Hedda Hopper

<p>The first installment of the deeper examination of Charles Sumner's life begins with his early years, including his close relationships with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Samuel Gridley Howe.</p> <p><strong>Research:</strong></p> <ul> <li>"Sumner, Charles (1811-1874)." Encycl ... Show More

<p>This 2019 episode covers Thomas Cook, a pioneer of the idea of a travel agency to manage tourist holidays. But Cook was initially motivated by his support of the temperance movement and his deeply held religious beliefs.&nbsp;</p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener ... Show More

<p>Tracy and Holly talk about the proclivity for destruction that was part of the balloon craze. They also discuss cat trees and how hard it is to find one that's cute.&nbsp;</p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.< ... Show More

<p>The Golden Age of Hollywood was a place of pioneers, storytellers, ideas, westward expansion, money, politics and scandal- the story of Hollywood is the story of America itself.&nbsp;At the turn of the 20th century, Hollywood in Los Angeles was a dusty country hamlet, but soon ... Show More

Hedda Hopper (1885-1966) aired out Hollywood’s dirty laundry in her column – and gained a loyal following in the process. This month, we’re talking about Mischief Makers:  oddballs, chameleons, and nonconformists. Queens of quick wit. History classes can get a bad rap, and someti ... Show More

<p>Al Capone is one of the most notorious gangsters in US history. His story of rags to riches, set against the backdrop of the prohibition era, is worthy of the many movies that it has inspired.</p><br><p>Violent mobster, genius businessman or<em> </em>semi-professional baseball ... Show More

New York journalism in 1897 was in a pretty technicolor space. Newspapers, so long the grey, stolid, medium of the merchants and businessman, were instead being filled with lurid stories of murder, scandal and drunken debauchery and the public were loving it. As papers fought for ... Show More

<p>It’s October 22nd. This day in 1927, Americans are flocking to the theaters to watch “The Jazz Singer,” the first major “talkie” film.</p> <p>Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Walt Hickey to discuss how Hollywood became a major economic and political force in the aftermath ... Show More

Ethel Hays (1892-1989) was one of the most successful women cartoonists of the 1920s. Her cartoons were featured in newspapers across the country, and often featured cosmopolitan, independent flapper women navigating the modern world – with sass.  For Further Reading: Hogan’s All ... Show More

Larry Wilmore weighs in on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the 50th anniversary of his assassination (0:35). Then, he sits down with actor Courtney B. Vance to discuss his star-studded debut in the original Broadway run of August Wilson’s ‘Fences’ (29:30), how he prep ... Show More

When ‘Roots: The Saga of an American Family’ made novelist Alex Haley an international sensation, he revisited Juffure, Gambia - the village where he claimed his 18th-century ancestor Kunta Kinte had been captured into slavery. On 16th April, 1977, he was welcomed ‘home’ as a her ... Show More

<p>It’s been called ‘the most noble and absurd undertaking ever attempted by any state.’ During the height of the Great Depression, the U.S government hired out-of-work writers and laid-off reporters and sent them out to record the stories of all kinds of Americans. Called the Fe ... Show More

Wesley Morris has served as critic at large at The New York Times since 2015, covering film, politics, and pop culture. He joins this week to discuss this year’s Academy Award nominations.  At the top, we discuss the omission of Greta Gerwig from the Best Director category (6:07) ... Show More