February 4, 1955. In a New York courtroom, the Comics Czar takes the stand. He’s in charge of enforcing a new code, meant to keep comic books from corrupting America’s youth, and he’s here to prove that his work has cleaned up the industry. But that afternoon, a noted psychologist named Fredric Wertham argues that his work has not nearly gone far enough. Whe ... Show More
Nov 24
A Meteorite Hits Ann Hodges
November 30, 1954. At about 12:45 in the afternoon, a space rock comes plummeting through the roof of a house in Sylacauga, Alabama. It bounces off a stand-up radio, ricochets around the living room, and collides with the thigh of Mrs. Ann Hodges, who’s been napping on the couch. ... Show More
37m 23s
Nov 17
Ken Burns Reimagines the American Revolution | A Conversation with Ken Burns & Sarah Botstein
November 16, 1776. George Washington rows toward Manhattan to inspect the fort that bears his name, only to meet a full-scale British assault already underway. By afternoon, Fort Washington has fallen, and General Washington is forced to abandon New York City.
The Continental A ... Show More
38m 45s
Nov 10
The Grinnell 14 Take On the Bomb (feat. Peter Coyote)
November 16, 1961. Fourteen college students from Iowa have driven nearly a thousand miles to the White House. They’re fasting, protesting, and calling for an end to nuclear bomb testing. These students, later known as the Grinnell 14, will help ignite the student peace movement ... Show More
27m 56s
Oct 2019
Introducing: Cautionary Tales
Coming November 15 from Tim Harford and Pushkin Industries, Cautionary Tales relates a true story of a time when something did not go according to plan. Some of these true stories are tragic, some are comic, but like the great fables and parables, each of them has a moral. Equipp ... Show More
2m 57s
Aug 2022
Episode 243: Finding My Religion
<p>David and Tamler continue their discussion of Leo Tolstoy's 'Confession.' When we left him last time, the famous author had bottomed out just years after writing two of the greatest novels ever written. Our eventual death, Tolstoy thought, strips life of all meaning and purpos ... Show More
1h 32m
May 2024
Batman Through the Years
<p>On this episode of <em>Our American Stories</em>, Batman is a household name. His list of comic issues, let alone live-action movies, animated films, and TV shows, video games, you name it, is nothing short of astounding… but this wasn’t always the case. Andrew Farago, Curator ... Show More
27m 27s
Oct 2023
Dick Whittington: London’s golden boy
Over the past 200 years, Dick Whittington has become one of Britain’s best-loved pantomime heroes. Yet, as today’s long read explores, the real-life story that inspired Dick’s rags to riches tale is even more remarkable than the fiction. Based on his interview with author Michael ... Show More
17m 37s
May 2021
A Desperate Writer Steals 'The Plot'
<p>Jake Bonner, the protagonist of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/10/books/the-plot-jean-hanff-korelitz-group-text.html" target="_blank">Jean Hanff Korelitz’s “The Plot,”</a> writes a novel based on someone else’s idea. The book becomes a big hit, but Jake has a hard ti ... Show More
1h 4m
Jan 2024
History of Ideas 11: Umberto Eco
Episode 11 in our series on the great essays explores Umberto Eco’s ‘Thoughts on Wikileaks’ (2010). Eco writes about what makes a true scandal, what are real secrets, and what it would mean to expose the hidden workings of power. It is an essay that connects digital technology, m ... Show More
49m 35s