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Students crowded around General Logan Monument during the 1968 National Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, August 1968.

Students crowded around General Logan Monument during the 1968 National Democratic National Convention in Chicago, August 1968. Peter Bullock/Chicago History Museum/Getty Images hide caption

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Peter Bullock/Chicago History Museum/Getty Images

Politics

Chicago ’68 recalls a Democratic convention and a political moment like no other

In the months leading up to DNC 2024, "Chicago ‘68" has been repeatedly conjured. But there is nothing in this political climate to compare to '68 and the all-encompassing anxiety over Vietnam.

John Kerry (center) stands with other military personnel in an unspecified location circa the 1960s.

John Kerry (center) stands with other military personnel in an unspecified location circa the 1960s. The details of Kerry's service during the Vietnam War, and his subsequent anti-war activism, became the focus of a veterans' group's smear campaign against him during his 2004 presidential campaign. Kerry Campaign/Getty Images hide caption

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Kerry Campaign/Getty Images

Politics

A brief history of swift boating, from John Kerry to Tim Walz

Republicans' attacks on Tim Walz's military record mirror a 2004 smear campaign against John Kerry in some key ways. Here's how swift boating played out then — and what's different this time around.

Did the U.S. need to drop two atomic weapons on Japan in order to end World War II?

In The Road to Surrender, Evan Thomas examines the closing months of WWII, exploring the motivations of key U.S. leaders, and of Japanese commanders and diplomats. Originally broadcast June 20, 2023.

WWII

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We The People: Legal Representation
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Throughline

We The People: Legal Representation

The Sixth Amendment. Most of us take it for granted that if we're ever in court and we can't afford a lawyer, the court will provide one for us. And in fact, the right to an attorney is written into the Constitution's sixth amendment. But for most of U.S. history, it was more of a nice-to-have — something you got if you could, but that many people went without.

We The People: Legal Representation

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The National Comedy Center in Jamestown, N.Y.

Acts range from family-friendly slapstick to edgy stand-up at the four-day comedy festival put on by The National Comedy Center in Jamestown, N.Y. — that's the birthplace of I Love Lucy star Lucille Ball, who was born Aug. 6, 1911. Brendan Halbohm/National Comedy Center hide caption

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Brendan Halbohm/National Comedy Center

Television

Lucille Ball’s hometown is a comedy destination. No joke

Acts range from family-friendly slapstick to edgy standup at the four-day comedy event held in Jamestown, N.Y., home of the I Love Lucy star.

Lucille Ball Comedy Fest postcard

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Tested: Questions of a Physical Nature
Dani Pendergast for NPR

Throughline

Tested: Questions of a Physical Nature

In 1966, the governing body of the Olympic track and field event started mandatory examinations of all women athletes. These inspections would come to be known as "nude parades," and if you were a woman who refused the test, you couldn't compete.

Tested: Questions of a Physical Nature

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Photographs of the front and right profile of the head of the

Photographs of the front and right profile of the head of the "Screaming Woman" mummy were taken in 1939 at the Kasr Al Ainy Faculty of Medicine in Cairo. Saleem and El-Merghani hide caption

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Saleem and El-Merghani

World

New evidence suggests 'Screaming Woman' mummy died in pain

The mummy is believed to be a relative of Senmut, an architect who worked during the reign of ancient Egypt’s most powerful female leader, Queen Hatshepsut. Senmut’s final years also remain a mystery.

We the People: Gun Rights
Marc Piscotty/Getty Images

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We the People: Gun Rights

The Second Amendment. In April 1938, an Oklahoma bank robber was arrested for carrying an unregistered sawed-off shotgun across state lines. The robber, Jack Miller, put forward a novel defense: that a law banning him from carrying that gun violated his Second Amendment rights. For most of U.S. history, the Second Amendment was one of the sleepier ones. It rarely showed up in court, and was almost never used to challenge laws. Jack Miller's case changed that. And it set off a chain of events that would fundamentally change how U.S. law deals with guns. Today on Throughline's We the People: How the second amendment came out of the shadows. (Originally ran as The Right to Bear Arms)

We the People: Gun Rights

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The handheld video game console Game Boy manufactured by Nintendo in 1989.

The handheld video game console Game Boy manufactured by Nintendo in 1989. Bertrand Guay/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Bertrand Guay/AFP via Getty Images

Moments in history

In 1989, a big gray brick with a tiny monochrome screen became gaming's new smash hit

In 1989, a big gray brick with a tiny monochrome screen became gaming's new smash hit. Nintendo's Game Boy revolutionized portable gaming. As part of NPR's special series of historical moments, a NPR reporter spoke to business executives turned Game Boy fans in 1990.

In 1989, a big gray brick with a tiny monochrome screen became gaming's new smash hit - NPR App

Edith Bouvier Beale at her home

Edith Bouvier Beale at her home "Grey Gardens" in January 1972 in New York. A 1975 documentary by that name explores the reclusive lives of Beale and her mother, living in their dilapidated house with over 50 cats. Tom Wargacki/WireImage hide caption

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Tom Wargacki/WireImage

Pop Culture

JD Vance went viral for ‘cat lady’ comments. The centuries-old trope has a long tail

Vance lamented the country being run by "a bunch of childless cat ladies," including Vice President Harris. The trope has dogged women since the Middle Ages.

