The imposing sanctions reporter Teri Schultz in Brussels the f.c.c. Has given its blessing to a major merger of 2 telecom Titans regulators approving the $26.00 and a half $1000000000.00 marriage of t. Mobile and sprint in a vote that was split largely across party lines chairman Egypt pie into Republican commissioners voted to approve the deal while Democrats voted against it the vote by the communications regulators came earlier this month but the order was not made public until today makes close on Wall Street the Dow is up 30 points today the s. And p. 500 fell 3 points you were listening to n.p.r. . The u.s. Trade deficit narrowed in September N.P.R.'s Scott Horsley reports exports were down compared to August but imports fell even further according to the Commerce Department the u.s. Ran a global trade deficit of $52.00 and a half $1000000000.00 in September that's about 2 and a half $1000000000.00 less than the month before exports of cars and soybeans fell but imports of consumer goods such as toys and cell phones fell even further the trade deficit with China also shrank in September to 28 1000000000 dollars still more than half the worldwide total exports to China fell by a $1000000000.00 in September but imports from China dropped nearly $2000000000.00 as a new round of tariffs went into effect the Trump administration is preparing for another round of tariffs on Chinese imports next month but that could be put off a mini trade deal is struck Scott Horsley n.p.r. News Washington you don't necessarily associate the Supreme Court with pirates except perhaps their shared penchant for wearing black whoever in a rare confluence of jurisprudence and the Jolly Roger justices today heard arguments in a copyright case over photos and videos that documented the recovery of the Queen Anne's Revenge in 1996 that vessel went down off the coast of North Carolina more than 300 years ago now the company that took the images of the ship's recovery and holds the copyright argues the state of North Carolina should pay for using them the state says a federal law that seems to allow for copyright infringement lawsuits against States is unconstitutional award and how justices might rule crude oil futures prices move higher today oil up $0.69 a barrel to $5723.00 a barrel in New York I'm Jack Speer n.p.r. News in Washington support for n.p.r. Comes from n.p.r. 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This is one egg I'm Joshua Johnson in Washington it was one of Barack Obama's last official acts as president on September 24th 2016th thousands gathered on the National Mall James Baldwin once wrote for a while the tale of how we suffer and how we are delighted and how we make trial. It is never know it always must be heard today as so many generations have before we gather on our National Mall to tell an essential part of our American story President Obama spoke at the opening ceremony for the National Museum of African-American History and Culture It took about a century to open such a museum since the idea 1st arose more than 30000 people were there on opening weekend timed entry tickets are free but even today they sometimes still run out months in advance joining us in studio is the museum's founding director Lonnie Bunch today he's the 14th secretary of the Smithsonian Institution overseeing all 19 museums including that $121.00 libraries 9 research centers and Izu his new book is called a full errand creating the National Museum of African-American History and Culture in the age of Bush Obama and Trump secretary bunch welcome to wanting I'm very glad to be with you when you hear President Obama that clip of him speaking at the opening what goes through your head what goes through your heart when you hear that 1st a sense of relief that we pulled it off that it's done but secondly it reminded me of America at its best it was the day when President Obama President Bush people crossed political lines racial lines economic lines to do something that would help a country so for me whenever I hear that I smile and think of I can't believe we actually did it is that feeling of barely crossing the finish line or blazing across the finish line with flying colors alike how do you reflect on definit of that music Well I think that we want to cross with great great flavor we ran quickly the reality is that it was harder to figure out how to open the museum who gets to speak who gets to see. Then I was building the museum I was lucky to put together a gifted staff who basically pushed us across the finish line I want to talk more about how that museum came to be but let me back up for a 2nd you are the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution What does that mean what is the secretary do when I 1st went to work for this was so and I even know where the secretary was and now I realize the secretary's job is basically to be the c.e.o. Of the Smithsonian to oversee the museums the research center the zoo to help get the resources it needs to work with as its representative with Congress and basically to chart a vision of what a great institution could be made even greater Can you give us a sense of just how vast the Smithsonian is I mean saying 1000 museums and libraries and a zoo the Smithsonian is a behemoth in like the world scope of museums and research is gigantic The suicide is the largest museum complex and research complex in the world. It's bigger than several universities basically there are 7000 people who work every day to look at science art history culture. And so for me it really is one of the great opportunities to shape and educate the country what are some of the things the Smithsonian does that maybe the average person might not think is part of the Smithsonian I mean people don't realize how much research at the heart of the Smithsonian when you think recently that many of us saw that amazing image of the black hole that was done by Smithsonian scientists when you think about doing research in Panama about Tropical Research that's a Smithsonian endeavor so I think in a way the research is something people don't know much about and then I think it's also the educational component that we really want to educate kids around the country not just in Washington let's talk about the National Museum of African-American History and Culture some of my friends affectionately refer to it as the black sone and I hope you don't mind the term I will use the official name but you. In case of