History

Middle Palaeolithic artifacts recently excavated from Attirampakkam, an archaeological site in present-day southern India. The artifacts suggest the technique used to make them spread across the world long before researchers previously thought.

Discovery In India Suggests An Early Global Spread Of Stone Age Technology

6:32pm January 31, 2018

by Rhitu Chatterjee

Scientists have found stone tools in India dating back to 385,000 years ago. The sharp tools were made with a Stone Age technique thought to have originated in Africa and Europe.

Politics & Government

The State Of The Union's History

7:15am January 31, 2018

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks with commentator Cokie Roberts, who answers listener questions about the history of the State of the Union address.

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The History Of Inviting Extraordinary Americans To The SOTU Address

4:54pm January 30, 2018

The State of the Union tradition of inviting extraordinary Americans to sit with the first lady began under Ronald Reagan in 1982. NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Gerhard Peters, co-director of the American Presidency Project at the University of California — Santa Barbara, who is also a political science professor at Citrus College, about the tradition.

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A unit of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, rests alongside a battered wall of Hue's imperial palace after a battle for the citadel in February 1968, during the Tet Offensive.

National

Military Victory But Political Defeat: The Tet Offensive 50 Years Later

3:28pm January 29, 2018

by Tom Bowman

In 1968, when U.S. officials were claiming the Vietnam War was nearly won, North Vietnam and the Viet Cong launched a devastating attack during the Tet holiday. It was a turning point in the war.

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A trio of illustrations from the cocktail book Shakespeare, Not Stirred: Ophelia, King Henry VIII and King Lear.

Books
Arts

Boozing With The Bard: How The Masses Find Common Ground With Shakespeare

2:49pm January 28, 2018

by Kristen Hartke

From a theater company where audiences drink along with the actors to a book of cocktails inspired by his plays, alcohol has long been "a great provoker" in making the Bard's work more relatable.

A recently renovated Mariachi Plaza is pictured in Boyle Heights, Calif., is a Hispanic and low-income neighborhood of Los Angeles that's fighting hard to prevent gentrification, the threat of escalating rents and "washed out" identity.

'There Isn't A Just Housing Choice': How We've Enabled The Pains Of Gentrification

7:56am January 28, 2018

by Sophia Alvarez Boyd

Decades of unjust policies have led to the devaluing of lower-income neighborhoods. But urban sociologist John Schlichtman says closing the gap between revaluing and devaluing can minimize inequities.

'We Shall Overcome' Ruled Public Domain In Copyright Settlement

5:53pm January 27, 2018

by Rick Karr

The civil rights anthem "We Shall Overcome" is now in the public domain. The music publishers that copyrighted the song in the 1960s settled the lawsuit on Friday.

Chef Heidi Rae Weinstein holds a Reuben sandwich, complete with Swiss cheese — definitely a kosher no-no — at Trefa Banquet 2.0, an event held in San Francisco to commemorate a scandalous meal held in 1883 by newly ordained rabbis of the Jewish reform

Jews Feast On Forbidden Foods To Remember Rabbis' Radical Banquet

12:37pm January 24, 2018

by Ashley Goldsmith

Ancient Jewish teachings ban pork, shellfish, and meat mixed with dairy in the same meal. Some modern Jews wanting to evolve the way they eat look to a scandalous feast of the past for inspiration.

The GOP's Change On Immigration

7:35am January 24, 2018

by Don Gonyea

The Republican Party is using its control of Congress and the White House to pursue a hard line on immigration. It's a big shift in rhetoric and policy for a party long seen as pro-immigration.

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Kim Kardashian and Donald Trump exemplify our contradictory feelings about the rich and famous. As Hidden Brain explores this week, we idolize the powerful, but also relish their downfall.

The Power Hour

6:00pm January 23, 2018

This week on Hidden Brain's radio show, we tackled a big topic: power. From our conflicted feelings toward the powerful, to the ways we gain and lose power ourselves, and how power really can corrupt.