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Aural History Productions
The Radio Archive ~ Recent Programs
November 12, 2009
Segment 1 and 3: "The Silent Generation: From Saipan to Tokyo" (2006).
PART 1: 
Real Media. Time: 28:02. [MP3 Unavailable by request of producer].
PART 2: Real Media. Time: 30:14. [MP3 Unavailable by request of producer].
Yesterday was Veterans Day. Today, we bring you Peabody Award-winning producer Helen Borten's superb documentary on the last year of World War II in the Pacific. Here is her description of the piece: "Eugene "Bud" Clark, a pint-sized scrapper from Macon, GA, mowed down Banzai warriors, watched mass suicide on Saipan, and was severely wounded on Iwo Jima. Howard Terry was traumatized by his accidental killing of an Okinawan boy, returned home angry, belligerent and unable to hold a job. Anthony Daddato lost his best friend to friendly fire,contracted dengue fever,malaria and tuberculosis, and spent three embittered years in hospitals before a feisty nun's advice changed his outlook. Giles McCoy went down with the Indianapolis in one of the worst naval disasters in history. These are just a few of the voices in "The Silent Generation", a one-hour documentary that follows more than a score of men through the definitive year of their lives. Men from all walks of life and all corners of the nation. Men who melted quietly back into civilian life and kept silent for decades. Men who, as time grows short, have been moved to speak with unflinching honesty of events that changed them forever. Their memories are not for the faint-hearted. Here is a view of war from the foxhole. A side of war as relevant today as in 1945. To listen is to understand why they, like tens of thousands of others, could not speak for so long. "The Silent Generation" closes with their unblinking, often wrenching remarks on how combat later affected their attitudes, identity and everyday lives. Producer/Narrator Borten knits their stories into a chronological whole, adding archival newscasts, live reports from the battlefield, and little-known historical details that, together with these unforgettable stories, bring a momentous, searingly brutal chapter in history to life." For photographs of the men interviewed for this documetnary, see: The Silent Generation - Photographs.
Segment 2: "Just Before the Battle, Mother" (1912).
Real Media. MP3. Time: 4:13.
Continuing with our theme on this day after Veterans Day, we bring you a 1912 recoridng (originally produced in 1910), an Edison 4-minute wax Amberol release of "Just Before the Battle, Mother. " The song was written back during the American Civil War by George Frederick Root (1820-1895), a noted U.S. songwriter and popular composer. Root wrote cantatas, songs, and church music. He is especially remembered for the many soldier songs her wrote, among which were "The Battle Cry of Freedom," "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp," and "Just Before the Battle, Mother." The latter became especially popular just before and during World War I, even though it was composed many decades earlier. There are several on-line recordings of the piece, some of them readily available on www.archive.org. This particular version was recorded by Will Oakland and appeard on Edison Blue Amberol #1516 in 1912. We have taken the liberty of cleaning up the wax cylinder audio a bit to make it more clearly audible for radio broadcast.
Just Before the Battle, Mother
Music and Words by GEORGE F. ROOT
Just before the battle, mother,
I am thinking most of you,
While upon the field we're watching,
With the enemy in view.
Comrades brave are 'round me lying,
Fill'd with thoughts of home and God;
For well they know that on the morrow,
Some will sleep beneath the sod.
Chorus:
Farewell, mother, you may never
Press me to your heart again,
But, oh, you'll not forget me mother,
If I'm number'd with the slain.
Hark! I hear the bugles sounding,
'Tis the signal for the fight,
Now, may God protect us, Mother,
As he ever does the right.
Hear the "Battle Cry of Freedom,"
How it swells upon the air,
Oh, yes, we'll rally 'round the standard,
Or we'll perish nobly there.
November 5, 2009
Segment 1: "The Opium Wars." 2009.
Real Media. MP3. Time: 25:37.
This segment comes to us from the monthly series History Counts, produced by Ken MacDermotRoe and Bonnie MacDermotRoe. The show originates at Pacifica affiliate WPKN in Bridgeport, CT. In this episode, Ken MacDermotRoe interviews Frank Sanello, author of The Opium Wars: The Addiction of One Empire and the Corruption of Another. They discuss the two 19th century wars that Britain (and other European nations) fought to "compel China to import opium. While opium addiction devastated China, British and American merchants reaped enormous profits." For more information on the Opium Wars, see Sanello's book; for a brief on-line overview of the two wars, see: http://www.victorianweb.org/history/empire/opiumwars/opiumwars1.html. For information about History Counts, go to: www.historycounts.org.
Segment 2: "From the Archives: Buchanan Campaign Song, 1856" (1999).
Real Media.
MP3. Time: 00:33 (Selection).
