Teaching the country’s past, warts and all

A straight line pointing ever upward, from great to greater: That is the biggest lie U.S. history classes teach school children, James Loewen says. He believes students need, and can handle, the jagged truth, which he's tried to present in "Lies My Teacher Told Me" since 1995.

sorbetto/Getty Images Struggling to lose weight? Your body may be hiding a saboteur New preliminary research suggests the mix of microbes in our guts has a big impact on how well a diet goes. A lot of that has to do with bacteria’s role in our intestines, consuming things we can’t digest and breaking them down into something we can. "Somewhere between 5 to 15 percent of all our calories come from that kind of digestion,” researchers say – and some microbiomes may just be better at it. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images The NRA says corporate boycotts are killing it, and are suing New York for urging companies not to work with the group "If the NRA is unable to collect donations from its members, safeguard the assets endowed to it, apply its funds to cover media buys and other expenses integral to its political speech, and obtain basic corporate insurance coverage, it will be unable to exist," the lawsuit says. It seeks an injunction to stop such municipal campaigns. The gun rights organization says it's tantamount to shutting down its free speech, but New York's government isn't backing down. Cornelia Li for NPR Sanitized, simplified, sugarcoated: For 20 years, this author has tried to take the B.S. out of the U.S. history taught in high schools James Loewen's first textbook ran into trouble getting approved, so he sued. A courtroom exchange on the history book's use of a lynching photo illuminated what he'd spend his career fighting: "But that happened, didn't it?" "Well, yes, but that all happened so long ago. Why dwell on it now?" The "Lies My Teacher Told Me" writer says it showed him that history could be a weapon — one that, in America, tends to be aimed at specific groups. Preston Gannaway Mourning the loss of a furry, photogenic life partner Isis and Preston Gannaway were together nearly 17 years, through breakups, job changes and multiple cross-country moves — essentially the Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer's entire adult life. So when her cat finally died, Gannaway worked through her grief by uploading from her extensive collection of photos. She says the 100-post series on Instagram helped her grieve, and let her present an unsparing look at end-of-life care and death, as she has professionally. David Zalubowski/AP These newspaper companies are slashing their newsrooms in the name of profit, and leaving 'news deserts' behind Six years ago, The Denver Post had 180 journalists covering a 3-million-person region. After cuts by its private-equity-run parent company, it has 60. "Those are a lot of stories that aren't getting covered," says a former editor. "People who aren't being celebrated. Bad guys who aren't being exposed. Corruption that isn't being exposed.” It’s become a common story across the country, and has left many smaller suburban communities almost completely uncovered. You received this message because you're subscribed to our Best of NPR emails. |  Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002