Stories

Leqaa Kordia was freed from ICE detention after more than a year.

[Louis Armstrong track] Joe Richman [host]: Celebrity graves are some of the most beloved places in the country. Elvis Presley's burial site at Graceland draws more than a half million fans every year. Fans leave red kisses on Marilyn Monroe's headstone in Los Angeles. And jazz lovers trek to Flushing, Queens to drape Mardi Gras beads on the grave of Louis Armstrong But there aren't many celebrities buried at hart island This is The Unmarked Graveyard. I'm Joe Richman of Radi

Joe Richman [host]: From Radio diaries, I'm Joe Richman, and this is The Unmarked Graveyard, a series about people buried on Hart Island, the lives they lived, and the people they left behind. [montage of various voices] Hi, titi! There were thousands of questions. Where's his family? Where's his people? Neil Harris was last seen in Inwood, New York on December 12, 2014. The playwright, novelist, and author of Happy Island, Ms. Dawn Powell. Annette found you, she found us,

Joe Richman [host]: From Radio Diaries, I'm Joe Richman, and this is the final episode of The Unmarked Graveyard, a series about people buried in America's largest public cemetery, the lives they lived, and the people they left behind. [montage of various voices] Hi, titi. There were thousands of questions. Where's his family? Where's his people? Neil Harris was last seen in Inwood, New York on December 12, 2014. The playwright, novelist, and author of Happy Island, Ms. Dawn

[bus engine sounds] Park Ranger: Please watch your step. [boat horn, scene sounds fade under] Joe Richman [host]: On a recent rainy Saturday morning, I visited Hart Island for the first time. It's New York City's potter's field. There are more than a million people buried there, on a narrow strip of land. And it's not easy to visit. You have to get permission from the city. If they grant it, you show up at an industrial dock in the Bronx and ride a small ferry to the island.

Joe Richman [host]: Two years ago, a former detective named Angel Irizarry set out on a personal investigation to track down an uncle who had been out of touch with the family for decades. But early in his search, he made a disappointing discovery. His uncle, Cesar, had died. From Radio Diaries, I'm Joe Richman and this is The Unmarked Graveyard. A series of untangling mysteries from America's largest public cemetery. Each week we're bringing you stories about people buried

[dark, sparse electronic music] Joe Richman [host]: Death is inevitable. We don't get any choice in the matter. But we can have some say in what happens to our body after we die. Burial and cremation are the traditional options. Some people donate their body to science. Green burial and human composting are becoming more common. And for those who can afford it, you can have your ashes launched into space or turned into a diamond or a vinyl record. What most people don't choos

Joe Richman: In 2017, a man was buried on a narrow, mile-long island off the coast of the Bronx in New York City. He'd been dead for months, but the city hadn't figured out his name, so he was placed in a simple pine coffin that was stacked in a mass grave. The only marker was a white post that read, Plot 383. Since 1869, more than a million people have been buried on Hart Island. It doesn't look like a typical cemetery. There are no headstones or plaques, just white posts wi

Joe Richman (Host): From Radio Diaries, I'm Joe Richman, and this is The Unmarked Graveyard, a series untangling mysteries from America's largest public cemetery. [scored montage of various voices] Neil Harris was last seen in Inwood, New York on December 12, 2014. Uncle Caesar was estranged from our family for 40 to 50 years. The playwright, novelist, and author of Happy Island, Miss Dawn Powell. You can't help but wonder what her life has been. So many questions, man. So ma

In 1946, radio host Orson Welles heard of a shocking crime and pledged to solve it... on the air. Three-part series.

Humphrey Bogart, left, and Helmut Dantine, a refugee from Austria, in Casablanca. When the Hollywood classic, Casablanca, opened in January of 1943, audiences were thrilled by its love story. Set at Rick's Cafe, a nightclub in the Moroccan city during World War II, the story centers around a love triangle. Humphrey Bogart stars as Rick, the cynical American bar owner. Ingrid Bergman plays his old flame Ilsa Lund, who is now married to Victor Laszlo, a dashing resistance lead

The very first computer dating service.

A conversation with photographer Andrew Lichtenstein on his new book, This Short Life.

Last year, over 100 protesters were arrested outside Columbia University. Leqaa Kordia is the last of these protesters in detention.

The story of William Cimillo, a NYC bus driver who snapped one day in 1947, and took a 1300-mile detour to Florida.

This is the story of a song, “Ain't No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down.” It was written by a 12-year-old boy on what was supposed to be his deathbed.

How an army bomber pilot on a routine ferry mission found himself lost in the fog over Manhattan.

What would it sound like if one of the world’s greatest classical cellists, and the most legendary blues guitarist of all time…jammed together?

Black Swan Records was the first major Black-owned record label in the United States.

The struggle against apartheid, told through the voice of Nelson Mandela, and those who fought with him, and against him. Featuring rare...