EP299: Origin of the Phrase "In a Nutshell" a...

On this episode of Our American Stories, before modern sanitation, cities were filthy, drinking water was often contaminated, and diseases like cholera and typhoid killed hundreds of thousands of people. Life in even the world's greatest cities could be dangerous, all because of ...  Show more

On this episode of Our American Stories, before television and smartphones, there were front porches, and there were storytellers. For Dennis Peterson, the greatest storyteller he ever knew was his grandfather, Frederick Newman “Paw” Summers, an East Tennessee jack-of-all-trades ...  Show more

This week, James Marcus goes partying with Susan Sontag and George Steiner; and Laura Beers sheds a light on Eileen O'Shaughnessy, George Orwell's first wife.'Maestros and monsters: Days and nights with Susan Sontag and GeorgeSteiner', by Robert Boyers'Wifedom: Mrs Orwell's invis ...  Show more

For the final installment in the Wonder Women series, Diane von Fürstenberg—the woman behind the iconic fashion line—welcomes Katie and Brian to her company's Manhattan headquarters for a conversation about her full and colorful life. They discuss her wide-ranging philanthropy, h ...  Show more

Dung Ha (c. 1965-2000) was a powerful Vietnamese gangster who challenged the “Godfather of Saigon.” She broke gender expression rules and sexuality norms, creating a name for herself that lives on today. For Further Reading: Dung Ha: Vietnam’s Lesbian Mob Boss Dung Hà Police Fina ...  Show more

This week, Ysenda Maxtone Graham on the women who fought their way into horticulture; and Mary Beard leads us down a Homeric rabbit hole.'An almost impossible thing: the radical lives of Britain's pioneering women gardeners', by Fiona Davison'Homer and his Iliad', by Robin Lane F ...  Show more