6-year-old Leona Tate is escorted by US Marshals from McDonogh 19 Elementary School in New Orleans on Nov. 15, 1960.

Six-year-old Leona Tate is escorted by U.S. Marshals from McDonogh 19 Elementary School in New Orleans on Nov. 15, 1960. AP hide caption

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AP

National

Desegregation pioneer Leona Tate preserves civil rights history in New Orleans

One of the first Black students to attend an all-white school in the Deep South is preserving the Lower 9th Ward elementary school she helped integrate in 1960 as a civil rights center.

Desegregation pioneer Leona Tate preserves civil rights history in New Orleans

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On the left side of this photo, James Baldwin's face is painted on a decorative bookcase inside the Baldwin & Co. bookstore in New Orleans. On the right are books arranged on rows of bookshelves.

James Baldwin's face is painted on a decorative bookcase inside the Baldwin & Co. bookstore in New Orleans. Neda Ulaby/NPR hide caption

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Neda Ulaby/NPR

Books

A bookstore named for James Baldwin is counting down to his 100th birthday

James Baldwin died in 1987. Baldwin & Co. is a Black-owned bookstore and community hub in New Orleans. "His literature, his perspective, his insight ... have changed my life," says owner DJ Johnson.

A bookstore named for James Baldwin is counting down to his 100th birthday

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We The People: Free Speech
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Throughline

We The People: Free Speech

The First Amendment. Book bans, disinformation, the wild world of the internet. Free speech debates are all around us. What were the Founding Fathers thinking when they created the First Amendment, and how have the words they wrote in the 18th century been stretched and shaped to fit a world they never could have imagined? It's a story that travels through world wars and culture wars. Through the highest courts and the Ku Klux Klan. Today on Throughline's We the People: What exactly is free speech, and how has the answer to that question changed in the history of the U.S.? (Originally ran as The Freedom of Speech)

We The People: Free Speech

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The Creeping Coup
AFP via Getty Images

Throughline

The Creeping Coup

Sudan has been at the center of a deadly and brutal war for over a year. It's the site of the world's largest hunger crisis, and the world's largest displacement crisis.

The Creeping Coup

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Workmen search the debris of what was the carpenter shop on the pier at Port in Chicago, Calif., on July 18, 1944, after the building was leveled by the explosion of two munition ships on the evening of July 17. Other buildings on the waterfront and in the town itself were shattered by the blast, which was felt 50 miles from the scene.

Workmen searched through the debris of what was the carpenter shop on the pier at Port in Chicago, Calif. on July 18, 1944, after the building was leveled by the explosion of two munition ships the evening of July 17. Other buildings on the waterfront and in the town itself were shattered by the terrific blast, which was felt 50 miles from the scene. EKB/AP hide caption

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EKB/AP

National

The Navy exonerates 256 Black sailors unjustly punished over 1944 WWII port explosion

The blast that happened at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in California killed 320 people and injured 400 more.

Tested: Questions of a Physical Nature
Dani Pendergast for NPR

Embedded

Tested: Questions of a Physical Nature

Episode 2: We go back almost 100 years, to the beginning of women's inclusion in elite sports. It turns out that men had an odd variety of concerns about women athletes. Some doubted these athletes were even women at all. And their skepticism resulted in the first policies requiring sex testing. To listen to this series sponsor-free and support NPR, sign up for Embedded+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Tested: Questions of a Physical Nature

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Honoring my enslaved ancestors: Episode 2

B.A. Parker at Somerset Place plantation as a child. Courtesy of B.A. Parker hide caption

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Courtesy of B.A. Parker

Code Switch

Honoring my enslaved ancestors: Episode 2

Every summer B.A. Parker returns to Creswell, North Carolina, where her family still has a farm. But she's mostly avoided actually going to the nearby site where her ancestors were enslaved. This week, we revisit the second of two episodes, where Parker and her mom decide to go back to the plantation.

Honoring my enslaved ancestors: Episode 2

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A would-be assassin targets Trump. What it could mean for America.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he is rushed offstage during a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images hide caption

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Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Analysis

Consider This from NPR

A would-be assassin targets Trump. What it could mean for America.

Shortly after 6pm on Saturday, a would-be assassin took aim at former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

A would-be assassin targets Trump. What it could mean for America.

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Introducing Tested from NPR and CBC
Illustration by Luke Medina/NPR; Photo/Getty Images

Embedded

Introducing Tested from NPR and CBC

Who gets to compete? Since the beginning of women's sports, there has been a struggle over who qualifies for the women's category. Tested follows the unfolding story of elite female runners who have been told they can no longer race as women, because of their biology. As the Olympics approach, they face hard choices: take drugs to lower their natural testosterone levels, give up their sport entirely, or fight. To understand how we got here, we trace the surprising, 100-year history of sex testing. Tested is a new 6-part series from NPR's Embedded and CBC. Hosted by journalist Rose Eveleth, it launches July 15, ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games. Embedded+ supporters enjoy early and ad-free access.

Listen.

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