In 1946 Bing Crosby was the king of media. He was the movie star, the pop star and his radio show was reaching a third of American living rooms each week. But then, it all started to fall apart. His ratings were plummeting and his fans were fleeing. Bing however, …
Through the 1980s, the vast majority of people in China had never heard western music, save for John Denver, the Carpenters, and a few other artists included on the hand-picked list of songs sanctioned by the Communist Party. But in the late 90s, a mysterious man named Professor Ye made …
Ecologist Nick Haddad was sitting in his new office at North Carolina State University when the phone rang. On the other end of the line was... The U.S. Army. The Army folks told him, “Look, there’s this endangered butterfly on our base at Fort Bragg, and it’s the only place …
One morning, Oliver Sipple went out for a walk. A couple hours later, to his own surprise, he saved the life of the President of the United States. But in the days that followed, Sipple’s split-second act of heroism turned into a rationale for making his personal life into political …
Today we have a story about the sometimes obvious but sometimes sneaky effects of the way that we humans rearrange the elemental stuff around us. Reporter Avir Mitra and science journalist Lydia Denworth bring us a story about how one man’s relentless pursuit of a deep truth about the Earth …
Diane Van Deren is one of the best ultra-runners in the world, and it all started with a seizure. In this short, Diane tells us how her disability gave rise to an extraordinary ability. For Diane Van Deren, a charming mother of three, daily life is a struggle. But as …
It has now been 20 years since September 11th, 2001. So we’re bringing you a Peabody Award-winning story from our archives about one sentence, written in the hours after the attacks, that has led to the longest war in U.S. history. We examine how just 60 words of legal language …
Multiple sclerosis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, even psoriasis — these are diseases in which the body begins to attack itself, and they all have one thing in common: they affect women more than men. Most autoimmune disorders do. And not just by a little bit, often by a lot; in some …
We all think we know the story of pregnancy. Sperm meets egg, followed by nine months of nurturing, nesting, and quiet incubation. But this story isn’t the nursery rhyme we think it is. In a way, it’s a struggle, almost like a tiny war. And right on the front lines …
In 2014, India’s Dutee Chand was a rising female track and field star, crushing national records. But then, that summer, something unexpected happened: she failed a gender test. And was banned from the sport. Before she knew it, Dutee was thrown into the middle of a controversy that started long …
If you’ve ever lost someone, or watched a medical drama in the last 15 years, you’ve probably heard of The Five Stages of Grief. They’re sort of the world’s worst consolation prize for loss. But last year, we began wondering… Where did these stages come from in the first place? …
A major development in the case of Guantanamo detainee Abdul Latif Nasser. To listen to our series about him, go to [theotherlatif.org](http://theotherlatif.org).
In the past few weeks, most people have probably seen Britney Spears' name or face everywhere. When she stood in front of a judge (virtually) and protested the conservatorship she's been living under for the past 13 years, one harrowing detail in particular stood out. She told the judge, "I …
**Lift Every Voice.** Black Swan Records was first to record the anthem Lift Every Voice and Sing. From a family's Thanksgiving dinner, we portal through to the song's past, present, and future. **_The Vanishing of Harry Pace_ was created and produced by Shima Oliaee and Jad Abumrad. ** This series …
**Roland Hayes and the Lost Generation.** Here’s the extraordinary story of Roland Hayes, another great (and largely forgotten) creator of new cosmologies. **_The Vanishing of Harry Pace_ was created and produced by Shima Oliaee and Jad Abumrad. ** This series was produced in collaboration with author Kiese Laymon, scholar Imani …
**Our Harlem Moon.** In this spin-off tale, Ethel Waters hijacks a degrading song and makes the music her own. **_The Vanishing of Harry Pace_ was created and produced by Shima Oliaee and Jad Abumrad. ** This series was produced in collaboration with author Kiese Laymon, scholar Imani Perry, writer Cord …
**Black No More, White No More.** We follow Harry's grandkids and great grandkids as they grapple with his legacy in their own lives. **_The Vanishing of Harry Pace_ was created and produced by Shima Oliaee and Jad Abumrad. ** This series was produced in collaboration with author Kiese Laymon, scholar …
**Dreams Deferred.** The story of the post Black Swan years. We follow Harry’s Supreme Court battle to desegregate the South Side of Chicago, and then the mysterious decision which forces him into seclusion, before his untimely death. **_The Vanishing of Harry Pace_ was created and produced by Shima Oliaee and …
**The Rise and Fall of Black Swan.** It was Motown before Motown, FUBU before FUBU: Black Swan Records, the record company founded by Harry Pace. **_The Vanishing of Harry Pace_ was created and produced by Shima Oliaee and Jad Abumrad. ** Harry Pace founded Black Swan Records exactly 100 years …
We’ve just barely made it to the other side of a year that took our collective breaths away. So more than ever we felt that this was the time to go deep on life’s rhythmic dance partner. Today we huff and we puff through a whole stack of stories about …