Shows
Radio DiariesIdentical StrangersPaula Bernstein and Elyse Schein were both born in New York City and adopted as infants. When they were 35 years old, they met and found they were “identical strangers.”This story originally aired on NPR in 2007. Liked this story? Donate and find more of our stories at www.radiodiaries.org. Follow us @radiodiaries on Bluesky and Instagram.
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2025-10-2317 min
Radio DiariesThe Detainees of Crystal CityTo justify mass deportations, President Trump has invoked an old wartime law: the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The Alien Enemies Act was last used after America’s entry into World War II. In response to the Axis countries’ detainment of Americans who were deemed potential spies, the Roosevelt Administration came up with an elaborate plan: find and arrest Germans, Japanese and Italians living in Latin America and detain them in camps in the U.S. The government would use them to exchange for American prisoners of war.Liked this story? Find photos and more at radiodi...
2025-06-1316 min
Radio DiariesGuest Spotlight: The Memory Palace with Nate DiMeoHappy 2025! We have a slate of new stories coming soon, but we want to start the year by shouting out fellow podcaster (and friend of the show) Nate DiMeo of The Memory Palace. He just put out his first book, The Memory Palace: True Short Stories of the Past. So to celebrate, we're featuring one of our favorite episodes from The Memory Palace, "These Words, Forever." Joe also sat down with Nate to chat about his book, storytelling and the dream of having a device that could allow you to hear anything. Find Nate's book The Memory P...
2025-01-0913 min
Radio DiariesTeen ContenderIf you follow boxing, you've heard of Claressa Shields. At the 2012 Olympics, she became the first American woman to win gold in boxing. She repeated the feat 4 years later, becoming the first American boxer — woman or otherwise — to win consecutive medals. Now, she's the subject of a new movie called The Fire Inside, tracing her journey to Olympic stardom.Claressa Shields' story was one of our earliest at Radio Diaries. We gave her a tape recorder and asked her to document her journey leading up to the 2012 Olympics. She was sixteen at the time. Today, we revisit the...
2024-12-2321 min
Radio DiariesLast Witness: The Kerner CommissionFormer Oklahoma senator Fred Harris died recently, at 94 years old. In 1967, Fred Harris and 10 senators came together and released the Kerner Report, a 1400-page explanation of the causes of the protests that filled American cities that summer. It was an instant — and unlikely — bestseller, selling over half a million copies in just three weeks, getting shoutouts by celebrities like Marlon Brando, and sparking debates on news programs throughout the country. The book talked about white racism at a time when that phrase was mostly used by Black activists, not white politicians. Fred Harris was the last surviving member of the...
2024-12-0512 min
Radio DiariesA Guitar, A Cello and the Day that Changed MusicNovember 23, 1936 was a good day for recorded music. Two men, an ocean apart, sat before a microphone and began to play. One, Pablo Casals, was a cello prodigy who had performed for the Queen of Spain. The other, Robert Johnson, played guitar and was a regular in the juke joints of the Mississippi Delta. These recordings would change music history.This episode originally aired on NPR in 2011.****Right now is Radiotopia's Annual Fall Fundraiser! If just 1% of our listeners donated, we would hit our goal TODAY. Donate today at radiotopia.fm./donate. Thanks so...
2024-11-2117 min
Radio DiariesThe Almost Astronaut (Revisited)When it comes to the space race, we all know names like Neil Armstrong and Yuri Gagarin. But in most moments in history, there are a few names that fall through the cracks. One of those names was Ed Dwight.When Ed was selected to train to become an astronaut, many thought he would become the first Black man to go to space — but Ed faced some unexpected hurdles. Today on the show, we bring you that story — and a surprising update on Ed's 63-year-wait to go to space. Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) and I...
2024-06-2025 min
Radio DiariesMeet Miss SubwaysMost beauty pageants promote the fantasy of the ideal woman. But for 35 years, one contest in New York City celebrated the everyday working girl: Miss Subways. Each month starting in May 1941, a young woman was elected “Miss Subways,” and her face gazed down on transit riders as they rode through the city. Her photo was accompanied by a short bio describing her hopes, dreams and aspirations. The public got to choose the winners – so Miss Subway represented the perfect New York miss. Miss Subways was one of the first integrated beauty pageants in America. An African...
2024-05-1610 min
Radio DiariesThe Gospel RangerThis year marks 90 years since Claude Ely wrote "Ain't No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down." The song was written as Ely was supposed to be on his death bed. Instead, Ely, known as the "Gospel Ranger," went on to inspire the birth of rock & roll. Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram @radiodiaries. Learn more about our stories on radiodiaries.org.
