To the Point
How to Teach US History to Our High School Kids
Conservatives and liberals may never agree about the details of American history, but there's only one College Board. Now conservatives have forced a change in advanced placement standards for high school students. Has a "balance" finally been achieved?
Conservatives and liberals may never agree about the details of American history, but there's only one College Board. Now conservatives have forced a change in advanced placement standards for high school students. Has a "balance" finally been achieved?
Also, Japan is set to reactivate its nuclear reactors next week. On today's Talking Point: how political enemies Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley changed network news coverage…for better or worse.
Photo: National Archives
In this episode
3 storiesJapan Set to Reactivate Nuclear Reactors Next Week
Seventy years ago, Japan became only nation ever hit with an atomic weapon. Four years ago, it suffered one of history's worst nuclear accidents. Now Japan is about to do something that's never been done before: re-start the fleet of nuclear reactors mothballed after the meltdowns at Fukushima.
Read the story6 minWho Shapes American History?
The College Board designs advance placement courses for high-school students, providing what critics call a monopoly on American History. But historians disagree about slavery, the rationale for various wars, the nature of government and what’s called "American Exceptionalism."
Read the story33 min'Best of Enemies' and the Rise of Punditry
Political coverage on broadcast and network TV wouldn’t be what it is without liberals and conservatives pitted against each other — with the competition often getting in the way of the substance. We hear how it all began.
Read the story10 min