an e-mail that will not disqualify the e-mail I just want you to know talk about your work is the founding director what were the main things that you were responsible for doing everything the reality is that we began with a staff of 2 we had no idea where the museum would be we had no collections no money so my job was both to chart a vision of what this museum could be what is the role of an African-American museum in the 21st century it was also then to build the staff to get the resources to raise the money to convince Congress to support us to figure out what Ok what in all is said and done what's in the museum what are the stories you tell and then how do you find the collections that you have to use to tell those stories so basically it was really starting from scratch now there are already phenomenal museums of African-American history across the country there's the Wright Museum in Detroit there's a great museum in Sistrunk Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale there's a Schomberg collection in New York how do you figure out where a Smithsonian museum fits into that without cannibalizing from the other museums Well 1st of all there was never any attempt to hurt the other museums because I once worked at the California African-American museum I know about those institutions so the goal was at the Smithsonian would 1st of all be a national institution it would allow us to tell stories that you don't tell in Los Angeles or Chicago or Detroit but also because it's a national museum it gets attention to the local museums so when people come to Washington we'd say go back to the Saville in Chicago look at the California African-American museum so the goal was to basically stimulate a conversation about African-American history and culture whether it's in Washington or whether it's in local communities there's also I think the challenge and I've been to some of these museums and from South Florida segment of the want to Fort Lauderdale been to we were at the right Museum of Detroit this year for it across America event these news. Are already pretty odd just like you walk in the right museum I mean to you if it doesn't take your breath away you've got a hole in your soul but then you have to figure out how to tell the story of black people in America from like slavery to now in a way that's never been done how did you begin to conceive of a new way to tell our story that would make people want to come see it well 1st of all we spent 2 years doing research interviewing people doing focus groups really understanding what the public knew and what they didn't know and then we married that with the best scholarship around the country to say all right how do we take what the scholars want and then I ask the curators to bring their expertise to say what story should we tell and hopefully for us what was the most important thing was to say that this wasn't a story of black people for black people that it was a story that said the African-American experience has shaped us off that it's a quintessential American story and once we came up with that as the foundation everything else flowed Is it a challenge to get non-black people to come see exhibits about the black experience I mean you know n.p.r. Has changed its approach to dealing with African-American content was opposed to having a program like News and Notes or tell me more there's a project now called Code Switch which kind of cuts across all the n.p.r. Platforms to kind of diffuse it in a way that doesn't feel like no we're talking about black people how do you get the rest of the country to want to come see this is not even an issue what we did is basically 1st or a member of the Smithsonian so you get millions of people who will come explore science art history that they won't do it in their local community and what I'm proudest of is 40 percent of the people who come to the African-American museum are an African-American 40 percent $40.00 it makes it the most diverse leave visited museum in the world and that to be is what so important is to say this is a story that's going to shape all of us so therefore everybody should come and explored. We heard some stories from those of you who have been to this museum and were particularly struck by it here's what one listener left in our inbox My name is a verse I'm calling from Philadelphia I just wanted to express how much I enjoy going to the African-American museum at the Smithsonian the most powerful moment for me was actually an arena in the basement level going through the the belly of the beast if you will be actual slaves it was so overwhelming it was so spiritually overwhelming to go upstairs and see and puts the Bible that was used by now Turner thank you very much for sharing that story with us and that is similar to the experience I think pretty much everyone has when they go through that museum just to be clear for those of you who haven't been there culture floors are up and the history floors are down and when you enter the museum you go down an escalator stairs and then you take an elevator down 3 levels to the bottom where you start in slavery times and you work your way up the museum it's kind of one continuous ramp path that takes you back up to the level you loaded in on why did you decide to organize the museum that way. I realize that most people don't understand African Americans who don't understand the narrative the sweep and I really felt it was crucially important to say let you understand how this community began and to help you understand how that community has shaped our notions of citizenship our notions of independence and so to take you from slavery through the present and then to help you go up higher to see how this cultures this community has shaped the culture of America how it shaped our military experience so the goal was to give you not a linear March to progress but to understand that it's been a struggle back and forth but that struggle has really helped to make a country better not just the people better it's also extremely emotional to walk through like when you come out on that floor the area that deals with slavery is clamped it's cramped it's narrow the ceiling is low the light is kind of in slats like the slats of a slave ship it's really like it's almost scary the minute you get off that elevator we spent a lot of time thinking about a motion that I wanted people to care if you notice when you walk through the museum things are at human scale so therefore you're seeing the faces of the enslaved or people who struck gold for the civil rights movement because I wanted you to feel their emotion and once you felt that emotion then we knew you'd care about the stories we tell several of you have very strong emotions about having seen the museum Linda wrote on our Facebook page Mr Bunch is done an excellent job of telling a well balanced story of America in the National Museum of African-American History and Culture I am sure he will maintain this standard in the Smithsonian Institution as a whole I'd love to know what you learned from founding this museum that helps you as the secretary of the Smithsonian when we continue our conversation with Lonnie Bunch I'm Joshua Johnson and you're listening to one egg from w.a.m. You and n.p.r. . 