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2024-05-0216 min
Radio DiariesMandela's Election: 30 Years LaterThis month marks 30 years since Nelson Mandela became South Africa's first democratically elected president. However, the story of Mandela's rise to the presidency isn't all that simple. The four years between Mandela’s release from prison and his election to the presidency were some of the most violent in South Africa's history. That's the story you'll hear this week, as we revisit one of our favorite releases: Mandela: An Audio History.Listen to the full Mandela: An Audio History series at mandelahistory.org. Find all stories from Radio Diaries at radiodiaries.org.Follow us on X...
2024-04-1817 min
Radio DiariesMy Iron Lung (Revisited)Paul Alexander, one of two people in the U.S. still relying on an iron lung to survive, died on March 11, 2024 at the age of 78. Paul contracted polio in 1952 at six years old, and has had to rely on an iron lung — a big metal ventilator that encases the body from the neck to toes — since then. We spoke to Paul a few years ago about his life and the lessons he’s learned from living under uncommon circumstances. So, this week on the podcast, we’re sharing some of that conversation, as well as revisiting the story of the now...
2024-03-2116 min
Radio DiariesGuest Spotlight: Parakeet PanicThis week, we’re featuring an episode of a podcast we’re big fans of: The Last Archive! The Last Archive tells little known histories and how they affect our modern lives. Today’s story, “Parakeet Panic,” explores when invasive parakeets began to spread in New York City in the 1970s — and the government decided that the solution was to kill them all.
If you liked this episode, you can listen to more of The Last Archive at thelastarchive.com, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Follow us @radiodiaries on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook for...
2024-02-0142 min
Radio DiariesThe Drum Also WaltzesAt the age of 16, he played with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. He went on to make landmark recordings with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk. He’s considered one of the most important drummers in history — and he would’ve turned 100 years old this week.
Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes is a new film about the musician by award-winning filmmakers Sam Pollard and (our very own!) Ben Shapiro. Today on the podcast, we sat down with them to discuss the life and music of Max Roach, and the decades of work that went into creating the fi...
2024-01-1021 min
The Unmarked Graveyard: Stories from Hart IslandThe Unmarked Graveyard: Live at WNYCWe bring you a lot of stories each year, but we don’t often get to share the work behind them. We recently held an event at WNYC’s The Greene Space in New York City, where our subjects and producers reflected on the challenges, and joys, of telling these untold stories. For the last podcast of the year, we’re bringing you that live show: a behind the scenes look at The Unmarked Graveyard.
We want to bring you as many stories next year as we did this year — and we can’t do that without your help...
2023-12-191h 01Radio DiariesThe Unmarked Graveyard: Live at WNYCWe bring you a lot of stories each year, but we don’t often get to share the work behind them. We recently held an event at WNYC’s The Greene Space in New York City, where our subjects and producers reflected on the challenges, and joys, of telling these untold stories. For the last podcast of the year, we’re bringing you that live show: a behind the scenes look at The Unmarked Graveyard.
We want to bring you as many stories next year as we did this year — and we can’t do that without your help...
2023-12-191h 01
Radio DiariesThe Man on the President's LimoToday marks 60 years since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. There are many photos from that day in 1963, but one image in particular caught people’s attention, spreading in newspapers across the country: a photo of a Secret Service agent jumping onto the back of the presidential limousine during the shooting. Today on the podcast, the story of the man in that photo: Clint Hill.
Note: This episode contains a description of violence.
Tell a friend or share your thoughts about this story on Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and Facebook @RadioDiaries.
Radiotopia’s Fa...
2023-11-2212 min
The Unmarked Graveyard: Stories from Hart IslandThe Unmarked Graveyard: LaMont DottinBack in 1995, LaMont Dottin was 21 years old and a freshman at Queens College when, one evening, he didn’t come home.
His mother went to the local police precinct to try to report him missing, and his name was added to a list of thousands of cases that the NYPD’s Missing Persons Squad was supposed to be investigating. Then his case fell through the cracks.
This is the final episode of The Unmarked Graveyard: Stories from Hart Island. Listen to all 8 stories in our podcast feed, tell a friend and share your thoughts with us o...
2023-11-2115 minRadio DiariesThe Unmarked Graveyard: LaMont DottinBack in 1995, LaMont Dottin was 21 years old and a freshman at Queens College when, one evening, he didn’t come home.
