The Story of Writing

The U.S. buys Florida from Spain, Willis Carrier draws up plans for an air conditioner, the International Criminal Court is established, and it's the birthday of comedian Phyllis Diller - with a reading from her joke book.

It is the birthday of Ida B. Wells and the anniversaries of the publishing of J. D. Salinger's classic novel "The Catcher in the Rye" and the launching of Apollo 11, the first space mission that carried people to the moon. This episode includes a reading from Well's speech "Lynch Law in America."

Finding the Rosetta Stone, the Spanish Inquisition ends, Alzheimers is named, and the birthday club includes Clement Clark Moore and Iris Murdoch - with a reading from Murdoch's "The Sea, The Sea."

It is Bastille Day, U.S. President John Adams signed the Sedition Act, Chicago experiences its second catastrophic fire in three years, and it's the birthday of Woody Guthrie - with a reading from his song "Pretty Boy Floyd."

The birthday club includes Margaret Murray: the "Grandmother of Wicca," journalist George Weller, and Cameron Crowe - with a reading from Crowe's memoir "The Uncool."

It is "Thoreau-Neruda" Day! And it's the birthday of author and editor Doris Grumbach. This episode includes a reading from Thoreau's essay "Walking."

America's most famous duel, between Burr and Hamilton, takes place, "To Kill A Mockingbird" is published, a mid-air disaster leaves an indelible legacy, and the birthday club includes E. B. White and Jhumpa Lahiri - with a reading from White's "Here Is New York."

French King Louis XVI declares war on Great Britain to help the American colonists win their independence from the British and the birthday club includes Marcel Proust and Mary McLeod Bethune - with a reading from her magazine piece "My Last Will and Testament."

The Mozart Family Grand Tour begins, the 14th Amendment is ratified, the Russell-Einstein Manifesto goes public, and it's the birthday of Oliver Sacks - with a reading from his book "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales."

The Wall Street Journal publishes its first edition, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hits its lowest point in the 20th Century, and the Nixon Administration changes how it would work with indigenous people in the U.S., and it's the birthday of science historian Margaret Rossiter - with a reading from Matilda Joslyn Gage's "Woman as Inventor."

In New York City, riots break out against abolition of slavery, the U.S. begins its first military draft, the Ziegfeld Follies begin a 20-year run, and bakeries start selling sliced bread - with a reading from Countee Cullen's poem "Bread and Wine."

Louis Pasteur uses a vaccine to save a nine-year-old boy who was mauled by a rabid dog, Jackie Robinson refuses to move to the back of a military bus, and the birthday club includes Marc Chagall and Viola Desmond - with a reading of Lucille Clifton's poem "won't you celebrate with me."

Isaac Newton publishes his masterwork: "Principia," Frederick Douglass gives his enduring speech "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" The bikini makes a splash when it's introduced at a swimming pool in Paris and it is Bill Watterson's birthday - with a reading from William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

The writing - and politics - of the Declaration of Independence - with a reading from a letter from delegate Benjamin Rush to U.S. President John Adams.

General George Washington takes command of the Continental Army, and the Battle of Gettysburg comes to an end, and it's the birthday of writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman - with a reading from her short story "If I Were A Man."

The U.S. decides to sever ties with the UK, the ship "Amistad" was overtaken by Africans kidnapped to become slaves in America, Jean Sibelius's "Finlandia" premieres, signing the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and the birthday club includes Hermann Hesse and Thurgood Marshall - with a reading from Hesse's letter to a reader who expressed hopelessness.

The oldest surviving benchmarks for global sea level tells a grim tale, the U.S. Civil War Battle of Gettysburg begins, Canada is born, the WWI Battle of the Somme begins, and it's the birthday of George Sand - with a reading from one of her letters to one of her former lovers.

The Wilberforce-Huxley evolution debate at Oxford becomes an exchange of thinly veiled insults, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the Yosemite Valley Grant Act, Albert Einstein publishes On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies, the National Organization for Women is established, and it's the birthday of Joan Murrell Owens - with a reading from Rachel Carson's "The Edge of the Sea."

Fire rips through Shakespeare's Globe Theater in London and the birthday club includes Celia Thaxter, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, and Stokely Carmichael - with a reading from Carmichael's speech to UC Berkeley.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated, European powers sign the Treaty of Versailles, and it's Mel Brooks' birthday - with a reading from his memoir "All About Me! My Remarkable Life in Show Business."

The birthday club includes Emma Goldman, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Helen Keller, and Grace Lee Boggs - with a reading from Boggs' "The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the 21st Century."

American soldiers arrive in France to join the Allies fighting WWI, the Allies that won Victory in Europe signed the charter creating the United Nations, Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery" was first published, J. K. Rowling published her first Harry Potter novel in the UK, and it's the birthday of Pearl S. Buck - with a reading from Buck's "My Several Worlds: A Personal Record."

Custer makes his last stand and the birthday club includes David Douglas and George Orwell - with a reading from Orwell's "1984."

The birthday club includes Ambrose Bierce and Mary Wesley - with a reading from Wesley's "The Camomile Lawn."

The U.S. approves its first birth-control pill, Title IX is amended, Nixon incriminates himself, and it's the 10th anniversary of Brexit - with a reading from Julie Phillips' "What Contraception Meant to a Century of Women Writers."

Establishing the U.S. Department of Justice and the Cuyahoga River catches on fire, again. This episode includes a reading from a speech in 1866 by Ohio Representative William Lawrence on the need for a Department of Justice.

