Reader's Corner

On May 30th, 1912, Wilbur Wright died peacefully in his own bed in the family home in Dayton, Ohio. He was 45 years old. The cause of death was typhoid, which he may have contracted from eating tainted clam broth in a Boston restaurant. But Orville Wright and members of the Wright family believed Wilbur’s death was attributable to the stress he experienced fighting their archenemy and main competi...

Those of us who grew up playing the board game “Monopoly” likely remember the thrill of landing on an up-for-grabs Boardwalk or Park Place, and buying the pricey properties with our stash of brightly colored fake money. We might also recall the feeling of trepidation when we landed on those same properties after they had been purchased and improved by someone else, knowing we would have to pay an...

Leon Panetta’s long service to our country is surely unique in the number of incredibly high level and tough assignments he has held and held to acclaim. A lawyer, he has directed the U.S. office for Civil Rights. He represented his Central California district in Congress for 16 years, rising to the chairmanship of the Budget Committee. He headed the Office of Management and Budget early in Bill C...

“Three shots. That’s all it takes to change the course of American history.”

History books are full of stories about the dangers and deprivations endured by soldiers who fought in the Civil War. What may be less well known are the challenges faced by journalists of the day who risked everything to get to the front lines of battle.

For nearly a century, The Bassett Furniture Company was the center of life in the town of Bassett, Virginia, just as its wealthy namesake family was the foundation of the town’s prosperity. But that all changed in the 1980s, when cheaper Chinese products began flooding the American furniture market. The imports threatened the Bassett family legacy, as well as the livelihoods of hundreds of Virgini...

This interview was originally broadcast in July, 2015

This is an encore interview with Matt Richtel. It was originally broadcast in November, 2014.

In 1987, President Ronald Reagan challenged the Soviet Union’s Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall.” Two years later, the Berlin Wall was inexplicably opened, allowing East Germans free access to the West for the first time since 1961.

This program was originally broadcast in April of 2015.

This interview was originally broadcast in December, 2013:

This interview for Reader's Corner was originally broadcast in December of 2013:

This interview was originally broadcast in February of 2015

This program was originally broadcast in April, 2015

This interview was originally broadcast in November, 2005.

In 2005, Reader's Corner had the privilege of welcoming author Samuel Pisar to the program. He was one of the youngest survivors of the Holocaust, an adviser to President John F. Kennedy, a friend and admirer of Idaho Senator Frank Church and a world renowned international lawyer. Over the course of an hour – twice as long as the interview was scheduled to last – Dr. Pisar shared stories from his...

This Reader's Corner interview was originally broadcast in February, 2015

This interview was first broadcast in January of 2015.

For as long as humans have walked the Earth, we’ve been making changes to it – oftentimes with little or no comprehension about the far-reaching consequences of our actions. But in her book, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, Elizabeth Kolbert opens our eyes to the powerful and possibly catastrophic mass extinction unfolding right in front of us.

This interview was originally broadcast in September of 2013.

This interview was first broadcast in December of 2014.

This is an encore interview and was first broadcast in June, 2014.

The story told by Jan Jarboe Russell in her book, “The Train to Crystal City,” will have a familiar ring to those who know about the World War II internment camp at Minidoka, Idaho.

This interview was broadcast first in January of 2013.

This Reader's Corner interview was originally broadcast in September of 2013.