His mother went to the local police precinct to try to report him missing, and his name was added to a list of thousands of cases that the NYPD’s Missing Persons Squad was supposed to be investigating. Then his case fell through the cracks.
This is the final episode of The Unmarked Graveyard: Stories from Hart Island. Listen to all 8 stories in our podcast feed, tell a friend and share your thoughts with us o...
2023-11-2115 min
Radio DiariesBusman's HolidayOne day in 1947, NYC bus driver William Cimillo showed up to his daily bus route, but instead of turning right, he turned left. Over the next week, he traveled 1,300 miles in his municipal bus, ending up in Hollywood, Florida. The bus had broken down, he’d run out of money, and had no way of getting home. Plus, he was now the most wanted bus driver in the country.
This story originally aired on This American Life in 2014. Go to www.radiodiaries.org to find more stories and sign up for our monthly newsletter.
Learn about yo...
2023-06-1520 min
Radio DiariesA Voicemail ValentineNowadays we’re very accustomed to recording and hearing the sound of our own voices. But in the 1930s many people were doing it for the first time. And a surprising trend began. People started sending their voices to each other, through the postal service. It was literally voice-mail.
We combed through a large collection of early voicemail at the Phono Post Archive, and we discovered that many of these audio letters have the same subject matter: love.
This story originally aired on NPR’s All Things Considered in 2018.
You can see photographs of t...
2022-02-1014 min
Radio DiariesA Real Life West Side StoryA new movie version of West Side Story is hitting theaters this week. The musical, which tells a story of romance and rivalry between white and Puerto Rican gangs in New York City, first opened on Broadway in 1957.
The story of warring youth gangs turned out to be prophetic. Just a month before the musical opened, the city was stunned by the brutal murder of a teenager from Washington Heights named Michael Farmer.
Today on the podcast, a real life West Side Story.
This story originally aired on NPR in 2007.
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2021-12-0816 min
Radio DiariesA Wrench in the WorksEvery day, we go about our lives doing thousands of routine, mundane tasks. And sometimes, we make mistakes. Human error. It happens all the time. It just doesn’t always happen in a nuclear missile silo.
On September 18, 1980, a technician was working in a Titan ll missile silo in Damascus, Arkansa, when he dropped a wrench. The tool fell and pierced a hole in the side of the missile which happened to be carrying a nuclear warhead. This is a story of an accident that nearly caused the destruction of a giant portion of the Midwest.
Th...
2021-11-0440 min
Radio DiariesWhen Borders MoveEver since Texas became a state, the Rio Grande has been the border between the U.S. and Mexico. But rivers can move — and that’s exactly what happened in 1864, when torrential rains caused it to jump its banks and go south. Suddenly the border was in a different place, and Texas had gained 700 acres of land called the Chamizal, named after a plant that grew in the area.
The Chamizal was a thorn in the side of U.S.–Mexico relations for a century until Sept. 25, 1964, when the U.S. finally gave part of the land back t...
2021-10-0714 min
Radio DiariesLast Witness: The Kerner CommissionDecades before our current debate over critical race theory, the 1968 Kerner Report pointed the finger at structural racism for creating the conditions that had triggered a series of protests in Black communities across the United States in the summer of 1967.
Former Senator Fred Harris is the last surviving member of the Kerner Commission, a group appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the protests and author the report.
This story is a part of our Last Witness series, audio portraits of the last surviving witnesses to major historical events.
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Radio...
2021-08-2612 min
Radio DiariesJuan, 25 Years LaterThis week we continue celebrating Radio Diaries’ 25th anniversary by catching up with Juan from the Teenage Diaries series, which first aired on NPR in 1996.
Juan was 17 when we first gave him a tape recorder and asked him to record his life for a few months. He and his family had recently come to the U.S. from Mexico, and they were living in a trailer home just half a block from the Rio Grande in Texas.
Now, 25 years later, Juan lives in Colorado, where he owns his own company and has three kids. On th...
2021-05-1334 min
Radio Diaries25 Years of Radio DiariesThis week marks a very special anniversary for Radio Diaries. It’s been 25 years since we first started giving people tape recorders to report on their own lives.
To celebrate, we recently checked in with our very first diarist, Amanda. Amanda was 17 when we first gave her a clunky cassette recorder and asked her to record her life for a few months. Her story about coming out of the closet as gay and clashing with her Catholic parents was part of a series called Teenage Diaries that aired on NPR in 1996.
Now, 25 years later, Amanda is...
