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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

00:03:49

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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00:04:27

Story of Writing August 7, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/08/07

Frances Kelsey is given the President’s Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service for refusing to authorize the use of the pharmaceutical thalidomide in the U.S. The U.S. Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and the birthday club includes Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Ralph Bunche, and Anne Fadiman - with a reading from her book "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down."

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00:04:43

Story of Writing August 6, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/08/06

The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and the book of the same name that became "the finest piece of journalism" of the 20h Century, LBJ signs the U.S. Voting Rights Act into law, and it is the birthday of activist Virginia Foster Durr - with a reading from John Hersey's book "Hiroshima."

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00:04:49

Story of Writing August 5, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/08/05

A crucial court case clarifies the importance of freedom of the press and the birthday club includes Guy de Maupassant, Mary Ritter Beard, and Wendell Berry - with a reading of Berry's poem "The Peace of Wild Things."

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00:03:23

Story of Writing August 4, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/08/04

The Fairness Doctrine is rescinded and the birthday club includes Nicolas-Jacques Conte, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Robert Hayden - with a reading from an essay by Donella Meadows.

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00:03:51

Story of Writing August 3, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/08/03

Christopher Columbus sets sail and the birthday club includes Ernie Pyle and Leon Uris - with a reading from Pyle's newspaper column "Here is Your War."

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00:03:00

Story of Writing August 2, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/08/02

The letter that started the Manhattan Project, and it is the birthday of author and thinker James Baldwin - with a reading from his book "The Fire Next Time."

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00:04:05

Story of Writing August 1, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/08/01

The British abolish slavery, Henry Perky patents shredded wheat, and the birthday club includes Francis Scott Key and Herman Melville - with a reading from Melville's classic novel "Moby Dick."

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00:05:06

Story of Writing July 31, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/31

Author Daniel Defoe is locked in a pillory, the U.S. and Soviet Union sign the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, and the birthday club includes Ignacio Cervantes, Primo Levi, and Ahmet Ertegun - with a reading from Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe."

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00:03:23

Story of Writing July 30, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/30

Samuel de Champlain starts a nearly 100-year war, Walt Disney releases his first Oscar winner, and the birthday club includes Anna Maria Mozart and Emily Bronte - with a reading from Bronte's "Wuthering Heights."

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00:05:07

Story of Writing July 29, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/29

The way light, itself, was perceived changes in big, important ways, the world's major powers try to limit war crimes, and the birthday club includes Alexis de Tocqueville and Mary Lee Settle - with a reading from Tocqueville's "Democracy in America."

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00:03:29

Story of Writing July 28, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/28

The 14th Amendment is ratified, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, President Hoover orders U.S. soldiers to push U.S. veterans away from the White House, and the Irish Republican Army announces it will stop using weapons to oppose British rule. This episode includes a reading from Wallace Stegner's "Crossing to Safety."

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00:04:17

Story of Writing July 27, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/27

The actual Macbeth is defeated in an important battle, Maximilien Robespierre is arrested by the French National Assembly, researchers at the University of Toronto prove that the hormone insulin regulates blood sugar, Warner Brothers releases the animated short "A Wild Hare," introducing Bugs Bunny - with a reading from Banting's notebook.

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00:05:27

Story of Writing July 26, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/26

The U.S. establishes its Post Office, the first book on the constructed language Esperanto is published, the major Allied Powers in WWII signed the Potsdam Declaration, the birthday club includes George Bernard Shaw, Carl Jung, and Gracie Allen - with a reading from Shaw's "Man and Superman."

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00:05:16

Story of Writing July 25, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/25

Mozart finishes his 40th Symphony - the "Great G-Minor" Symphony, Jack London sails to the Yukon in hopes of finding gold, U.S. President John F. Kennedy says any attack on West Berlin was equivalent to an attack on the U.S., and it's the birthday of political scientist and historian Anne Applebaum - with a reading from her book "Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism."

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00:04:05

Story of Writing July 24, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/24

O. Henry is released from prison, the Kellogg-Briand Pact goes into effect, SCOTUS finds Nixon must provide his Watergate tapes to a special prosecutor and Congress, and the birthday club includes Alexandre Dumas and Zelda Fitzgerald - with a reading from a letter Zelda wrote to F. Scott Fitzgerald.

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00:04:12

Story of Writing July 23, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/23

Ford Motor Company sold its first car, the Chinese Communist Party is established, French dictator Philippe Petain was put on trial for treason in WWII, and it's the birthday of Raymond Chandler - with a reading from his "Red Winds: A Collection of Short Stories."

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00:04:03

Story of Writing July 22, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/22

Katherine Lee Bates starts writing "America the Beautiful," and it's Emma Lazarus' birthday - with a reading of her poem "The New Colossus."

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00:03:47

Story of Writing July 21, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/21

The first pistol-duel showdown in America's Wild West, the jury reaches a verdict in the Scopes Monkey Trial, the world's coldest temperature is recorded - with a reading from Mark Twain's "Pudd'nhead Wilson."

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00:04:12

Story of Writing July 20, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/20

The second day of the Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, N.Y., Finland declares independence, people land on the moon, and the birthday club includes Frantz Fanon and Cormac McCarthy - with a reading from McCarthy's "All the Pretty Horses."

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1,229 results

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