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This is one essay on Joshua Johnson we are speaking with Lonnie Bunch the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and the founding director of the National Museum of African-American History and Culture here in Washington his new book is called a fool's errand one listener tweeted I was very lucky to grow up in d.c. And have access to the Smithsonian as a broke black kid that loved science the Smithsonian was an awesome free resource unlike museums and other cities where cost makes them out of reach for such experiences it was a huge influence in my life that's one of the things a lot of it kind of gets me about the Smithsonian is that it is so vast and so deep and so rich and the vast majority of it is free you just walk right in and this is just a national asset that everyone can use I think the Smithsonian is a gift to America and that in a way what I love about it is that you can touch every aspect that you're interested in you want to understand dinosaurs you want to understand science in the Strada me want to understand history if you want to be revel in amazing art if you want to understand African-American culture it's all there so for me the Smithsonian is this amazing opportunity to learn and gauge about ourselves and the world we live in speaking of dinosaurs we did a walk through in the new exhibit at the Natural History Museum called Deep Time which has a pretty much complete skeleton of its ran a source Rex It is the coolest thing I ever saw I instantly turn 10 years old when I saw it you can find that conversation on our website the one a dot org How is this Smithsonian funded this was in is probably 70 percent funded from federal government and 30 percent from either earned income or private fund raising so that it really is a kind of important public private partnership that allows us to be an educational institution to do research and to be the museums in the zoos that people love any prospect of charging any kind of admission. Fees for any part of the Smithsonian I think that we want the Smithsonian to be free. You need to sort of have tickets when you're a Cooper Hewitt in New York. But we really think that our job is to recognize that the American public has already paid their admission 3 through their taxes and we want them to come and enjoy the wonders of the Smithsonian Are there areas of the Smithsonian where you feel like it's either in excellent shape in terms of funding or where you really wish that you had more resources to do something that the institution is kind of stretching to do. There is always much like a focal campaign there's always a petrol fund raising The reality is that the Smithsonian always needs to do new exhibits new programs support new research initiatives so that in essence there will always be a time when will need to make sure we can get the resources that will maintain the Smithsonian so it will always be that place that will make you proud What about the collection you go into detail about the process of acquiring artifacts like Nat Turner's Bible when you walk through the museum there's a Pullman car Pullman train car where the Pullman porters worked there's a guard tower from Angola State Prison in Louisiana there is the casket that Emmett Till was laid in who was beaten and mangled beyond all recognition when he was accused of whistling at a white woman in Mississippi a white woman who later admitted she lied about what Nat Turner did there are seats from the audience of The Oprah Winfrey Show in Chicago Michelle Obama's inauguration dress is in there how do you build that collection Well I think 1st of all what you realize is that we didn't have anything so I thought how do we build the collection Well part of it was a realization that I thought that most of what we needed was still in the basements trunks of magics of people's home so we went around the country we did like antique roadshow bring out your stuff and we helped you preserve grandma's old shawl that 19th century photograph but people then brought. Materials and suddenly we found all my goodness there's material on Harriet Tubman there's material on that Turner and I wasn't sure I mean I told everybody we can definitely find it but I wasn't sure and to be able to find for me it was Harriet Tubman when a collector called me and said he had Harriet Tubman material and I told him No you did and he said come to Philadelphia and see it and I said all right fine it's only Philadelphia and this man was a very big former football player nothing is Philadelphia by the way I think you missed a short trip just a short Ok I don't want a short trip just like you know that I'm sure I Love Field off but this guy pulled out a box and had pictures of Harriet Tubman funeral that I'd never seen and I'm so excited and so is he and when I pulled out he got excited me punch me and it hurt I mean it hurt but he pulled out 33 items and every time he pulled one out he punched me I did my best Ali rope a dope but he was hitting me and then he pulled out Harriet Tubman's hymnal that had all those spiritual She would sing what she wanted to the south steal away Jesus Swing Low Sweet Chariot and I'm crying and suddenly I thought to myself on the he's going to want money I don't have any money and he basically I said to him what's going to take this to come to the Smithsonian he said shake my hand so that kind of generosity of people giving from their selves giving their collections giving their history is what I'm now to allowed us to build this museum I have to say I mean 1st of all good on him for just saying shake my hand that almost doesn't surprise me