This is a selection from a 1856 U.S. presidential election campaign song written and sung in support of the (winning) Democratic candidate James Buchanan. That election, one of the most bitterly fought political battles since the 1800 election, reflected the growing divisions in the nation over slavery and immigration. The newly formed Republican Party ran John Fremont, who vowed to end the growing power of the slave states and to repeal the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The Democratic Party rejected their incumbent, Franklin Pierce, and instead nominated Buchanan from Pennsylvania. Buchanan campaigned on a promise to maintain the balance of power between slave and free states. Millard Fillmore, the third-party candidate, ran under the banner of the anti-immigration Know-Nothing party. For a short summary of the election, see: http://dig.lib.niu.edu/message/campaignhistory-1856.html
Real Media. MP3. Time: 27:51.From the Vault contributes two selections from a pair of 1959 recordings "on the occasion of the 100th Anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's classic work on evolution On The Origins of Species. This work, published in 1859, established Evolution as the dominant scientific explanation for the diversity in nature. Beginning in the early 1950's the American science community began planning the Darwin Centennial Celebration. The effort resulted in a 5 day event from November 24th through the 25th, 1959 at the University of Chicago and featured lectures and panel discussions with many of the the days' great minds of Science, including Darwins' grandson, Sir Charles Darwin. Pacifica Station KPFA was present to record one of the other notable participants Sir Julian Huxley, who gave this Darwin Centennial Address a few weeks later at the Monterrey Peninsula College on December 18th 1959." The second selection, is of Julian Huxley's famous brother, "author and futurist Aldous Huxley, known for his novel Brave New World, moderating a Darwin Centennial panel on the impact of Darwin's theories in the modern world. The panel includes Dr. George Beadle winner of the 1958 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for discovering the role of genes in regulating biochemical events within cells. Also on the panel were Garrett Hardin and James Walter. Our records show this event taking place on October 23, 1959, a month before the University of Chicago event."
October 29, 2009Segment 1 and 3: "From the Vault: They Remember Dvorak." (1970; 2009).
PART 1:
Real Media. MP3. Time: 30:55. PART 2:
Real Media. MP3. Time: 26:11.
This week we feature another contribution from Pacifica Radio's From The Vault series, a re-broadcast of part of Pacifica Radio's 1970 Award-Winning program, "They Remember Dvorak." Here is FTV's summary of the documentary: "Dvorak was more than happy living in Eastern Europe and presenting his grand Symphonies around Europe. But in 1892, he was invited to move to America, an offer which he originally scoffed at. Why would he put his family in harms way from the savage American Indians and the hostile seas? By the end of his 3 years living in America he befriended Algonquin Indians and African Americans and began cataloging bird and nature sounds. Indian singing, Negro Spirituals and sounds of nature would become recurring themes in Dvorak's music. The idea for this program came in 1967 when then-KPFK Music Director, William Malloch, met someone who actually knew Dvorak. It inspired William to look for more and would end up recording the reminiscences of 8 others who knew Dvorak and artfully wove these stories into a three hour special. On this program we will only cover the time Dvorak spent in America from 1892-1895, but first a little about Antonin Dvorak.
Born on September 8th, 1841 in The Austrian Empire now known as the Czech Republic, Dvorak would become one of the most prolific composers of all time. By the 1870's he was already considered a significant composer, ultimately gaining the respect and friendship of both Johannes Brahms and Pyotr Illych Tchaikovsky. As his notoriety ascended to worldwide status he would be invited to Premiere his Symphony no. 7 in London in 1885. Then in 1892, American socialite Jeanette Thurber would invite Dvorak to be the Director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York City. Our story today will deal with the 3 years Dvorak would spend in America and his music inspired by his exposure to the Native American culture and his experiences in The New World."
Segment 2: "From the Archives: Arnold Schönberg ('Pierrot Lunaire')." (1912; 1940 ~ selection).
Real Media.
MP3. Time: 7:01.
Here is a selection from another important composer, Arnold Schönberg. We feature as selection from Schönberg's Pierrot Lunaire. This recording, released in 1940 on a 78 rpm record, features: Arnold Schönberg, conductor; Erika Stiedry-Wagner, recitation; Rudolf Kolisch, violin and viola; Stefan Auber, 'cello. Eduard Steurermann, piano; Leonard Posella, flute and piccolo; Kalman Bloch, clarinet and bass clarinet. Columbia 78rpm set MM-461 (XH 23 - XH 30). Recorded in 1940. Digital transfer by F. Reeder. Source: www.archive.org.
October 22, 2009
Segment 1: "Walt Whitman: Song to Myself" [Audio link direct to WNYC's on-line sound archive]
This week we bring you a documentary on Walt Whitman, originally produced by WNYC back in 2005 -- on the 150th anniversary of the publication of Whitman's Leaves of Grass. Here's the producers full desrcription of the piece: "One hundred and fifty years have passed since Walt Whitman first published Leaves of Grass, a collection of twelve poems that irrevocably altered the development of poetry and literature. His magnum opus shattered existing notions of poetry, breaking all existing conventions in terms of subject matter, language, and style. Leaves of Grass opened the door not only for poets, but writers, artists, musicians, and thinkers to break down barriers in their own work; despite never reaching a mass audience during the artist's lifetime, its tremendous impact is being felt a century and a half later. Today, we are still trying to understand who Whitman was, what he was saying, and what he was styling himself to be. Hosted by Carl Hancock Rux, "Walt Whitman: Song of Myself" explores how a 36-year old freelance journalist and part-time house-builder living in Brooklyn created his outrageous, groundbreaking work. We join Whitman on a walk through the urban streets, imagining the sights, sounds and music, from Stephen Foster to Italian opera, that profoundly affected him and indelibly shaped his poetry. The city transformed Whitman, and Whitman in turn transformed the wild diversity and intensity of the city into a radical, passionate vision for America. In his poetry, he refused to be censored: he celebrated the body and sexuality; he embraced the invisible and the disenfranchised, from women to slaves to prostitutes. His hopes to heal the country of its deep political divisions through his poetry were dashed by the Civil War, but his work lives on as a vital life-affirming force. In this hour-long special, Rux speaks with writers, poets, musicians, and scholars who tell the story of this extraordinary, self-styled celebrity. Guests include writers Michael Cunningham and Phillip Lopate; poets Martin Espada, hailed by some as a contemporary Whitman, and Ishle Yi Park, Queens poet laureate; composers John Adams and Ned Rorem; choreographer Bill T. Jones; Whitman scholars Karen Karbiener and David Reynolds; and many, many others. Actors including Jeffrey Wright and Paul Giammatti share readings of Whitman's poetry, which, one hundred and fifty years on, still astonishes." Segment 2: "Ralph Waldo Emerson on Self Reliance (1841)."
