Ireland’s Debt to Its World War II Soldiers

During World War II, thousands of Irish soldiers joined the British army to fight the war, but when they came home to Ireland, they were treated as deserters and put on a blacklist. Now, there is growing pressure on the Irish government to pardon those men.

Belgian Nurse Honored For WWII Bravery

Augusta Chiwy, a 90-year-old Belgian Congolese nurse who saved hundreds of wounded American soldiers during WWII received an award for valor from the US Army earlier this week.

Slideshow: An Old Pirate Town on the Adriatic Coast

The place we’re looking for is a resort town on the Adriatic coast. Lesser known than other popular spots on the Adriatic such as Dubrovnik and Budva, it lies near Albania. Many call it the Kosovo Rivera.

The Story of Beate Sirota Gordon

Gordon was a member of the team that drafted the Constitution of Japan under Douglas MacArthur.

Bavaria to Evict American Cold War Era Cultural House

The Amerika Häuser were places for Germans to learn more about America.

Manga Artist’s First Foray into English

The “manga” legend has published one of his stories from World War II for the first time in English.

Acclaimed Japanese Scholar Retires

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Anchor Lisa Mullins talks to Japanese scholar Donald Keene who is retiring from Columbia University after teaching for 56 years. Keene wrote many books on Japanese culture and has earned accolades from the Japanese government for his expertise. Keene was a Navy intelligence officer in the Pacific during World War II, translating Japanese writings and speaking with the prisoners of war. Download MP3

The Tale of Genji

The butcher, the baker, and the cabbage gelder

As far as tedium goes, nothing competes with filling out a government form. How best to relieve the tedium? Invent stuff. Not out-and-out lie, just get a bit creative (OK, sometimes out-an-out lie: if I were to identify myself as a 90-year-old Azerbaijani woman or a Jedi knight, I would not be telling the truth) [...]

Hiroshima, Nagasaki and self-censorship

As Japan faces its biggest crisis since World War Two, here are two takes on self-censorship from those war years. A child survivor of Hiroshima explains why she kept quiet about her experiences for so long, through the pain and guilt of survival. And a Japanese examination of the self-censorship of American newspaper reporters and editors in the weeks after Hiroshima and Nagasaki.[...]

The vocoder, the linguistic robot and the Dead Rabbit

In this week’s World in Words, writer Dave Tompkins on how the sound-distorting vocoder morphed from a wartime security device into one of Hip Hop’s favorite toys. Also, English teachers in South Korea don’t come cheap. One Korean school is trying an alternative: a robot. Plus, new limits for foreign reporters in China, and the man who brought Jägermeister out of the forests of Saxony onto campus parties everywhere [...]

Tuareg tales and the R word

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In this week’s World in Words podcast, we hear about an initiative in Mali to preserve the Tamasheq language, spoken by a dwindling number of the nomadic Tuareg people. Also, a conversation about the literary merits of the King James Bible, which turns 400 in 2011. And, the R word: rationing. which among some Americans is R-rated when it comes to health care. But in Britain, rationing is part of the national psyche: it got the country through two world wars, and its collectivist values are at the core of Britain’s government-run health service. Download MP3

Eastern Europe’s ‘Bloodlands’

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The opening of Soviet and East European archives has provided historians a tidal wave of new information about the crimes of Soviet leader Josef Stalin. Brigid McCarthy reports on one historian’s work. Download MP3
Excerpt of Timothy Snyder’s ‘Bloodlands’

London subway station reopens as museum

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Aldwych underground station, near central London’s Covent Garden, provided refuge to thousands of Britons who slept on the platforms and huddled on train tracks during the constant German air raids between September 1940 and May 1941. All sold-out tours are being conducted this weekend only by actors in 1940s clothing. Laura Lynch managed to get on one of them. Download MP3

Decaying bombs

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Follow the Leine River for today’s Geo Quiz. That river takes you to central Germany and to the German state of Lower Saxony.

World Books Review: An Australian Masterpiece

Australian writer Elizabeth Jolley’s celebrated Vera Wright trilogy, available here in its entirety for the first time, memorably explores the infinite intricacies of the human heart.

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