Lenny Bruce Is Not Afraid (1962)

We continue our conversation about the Bay of Pigs invasion with a look at how it all went wrong on the two days of combat in Cuba. Plus, the long-term lessons for JFK, the CIA, and US foreign policy.Join our America250 newsletter community! Subscribe for free to get the latest n ...  Show more

For the sixteenth installment of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we go, for the first time to the Cold War. It’s April 1961, and the US is concerned about Cuba’s new leftist leader, Fidel Castro. The US has a new leader of its own, JFK, who adopts - and adapts - a plan from Eisenh ...  Show more

Jazz pianist Jason Moran brings us an exploration into the life and work of James Reese Europe and how the infamous 369th Infantry Regiment - also known as the Harlem Hellfighters - crossed racial lines and brought jazz to Europe. Joe Young of New York Public Radio talks about ho ...  Show more

In the 1960s, Lenny Bruce was a trailblazing standup comedian who took aim at American culture. Bruce clashed frequently with law enforcement, but his decisive legal battle began in 1964. Bruce faced obscenity charges over one of his performances. He also faced a criminal-just ...

Rick Rubin speaks with the great Joan Baez fresh off her birthday and the announcement that she'll be among this year's Kennedy Center honorees! Joan was known the world over as the Queen of Folk at the height of her career in the 60s. She used her fame to help spread the tenets ...  Show more

Bruce Springsteen is a national treasure. Since his debut album nearly 50 years ago, Springsteen has helped define the American working-class psyche through a collection of world-renowned hit songs. In this interview with Malcolm Gladwell and Rick Rubin, Bruce talks about how lis ...  Show more