Real
Media.
MP3. Time: 2:56One who inspired and strongly supported Walt Whitman and his revolutionary literary work was Ralph Waldo Emerson. Here is a sampling of Emerson's writing, read by Robert Scott for LibriVox. For the full reading, go to: http://librivox.org/three-great-virtues-three-essays-by-emerson-by-ralph-waldo-emerson/. For a wealth of information on Whitman, go to: http://www.whitmanarchive.org/.
October 15, 2009
Segment 1: "Theodore W. Allen Interview on the Invention of the White Race, part 1. ORIGINALLY BROADCAST ON MAY 13 AND MAY 20, 2004; Talking History did not air today, hence we are posting a previously broadcast program."
Real
Media.
MP3.
Time: 31:37Chad Pearson of the University at Albany, SUNY, interviews Marxist historian Theodore W. Allen, author of the The Invention of the White Race: Vol. 1: Racial Oppression and Social Control (London: Verso, 1994) and The Invention of the White Race: Vol. 2: The Origin of Racial Oppression in Anglo-America (London: Verso, 1997). This is part 1 of a 2 part interview. See next week's show for part 2. Segment 2: "Theodore W. Allen Interview on the Invention of the White Race, part 2."
Real
Media.
MP3.
Time: 28:34Chad Pearson of the University at Albany, SUNY, concludes his interview with Marxist historian Theodore W. Allen, author of the The Invention of the White Race: Vol. 1: Racial Oppression and Social Control (London: Verso, 1994) and The Invention of the White Race: Vol. 2: The Origin of Racial Oppression in Anglo-America (London: Verso, 1997). This is part 2 of a 2 part interview.
October 8, 2009Segment 1 and 3: "Backstory: The History of U.S. Health Care." (2009).
PART 1:
Real Media. MP3. Time: 31:47. PART 2:
Real Media. MP3. Time: 18:53.
In this segment of Backstory with the American History Guys, we examine the history of health care in America:"'What Germany has done in the way of old-age pensions or insurance should be studied by us, and the system adapted to our uses.' Thus declared Teddy Roosevelt in 1912, making him the first U.S. presidential candidate to advocate for a nationalized health insurance system. But arguments about the government’s responsibility for keeping Americans healthy go back a lot further than that. On this episode of BackStory, the History Guys look at the way these arguments have played out through almost four centuries of American life. Beginning with the current debate, they move backwards in time, reflecting on a century’s worth of failed reform efforts, as well as the 17th, 18th, and 19th century foundations of our current health care system. Together with special guests and callers, they tackle questions fundamental to understanding today’s situation. How did we wind up with a health care system that looks so different from that of other industrialized countries? Do the repeated failures of reform efforts have more to do with cultural factors, or economic ones? How have advances in medical technology changed the tenor of our social and political debates? Do we think about health care more individualistically than previous generations of Americans did? Highlights include: Jacob Hacker, creator of the “public option” plan now being considered by Congress, explains why lobbyists have historically wielded disproportionate influence in discussions about health policy. Producer Catherine Moore visits Mt. Malado, the first public hospital in English North America. Reporter Nate DiMeo tells the story of how the practice of inoculation came to the New World." For more infomation about Backstory, go to: www.backstoryradio.org.
Segment 2: "From the Archives: President Harry S. Truman Dedicates the Everglades Nation Park" (1947).
Real Media.
MP3. Time: 14:19.
On December 6, 1947, thirteen years after Congress had passed legislation formally establishing it, President Harry S Truman dedicated the Everglades National Park. Here is a recording of the speech he made at the dedication ceremony. For the full official record of the events of that day, see the following dedication ceremony booklet, available on the Everglades National Part Web site: Everglades Dedication Ceremony.
October 1, 2009Segment 1 and 3: "The Resistance of the Maya." 1981.
PART 1:
Real Media. MP3. Time: 23:51. PART 2:
Real Media. MP3. Time: 13:56.
Here is another contribution -- slightly edited for length by us -- from the Pacifica Radio Archives' From the Vault program, a re-broadcast of a 1981 documentary titled The Resistance of the Maya: "This program examines the history of the 500 year resistance of the Maya against foreign rule, starting with the arrival of the Spanish, up to the current threat against the Lacandon-Maya, the last of the traditional Mayans. Independent radio producer John Walsh does an outstanding job surveying the Maya by presenting scholars who trace the civilization from 2500 B.C. through their contact with the Spanish Conquistadors. Then, Walsh reports on the Mayans living in the Lacandon jungle of Chiapas, Mexico – despite threats from the Mexican government and multi-national corporations seeking to exploit the natural resources."
Segment 2: "Biography in Sound: Meet Ernest Hemingway." 1954.
Real Media.
MP3. Time: 53:35.
