auction

When the only known poem Winston Churchill wrote as an adult went up for auction in London recently, it was expected to fetch a pretty penny. But the poem failed to fetch a buyer, and now its fate is unknown. New Yorker Poetry Editor Paul Muldoon takes a critical look at "Our Modern Watchwords."

Rare Churchill Poem Fails To Sell At Auction

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Thursday

Historically Speaking, No Surprise In Senate Gun Control Vote

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., speaks after losing a vote on broader background checks for gun buyers, Wednesday at the Capitol. Evan Vucci/AP hide caption

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Evan Vucci/AP

It's All Politics

Historically Speaking, No Surprise In Senate Gun Control Vote

If it seems perplexing why an idea that has broad support nationally could fail to pass the U.S. Senate, here's an important reminder: The Senate is not a democratic institution. In fact, it was structured to give sparsely populated states the ability to stop the majority's will. And that's what happened on background checks.

Kay Bailey Hutchison On Other 'Unflinching' Texan Women
George Ranch Historical Park

Author Interviews

Kay Bailey Hutchison On Other 'Unflinching' Texan Women

Kay Bailey Hutchison was the first woman to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate. Her new book, Unflinching Courage, profiles some of the brave female pioneers who shaped her home state.

Kay Bailey Hutchison On Other 'Unflinching' Texan Women

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Tuesday

'Central Park Five': Rape, Race And Blame Explored

A courtroom sketch from the first trial in the Central Park jogger case shows prosecutor Elizabeth Lederer (standing on right), the victim (on the stand) and defendants Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana and Antron McCray (on left). The high-profile case is the subject of a Ken Burns documentary, The Central Park Five, airing on PBS this month. Daniel J. White/PBS hide caption

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Daniel J. White/PBS

Review

Movie Reviews

'Central Park Five': Rape, Race And Blame Explored

Fresh Air

A documentary airing tonight on PBS tells the story of the five young black and Latino men wrongly convicted of the 1989 assault and rape of a white female jogger in Manhattan's Central Park. Ken Burns made the film with his eldest daughter, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon.

'Central Park Five': Rape, Race And Blame Explored

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