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Thursday

Search For Clues Only Deepens 'Old Leatherman' Mystery

The Leatherman became a welcome sight along his 365-mile walking route. Courtesy of Dan DeLuca hide caption

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Courtesy of Dan DeLuca

National

Search For Clues Only Deepens 'Old Leatherman' Mystery

WSHU

In the 1800s, a man wearing a head-to-toe leather suit walked a 365-mile circuit between the Connecticut and Hudson rivers, sleeping in cave shelters and completing the journey precisely every 34 days. The legend of the Old Leatherman is still a mystery that fascinates people.

Search For Clues Only Deepens 'Old Leatherman' Mystery

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Wednesday

Monday

New York Public Library: 100 Years Of Open Doors

The New York Public Library on opening day, May 24, 1911. Library of Congress hide caption

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Library of Congress

New York Public Library: 100 Years Of Open Doors

The library's main building in Manhattan opened to the public 100 years ago Monday. Ever since, the iconic neoclassic building housing some 50 million items has welcomed readers from all over the world. The entrance is guarded by a stately pair of lion statues named Patience and Fortune.

New York Public Library: 100 Years Of Open Doors

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Friday

The Rise And Fall Of The Comanche 'Empire'

Quanah Parker was the last chief of the Comanches — and the son of Cynthia Ann Parker, who was captured as a child by the Comanches. Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption

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Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Author Interviews

The Rise And Fall Of The Comanche 'Empire'

Fresh Air

Quanah Parker, considered the greatest Comanche chief, was the son of Cynthia Ann Parker, a white pioneer woman kidnapped by a raiding party when she was a little girl. Their story — and the saga of the powerful American Indian tribe — is told by S.C. Gwynne in his book, Empire of the Summer Moon.

The Rise And Fall Of The Comanche 'Empire'

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Wednesday

The First Woman In Congress: A Crusader For Peace

After Rep. Jeannette Rankin voted against the U.S. entering war with Japan, she was mobbed by journalists. Rankin hid in a phone booth and waited for Capitol police to take her back to her office. Bettmann/Corbis hide caption

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Bettmann/Corbis

The First Woman In Congress: A Crusader For Peace

Jeannette Rankin, the first female member of Congress, was elected to Congress even before all women in the country had the right to vote. She only served two terms — which were decades apart. But it was during those short spans that she was able to take a historic stand.

Opinion

Demjanjuk Trial May Be Last For Holocaust Crimes

John Demjanjuk was convicted in Germany on 28,060 counts of accessory to murder after four decades of legal battles. Deborah Lipstadt, professor of modern Jewish and Holocaust studies at Emory University, wrote an op-ed describing the case as likely "the last Holocaust war crimes trial."

Demjanjuk Trial May Be Last For Holocaust Crimes

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Tuesday

Area 51 'Uncensored': Was It UFOs Or The USSR?

Area 51, seen from above, in 1968. U.S. Geological Survey hide caption

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U.S. Geological Survey

Author Interviews

Area 51 'Uncensored': Was It UFOs Or The USSR?

Fresh Air

Area 51 is classified to the point that its very existence is denied by the U.S. government. Journalist Annie Jacobsen says it's not because of aliens or spaceships — but because the government used the site for nuclear testing and weapons development.

Area 51 'Uncensored': Was It UFOs Or The USSR?

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Saturday

'Badass' Guys: Giving History A Kick (And A Punch)

Thompson lists Samson as one of legend's top badasses, citing a story of a crazy, ultrabearded Biblical berserker who killed a thousand warriors using just the jawbone of an ass. Harper Paperbacks hide caption

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Harper Paperbacks

Author Interviews

'Badass' Guys: Giving History A Kick (And A Punch)

Author Ben Thompson's new book collects the stories of characters whom you do not want to mess with. It pulls from both history and legend, telling stories from Jesus and Genghis Khan to Captain Kirk and Chuck Norris.

'Badass' Guys: Giving History A Kick (And A Punch)

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Opinion

Simon Says

Inspiration In 140 Characters, Long Before Twitter

You may not want the Ten Commandments reduced to a tweet, but some of history's great orators inspired the world in 140 characters. Lincoln's Gettysburg address message, "Government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth," leaves 38 characters to spare.

Inspiration In 140 Characters, Long Before Twitter

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Monday

Separated By War, Reunited By The Web: Photo Project Links Holocaust Survivors

A photo from the Remember Me? project shows a little girl after World War II Courtesy of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum hide caption

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Courtesy of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

The Picture Show

Separated By War, Reunited By The Web: Photo Project Links Holocaust Survivors

Children who survived the Holocaust have spent a lifetime trying to forget — or piece together — the past. A new online initiative might fill some of those holes, with photos of displaced children from World War II.

Separated By War, Reunited By The Web: Photo Project Links Holocaust Survivors

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Army Corps Makes Tough Calls With Floods

Victims of the 1927 Mississippi Valley flood camped on a levee in Arkansas City, Ark. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hide caption

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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

News

Army Corps Makes Tough Calls With Floods

The decision last week by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to blast a levee in southeast Missouri has drawn criticism. When it comes to floods, actions by the Corps bring controversy.

Army Corps Makes Tough Calls With Floods

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Thursday

Radio Diaries

Who Was Brother Claude Ely?

Over the past decade, Macel Ely decided to find out who his great-uncle — the late gospel singer Brother Claude Ely — really was. In interviews with nearly 1,400 people, Macel discovered that Claude had a healing effect on those who came to his revivals — and his music influenced some of the pioneers of rock 'n' roll.

Who Was Brother Claude Ely?

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Remembering The 'Freedom Riders,' 50 Years Later

Freedom Rider Mae Frances Moultrie Howard stands by a burning Greyhound bus in Anniston, Ala. on May 14, 1961. Federal Bureau Of Investigation hide caption

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Federal Bureau Of Investigation

Remembering The 'Freedom Riders,' 50 Years Later

Fifty years ago, seven black people boarded buses with six white people in Washington, D.C., and took the fight for civil rights to the Deep South. Their trip became known as the Freedom Rides, and a new documentary by Stanley Nelson talks with the people who witnessed the rides firsthand.

Remembering The 'Freedom Riders,' 50 Years Later

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Wednesday

WWI: A Moral Contest Between Pacifists And Soldiers

Review

Book Reviews

WWI: A Moral Contest Between Pacifists And Soldiers

Fresh Air

Adam Hochschild's pensive narrative history, To End All Wars, focuses on those who fought — and also on those who refused. Hochschild is a master at chronicling how prevailing cultural opinion is formed and, less frequently, how it's challenged.

WWI: A Moral Contest Between Pacifists And Soldiers

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