2021-04-3026 min
Radio DiariesBusman's HolidayOne day in 1947, NYC bus driver William Cimillo showed up to his daily bus route, but instead of turning left, he turned right. Over the next week, he traveled 1,300 miles in his municipal bus, ending up in Hollywood, Florida. The bus had broken down, he’d run out of money, and had no way of getting home. Plus, he was now the most wanted bus driver in the country.
This story originally aired on This American Life. Go to www.radiodiaries.org to find more stories and sign up for our monthly newsletter.
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We...
2021-04-1520 min
This DayQuick Update, Question, Recommendation (2020)Jody with a quick update on our post-election coverage. We’re recording on Friday morning with the question “What historical moment are you thinking about in this moment?” Email us thisdaypod@gmail.com or find a form at thisdaypod.com
In the meantime, if you’re looking for something to listen to, check out the latest episode of Radio Diaries, about the history of the concession speech. It’s great.
https://www.radiodiaries.org/how-to-lose-election/
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2020-11-0502 minThis DayQuick Update, Question, Recommendation (2020)Jody with a quick update on our post-election coverage. We’re recording on Friday morning with the question “What historical moment are you thinking about in this moment?” Email us thisdaypod@gmail.com or find a form at thisdaypod.com
In the meantime, if you’re looking for something to listen to, check out the latest episode of Radio Diaries, about the history of the concession speech. It’s great.
https://www.radiodiaries.org/how-to-lose-election/
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
2020-11-0502 min
Radio DiariesMarch of the Bonus ArmyIn the summer of 1932, a group of World War I veterans in Portland, Oregon hopped a freight train and started riding the rails to Washington DC. They were demanding immediate payment of a cash bonus the government had promised them after the war – but delayed until 1945. More than 20,000 veterans and their families arrived in the nation’s capital. They established a tent city and vowed to stay until their demands were met. But, in a historic confrontation, General Douglas MacArthur’s Army troops routed the veterans and burned their camp to the ground. This is the story of the Bonus...
2020-09-1016 min
Radio DiariesLove at First QuarantineGali Beeri and Joshua Boliver both live in New York City and they were both single back in March when the city was preparing to lock down. Then they decided to quarantine together, after their very first date. Their story is part of our series Hunker Down Diaries, a collaboration with NPR, bringing you stories of people in unexpected situations during the pandemic. If you have an idea for the series, write to hunkerdown@radiodiaries.org or find us on Facebook and Twitter.
Music this week from Blue Dot Sessions, Yo La Tengo, and “Blaze & Sybil's Lullaby” by Alia...
2020-05-1520 min
Radio DiariesLove from Six Feet ApartMost of the country is social distancing in public, but some people are doing it under the same roof. Robert Jackson is 71 and had a kidney transplant four years ago. His immune system is severely compromised. His wife, Wendy Jackson, is a pediatric emergency room physician. She runs the risk of being exposed to the coronavirus at work. So the couple made the difficult decision to live together... six feet apart. Their story is part of our series Hunker Down Diaries, a collaboration with NPR, bringing you stories of people in unexpected situations during the pandemic. If you have...
2020-04-2420 min
Radio DiariesCentenarians in LockdownJoe Newman is 107 years old. He was 5 during the flu pandemic of 1918. Today, he lives in a senior apartment complex in Sarasota, Florida with his fiancé, Anita Sampson. The complex is on lockdown, so we sent them a recorder and they interviewed each other on Anita's 100th birthday.
This story is the first in a new series called Hunker Down Diaries, surprising stories from people thrown together by the pandemic. Produced in collaboration with NPR. In the coming weeks we’ll be bringing you more stories about a teenager in foster care, the daily life of hospital workers, ...
2020-04-1013 min
Radio DiariesVoicemail ValentineNowadays we’re very accustomed to recording and hearing the sound of our own voices. But in the 1930s many people were doing it for the first time. And a surprising trend began. People started sending their voices to each other, through the postal service. It was literally: voice-mail.
We combed through a large collection of early voicemail at the Phono Post Archive, and we discovered that many of these audio letters have the same subject matter: love.
You can see photographs of the voice-o-graphs on our website: http://www.radiodiaries.org/a-voicemail-valentine/
Learn ab...
2020-02-0614 min
Connecting VetsRadio Diaries presents "Prisoners of War"VetStory is proud to present "Prisoners of War", from the Radio Diaries podcast. This is the untold story of US service members who did time in an American military prison during the height of the Vietnam conflict.*Discretion is advised*This story was produced by Sarah Kate Kramer for Radio Diaries, with help from Joe Richman and Nellie Gilles [GILL-es] and was edited by Deborah George and Ben Shapiro. To hear more stories from Radio Diaries, subscribe to their podcast. Use your podcast app of choice or visit www.radiodiaries.org. Radio Diaries is part...