Herbert Marshall, Laurence Olivier, Mickey Spillane, Charles Cooper, Marlon Brando, and Al Capp all contribute to this Dec. 19, 1954 documentary on the life of Ernest Hemingway, part of an NBC radio series, "Biography in Sound." Various segments of the series are now widely available on the WWW, as well as in the National Archives and the Library of Congress.
September 24, 2009Segment 1: "The Last Dutch Outpost: The Enduring Legacy of New Netherland." 2007.
Real Media.
[MP3 version unavailable by request of producers]. Time: 29:30. "Two hundred and fifty years ago, a minor military skirmish in a remote corner of the colonial New World snowballed into what some have described as a World War. One of the casualties was the Dutch culture of the town of Albany in New York State – previously New Netherland. So, what happened to the Dutch of Dutch Albany? Although there are few physical remains from the Dutch colonial period, a modern revival of interest seems to be gathering steam. Laura Durnford visits some historic sites in Albany and hears about the tenacious tradition of Dutch culture there." Our thanks to Radio Netherlands http://www.rnw.nl for permission to air and archive this production on our site. Segment 2: "From the Archives: Hernando De Soto." (1938).
Real Media.
MP3. Time: 05:10."The World is Yours" was a series that was broadcast by the National Broadcasting Company, Inc. (NBC) radio network but produced in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution. The half-hour weekly programs "covering the entire range of the Smithsonian Institution's collections and research. The series featured the 'Oldtimer' as the audience's guide to 'the wonders of that unique establishment, the Smithsonian Institution -- dedicated to the increase and diffusion of knowledge.'" The series ran m ran from June 1936 to May 1942. This segment focuses on Hernando De Soto's explorations of the American South and the Mississippi. Segment 3: "A Propitious Misadventure: Part 1 of A History of the 17th Century Dutch Colony of New Netherland." (2009)."
Real Media Time: 16:53.[MP3 version unavailable by request of producers]. Time: 02:26.
A Propitious Misadventure is the first part of a Radio Netherlands series focusing on the 17th century Dutch colony of New Netherland. This episode focuses on Henry Hudson: "400 years ago, in 1609, English explorer Henry Hudson set off on a Dutch ship called the Half Moon. This 'propitious misadventure' would result in a Dutch colony called New Netherland in the uncharted wilds of North America." Our thanks to Radio Netherlands http://www.rnw.nl for permission to air and archive this production on our site.
September 17, 2009Segment 1 and 3: "Backstory: Schooldays ~ A History of American Public Education" (2009).
PART 1:
Real Media. MP3. Time: 32:00. PART 2:
Real Media. MP3. Time: 18:58.
This week, we bring you another episode of BackStory. In this segment, "the History Guys explore the history of public education, and look at the changing expectations we’ve placed on our schools through the 18th 19th, and 20th centuries. What did education look like in the colonial period, and what did the founders have to say about it? How did reformers in the 1830s succeed in establishing taxpayer-funded schools, when Thomas Jefferson had failed at the same mission? Did industrialization and immigration change the ways we think about schools’ purpose? How did public education go from local to state control, and when did the feds get involved? How have children’s attitudes about school changed over time? It’s clear that we’ve steadily moved closer to the ideal of universal education, but what have been the costs associated with increased access to education for all Americans? These are some of the question on the table as the History Guys go back to school." Guests include education historian Jon Zimmerman and Virginia school board president.
Segment 2: "From the Archives: John Dewey's Educational Philsophy ('My Pedagogic Creed')." (1897; 2008; selections).
Real Media.
MP3. Time: 07:31.
Here is a selection from a collective reading from John Dewey's 1897 seminal essay on his educational beliefs. This version was a project recorded and edited by students at the University of Illinois's Music Education Technology class MUS243 (fall 2008). The recording was engineered by by Chee Kang Koh and Matthew Thibeault, with help from Rex Anderson. For the full recording and more details on those who made it, go to: http://www.archive.org/details/MyPedagogicCreed. For more information about Dewey and his educational philosophy, go to: http://www.johndewey.org/Welcome.html.
September 10, 2009Segment 1 and 3: "A Profile of the Life and Career of Lillian Hellman" (1975; 2009).
PART 1:
Real Media. MP3. Time: 29:01. PART 2:
Real Media. MP3. Time: 28:12.
This week, we bring you another program from Pacifica Radio Archives' From the Vault -- focusing on "the indelible writer Lillian Hellman, whose life was as dramatic as the plays she penned." This profile of Hellman examines her life growing up in both New York City and New Orleans, and her chance meeting with mystery writer Dashiell Hammett, who helped inspire her to write — by featuring audio taken from the recently restored Pacifica Radio Archives program Sweetest Smelling Baby in New Orleans: Lillian Hellman. Hellman’s illustrious career includes the American classic plays The Children’s Hour, The Little Foxes, Toys in the Attic, and Pentimento, which she had just completed at the time of the original Pacifica Radio broadcast in 1975."
Segment 2: "Helen Hayes on Women in Service after World War II" (circa. 1947).
Real Media.
MP3. Time: 03:17.
Helen Hayes, "First Lady of American Theater," spent eight decades on the stage, on film, and on radio -- winning all four major entertainment awards: a Tony, Oscar, Emmy and Grammy. She was also known for her charitable work and her outspoken support for women breaking gender barriers of all sorts. In this audio selection from a post-WWII military broadcast, Hayes speaks up in support of women to entering military service. For information about Hayes' career, see: http://www.helenhayes.com/.
September 3, 2009Segment 1 and 3: "The Story of the GI Bill" (2005).
PART 1:
Real Media. MP3. Time: 30:43. PART 2:
Real Media. MP3. Time: 26:03.
Hosted by KALW News (San Francisco) director Holly Kernan, this radio documentary -- originally aired on KALW, 91.7 FM in San Francisco on May 8, 2005 -- explores the origins and important social and economic impacts of the GI Bill. "As World War II came to a close, the United States began mobilizing to support those who had honorably served the nation, offering returning soldiers a remarkable set of benefits. The Story of the GI Bill examines that extraordinary package of educational and financial support affectionately - and often reverently - known as the GI Bill. Signed into law as the war ended, the GI Bill propelled millions of Americans into the middle class. It helped push the nation's economic growth to levels that were simply unimaginable when the war began and was a crucial factor in the longest period of sustained prosperity in the nation's history. In this radio documentary [ . . . ] the history of the GI Bill is explored by some of its first recipients: the men and women who, raised in the Great Depression and transformed by the war, returned home and became part of a changing America. They include beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, philanthropist Bill Gates Sr., and former Congressional Black Caucus chairman Ronald Dellums. Their stories and others illuminate just how central the GI Bill was to the creation of modern America."
Segment 2: "Karl Marx's Das Kapital" (1867; 2008).
Real Media.
MP3. Time: 04:39.
With Labor Day just around the corner, we revisit one of the seminal 19th century works that recognized the central role of labor in the creation of capital. We look at Karl Marx's Das Kapital: A Critique of Political Economy -- or at least volume 1 of the 3-volume work, first published in 1867 while Marx was still alive (he died in 1883). The other two volumes were postumously published. Das Kapital explored the fundamental laws that shaped capitalist production and sought to expose the ironies and exploitative relations underlying modern capitalism. For more information about Das Kapital, see
Francis Wheen's Marx's Das Kapital: A Biography (Monthly Review Press, 2007). Das Kapital is widely available on line in various editions. The short audio reading selection we aired -- from the Preface of volume 1 of Das Kapital -- comes to use from LibriVox (www.librivox.org).
August 28, 2009Segment 1 and 3: "Backstory: A History of Leisure." 2009.
PART 1:
Real Media. MP3. Time: 31:04. PART 2:
Real Media. MP3. Time: 18:49.
As we near the end of the summer, Backstory and the American History Guys examine leisure: "T-G-I-F? four of the most beloved letters in the alphabet? but who'd be thankful if Saturday weren't a day off? In fact, it wasn't officially part of the American weekend until 1940 (although 'St. Monday' was often reserved for nursing hangovers). In this episode: The history of time-off. When did leisure become something for the masses? What are the origins of the weekend? And why does relaxation involve so much?work? Cindy Aron reveals the beginnings of the modern American vacation, and Tom Lutz provides a cultural history of slacking."
Segment 2 (Archival Audio): "Address by John D. Rockefeller Jr., circa 1918."
Real Media.
MP3. Time: 04:10.
John D. Rockefeller Jr. appeals for financial assistance for the United War Work Campaign (probably 1918): "The United War Work campaign, which is asking the American people to contribute not less than $170,500,000, is the greatest voluntary altruistic endeavor the world has ever known. For the first time in history, people of Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant faith are standing side by side and working in closest cooperation for a great common cause. The seven organizations included in the campaign -- namely, the Young Men's Christian Association, the Young Women's Christian Association, the National Catholic War Council, the Jewish Welfare Board, the War Camp Community Service, the American Library Association, and the Salvation Army -- are authorized by the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy to work for the soldiers and sailors in and near the camps.
Since talk of peace has been current during the past few weeks, the question has arisen in the minds of many as to whether this great fund of $170,500,000 will be needed in the event of an early termination of the war. The answer is that the sooner the war ends, the more vital will be the need for this fund -- every dollar of it, and as much more as the generosity of the American people will provide.
Our men in uniform are like the college football players. While the struggle is impending, they are observing the rules of training that they may be fit to fight, but when the game has been won the temptation to break training and make up for the restraint of the past months and years will be a mighty one. At the best, it will take many months to bring home the men now overseas, and a still longer time to absorb into civil life this great army. During these days and weeks and months of comparative idleness, relaxation, inactivity, and waiting, they will need as never since the day they entered the service the friendship, inspiration, occupation, amusement, and strength which these organizations alone can provide.
Do you want to see the flower of the manhood of this country, which has brought everlasting glory to our nation, neglected in the hour of its greatest need, and afraid to face temptation? Then withhold your contribution to this fund. Or do you want to see a chapter of moral victory and prowess as superb and as glorious as that of the victories of arms which have already been achieved, added to the annals of the history of this country, and high standards of morality maintained and perpetuated by our sons and brothers in the days to come? Then give of your abundance, give of your poverty, but give without stint to this great fund which should be not less than $250,000,000. I confidently believe that the American people will stand solidly behind the men in uniform, and that they will regard it a privilege to contribute to the limit." SOURCE: Library of Congress.
August 20, 2009Segment 1 and 3: "Les Paul." 2009.
PART 1:
Real Media. MP3. Time: 26:48. PART 2:
Real Media. MP3. Time: 29:35.
