Radio Diaries

Our country is so politically polarized these days, it’s hard to remember a time when Republicans and Democrats could agree on anything at all. In today’s episode, we’re going back almost 80 years, to another extremely polarized moment in American history. It was 1940, and the U.S. was deeply divided about engaging in World War II. Franklin Roosevelt was running for his third term, facing a Republican challenger, Wendell Wilkie. But that election season, the Republican Party, The Democrats, and even the Communist Party managed to agree on one thing: A song. It was called “Ballad for Americans.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

A record-breaking number of women are running for Congress in the midterm elections this November. There are 257, dwarfing all previous years. And in 2020, we’ll likely see a record number of women running for President as well. It's a historic moment for women in politics. But what many people don’t know is that - over the years - there have actually been more than 35 women who have run for President. Today on the show we have three stories of women who launched bids to be President of the United States: Victoria Woodhull, Margaret Chase Smith, and Shirley Chisholm. These stories are part of our series, Contenders. Sponsored by Quip - get your first refill pack FREE by going to getquip.com/diaries. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Sergeant Furman Camel spent 27 years in a North Carolina Prison. That's as many years as Nelson Mandela spent behind bars. But Camel did his time, as likes to say, in 8 hour shifts. "I wear this uniform with pride. Everyday that I come in here I'm creased down. My shoes are shined. And I smell good. The uniform is 90% of the job. Looking the part." In this episode we bring you audio diaries from the prison guards who work at Polk Youth Institution. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

We gave Judge Jeremiah, a Rhode Island juvenile court judge, and Matthew, a 16-year-old repeat offender, tape recorders. Through their audio diaries, Matthew and the judge tell the same story from two different sides of the bench. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

During the war in Vietnam, there was a notorious American military prison on the outskirts of Saigon, called Long Binh Jail. But LBJ wasn’t for captured enemy fighters, it was for American soldiers. These were men who had broken military law. And there were a lot of them. As the unpopular war dragged on, discipline frayed and soldiers started to rebel. By the summer of 1968, over half the men in Long Binh Jail were locked up on AWOL charges. Some were there for more serious crimes, others for small stuff, like refusing to get a haircut. The stockade had become extremely overcrowded. Originally built to house 400 inmates, it became crammed with over 700 men, more than half African American. On August 29th, 1968, the situation erupted. Fifty years later, we’re bringing you that story. Sponsors:  Quip – Get first refill pack FREE by going to www.getquip.com/diaries Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

On August 6, 1945 the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. It was the first time a nuclear weapon had been used in warfare. There were three strike planes that flew over Hiroshima that day: the Enola Gay which carried the bomb, and two escort planes, the Great Artiste and the Necessary Evil. Russell Gackenbach was a Second Lieutenant and a navigator on the mission. Today, he is the only surviving crew member from those three planes. Know someone who’d make a good Last Witness? Get in touch! You can find us on Twitter and Facebook, use the hashtag #LastWitness. Sponsors: LinkedIn – Get $50 off your first job posting at www.linkedin.com/diaries and use code DIARIES at checkout. Quip – Get first refill pack FREE by going to www.getquip.com/diaries Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Nelson Mandela would have been 100 years old this week. And we’re marking the anniversary by bringing you our documentary, Mandela: An Audio History. This award-winning series chronicles the struggle against apartheid through intimate first-person accounts of Nelson Mandela himself, as well as those who fought with him, and against him. ************* Sponsors: _ LinkedIn,  get $50 off your first job posting at www.linkedin.com/diaries and use code DIARIES at checkout._ Bombas, a sock company on a mission. Get 20% off at www.bombas.com/diaries and use code DIARIES at checkout. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The story of William Cimillo, a New York City bus driver who snapped one day in 1947 and went on a 1,300 mile detour with his bus… to Florida. ************* This episode is sponsored by  Quip. _ _Brush Better with a new kind of toothbrush. Go to www.getquip.com/diaries to get your first refill pack FREE. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

On June 15, 1904, a steamship called the General Slocum left the pier on East Third Street in New York City just after 9 AM. The boat was filled with more than 1,300 residents of the Lower East Side. Many of the passengers were recent German immigrants who were headed up the east river for a church outing, a boat cruise and picnic on Long Island. But they would never make it. We interviewed the last living survivor of the General Slocum, Adella Wotherspoon, when she was 100 years old. Today we’re bringing you her story as part of our series, Last Witness. Plus, a portrait of the last civilian lighthouse keeper in the U.S. Know someone who’d make a good Last Witness? Get in touch! You can find us on Twitter and Facebook, use the hashtag #LastWitness. Sponsors: Bombas – Get 20% off at www.bombas.com/diaries and use code DIARIES at checkout. LinkedIn – Get $50 off your first job posting at www.linkedin.com/diaries and use code DIARIES at checkout. TalkSpace – Go to www.talkspace.com/PRX and use code PRX to get $45 off your first month. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

On May 31, 1921, six-year-old Olivia Hooker was home with her family when a group of white men launched an attack on the Greenwood section of Tulsa, Oklahoma. In less than 24 hours, the mobs destroyed more than 1000 homes and businesses. It’s estimated as many as 300 people were killed. The Tulsa Race Riot is considered one of the worst incidents of racial violence in American history. Olivia Hooker, now 103, is the last surviving witness to the events of that day. Know someone who’d make a good Last Witness? Get in touch! You can find us on Twitter and Facebook, use the hashtag #LastWitness. Sponsors: Bombas – Get 20% off at www.bombas.com/diaries and use code DIARIES at checkout. LinkedIn – Get $50 off your first job posting at www.linkedin.com/diaries and use code DIARIES at checkout. TalkSpace – Go to www.talkspace.com/PRX and use code PRX to get $45 off your first month. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices