Letter from America: The Early Years (1940s, 1950s and 1960s)

BBC Radio 4

4.7 (23)
SOCIETY & CULTURE

The assassinations of John F Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy through to Vietnam and America’s shame at the My Lai massacre. A fascinating social, cultural and political history of American life, through the words of British-American journalist and broadcaster, Alistair Cooke (1908 – 2004).

06/09/1968

Bobby Kennedy's assassination, 1968

An eyewitness account of the assassination of Bobby Kennedy on June 5, 1968 in Los Angeles, and the collective-guilt aftermath for America.

14 min
03/24/1968

1000th letter - American reactions to Vietnam, 1968

The national mood begins to change over the Vietnam war - how America began to move from early indifference to the recognition of a nightmare.

14 min
12/24/1967

Christmas 1967

Senator Jacob Javits' parking fine, Mayor Lindsay and the water commissioner, and a President Truman Christmas story.

14 min
08/21/1966

Honeymoon with President Johnson, 1966

Democracy demonstrated - how the President of the United States had to make way for Mr Meyer Sugarman's wedding night.

14 min
08/22/1965

The LA Watts riots, 1965

The Watts riots in Los Angeles - were they an uprising by black Americans angry at their treatment or simply criminally motivated looting and violence?

14 min
05/30/1965

Clay vs Liston Fight

How the debacle of the Cassius Clay–Sonny Liston boxing prize fight tarnished one of the elements of American culture - sportsmanship

14 min
01/17/1965

President Johnson's inauguration, 1965

President Lyndon B Johnson's inauguration for his own full first term, and some earlier notable inaugurations, including Washington and Jefferson's.

14 min
11/24/1963

Assassination of J F Kennedy, 1963

The assassination of John F Kennedy, the first president of the television age, and the style, grace and fun he brought to the White House.

14 min

See All (13)

4.7

out of 5

23 Ratings

The assassinations of John F Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy through to Vietnam and America’s shame at the My Lai massacre. A fascinating social, cultural and political history of American life, through the words of British-American journalist and broadcaster, Alistair Cooke (1908 – 2004).