in a way because you know as black folk we know how hard it spend to get our story told so I would think lively I would think that once the Smithsonian says we are validating the stories of black people so much that we're building a museum Please take what I have I don't even know how to take care of it let alone where to put it to tell people about it I would think people would be jumping over each other to give the Smithsonian what they got I think in a way. A now that it's open the answer is yes I think there was a sense of this really going to happen desired even flown around for a 100 years and so I think there was a little hesitancy but once people saw the building rise out of the ground and said This is on the Basham all people were very excited and been willing to share their history in their collections tell me a bit about the building by the way the architecture of it is very striking what are some of the elements of the architecture even if it's just one or 2 that you want people to notice bear in mind understand as they walk through the museum Well 1st of all coming back from Chicago when I ran a museum there one of the things I realized was how central architecture is to Chicago's history so I wanted a building that was a signature green building was the 1st sustainable building on the Mall and what I wanted was a building that spoke of uplift and resiliency so if you look at the building it's got the sort of angles that are sort of pointing up toward spiritual and I wanted people to sort of feel that sense but I also wanted people then to see that there was a dark presence I wanted a building that reminded us there was always a dark presence in America that got undervalued or overlooked and then the final piece was this was going to be a solid bronze building and you can't have solid process to reflective so the architects who were brilliant David agitation feel free line we're going to use a computer to cut holes into the bronze and I said I'm paying too much money for a hole so I went down to New Orleans in Charleston and took pictures of all the iron work that in slave craft people did and that's what's on the entire building so the building itself is a homage to the fact that so much of America's built by people will never know who they are but that building says thank you there's also something kind of. Cinematic in a way it almost has the the thoughtfulness of and this is not meant to be diminutive but it almost has the thoughtfulness of like an attraction at Universal or Disney World like the minute you walk in the experience begins this big elevator that holds like 30 some odd people when it begins to send and there's a timeline on the wall and you see yourself going back in history and it's lower and lower and it gets darker and darker and then when the doors open and it's still dark that's kind of when I as a museum go or wasn't quite sure what I had walked into well in some ways you put your finger on it we also did this based on the cinematic feel we said if this was a film what would be those moments those moments of just a position those moments that would engage those moments that would frighten you the moments that you find resiliency so he really thought a lot about it from a cinematic point of view this museum is really hard to walk through like when I was going to do the lower floors and upper floors I can take it we went to the lower floors by the time I came back to the present day and was looking at the Oprah Winfrey theater which is kind of the main meeting space that you see when you're done I was done like after seeing the Jet magazine that had Emmett Till's mangled disfigured face and the membership badge to a coup Klux Klan chapter and seeing bits and pieces of tools that slaves used as they were working on planting I was done like Emotionally I was overwhelmed I don't know what it would have been like for you and the team building this museum to see it every day and know what you're building I couldn't take it after 3 hours well for us it was both the desire is Johnno Franco used to say to me to tell the unvarnished truth so I felt it was crucially important for people to understand that they had to cry as they ponder the pain of slavery and segregation but I also wanted them even when we talked about enslavement I wanted to see the resiliency the strength of a people so for us. Even though we would look at and say oh my God this is horrible We also realize it didn't break us it didn't destroy that community so we dipped into it as a reservoir to say every time it got tough I'd say black people didn't give up black people survived we can pull this off let's get to some of your comments and stories now see Wagner tweeted every American should visit the museum meaning the National Museum of African-American History and Culture a group from my Mennonite church in Lancaster Pennsylvania went soon after it opened we were all overwhelmed and Austrac What else don't I know has become my montra What are some of the things Loni that you want people to most walk away from if they are those light bulb moments not even just from this museum but from any of the Smithsonian's Are there any particular light bulb moments that the institution is pushing to make sure more people have well I think it's 1st of all what you want when you go through any museum is people to find something that so excited Spiers them that gets them excited or the challenges them to think is this man said What don't I know so I think that's part of the whole Smithsonian notion that there will be moments of surprise and moments of wonder but what I want when people go through the African-American museum I wanted to be changed I want him to either see themselves in a new light if they're African-American to realize that you know let's not be embarrassed by our slave ancestors let's let's wish we were strong as they were and if you're not I want you to understand how your life was shaped by this experience whether it was the fact that the whole economy of the country was built on the backs of the enslaved whether it was how our culture has been shaped by the African-American creativity so the goal was for you to say this is your story to a goddess of who you are let me play a clip from one of our listeners who shared her experience of going through the Smithsonian Here's what surely left in our inbox this is Sara Lee from Wynnewood Pennsylvania when I was in college the Smithsonian had an exhibit. A nation