From From the Vault, we present a special tribute to Les Paul (1915-2009), who recently died. Show description: "KPFK Music Director Maggie LePique interviewed then-92 year old Les Paul before his weekly performance at the Iridium Club in New York City on April 7th, 2008. On a chilly Monday afternoon before his first set, Les was in great form: what started out as a friendly conversation becomes a whirlwind overview of this legendary guitar player and inventor. From his early hard body electric guitar invention to the Les Pulverizer to his first ever multi-track recording to his blistering guitar technique, Les Paul is the original Guitar Hero." Segment 2 (Archival Audio): "Eveybody wants a Key to My Cellar"
Real Media.
MP3. Time: 03:13.Ninety years ago, the passage of the 18th Amendment -- prohibition -- stimulated the composition of a number of songs. Here's one of them, "Eveybody wants a Key to My Cellar" (Ed. Rose / Billy Baskette / Lew Pollace, 1919). This version was sung by Al Bernard and distributed in 1919 on an Edison Blue Amberol cylinder.
1st Verse: Down in my cellar, down in my cellar, I've been changing everything around, I've a secret hidden there, I'll guard it with my life, There's only one mistake I made I told it to my wife.
2nd Verse: Down in my cellar, down in my cellar, I've been having parties every night, People that I never knew come up and talk to me, They're trying hard to find out where I hang my cellar key.
Chorus: Now everybody wants a key to my cellar, my cellar, my cellar, People who before wouldn't give me a tumble, Even perfect strangers are beginning to grumble, 'Cause I won't let them have a key to my cellar, They'll never get in just let them try. They can have my money, They can have my car, They can have my wife If they want to go that far, But they can't have the key that opens my cellar, If the whole darn world goes dry.
August 13, 2009Segment 1: "Historical Memory and the Woodstock Legacy." 2009.
Real Media. MP3. Time: 29:05. Geoffrey Storm produced this documentary to examine how Woodstock was commemorated and remembered in the years after the 1969 concert -- particularly how the concert's 30th anniversary was celebrated in a concert that failed to recreate the spirit of the original. Segment 2: "Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee Reading Langston Hughes' Poem 'Ode to Dinah.' (1963)."
Real Media.
MP3. Time: 02:26.This is a 1963 reading by Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee of a selection from one of Langston Hughes's latter poetic works, Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz (1961). The segment read is titled "Ode to Dinah." Hughes wrote Ask Your Mama with musical accompaniment in mind and in fact notes on how to score the piece in the text. He anticipated that bassist Charles Mingus, who had orchestrated another "musical" poem by Hughes, Weary Blues, would compose the music for Ask Your Mama. Unfortunately, Hughes would not live to see his poem scored. He died in 1967. Segment 3: "Ben Kiernan on the History of World Genocide." (2007)."
Real Media.
MP3. Time: 21:04.Bennedit Kiernan, the author of Blood and Soil: A World History of Genocide, is interviewed by Jerry Fowler at the United Stated Holocaust Memorial Museum about the world history of genocide. Kiernan is the A. Whitney Griswold Professor of History at Yale University and is the founding director of Genocide Studies at Yale Center for International and Area Studies. The discussion focuses on Kiernan's 2007 book, Blood and Soil: A World History of Genocideand Extermination from Sparta to Darfur. Our thanks to the United States Holocaust Museum for access to this program. EXTRA SEGMENT (aired 8-9 am): "Back to the Garden ~ Woodstock Remembered, Part 2." 2009.[Only available as a streaming RealMedia file, by request of producer.]
Segment 1 (of part 2):
Real Media. Time: 31:24.Segment 2 (of part 2):
Real Media. Time: 25:27Here is the conclusion -- part 2 -- of a 2-part documentary produced by Paul Ingles in association with Joel Makower, author of Woodstock: The Oral History (SUNY Press, 2009). Part 1 was aired two weeks ago; see the entry for July 30, 2009 for a full description of the program.
August 6, 2009Segment 1 and 3: "Footlight Parade: Brother Can You Spare a Dime ~ The Social Conscience of the American Musical." 2009.
PART 1:
Real Media. Time: 26:50. [MP3 version unavailable by producer request].PART 2:
Real Media. Time: 26:58. [MP3 version unavailable by producer request].Footlight Parade: Sounds of the American Musical, hosted by Bill Rudman, is a weekly radio series "showcasing the best of Broadway and Hollywood -- songs from the turn of the 20th century to today." In this edition of Talking History, we bring you a recent segment from that series, titled "Brother Can You Spare a Dime The Social Conscience of the American Musical." It examines more than 75 years of socially and politically engaged songs from well-known and lesser-known musicals. Footlight Parade is produced by The Musical Theater Project (TMTP), a nonprofit organization "formed to help keep this uniquely American art form alive, and to help foster its development for the pleasure of future generations." Segment 2: "Nazim Hikmet Recalls Hiroshima: "The Little Girl" or "I Come and Stand at Every Door" [Read by Hema Manicka, 2007].
Real Media.