2020-01-3022 min
VetStoryRadio Diaries presents "Prisoners of War"VetStory is proud to present "Prisoners of War", from the Radio Diaries podcast. This is the untold story of US service members who did time in an American military prison during the height of the Vietnam conflict.*Discretion is advised*This story was produced by Sarah Kate Kramer for Radio Diaries, with help from Joe Richman and Nellie Gilles [GILL-es] and was edited by Deborah George and Ben Shapiro. To hear more stories from Radio Diaries, subscribe to their podcast. Use your podcast app of choice or visit www.radiodiaries.org. Radio Diaries is part...
2020-01-3022 min
Radio DiariesThe Dropped WrenchEvery day, we go about our lives doing thousands of routine, mundane tasks. And sometimes, we make mistakes. Human error. It happens all the time.
It just doesn’t always happen in a nuclear missile silo.
This story was produced in collaboration with This American Life.
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If you enjoy this podcast, please consider making a donation to support our work! www.radiodiaries.org/donate
Thank you!
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2019-10-0441 min
Radio DiariesLast Witness: Surviving the Tulsa Race RiotOn 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 was 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 @Radi...
2019-05-2009 min
Radio DiariesThe Bonus ArmyIn 1932, 20,000 WWI veterans set up a tent city in Washington. They called themselves the Bonus Army.
See photos of the Bonus Army here: http://www.radiodiaries.org/march-of-the-bonus-army/
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
2019-04-1816 min
Radio DiariesA Voicemail ValentineNowadays we’re very accustomed to recording and hearing the sound of our own voices. But in the 1930s many people were doing it for the first time. And a surprising trend began. People started sending their voices to each other, through the postal service. It was literally: voice-mail.
We recently combed through a large collection of early voicemail at the Phono Post Archive, and we discovered that many of these audio letters are about the same thing: Love.
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This episode is supported by Zola, a company that’s reinventing wedding planning. To sign...
2018-02-1414 min
Radio DiariesThe Dropped WrenchEvery day, we go about our lives doing thousands of routine, mundane tasks. And sometimes, we make mistakes. Human error. It happens all the time.
It just doesn’t always happen in a nuclear missile silo.
A collaboration with This American Life.
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If you enjoy this podcast, please consider making a donation before the end of the year.
www.radiodiaries.org/donate
Thank you!
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2017-12-2340 min
Radio DiariesWillie McGee and The Traveling Electric ChairIn 1945, Willie McGee was accused of raping a white woman. The all-white jury took less than three minutes to find him guilty and McGee was sentenced to death. Over the next six years, the case went through three trials and sparked international protests and appeals. But in 1951, McGee was put to death in Mississippi’s traveling electric chair. His execution was broadcast live by a local radio station. Narrated by Bridgette McGee, this documentary follows a granddaughter’s search for the truth.
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We want to know more about you and what you think of this podc...
2017-08-1730 min
Radio DiariesBusman’s HolidayThe story of William Cimillo, a New York City bus driver who snapped one day in 1947, left his regular route in the Bronx, and drove his municipal bus down to Florida. This story originally aired on This American Life.
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Radio Diaries is a non-profit organization. We couldn’t do this work without support from our listeners. If you like this podcast, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution before December 31st. Go to www.radiodiaries.org to donate.
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2016-12-2020 min
Radio DiariesFrom Prison to PresidentFour years after Nelson Mandela was released from prison, he became president of South Africa. And yet, those 4 years were among the bloodiest and most painful for all South Africans – black and white – as they struggled toward the transition to majority rule. On the Radio Diaries Podcast we’ve been revisiting chapters from our documentary series, Mandela: An Audio History. In this episode, we bring you “From Prison to President.” Plus, a bonus chapter about what might have been the most awkward lunch in history.
We couldn’t make these stories without your help. Please consider making a donation t...
2015-12-2420 min
Radio DiariesThe Last PlaceWhen you spend so much of your life getting to the next stage, thinking about the next move, what is it like to find yourself at…the Last Place? On this episode of the Radio Diaries Podcast, we bring you audio diaries from a retirement home.
If you enjoy this podcast, please help us reach our year-end fundraising goal! Every dollar will help us produce more stories. Donate at radiodiaries.org
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2015-12-0330 min