of nations and I used to visit the exhibit quite often I loved it they had an old school Archie Bunker's care they had the ruby slippers and all kinds of interesting this of America and things from American history Yes Really thank you for sharing your story with us Lani What about the way that you write the narrative of American history they say that history is written by the victors and there's always a perspective the potential for bias for slant for prejudice and stereotypes how do you write the can non-ethical story of America African-Americans the natural world like that's that's a gigantic responsibility it is it is something that is humbling but it's something you can do based on scholarship scholarship is the engine of the Smithsonian you bring together the best scholars from around the world to help you think about how do you interpret dinosaurs or how do you explore these questions and they're always going to be interpretation scholars are going to say I want to do this rather than that but what we try to do is bring the best scholarship together and then my own scholars make the final judgment but when you've got something like say deep time the new exhibit at the the Natural History Museum and you have people who come to the Smithsonian who may for religious reasons doubt the theory of evolution is is that exhibit for them too of course it is in some ways what we hope is that they will see the best science that is undergirds this and then at the very least what you want to do is ask questions well if my religion says it's not well let me think a little bit about what this tells me so alternately what we want to do is we can't tell every story we can make every interpretation the way everybody would like so what we do is build on the best research we can and to convey those stories that way what do you think about some of the other museums that are in their vicinity of the National Mall in the Smithsonian there's a new. Museum of the Bible that opened it's kind of south of the National Mall kind of private venture not part of the Smithsonian a gigantic very expensive complex that if you go visually at least it is extremely impressive but clearly comes from a religious point of view even though it's scholarly What about some of those other institutions that are around the Smithsonian I think it's important to have a 1000 flowers bloom I may have different interpretations in some places but the reality is that if people are going to places asking interesting questions grappling with issues then it's all for the best I always tell people that the key to the Smithsonian is that we're a foundation upon which you can then go to other institutions and learn more about yourself you don't want that job being the founding director of the blacks only and at 1st as I understand it. No I was happy in Chicago I also worried that this was such a big job could I really do that and I thought long and hard about it and then I realized that I kept waiting to hear somebody say that this was a story that was crucial for black America but even more important for America and when I didn't hear other people saying that then I thought well I should at least say it and the Smithsonian did something very smart they said look I know you don't want the job but why don't you write for us what the vision should be and once you get a writer writing you got me and so the next thing I know I'm packing up from Chicago and here I am back in d.c. Who did you talk to in terms of figuring out that vision. I talked to a ray of scholars who do sort of African-American but I talked to a lot of my peers that I worked with over my career and said What do you think about what I want to accomplish and people got very excited about it and I knew that in some ways the question was What should the 21st century museum be and that's the kind of question a guided us as we created the museum and then figure out how to amalgamate all those points of view and how to not so much amalgamate how to recognize that you're going to take some and others you're going to reject but as long as your point of view is clear and based on scholarship that's the best we can do one listener tweeted I tried to go to all the Smithsonian's my freshman year at Howard in 2009 a daunting task that I still haven't finished I still haven't been to the n m 8 c. But it will definitely happen eventually when the tickets aren't sold out this may be the most important question I ask for the entire hour what are your tips to get tickets to black so many it's almost impossible sometimes I am stunned at the crowds it's so bad that the other day a woman called and asked me for tickets and I said I don't do that anymore and she said Oh no no I was your girlfriend in 7th grade. Oh so I am of the 78 now when you're 13 though you remember every crush you had right I don't remember this woman at all but I thought it was such a good little this is 7th grade I said it was such a good such a good lie I gave her to. So unless I'm your 7th grade girl friend you're outta luck you're gonna like Ok I want to little bit of guidance in terms of how to get tickets for those of you who were not Lonnie Bunch in 7th grade or any other grade Also we've got some questions from you about the future of the Smithsonian plenty to talk about with the other aspects of the institution including just how it deals with the future and what your future outlook is like for the Smithsonian for so for those of us who are not just a great girlfriend we will get some of your advice in a minute and stay close. Right. Right. 