Wings Over Jordan, FDR, Color Field

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Three stories I really enjoyed listening to (each is just a few minutes long) on NPR over the past couple of days that I thought I might pass along. Just look for the Listen button in the upper right hand corner of each story page:

Radio Show Chronicled Blacks' Harsh Realities: the struggles of African-Americans in sermons, lectures and songs on Wings Over Jordan, which aired in the 1930s and '40s.

FDR's Antidote to Great Depression, Totalitarianism: Franklin Delano Roosevelt began his presidency 75 years ago today. It was in the depths of the Great Depression. During his first 100 days in office, Congress passed much of Roosevelt's initiatives and programs known as the New Deal. Donald Ritchie, author of Electing FDR: The New Deal Campaign of 1932, speaks with NPR's Renee Montagne.

'Color Field' Artists Found a Different Way: Washington, D.C., is known for many things, but launching an art movement is not one of them. Still, starting in the 1950s, the federal city was a cradle for a group of artists who produced colorful, abstract, even joyful works. One art critic dubbed them "color field" painters. An exhibition of 39 of their works just went on view at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

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