Marie-Joseph Angelique is sentenced to death for burning Old Montreal, three voting-rights organizers are murdered in Mississippi, and it is Jean-Paul Sartre's birthday - with a reading from Sartre's "Nausea."

Samuel Morse gets the patent for the telegraph, the destructive Detroit race riot of 1943 begins, and it is the birthday of Lillian Hellman - with a reading from her book "An Unfinished Woman: A Memoir."

The first game of baseball, Juneteenth, and JFK's civil rights legislation - with readings from Ralph Ellison and JFK, himself.Link to the Juneteenth reading list compiled by the National Museum of African American History and Culturehttps://nmaahc.si.edu/visit/museum-store/juneteenth-reading-list

Napoleon Bonaparte is defeated at Waterloo, Charles Darwin learns that another naturalist is about to publish a theory of evolution nearly identical to Darwin's, England's PM Winston Churchill gives his speech now called "Their Finest Hour," and it is the birthday of Paul McCartney and Roger Ebert - with a reading from Churchill's speech "Their Finest Hour."

Sir Francis Drake makes a land claim on America's Pacific Coast that inspired the idea of Manifest Destiny. The Battle of Bunker Hill - the first salvo in America's Revolutionary War - begins near Boston, the Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor, Nixon's so-called "plumbers" break into the Democratic Party headquarters in Washington D.C.'s Watergate Building, and U.S. legislators make Juneteenth a national holiday.

The first Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is formed, Abraham Lincoln gives his "A House Divided" speech, it is Bloomsday! And it is the birthday of novelist Joyce Carol Oates - with a reading from her book "Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang."

England's King John signs the Magna Carta, Arlington National Cemetery is established, and the birthday club includes Josiah Henson and Harry Nilsson - with a reading from Nilsson's song "Everybody's Talking."

It's Flag Day in the U.S., Charles Babbage proposes his "difference engine," the Bear Flag Revolt made northern Mexico the U.S. state of California, and it is Harriet Beecher Stowe's birthday - with a reading from her landmark novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin."

Miranda rights become a requirement, Thurgood Marshall is nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court, "The New York Times" starts publishing the Pentagon Papers, and it is the birthday of poet William Butler Yeats. This episode includes a reading of the poem by Yeats "When You Are Old."

The state of Virginia adopts George Mason's Declaration of Rights, Anne Frank is given a blank diary for her 13th birthday, and SCOTUS announces its ruling in Loving v. Virginia, and the birthday club includes Rona Jaffe. This episode includes a reading from Jaffe's book "Class Reunion."

!!Content Warning!! This episode includes descriptions of suicide, racism, and murder as a hate crimeThe story of a day: this day in 1963 began with the self-immolation of a Buddhist monk in Vietnam, it saw racism in the University of Alabama, a Presidential speech on the importance of enforcing civil rights protections, and the day ended with the murder of NAACP activist Medgar Evers.

The Salem Witch Trials result in executions and the birthday club includes Blues man Howlin' Wolf and author Saul Bellow. This episode includes a reading from Bellow's "Seize the Day."

France and China sign the Treaty of Tientsin - making Vietnam a French colony and the birthday club includes Cole Porter, Robert McNamara, and Jackie Wilson - with a reading from Porter's "Let's Do It, Let's Fall In Love."

James Madison proposes 12 Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, the Antiquities Act passes Congress, and George Orwell publishes his milestone novel "!984." It is Joan Rivers' birthday and this episode includes a reading from Orwell's "!984."

On Gwendolyn Brooks' birthday, we look at her writing and this episode includes a lengthy diatribe/response to a right-wing, disinformation piece.

The World War II Battles of Midway and D-Day are both tied to this day and the birthday club includes Alexander Pushkin, Angelo Moriondo, and Thomas Mann - with a reading from Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin."

Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is published, U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy is assassinated, "Tank Man" becomes a symbol for democracy by stopping a line of tanks in Tiananmen Square, and it is Federico Garcia Lorca's birthday, with a reading of his poem "Sonnet of the Sweet Complaint."

Winston Churchill addresses the House of Commons after the evacuation of Dunkirk, and June 4th in 1989 saw big changes in Beijing, Tehran, and throughout Poland and what was then called the "Eastern Bloc" - with a reading from Churchill's speech "We Shall Fight On the Beaches."

Peter Abelard becomes one of the first to use logic in order to understand faith. He was then tried and convicted of heresy. This episode includes a reading from Abelard's book, "The Story of My Misfortunes."

England's lawmakers enflame American passions for revolution by expanding the Quartering Act and the birthday club includes Thomas Hardy, Dorothy West, and Norton Juster - with a reading from West's column in the Vineyard Gazette.

French poet Charles Baudelaire publishes his landmark book "Flowers of Evil," Senator Margaret Charles Smith gives her speech the "Declaration of Conscience," and the birthday club includes Charles Kay Ogden, Colleen McCullough - with a reading from Baudelaire's "Flowers of Evil."

The birthday club includes Walt Whitman, Fred Allen, Al Young, and Svetlana Alexievich - with a reading from Whitman's "Song of the Banner at Daybreak."

On his birthday, remembering the writer Countee Cullen, a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance. This episode includes a reading of Cullen's poem "Saturday's Child."

The birthday club includes Countee Cullen, James Chaney, and Idina Menzel - with a reading of Cullen's poem "Saturday's Child."