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We'll continue in a moment after a quick heads up about tomorrow's program drinking and driving do not mix but a New York Times investigation is raising concerns about the machinery we use to catch drunk drivers the report shows that breathalyzers are far less reliable than they should be partly due to poor maintenance if you are or have been a law enforcement officer what's your experience been like with using breathalyzers leave us a voicemail 855-236-1818 now perhaps a faulty breathalyzer test has affected you or a loved one tell us your story 855236181 egg or send us an audio file with our app one a Vox Pop We'll share some of your stories tomorrow on one essay back now to our conversation with the secretary of the Smithsonian institution like the bunch still time to get in some more of your questions and thoughts one listener tweeted I found the most unique and satisfying portion of the African-American museum to be the culture floors there is much more to black history and impact in America than slavery and oppression I think it's important for us to realize that this is a story where slavery is the center but slavery isn't the only story and so for us it was important to explore everything from the creativity of African-Americans and fine art and music and theater but also the role African-Americans played in the military so that we wanted people to understand the diversity of the African-American experiences in terms of getting this museum established how was it for us its founding director navigating this Smithsonian Institution as it stood at that time there are other factions of the Smithsonian who have needs that need to be met you can't spend the same dollar twice how did that work. It was really helpful to me to be of the Smithsonian so that I came in and I was able to reach out to colleagues that I had worked with many years to say help me navigate the internal politics of this here's where I need your help here's where I need your support so for us it was really lucky to be able to draw from a great deal of support throughout the institution as well as support I had in Congress anything you would do differently if you had the museum to build over again anything you learned at the end of the process and look at when you could've done that another way well I wish I had learned how to control water earlier and better water water because when we dug the foundation it we went so deep and suddenly all the water came up and I was terrified it was the worst time of the whole process because we couldn't figure out how to get rid of the water all the engineers right I don't know were going to do so the Potomac started flowing well I thought what was going to happen is Lonnie Bunch was going to be known for building the biggest swimming pool on the National Mall. And so when we finally were able to get engineers from the Netherlands and places that knew about water that I felt comfortable but until that moment I thought Never again will I do anything when I've got to deal with water you also got to head this 1st Smithsonian museum dedicated to black history and culture under the 1st black president Barack Obama that must have given it a special significance in a way well I knew the president before he was president in Chicago and he used to say to me in meetings all along the way said now 100 are you going to get this sort of the brother can cut the ribbon so it was really important to me to do this under President Obama let a brother cut 'd the brother cover of the book subtitle is creating a museum in the age of Bush Obama and Trump why is that part of the subtitle why I think it's important to realize that in some ways the museum wouldn't have been as successful without the support of George Bush he signed the legislation but maybe more importantly. When there were a lot of people who said this museum isn't important enough to be on the mall he stood up and said yes it should so it helped me when I began to struggle with people to say of course it should be on the Mall the president said so and I think it's important then to recognize that we're in a time where politics changes the debate discourse but the Smithsonian is always that sort of safe space where you can have those debates and so for me it's important to recognize that for Garcia the administration the Smithsonian that museum will be there to be able to challenge engage and help people remember you credit President Bush for speaking very eloquently at the opening of the museum right I think was the best speech he ever gave where he talked about how a great nation. Confronts it's pass doesn't run away from it's history and I think in a way as a historian to me that is the most powerful thing to say that history matters because history is not about yesterday it's about today and tomorrow and that's what President Bush was saying what about in the age of President Trump How much has the Trump administration if at all affected the Museum of African-American History and Culture or the Smithsonian and at large in a larger sense I think at this stage the the Smithsonian has the support that it's had with every administration there hasn't been anybody that says Ok let's attack the Smithsonian I think that what is important though is that in a divison of political age our job should be is to provide opportunities for people to have reasoned debate reasoned discussion and as long as that museum is there issues of race will always be at the heart of our national dialogue what is the scholarship of the Smithsonian been like if if any in terms of cataloguing and chronicling the trumpet ministration I feel like one of the things that we will need when we look back on any administration is kind of an arm's length view of what happened how it happened why it happened I think the one of the things that a museum does is collect today for tomorrow so there might be stories that you might not explore in next couple years but you want to make sure that a curator 50 years from now has the material has the stories they want to tell so we made sure for example that we collected a lot of things around Ferguson for example we collected ideas and stories around Charlottesville when we went to Baltimore to look at the sort of murder of Freddie Gray what we did was actually asked people to share their videos they made on their cameras so we have other ways that people would interpret these things and some of that will be used in the museum currently but a lot of it won't be used for a few more years down the road. I know there are plenty of people who are not fans of this current president who would like for history to remember him as the worst president who ever served as a pox on America as an aberration as a fluke as a mistake of American democracy and they want that to be the record of the Trump administration what would you say to them I would say it's our job to collect the trumpet ministration and its totality and I'll leave that interpretation historians in the future. To talk about the Smithsonian in general I know I asked you about secrets to the business and I gotta give credit to the one who's like don't you my mouth Ok after. General tips general's guidelines for people who are visiting the Smithsonian that might make their visit to any of the museums easier including getting tickets