Marian Anderson was one of the most popular and talented operatic singers in the 20th century. The African-American contralto overcame childhood poverty to sing with major orchestras throughout the United States and Europe between 1925 and 1965. In 1923 Anderson was the first black artist to record for RCA Victor. She became the first African-American singer to perform at the Metropolitan Opera. In addition, Anderson worked as a delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Committee, and as a Goodwill Ambassador for the U.S. State Department. She participated in the civil rights movement in the 1960s, and was awarded the first Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963. Anderson also received the Congressional Gold Medal in 1977, the Kennedy Center Honors in 1978, the National Medal of Arts in 1986, and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1991. You will hear Marion Anderson perform on the Magic Key of RCA radio show on NBC in 1936. Her legendary 1939 performance before an integrated audience of 75,000 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. that racists tried to block. Then finally a 1959 interview with Jeanne Hamm on WWVA Radio.

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It is often called the Forgotten Conflict. The Korean War was started by North Korea in 1950, assisted by Russia and China. They attacked South Korea backed by the United States and other allies. The fighting stopped 1953. Approximately 3 million people died in the Korean War, the majority were civilians. The United States suffered 54,248 deaths. We have a report on the war by the CBS Radio news program Hear It Now, from the week of December 29th, 1950. This was one of the first news programs to use tape-recorded audio to capture the sound of newsmakers and major events. Then from 1953, we have one of the few Korean War radio dramas from a show called Proudly We Hail about the mission to capture a Russian fighter jet.

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Jack Webb was an American actor, television producer, director, and screenwriter, who is most famous for his role as Sgt. Joe Friday in the TV police series Dragnet. But Webb was also a crusader in the fight for civil rights. After serving in World War Two, Webb worked in radio, and in 1946 had his own comedy show on ABC. That same year he was host of a one-man program called, One Out of Seven on ABC's KGO Radio in San Francisco. Jack Webb would dramatized a news story from the previous week, performing in as many as seven voices. As you will hear, Webb used his voices to attack racial prejudice.

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Golden age radio was filled with situation comedies, detective shows, and variety programs, but there were also a few legal dramas on the air. Fictional attorney Perry Mason based on the novels of Erle Stanley Gardner, and first appeared on CBS Radio in 1943 as a soap opera before becoming a popular TV show in 1957. We have a Perry Mason series from 1949. Mr District Attorney was a radio drama which aired from 1939 to 1952. The series focused on a crusading county prosecutor. You'll hear an episode from 1942. And finally, there was a unique NBC show in 1954 called Case Dismissed. It focused on how fragile liberty and justice can be, and the battle to preserve our legal rights. In it, we'll learn a lesson about the responsibility of eye witnesses.

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Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in 1925. He was an African-American Muslim minister and human rights activist and a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. As spokesman for the Nation of Islam until 1964, he was a vocal advocate for black empowerment. Malcolm was not an advocate of non-violence, especially when blacks were being physically abused, beaten, and killed by racists. He also felt it would be best for the races to remain segregated. But after a pilgrimage to Mecca, he renounced those views and broke ties with the Nation of Islam. Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965, as he prepared to give a speech in a Manhattan ballroom. Two of the men convicted in the killing later cut all ties with the Nation of Islam. We have two interviews with Malcolm X On WMCA's Barry Gray Show in 1960, and on WNYC with Eleanor Fischer in 1961.

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Comic strips first began appearing in newspapers during the late 1800s. In most of the 20th century there were at least 200 different comic strips and cartoon panels appearing in American newspapers every day. Many cartoon characters were adapted for radio, and a few remain popular. Blondie was created in 1930 by cartoonist Chic Young. In 1939 the Blondie Show appeared on radio and lasted until 1950. We'll hear an episode from 1940. Beetle Bailey and other characters were featured on the Comic Weekly Man Show. From 1947 to 1954 Lon Clark would read comics from the newspapers and perform all the male voices. We'll hear an episode from 1953. Archie Andrews was created by John Goldwater, Bob Montana, and Vic Bloom in 1941. Archie first appeared on radio in 1943. We have an episode from 1946, Archie was on radio through 1953.

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This podcast is about Billie Holiday, one of the most popular singers of the jazz age. Lady Day was born born Eleanora Fagan in 1915. While surviving a difficult childhood she developed a unique vocal style, improvisational skills, and pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. Holiday won a recording contract in 1935 and immediately produced her first big hit. "What a Little Moonlight Can Do", became an instant jazz standard. Billie Holiday remained a very popular recording artist and concert performer through the 1940s and '50s. She died of cirrhosis in 1959, at the young age of 44. Holiday won four Grammy Awards, and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. You're going to hear Lady Day help teach a course in music history on New World A Coming in 1944. She performs on the popular Arthur Godfrey Show on CBS Radio in 1947 which also features the Mariners, one of the first popular integrated singing quartets. You'll also hear Billie Holiday interviewed on CBC Radio in 1951, and she performs live at Storyville in Boston on WMEX Radio in 1953.

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Before there was National Public Radio, All Things Considered, and Morning Edition, there was NBC Monitor, a weekend-long radio program, broadcast live and nationwide. It was an attempt compete with television which was stealing radio's audience. Monitor featured a mix of news, sports, comedy, variety, music, celebrity interviews and features. Monitor first went on the air June 12th, 1955. You will hear a segment from June 26th, 1955. Monitor ended its run in January of 1975, as many radio stations were using local DJ's and personalities instead of national network programing. In 1971 the NPR flagship program All Things Considered went on the air, using elements of the Monitor format.

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