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

BBC Radio 4

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).

13 - Bobby Kennedy's assassination, 1968

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13 - 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.
Sun, 09 Jun 1968
12 - 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.
Sun, 24 Mar 1968
11 - Christmas 1967
Senator Jacob Javits' parking fine, Mayor Lindsay and the water commissioner, and a President Truman Christmas story.
Sun, 24 Dec 1967
10 - 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.
Sun, 21 Aug 1966
9 - 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?
Sun, 22 Aug 1965
8 - 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
Sun, 30 May 1965
7 - 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.
Sun, 17 Jan 1965
6 - 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.
Sun, 24 Nov 1963
5 - Big brains
How New York construction was brought to a halt by the Electrician's Union strike, and why the computer or 'the big brain' will soon change how people work.
Sun, 21 Jan 1962
4 - 500th letter
Alistair Cooke remembers Lindsay Wellington, the BBC head who came up with the idea of weekly letters to help people in the UK understand American life in 1946.
Sun, 08 Sep 1957
3 - William Kapell (1922-1953)
A tribute to American Pianist William Kappell, the best pianist of his generation, and what music means to Americans.
Thu, 05 Nov 1953
2 - Television in America, 1951
How a new daily diet of television in America is changing people's lives, as reported by Alistair Cooke.
Fri, 19 Jan 1951
1 - A fragment from 1947
A fragment preserved from Cooke's talk, reflecting on the importance of democratic capitalism and a free economy to Americans.
Sun, 12 Jan 1947