I think it's important to remember that if you're coming to the Smithsonian in the spring or summer there's not much I can do every 8th grade from around the country is there but I think it's important to think about coming off hours so for example now if people are coming to the museum they don't need tickets on the weekdays so if they can come on a weekday they can get in it's still always crowded on the weekends I think the best thing is for people to one get it get months in advance and get the tickets and to worst case scenario 6 o'clock in the morning they can go online and most of the time they can get picked they can get in the other thing I do is usually when I take tell people to come in say come in at 2 o'clock in the afternoon because there are people the lines get shorter there are people that have extra tickets were always going to giving you what we have and we talk about tickets we should be clear these are these are free but they're timed entry tickets they're free and they're just screwed because the reality is that the peel the museum is so great that we've got to worry about health and safety so we've got to limit the number of people in let's get to some more of your questions and stories Gretchen tweeted I've worked for I worked for years at the Smithsonian but always felt it engaged more with tourists than the local d.c. Commune. I've heard you are funding museums to engage more with the local community can you talk about this one of the things I've always felt that the society needed to do better was the take care home that it is in Washington d.c. And so it's important for me that we begin to develop deep programs with the Washington d.c. School districts that we make sure that the local community comes the community days that we have so alternately I want people to realize that the Smithsonian has this amazing national and international institution but it's also here in Washington d.c. Climate science is one of the things that comes up in a number of the Smithsonian Institution's and projects and one listener tweeted I think one of the most exciting things happening within this myth sone an is how the conservation Commons is bringing together all branches of the Smithsonian for Earth optimism 2020 can you talk about earth optimism and the Smithsonian's efforts to keep us optimistic. It's important that the Smithsonian science really become something that is in the hands of more than scientists so things like Earth optimism allow us to bring our science about environmental issues to the force of the public can see what the best thinkers are are coming up with when it comes to how to preserve our environment we believe very strongly that part of our job at the Smithsonian is to make a country better and one of the ways to do it is to help a country preserve itself through the way to make him environmentally sustainable which was why it was so important to me at the African-American Museum be the 1st green museum on the Mall to say that this is an important issue for the Smithsonian and for the country and what exactly is Earth optimism 2020 was that project it really is bringing together scientists and the general public to celebrate the anniversary of Earth Day to understand issues of sustainability to understand issues of Agriculture and Food It's really an attempt to help people just understand earth better. Quite a few school teachers are brought classes through the Smithsonian here is what one teacher in South Carolina left in our inbox this is Sarah telling from Blacksburg felt Carolina I was the lucky 6 and 7 great teacher and another small town in South Carolina and I'm so children to the Smithsonian for the 1st time they've saved their money for a year to go to Washington d.c. But. Among the artifacts the stark will tracers of the Smithsonian the. Children of this small town brought kill poems to harm Syria thank you very much for sharing that story much appreciated you are the 1st African-American to serve as the secretary of the Smithsonian museum science is not one of those places where we see a lot of black you kind of the Neil de Grasse Tyson of museum science what about diversity in museum leadership. My whole career has been about changing the Canon making sure that museums recognize that they can serve a community if they're not as diverse as that community it's important to me to say look I am not the diversity secretary however because it is so key to me to say you can understand your science your history your art without reflecting the diversity of this country that's key whether it is in terms of making sure the museums do a better job of exploring Latino issues or women's issues whether it is making sure that on our boards and we have a much more diverse Cragin of people so in essence for me it's about saying if we're going to reflect America shape America then what we do have to reflect that diversity embrace that diversity is that a matter of the pipeline of people who want to get into museum sciences or they just not enough young African-Americans who even consider it as a career it's a variety of. Things part of it's the pipeline I mean I think that what I recognize is that my career has contributed to a visibility were suddenly I see younger people younger African-Americans younger Latino saying well this might be a career for me as well so it's both creating the more effective pipeline but I believe maybe more than anything else it's making sure people see themselves in museums if people go in and see Latino culture then people are saying I want to be part of this I want to help reshape that so that's why it's so important for the Smithsonian to reflect that diversity few other aspects of historical preservation I wanted to make sure I asked you about before I let you go the Newseum a museum of news here in d.c. a Nonprofit but not part of the Smithsonian is closing in December I wonder what your thoughts are both on just kind of the lifespan of the Newseum and what might happen to some of that collection as a Smithsonian inquired about acquiring any of the museum's collection I think there are discussions about how we make sure of the the strength of the Newseum still survives but there hasn't been the kind of commitment to say let's collect the collections there I think it's important to recognize that museums are hard. They're hard to sort of make profitable they're hard to keep going and I think the Newseum has a wonderful story and I'm just sorry