MP3. Time: 01:07.Many events in American and world history have stimulated the composition of commemorative songs and poems. On this anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, we look back at one event and how writers and poets reacted to it -- through a close examination of ONE poem/song: "The Little Girl." Here is a recitation by Hema Manicka of an English translation of the anti-war verse written by Turkish Communist poet Nazim Hikmet in the 1950s, originally titled "Kiz Çocugu" ("The Little Girl"). It is aso known in English by various other titles, including "Hiroshima Girl" and "I come and Stand at Every Door." Nazim Hikmet (1901-1963) was one of Turkey's best know modern poets ane novelists; he was also a Communist and a political activist. In the 1940s, he was imprisoned in Turkey for his political activities, but freed in 1950s after a world-wide campaign on his behalf. Soon afterward he left Turkey and lived in exile in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe for the rest of his life. In the mid-1950s, he wrote the poem/song "The Little Girl." The best account we've found for the origins of this work comes from a listserv entry from Rice University (http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/742.html: "The first English version of the song I found was in Masses and Mainstream, monthly, New York, June 1955. It printed three songs of Nazim Hikmet, under the title "Poems for Peace," with the following note: 'These three songs of peace were written for the World Assembly of Peace by the famous Turkish poet, Nazim Hikmet. They were set to music by Czech composers, and the music as well as literal translations of the Turkish original was sent to Paul Robeson and Howard Fast in New York. What follows are the texts which Howard Fast wrote to the Czech music, basing himself as nearly as possible within the musical framework upon Nazim Hikmet's original version. They will be recorded by Paul Robeson, whose voice will be heard in Helsinki by the men women of the world assembly.'
The song, as rendered by Howard Fast, in the following:
THE LITTLE DEAD GIRL
A little girl is at your door,
At every door, at every door,
A little girl you cannot see
Is at your door, is at your door
And for me, there will never be
The love and laughter you have known.
At Hiroshima, do you see,
My flesh was seared from every bone.
My hair was first to feel the flame,
Hot were my eyes and hot my hands,
Only a little ash remained,
Where I had played upon the sands.
Stranger, what can you do for me,
A little ash, a little girl?
A human child like paper burned,
An ash for the cooling wind to swirl.
A little dead child, burned by strife,
Oh, stranger please do this for me,
Your name on the scroll, peace and life,
And peace and life for all like me.
The World Peace Council was at that time trying to get hundreds of millions of signatures for an "appeal for peace." That's why the reference to the "scroll" towards the end. I do not know how the song was redone since then. Nazim Hikmet himself might have revised the song and there might have been a new translation. The other two "songs for peace" were: 'The Japanese Fishermen' and 'The Clouds.'" For more information about Hikmet, see: http://www.nazimhikmetran.com/english/index.html
Segment 4: "Pete Seeger and "I come and Stand at Every Door" (1962)."
Real Media.
MP3. Time: 00:46.Dozens of singers have translated and personalized Nazim Hikmet's Hiroshima-inspired "The Little Girl" since the 1950s. Here is a selection from one of the most famous versions, recorded by Pete Seeger in 1962, using the tune of "The Great Silkie." [We can't include the entire song for copyright reasons.]
Seeger describes the story behind his version of the song in his Where Have All the Flowers Gone: A Singer's Stories, Songs, Seeds, Robberies (A Musical Autobiography) (1993): "In the late '50's I got a letter: 'Dear Pete Seeger: I've made what I think is a singable translation of a poem by the Turkish poet, Nazim Hikmet. Do you think you could make a tune for it? (Signed), Jeanette Turner.' I tried for a week. Failed. Meanwhile I couldn't get out of my head an extraordinary melody put together by an Massachusetts Institute of Technology student who had put a new tune to a mystical ballad The Great Silkie from the Shetland Islands north of Scotland. Without his permission I used his melody for Hikmet's words. It was wrong of me. I should have gotten his permission. But it worked. The Byrds made a good recording of it, electric guitars and all." The full credits for Seeger's song now read: "Original Turkish poem by Natzim Hikmet; English translation by Jeanette Turner; Music by James Waters ("The Great Silkie"); Adaptation by Pete Seeger (1962)."
July 30, 2009Segment 1 and 3: "Backstory: Lokking for Work ~ A History of Unemployment." 2009.
PART 1:
Real Media. MP3. Time: 31:34. PART 2:
Real Media. MP3. Time: 25:17. Here's another segment from Backstory and the American History Guys titled, "Looking for Work: A History of Unemployment."
SUMMARY: "With the unemployment rate at a 25-year high, BackStory is exploring the phenomenon of joblessness throughout American history. How has the changing nature of employment shaped the experience of not having a job? Have the moral connotations of work evolved? What has it meant for American workers that there are always new immigrants - or poor migrants - who are willing to work for less? Over the course of the hour, the History Guys speak with historian Alex Keyssar, take calls from BackStory listeners, and hear an imagined testimonial from an itinerant worker in the "New Northwest" at the turn of the 20th century." Segment 2: "John Sweeney on the Problem of Unemployment. (1973)"
Real Media.
MP3. Time: 02:58.Apropos of today's main segment, we look back at what major labor leaders had to say about the unemployment problem in the U.S. Here is a short edited selection from AFL-CIO leader John J. Sweeney's 2003 remarks on the unemployment problem during the George W. Bush administration. For more information on these remarks -- and additional statements by Sweeney -- see: http://www.aflcio.org/mediacenter/resources/a-jjs-unemployment-05-03.cfm. EXTRA SEGMENT (aired 8-9 am): "Back to the Garden ~ Woodstock Remembered, Part 1." 2009.[Only available as a streaming RealMedia file, by request of producer.]
