Sidedoor

What does it look like for something to be made in America? 
Through the photography of Christopher Payne, we journey across the past, present and future of American manufacturing to answer this question. From centuries-old textile mills to modern assembly lines, Payne’s photographs offer a rare, behind-the-scenes view of how everyday objects—from pencils to airplanes to marshmallow Peeps—are made. 
With the help of Smithsonian curator, Susan Brown, and author, Rachel Slade, we also explore the history behind these factories, and how the story of American manufacturing is the story of our nation itself. 

Guests: 
Christopher Payne, Industrial photographer
Susan Brown, associate curator, and acting head of textiles at Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum; curator of the exhibition Made in America
Rachel Slade, author of the book Making it in America: The Almost Impossible Quest to Manufacture in the U.S.A. (and How it Got That Way)

Something dark and invisible makes up as much as 90 to 95 percent of the universe—and it took a little girl staring out a bedroom window at the night sky to bring it to light. 
As a child, Vera Rubin built her own telescope. As an adult, she uncovered a problem no telescope could solve: stars at the edges of galaxies were moving just as fast as those near the center. The math contradicted everything astronomers expected to see...unless the universe was filled with unseen matter.
This is the story of how Vera Rubin pushed through the gender barriers of the 1950s and turned a fringe idea into one of astronomy’s biggest open questions. What is dark matter? How did Rubin help prove it was real? And what does it mean that most of the universe is made of something we can’t see?
Guests: 
Ashley Yeager, Associate News Editor at Science News and Author of Bright Galaxies Dark Matter and Beyond: The Life of Astronomer Vera Rubin
Ramona Rubin, Granddaughter of Vera Rubin 
Deidre Hunter, Astronomer at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona 
Amruta Jaodand, Astrophysicist at the Chandra X-Ray Center in the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

A string of unsolved murders in San Francisco's Chinatown in the 1970s led police to the door of a young Korean immigrant named Chol Soo Lee — who was quickly arrested and sentenced to life in prison. But when investigative journalist K.W. Lee started digging into the case, he discovered a world of twisted law and order that went far deeper than one man. The articles K.W. wrote about what he uncovered in Chinatown shocked Asian Americans across Northern California to stand up and demand justice for Chol Soo Lee — and themselves. 
Corrections:
In this episode we state that Chol Soo Lee had a mustache in the photo that appeared in the mug book. Correction: He did have a mustache at the time of the killing, but he did not have a mustache in that photo.
We state that K.W. Lee learned of Chol Soo Lee stabbing a fellow inmate from a TV news segment. Correction: He learned about it in a news briefing. 
We state that K.W. Lee was at the premiere of the documentary “Free Chol Soo Lee.” Correction: He attended the premiere virtually in January of 2022. He physically attended a screening in August of 2022 when the film was released in theaters.
Guests: 
Sojin Kim, curator at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
Ranko Yamada, friend of K.W. Lee and Chol Soo Lee 
Julie Ha, journalist, writer and co-director of the documentary film "Free Chol Soo Lee"

Orville and Wilbur Wright have been immortalized as the men opened the skies to human flight. But could they have achieved such great heights without the wind beneath their wings — their sister? Katharine Wright was her brothers' biggest champion, official spokesperson, closest confidante and the only one of the Wright siblings with a college degree. For years, Katharine, Wilbur and Orville were inseparable — until tragedy and a love affair upended everything. This is the story of the Wright sibling that history almost left out.
Guests:
Thomas Paone, museum specialist at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum
Tom Crouch, curator emeritus of the aeronautics division at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum and author of The Bishop’s Boys: A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright

Clifton Chenier grew up in rural Louisiana, watching how his father’s accordion could magically turn front porches into dance parties. When he was old enough to play himself, Chenier began blending the Creole zydeco of his childhood with R&B and blues sounds of the 1940s and ’50s. His style packed dance halls across Louisiana and eventually carried zydeco to stages around the world. Through rare archival recordings and firsthand stories, we trace Chenier’s journey from a sharecropper’s son to the undisputed King of Zydeco.
Guests: 
Adam Machado, director of the Arhoolie Foundation and producer of the retrospective box set, King of Louisiana Blues and Zydeco
CJ Chenier, son of Clifton Chenier and lead singer and saxophonist for CJ Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band
Dickie Landry, saxophonist, composer, and photographer
Maureen Loughran, director and curator of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings 
 
This episode features archival interview recordings of Clifton Chenier courtesy of the Arhoolie Foundation. You can find the full interviews and archival photographs here.