Haunted Tales of New York

Description

From the Bowery Boys website:

"It's time for our third annual 'ghost stories' episode, our mix of historical facts and spooky legends from the annals of New York's past. For this round of scary tales, we visit a famous 19th century townhouse haunted by a lonely spinster, a West Village speakeasy with some guests who still haven't gone home, and the site of a former restaurant that might be possessed with the spirit of a famous folk singer. ALSO: we go back all the way to New Amsterdam for an old legend involving Peter Stuyvesant, a turbulent river, and the Devil himself!"

Gore Vidal: Writer Against the Grain

Description

From the "Littoral," blog of the Key West Literary seminar website:

"This recording from the 2009 Key West Literary Seminar consists of an hourlong conversation between Vidal and Jay Parini, his literary executor, a poet, biographer, and critic. Vidal discusses the influences on his work as a historical novelist, his views on the American educational system, and his admiration for figures including Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. George W. Bush, then serving his final week in office, is the target of particular scorn, as Vidal levels a litany of complaints accusing his administration of 'shredding' the Bill of Rights and striving 'to make lying the national pastime.' In a question-and-answer session, Vidal discusses efforts to bring Tennessee Williams's final play to the public, as well as his feelings on disgraced financier Bernard Madoff and former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin."

Gil Troy: The 2008 Election as History

Description

Historian, blogger, and author Gil Troy, speaking at the Organization of American Historians 2009 meeting, talks about his experiences as a historian blogging during the 2008 presidential election. He discusses his views on the role historians should play when contributing or responding to the media, providing studied, nonpredictive information and analysis, even in the face of demands for sound bites and snap judgments.

The Redemptive Imagination

Description

Donald L. Miller speaks with four fiction authors—Esmerelda Santiago, Arthur Golden, Charles Johnson, and Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.—about the challenge of finding narrative in history and the differences between an academic understanding of history and a novelist's understanding of history.

Women in Science and Engineering

Description

Carol Burger, associate professor in the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies at Virginia Tech and coordinator of the university's Science and Gender Equity Program, heads up a panel at the Library of Congress on "Women in Science and Engineering," in celebration of Women's History Month. She discusses the historical place of women in science and possible role models for women studying science today.