Before World War II, the United States did not let African-Americans serve as pilots in military aircraft. A group known as the Tuskegee Airmen helped to end that policy. BEVERLY DUNJILL: ” Information about the pilots in the news is – was a big secret to – as far as this country was concerned.” Stories about the […]
The United States Department of Defense has announced plans to open 14,000 more military positions to women. Lieutenant Megan Donnelly is one of the 770 women on the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln. LT. MEGAN DONNELLY: “Managing 15 – 20 people on the bridge at a time, and it’s my job to manage all of […]
The government in Burma is taking steps to reduce its controls over media and the arts. The musician who calls himself Darko C says he is pleased with the action, but unsure of the new limits. DARKO C: “Yeah, it’s going to take some time to really change, you know. What, so now they reduced the rules […]
New York’s Guggenheim Museum has some sculptures made of automobile parts. The sculptures are the work of American artist John Chamberlain. He died in December of 2011 at the age of 84. The Guggenheim Museum organized a show of Chamberlain’s work. Susan Davidson tells how he reshaped the cars. SUSAN DAVIDSON: “He is able to choose the […]
A week later, Germany attacked Poland. (SOUND) Two days later, Britain and France declared war on Germany. (MUSIC) Germany’s invasion of Poland, and the beginning of the war, presented a giant challenge to the United States. On the one hand, almost all Americans supported the European democracies opposing the aggression by Hitler, Mussolini, and other Fascists. But on the other […]
St. Andrews in Scotland is famous for many things. It is the home of golf. It is also famous for being home to the university where Britain’s Prince William and Kate Middleton met for the first time as students. Now, scientists at the university have developed a small device that shows whether whiskey is real. One of […]
The Livestock Show and Rodeo in Houston helps to educate people about farm life and agriculture. For families from farms, being around cows is part of everyday life. But the Houston rodeo’s Joel Cowley says that is not true of most Americans. JOEL COWLEY: “Less than two percent of the U.S. population is involved in production agriculture, directly involved, […]
Birmingham, Alabama, was a battleground in the early 1960s during the civil rights movement. The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and others led peaceful protests in support of equal rights for African-Americans. But some protests turned violent when police attacked the demonstrators. Many people were hurt. Thousands were arrested. The pictures helped create support for an end to […]
Ford’s Theatre in Washington has opened a new education center. It tells about President Abraham Lincoln, who was shot in the theater just after the civil war ended. The new center has a 10-meter-high tower of 7,000 books about the president. Tracey Avant says there are more books about Abraham Lincoln than about any other American. TRACEY AVANT: “He’s just […]
Jim Megargee is a traditional photographer. He struggles with how photography has changed from film to digital. JIM MEGARGEE: “There’s a physical difference between a silver print and a digitalprint. There’s just a physical difference to it. It’s something not many people think of. And with a silver print, it’s—that’s actually an etching into paper into a silver […]