Wednesday, May 20, 2009.  Gilda Radner died twenty years ago today.  I share a few memories of the actress and comedienne, who was one of the original (and still the best, to my mind) Not Ready For Prime Time Players.

I apologize for the less-than-stellar vocal quality of this episode.  I'm a bit under the weather, but I didn't want to miss out on this event.  To recall another of Gilda's famous phrases, it's always something, isn't it?

Tuesday, May 12, 2009.  Twenty years ago today, the last graffiti-covered subway car on the New York City system was retired from service.  I talk about the efforts to clean up graffiti on the NYC subways in the late 1980s, and how that changed the image of the subways (and the city itself) for people like me who knew about "The Big Apple" from nothing but TV shows.

Thursday, April 30, 2009. Twenty years ago today, film director Sergio Leone died at the age of 60.  I talk about the achievements of the man who defined the "spaghetti Western," and how I first came to see his movies.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009.  Twenty years ago today, 96 people lost their lives in a human crush at Hillsborough, a football (soccer) stadium in Sheffield, England.  I talk a little about the worst disaster in the history of English sport, and about the part we all have to play in keeping the memory alive -- even people like me who didn't learn about the disaster until many years after it happened.

The picture at the left is of the memorial to the victims of the Hillsborough disaster at Anfield, the home stadium of Liverpool Football Club.  LFC has never forgotten the tragedy that took the lives of 96 of their supporters, and their website is a great place to begin learning more about the human cost of the Hillsborough disaster.

Sunday, April 12, 2009. Sugar Ray Robinson, considered by many to be the greatest boxer of all time, died twenty years ago today.  I talk a little about this remarkable fighter, as well as sharing my own thoughts about being a boxing fan.

Monday, April 6, 2009.  Twenty years ago, the Polish Round Table Agreement was signed, setting the stage for the end of Communist government in the nation of Poland.  I give a brief description of the agreement, as well as a glimpse of some of the events yet to come in 1989, which together spelled the end of the Iron Curtain in Europe.

This is the 150th episode of "It Was 20 Years Ago Today."  It's a little hard for me to believe that there have been 150 shows over the last two and a half years.  I want to thank all of my listeners and supporters.  Whether you've just started listening recently, or have been here since the beginning, your downloads and support mean a lot.  Many thanks.

Saturday, April 4, 2009. Twenty years ago today, Salman Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses was in the top spot on the New York Times fiction bestseller list.  I take a look at the controversy surrounding the book, and talk about all the things I didn't understand about that controversy -- from twenty years ago to this day.

Thursday, March 26, 2009.  Twenty years ago today, citizens of the Soviet Union went to the polls in the first multi-party elections in that nation in over seventy years.  I take a look at that election, some of its results, and ponder the changes in the world, where for many of us, the Soviet Union has never even existed.

I've also included a promo for the Forgotten Classics podcast, a show where you can find out more about famous books of an even older vintage than I might talk about here.

Thursday, March 19, 2009. Twenty years ago today, the New York Times printed an article about the practice of balancing eggs on their ends on the occasion of the spring equinox.  I look at the idea that you can only balance an egg on its end on the equinox -- which is a folktale -- as well as the idea of urban legends in general.

This episode was inspired in large part by a well known article on the Bad Astronomy website.  My favorite reference site for rumors and urban legends is Snopes.com.

Sunday, March 8, 2009. Twenty years ago today, Ashley Michelle Bond-Peters was born.  I never knew Ashley -- I learned about her from a website created by her mother as a memorial.  I talk about Ashley and about the way the Internet has changed the ways we relate to one another, in communities and memorials online.