Segment 1 (of part 1):
Real Media. Time: 30:38.Segment 2 (of part 1):
Real Media. Time: 28:15Here is part 1 of a 2-part documentary produced by Paul Ingles in association with Joel Makower, author of Woodstock: The Oral History (SUNY Press, 2009). We'll be bringing you part 2 in two weeks: "Woodstock organizers, musicians and audience members recall the 1969 music festival that rocked the world in more ways than one. Music and memories from the historic event include interviews with with Woodstock organizers Michael Lange, Joel Rosenman, and the late John Roberts, artists Richie Havens, Roger Daltrey and Joe Cocker, and audience members Ron Petras, Vivian Goodman and Danny Diamond. Music performances from many of the artists are featured: Jefferson Airplane, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Joe Cocker, CSNY, The Who, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez and many more."
July 23, 2009Segment 1: "The San Francisco General Strike, 1934." [Rebroadcast]
Real Media. MP3. Time: 8:10. Marking the 75th anniversary of the San Francisco General Strike of 1934, we bring you this selection from a Pacifica Radio Archives 1964 documentary on the San Francisco Waterfront strike. That strike grew out of broader West Coast initiatives by longshoremen and sailors seeking union recognition, a general labor contract, and union-run hiring halls. It lasted 83 days and, after bloody confrontations with police, led to a four day general strike. For more information about the strike, see David F. Selvin, A Terrible Anger: The 1934 Waterfront and General Strikes in San Francisco; Bruce Nelson, Workers on the Waterfront, Seamen, Longshoremen and Unionism in the 1930s; Howard Kimeldorf, Reds or Rackets, The Making of Radical and Conservative Unions on the Waterfront; Charles Larrowe, Harry Bridges, The Rise and Fall of Radical Labor in the U.S.. For briefer coverage, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1934_West_Coast_Longshore_Strike.
Segments 2 & 4: "Sam Adams Darcy on the San Francisco Strike of 1934."
PART 1: Real Media. MP3. Time: 19:56.
PART 2: Real Media. MP3. Time: 25:17.
Here is an edited selection from talks delivered by former U.S. Communist Party activist and leader Samuel Adams Darcy (1905-2005) at Cornell University in November of 1975. The talks were delivered to students in Professors Roger Keeran's and Cletus Daniels' classes. The tapes of the talks are now part of a collection of scores of recordings that are currently being digitized and processed by the Sam Darcy Aural History Project (a project of Talking History/University at Albany). We thank the Darcy family, and particularly Jonetta ("Skip") Darcy, for making the recordings available to us.
DARCY BIOGRAPHY: Sam Adams Darcy was born in 1905 in the Ukraine. In 1908, he emigrated to the U.S. with his parents, and spent his youth in NYC. He attended De Witt Clinton High School and NYU -- all the while working at a variety of factory jobs. While still in high school, he immersed himself in the radical socialist subculture of the Jewish needle trade workers, and joined the Young People's Socialist League. After the Russian Revolution, he entered the newly established Communist Party of the USA (CPUSA).
Immediately taking an active role in the organization, Darcy helped found
the Young Workers' League, a predecessor of the Young Communist League. In
1927, he was sent to Moscow, where he taught at the Lenin School and served
on the Executive Committee of the Young Communist International. He also
spent some time in China and the Philippines helping to organize radical
working-class movements there. Returning to New York in 1929, he briefly
served as editor of the Daily Worker, the Party's national organ, and led
the International Labor Defense, a major left-wing civil and criminal rights
defense organization. When the Great Depression hit, Darcy established his
reputation as a superb public speaker and organizer by leading the largest
protest of unemployed workers ever held in the U.S.
At the age of twenty-five, Darcy was appointed California District Organizer
and sent to San Francisco. There, he was especially active in organizing
seamen, longshoremen, and farmworkers, and was a major strategist behind the
San Francisco general strike of 1934 and many of the farm labor organizing
drives that swept the state in the early 1930s. Throughout his California
tenure he worked hard to unite the disparate ethnic working-class
populations of the state -- Filipinos, Japanese, Mexicans, and Anglos. In
1935, Darcy left for the Soviet Union as a representative of the CPUSA to
the Communist International (Comintern); for the next 22 months he held
several important positions in the Comintern, including the leadership of
the South African secretariat.
Returning from the Soviet Union in 1938, Darcy continued to hold important
posts in the CPUSA -- as Central Committee Representative to the Northwest
District, and, during World War II, as District Organizer of the Eastern
Pennsylvania District. In 1944, however, because of his active opposition
to Party General Secretary Earl Browder, Darcy was expelled from the CPUSA.
Although vindicated in 1945 when Browder was removed from office, Darcy did
not rejoin the Party.
From the mid-1940s until his death on November 8, 2005, Darcy maintained his interest in
domestic and international labor and economic policy issues. He also
continued to be a political and civic activist and was a frequent
speaker on college campuses. He wrote several books in his life, including Late
Afternoon for the Nation State, Thomas Jefferson: The Second Revolution, and
The Challenge of Youth.
Real Media.
MP3. Time: 00:58.On the 40th anniversary of the first human landing on the Moon, we look back at the role of Wernher von Braun (1912-1977) in the U.S. Apollo program. Von Braun was a pivotal force in the development of modern rocketry. During World War II, he led the team that developed the V-2 ballistic missile for the Nazis. Following the war, he and his fellow Nazi rocket team were sent to America where they worked on rockets for the U.S. Army, perfecting America's ballistic missile program -- first at White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico and then at Redstone Arsenal near Huntsville, Alabama. In 1960, von Braun was attached to NASA and placed in charge of Saturn rocket program. He became director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and his team of scientists and engineers helped design the Saturn V rocket, the vehicle that made possible the six successful Apollo landings on the moon.
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