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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

00:04:02

Story of Writing July 19, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/19

The first women's rights convention in the U.S. opens in Seneca Falls, N.Y. and it is the birthday of writer Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson - with a reading of her poem "You! Inez!"

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00:04:18

Story of Writing July 18, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/18

The Hough Uprising rocks Cleveland, and the birthday club includes William Makepeace Thackeray, Nelson Mandela, and Hunter S. Thompson - with a reading from Thompson's "Kingdom of Fear."

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00:03:45

Story of Writing July 17, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/17

The U.S. buys Florida from Spain, Willis Carrier draws up plans for an air conditioner, the International Criminal Court is established, and it's the birthday of comedian Phyllis Diller - with a reading from her joke book.

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00:03:57

Story of Writing July 16, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/16

It is the birthday of Ida B. Wells and the anniversaries of the publishing of J. D. Salinger's classic novel "The Catcher in the Rye" and the launching of Apollo 11, the first space mission that carried people to the moon. This episode includes a reading from Well's speech "Lynch Law in America."

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00:03:46

Story of Writing July 15, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/15

Finding the Rosetta Stone, the Spanish Inquisition ends, Alzheimers is named, and the birthday club includes Clement Clark Moore and Iris Murdoch - with a reading from Murdoch's "The Sea, The Sea."

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00:04:45

Story of Writing July 14, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/14

It is Bastille Day, U.S. President John Adams signed the Sedition Act, Chicago experiences its second catastrophic fire in three years, and it's the birthday of Woody Guthrie - with a reading from his song "Pretty Boy Floyd."

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00:04:27

Story of Writing July 13, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/13

The birthday club includes Margaret Murray: the "Grandmother of Wicca," journalist George Weller, and Cameron Crowe - with a reading from Crowe's memoir "The Uncool."

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00:03:56

Story of Writing July 12, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/12

It is "Thoreau-Neruda" Day! And it's the birthday of author and editor Doris Grumbach. This episode includes a reading from Thoreau's essay "Walking."

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00:03:44

Story of Writing July 11, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/11

America's most famous duel, between Burr and Hamilton, takes place, "To Kill A Mockingbird" is published, a mid-air disaster leaves an indelible legacy, and the birthday club includes E. B. White and Jhumpa Lahiri - with a reading from White's "Here Is New York."

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00:04:54

Story of Writing July 10, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/10

French King Louis XVI declares war on Great Britain to help the American colonists win their independence from the British and the birthday club includes Marcel Proust and Mary McLeod Bethune - with a reading from her magazine piece "My Last Will and Testament."

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00:04:12

Story of Writing July 9, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/09

The Mozart Family Grand Tour begins, the 14th Amendment is ratified, the Russell-Einstein Manifesto goes public, and it's the birthday of Oliver Sacks - with a reading from his book "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales."

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00:04:40

Story of Writing July 8, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/08

The Wall Street Journal publishes its first edition, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hits its lowest point in the 20th Century, and the Nixon Administration changes how it would work with indigenous people in the U.S., and it's the birthday of science historian Margaret Rossiter - with a reading from Matilda Joslyn Gage's "Woman as Inventor."

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00:03:37

Story of Writing July 7, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/07

In New York City, riots break out against abolition of slavery, the U.S. begins its first military draft, the Ziegfeld Follies begin a 20-year run, and bakeries start selling sliced bread - with a reading from Countee Cullen's poem "Bread and Wine."

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00:04:40

Story of Writing July 6, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/06

Louis Pasteur uses a vaccine to save a nine-year-old boy who was mauled by a rabid dog, Jackie Robinson refuses to move to the back of a military bus, and the birthday club includes Marc Chagall and Viola Desmond - with a reading of Lucille Clifton's poem "won't you celebrate with me."

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00:04:08

Story of Writing July 5, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/05

Isaac Newton publishes his masterwork: "Principia," Frederick Douglass gives his enduring speech "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" The bikini makes a splash when it's introduced at a swimming pool in Paris and it is Bill Watterson's birthday - with a reading from William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

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00:05:28

Story of Writing July 4, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/04

The writing - and politics - of the Declaration of Independence - with a reading from a letter from delegate Benjamin Rush to U.S. President John Adams.

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00:04:03

Story of Writing July 3, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/03

General George Washington takes command of the Continental Army, and the Battle of Gettysburg comes to an end, and it's the birthday of writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman - with a reading from her short story "If I Were A Man."

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00:04:55

Story of Writing July 2, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/02

The U.S. decides to sever ties with the UK, the ship "Amistad" was overtaken by Africans kidnapped to become slaves in America, Jean Sibelius's "Finlandia" premieres, signing the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and the birthday club includes Hermann Hesse and Thurgood Marshall - with a reading from Hesse's letter to a reader who expressed hopelessness.

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00:04:39

Story of Writing July 1, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/07/01

The oldest surviving benchmarks for global sea level tells a grim tale, the U.S. Civil War Battle of Gettysburg begins, Canada is born, the WWI Battle of the Somme begins, and it's the birthday of George Sand - with a reading from one of her letters to one of her former lovers.

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00:04:47

Story of Writing June 30, 2026

The Story of Writing ·

2026/06/30

The Wilberforce-Huxley evolution debate at Oxford becomes an exchange of thinly veiled insults, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the Yosemite Valley Grant Act, Albert Einstein publishes On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies, the National Organization for Women is established, and it's the birthday of Joan Murrell Owens - with a reading from Rachel Carson's "The Edge of the Sea."

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1,229 results

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