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PODCAST

The Story of Writing

On this short, daily podcast, host Jon Brown talks about the writers and written work that made history on this day. Each episode includes a reading of prose or poetry.

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All Episodes

00:04:20

Story of Writing August 26, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/08/26

The French National Assembly approves the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen," the Quebec assembly made French the province's official language, and the birthday club includes Zona Gale, Caroline Pafford Miller, and Ben Bradlee - with a reading from Frances Ellen Watkins Harper's "Enlightened Motherhood."

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00:05:29

Story of Writing August 25, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/08/25

The Great Moon Hoax begins, the National Park Service is written into existence, and the birthday club includes Walt Kelly and Leonard Bernstein - with a reading from Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre."

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00:05:10

Story of Writing August 24, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/08/24

The Graffito of Esmet-Akhom is carved, the Treaty of Cordoba is signed, the Panic of 1857 begins, and the birthday club includes Howard Zinn, Paolo Coelho, and Ava DuVernay - with a reading from "My Antonia," by Willa Cather.

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00:04:33

Story of Writing August 23, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/08/23

The Salad Bowl Strike begins, the World Wide Web opens to the public, and this William Ernest Henley's birthday - with a reading of his poem "Invictus."

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00:04:12

Story of Writing August 22, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/08/22

The birthday club includes Claude Debussy, Dorothy Parker, Ray Bradbury, and Annie Proulx - with a reading from Proulx's "The Shipping News."

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00:03:31

Story of Writing August 21, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/08/21

Nat Turner begins a slave revolt and the Lincoln-Douglas debates begin - with a reading from Frances Ellen Watkins Harper's "Minnie's Sacrifice."

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00:05:33

Story of Writing August 20, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/08/20

Charles Darwin publishes his theory of evolution, U.S. President Andrew Johnson declares the Civil War over, Canada's Supreme Court lays out a road map to provincial secession, and it's the birthday of cosmic horror author H. P. Lovecraft. This episode also includes a reading of Lucille Clifton's "blessing of the boats."

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00:03:26

Story of Writing August 19, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/08/19

Gold is discovered in California, the liberation of Paris begins, and it's Ogden Nash's birthday - with a reading of his poem, "Everybody Tells Me Everything."

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00:04:12

Story of Writing August 18, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/08/18

Spanish grammar is published, women in the U.S. win the right to vote, Vladimir Nabokov’s novel "Lolita" is published in the U.S., South African activist Stephen Biko is arrested, and the birthday club includes Antonio Salieri and Margaret Murie - with a reading of Murie's comments on wilderness conservation to Congress.

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00:04:31

Story of Writing August 17, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/08/17

Roanoke, George Orwell publishes "Animal Farm," and the birthday club includes Fredrika Bremer, Mark Felt, and Jonathan Franzen - with a reading from the 1585 writing "A Brief and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia."

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00:04:30

Story of Writing August 16, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/08/16

The birthday club includes Lawrence of Arabia, Georgette Heyer, Wallace Thurman, William Keepers Maxwell, Jr., Charles Bukowski, and Diana Wynne Jones - with a reading from Jones' "Howl's Moving Castle."

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00:02:45

Story of Writing August 15, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/08/15

The movie "The Wizard of Oz" premiers, Japan surrenders to end WWII, and the birthday club includes Walter Scott, Oscar Peterson, Stanley Milgram, and Stieg Larsson - with a reading from Larsson's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."

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00:04:43

Story of Writing August 14, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/08/14

FDR signs the Social Security Act into law and the birthday club includes Ernest Thompson Seton, Ernest Thayer, David Crosby, Danielle Steele, and Gary Larson - with a reading from Thayer's "Casey at the Bat."

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00:04:03

Story of Writing August 13, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/08/13

French King Louis XVI is arrested, Opha May Johnson becomes the first woman to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps, it is Barbed Wire Sunday in Berlin, Germany, and it is the birthday of suffragist Lucy Stone - with a reading from a letter to her mother.

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00:04:20

Story of Writing August 12, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/08/12

Isaac Singer gets the patent for the sewing machine, Sue Hendrickson discovers the best and most complete T. rex skeleton, NAFTA is born, and the birthday club includes Radclyffe Hall, Erwin Schrodinger, William Goldman, and Mary Roberts Rinehart - with a reading from Rinehart's "Writing is Work."

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00:03:20

Story of Writing August 11, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/08/11

The Watts Riots, U.S. evacuating its last unit of ground troops, hip-hop and rap, and Reagan's "little joke" are all tied to this day. The birthday club includes Angus Wilson and Alex Haley - with a reading from Wilson's "The Middle Age of Mrs. Eliot."

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00:03:14

Story of Writing August 10, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/08/10

The birthday club includes Era Bell Thompson, Clarence Leonidas Fender, Suzanne Collins, and Rachel Simmons - with a reading from Simmons' "The Curse of the Good Girl: Raising Authentic Girls with Courage and Confidence."

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00:04:34

Story of Writing August 9, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/08/09

Henry David Thoreau publishes his landmark book "Walden," Smokey Bear appears for the first time, and - in Nagasaki, Japan - the U.S. dropped the second atomic bomb used in a military attack. This episode includes a reading from Thoreau's "Walden."

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00:03:35

Story of Writing September 9, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/08/09

The compromise of 1850, "debugging," and the birthday club includes Leo Tolstoy, Kimberly Willis Holt, and Adam Sandler - with a reading from Holt's "When Zachary Beaver Came to Town."

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00:03:49

Story of Writing August 8, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/08/08

The U.S. Congress agrees to call the nation's currency the dollar, Edison gets a patent for the mimeograph, the world's major powers agree on the parameters of the Nuremberg Trials, and it's the birthday of poet Sara Teasdale - with a reading of her poem "Longing."

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1,228 results

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