that it's closing you've also been vocal about Confederate monuments which is one of the things we've debated since and around Charlottesville Charlottesville knew all and sportsmen and cetera you've been vocal about them while also noting that in your words quote reckoning with the last stories and new fears will not be accomplished by simply tearing down Confederate monuments unquote What do you think we should do with these monuments I'm a firm believer that one. Pruning is what we do some should be taken down but I think there should be an opportunity to can texture wise and explore this what I think when I talked to Mayor Mitch Landrieu and in New Orleans when he took down monuments I said it's important for people to understand what these monuments really were that most of these monuments were done well after the Civil War and there were about white supremacy and then the ones the 2nd wave that were done during the civil rights movement were really ways to say we oppose the change of the civil rights movement I want people to understand that and I think if you just a race them you can't do that so I would argue that one of the best places I love is a park in Hungary where they took all the old Soviet statues and said this is part of our history and interpreted for the public to understand what they mean this is big for you I mean you are the grandson of a sharecropper who worked a plantation outside Raleigh North Carolina now you are the head of the world's largest museum and research institution that's that's got to hit you hard sometimes what it hits me is it makes me realize the power of African-American families for people who basically believed in an America that didn't believe in them who said education was the key and so I think how important it was for my grandparents to decide to change their lives which reminds me how important is for all of us to struggle to make a country better to make our families better because their actions transformed my life otherwise I might still be picking on last question if you had a day to go see the Smithsonian not as the secretary just to enjoy part of it for a day where would you go what would you say. I love going to the art museums when I walk through the Smithsonian art museums I find new ways to understand myself I find a sense of beauty and I find a sense of calm which I'm always in search of Lani bunch is the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in the founding director of the National Museum. Of African-American History and Culture his new book is called a fool's errand Mr Secretary we appreciate your time thanks for talking to us thank you my pleasure this conversation was produced by Haley blasting game to learn more about our team visit the one a dot org this program comes to you from am you part of American University in Washington distributed by n.p.r. Until we meet again I'm Joshua Johnson thanks for sharing your stories and your questions and thanks for listening this is one a. Support for n.p.r. Comes from this station and from Americans for the Arts committed to transforming America's communities through the arts and arts education supporting the nonprofit arts industry which employs 4600000 people nationwide learn more Americans for the Arts dot org. And from the Doris Duke charitable foundation whose sickle cell disease advancing cures program supports cutting edge research to cure sickle cell disease learn more at d.d. C f dot org The breathalyzer has put untold numbers of drunk drivers behind bars they're designed to measure if someone is fit to drive but a New York Times investigation is raising serious concerns about their reliability how do we give law enforcement the right tools to keep our roads safe next time on one. 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Why in Philadelphia I'm Terry Gross with fresh air today hearing in a deafening World journalist David Owen says we take our ears for granted abusing them with rock concerts loud restaurants and power tools Owen Warren freshers Dave Davies about some of their ear damaging sound writing on the subway in your food processor really food processor when you're on your make invest all you've got to have ear protection or you know blow dry or Owen's new book volume control explores high tech breakthroughs for hearing loss and examines auditory mysteries like ringing in the ears Owen met one man who has type or q. Says it's like the opposite of deafness everything is louder to him than it is to anybody else much louder and the thinking of people can drive him out of the room and Kevin Whitehead reviews it reissue of night calls early recordings 1st news. In Washington I'm Jack Speer House investigators are releasing more transcripts from their impeachment inquiry this time from a former u.s. Envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker and u.s. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon song led to revised a bit of his testimony more from N.P.R.'s Michele Kelemen the lengthy transcript of Gordon Sunland includes an unusual a dent I'm he says his memory was refreshed after reading some of the opening statements of others who have testified at issue is what someone thought about Trump's hold on u.s. Security assistance to Ukraine he now says that by September he understood that the aid was linked to the Ukrainians making a public statement promising to investigate corruption Sandland says Trump's lawyer was seeking a statement that specifically mentioned the energy company that had former Vice President Biden's son on the board Kurt Volker says he agreed with the Ukrainians they should not issue such a statement Michele Kelemen n.p.r. News the State Department the top Republican in the Senate is weighing in on the ongoing impeachment inquiry Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell today saying that is the process moves forward it appears almost inevitable there will be an impeachment trial McConnell says lawmakers will follow the constitution if that happens at some point it looks to me like they're going to send it over to the Senate as you all know that means we have to take it up without consent we're on it 6 days away the chief justice isn't a chair and senators are not allowed to speak so that's the way it will be handled and Senator McConnell also said as things stand now he does not think Trump will be impeached McConnell said he'll work with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to agree on.