1964: China Joins Nuclear Club
Friday, October 31, 2014
This month marks the 50th anniversary of China’s first nuclear test.
Resist Much, Obey Little
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Galway Kinnell reads Whitman on the eve of the 2003 Iraq War. Kinnell died this week at the age of 87.
Josephine, the Talking Jeep
Thursday, October 30, 2014
During World War II, WNYC was cranking out war-related programming on a full-time basis. In this classic radio play, a G.I. falls in love with the "smooth, straight lines" of his Jeep.
At the Forefront of Death: Cancer in Midcentury
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
WNYC
D.I.Y. pap smears and other 1950s anti-cancer tools.
Norbert Wiener: The Conscientious Gadgeteer
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
WNYC
Are we mindless gadget idolators?
Mary Perot Nichols: Guiding WNYC's Rebirth and Renewal - Part 1
Monday, October 27, 2014
In 1979, when the city owned WNYC, then-Mayor Ed Koch demanded the station air the names of men who patronized prostitutes, and it cost director Mary Perot Nichols a fortune in funding.
Mary Perot Nichols: Guiding WNYC's Rebirth and Renewal - Part 2
Monday, October 27, 2014
WNYC gets a new facility and wins a Peabody. A lot of change for WNYC in 6 years.
All the Serious Artists Have Moved to the East Village
Thursday, October 23, 2014
WNYC
And Spanish and Yiddish are struggling to be called the official language of the Lower East Side. That's according to this 1970 Pan Am audio tour of New York City's neighborhoods.
These Charming Kids Tell Really Scary Stories
Thursday, October 16, 2014
WNYC
Talking skulls, demonic wolves, and killer vampires—kids told us tell their favorite spooky tales during WNYC's 1979 Storytelling Festival.
Ring Around the Rosey: A Tony Schwartz Investigation
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Ring around the rosey, a pocket full of posies.
Are Comics Bad for Children?
Saturday, October 11, 2014
WNYC
In the 1940s and '50s comics were considered pernicious by many. This Brooklyn mom spoke her moderate mind on WNYC.
Shirley Zak Hayes: WNYC's First Woman Staff Announcer
Thursday, October 09, 2014
She broke into the Boy's Club here in 1966, but she'd already distinguished herself as a community activist—thanks to her, there's no four-lane highway through Washington Square Park.
Lyndon Johnson reacts to the Walter Jenkins incident, 1964
Tuesday, October 07, 2014
50 years ago, presidential aide Walter Jenkins was arrested for having sex with a man in a YMCA bathroom, just weeks before the 1964 presidential election. Hear a clip of LBJ's reaction.
Margot Gayle Saves a Clock
Monday, October 06, 2014
WNYC
The Jefferson Market Clock was almost destroyed at several points in its history. Listen to the 1960s interview with the woman who saved it every time.
Siri Meets Her Grandpa
Friday, October 03, 2014
WNYC
Tomorrow is Siri's birthday, and to test her skills, we played her a 1962 recording of an IBM 704 computer singing "Daisy Bell." Will Siri recognize her own voice-sythesized forebears?
Robert Kiley, Underground Movements, New York’s Subways
Monday, September 29, 2014
He cleaned up the subways.
The Origins of the "Star Spangled Banner," in Six Minutes
Friday, September 26, 2014
WNYC
The Star Spangled Banner turns 200 this month. To commemorate, the inimitable Oscar Brand explains in words and music its origins from a sheep-shearing song to the national anthem.
Professor Laurence Tribe, The Constitutional Convention of 1787
Thursday, September 18, 2014
It’s not embalmed in a time capsule of amber as though it was not meant to change over time.
Thomas Wilfred and the Music of Light
Thursday, September 11, 2014
WNYC
How a turn of the century lute player came to influence an entire generation of club VJs and video artists.
A Musical Tribute to Edgar Varèse, April 17, 1981
Tuesday, September 09, 2014
How a Frank Zappa-hosted concert of music by Varèse was resurrected
