Contenders:
Portraits of Some of the Most Original Presidential Candidates in American History

Broadcast October 13-17 on NPR's All Things Considered

Victoria Woodhull: The First Woman to Run for President
In the 19th century, Victoria Woodhull was many things: a
clairvoyant, a businesswoman, an advocate for women's rights and sexual freedom, and a magnet for media attention and scandal. Her 1872 campaign came at a time when most women did not even have the right to vote.


William Jennings Bryan: The Speech That Changed Politics
At the 1896 Democratic Convention, Bryan gave a speech that electrified his party and won him the nomination. His Cross of Gold speech is known today as one of the most important oratorical performances in American history.


Adlai Stevenson: Believing in Words in the Age of Television
The presidential campaign of 1952 pitted the immensely popular General Dwight D. Eisenhower against the ferociously intellectual and intensely private Adlai Stevenson. It was an election fought on a new battleground: television.


Margaret Chase Smith: Cold Warrior in Pearls
In 1964, Margaret Chase Smith became the first woman from a major party to run for President. The Republican Senator ran as a staunch hawk and expert on national defense while she handed out muffin recipes at campaign stops.


Shirley Chisholm: The Politics of Principle
In 1972, Shirley Chisholm launched a spirited campaign for the Democratic nomination, the first woman and first African American to do so. Declaring herself "unbossed and unbought," she took on the political establishment as the candidate of "all the people."

Contenders is produced by Joe Richman and Samara Freemark of Radio Diaries. The series editor is Deborah George. Producer consultant is Ben Shapiro.

Special thanks to Anayansi Diaz-Cortes; Posey Gruener; Dakota Shepard; Stephen Russell,; Shola Lynch of Chisholm '72: Unbought and Unbossed; Angie Stockwell at the Margaret Chase Smith Library; Andy Lanset of WNYC; The Gordon Skene Sound Collection; Stephen Wade; and David Schwartz, of the Museum of the Moving Image and the online exhibition, The Living Room Candidate.

The Audio History Project
We have launched a new series chronicling hidden chapters of 20th century history. Told in Radio Diaries style, the stories weave together home recordings, archival news clips, and first-person accounts to bring the past to life.

Hear the stories.

Mandela: An Audio History
A five-part radio series documenting the struggle against apartheid through rare sound recordings, the voice of Nelson Mandela himself, as well as those who fought with him, and against him.

Visit the website

Thembi's AIDS Diary:
A Year in the Life of a South African Teenager

Thembi is 19 and lives in the township of Khayelitsha. For the past year she has been carrying around a tape recorder and keeping an audio diary of her struggle to live with AIDS.
Hear Thembi's story.
Check out Thembi's Blog
Purchase the CD