Sidedoor

A string of unsolved murders in San Francisco's Chinatown in the 1970s led police to the door of a young Korean immigrant named Chol Soo Lee — who was quickly arrested and sentenced to life in prison. But when investigative journalist K.W. Lee started digging into the case, he discovered a world of twisted law and order that went far deeper than one man. The articles K.W. wrote about what he uncovered in Chinatown shocked Asian Americans across Northern California to stand up and demand justice for Chol Soo Lee — and themselves. 
Guests: 
Sojin Kim, curator at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
Ranko Yamada, friend of K.W. Lee and Chol Soo Lee 
Julie Ha, journalist, writer and co-director of the documentary film "Free Chol Soo Lee"

Orville and Wilbur Wright have been immortalized as the men opened the skies to human flight. But could they have achieved such great heights without the wind beneath their wings — their sister? Katharine Wright was her brothers' biggest champion, official spokesperson, closest confidante and the only one of the Wright siblings with a college degree. For years, Katharine, Wilbur and Orville were inseparable — until tragedy and a love affair upended everything. This is the story of the Wright sibling that history almost left out.
Guests:
Thomas Paone, museum specialist at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum
Tom Crouch, curator emeritus of the aeronautics division at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum and author of The Bishop’s Boys: A Life of Wilbur and Orville Wright

Clifton Chenier grew up in rural Louisiana, watching how his father’s accordion could magically turn front porches into dance parties. When he was old enough to play himself, Chenier began blending the Creole zydeco of his childhood with R&B and blues sounds of the 1940s and ’50s. His style packed dance halls across Louisiana and eventually carried zydeco to stages around the world. Through rare archival recordings and firsthand stories, we trace Chenier’s journey from a sharecropper’s son to the undisputed King of Zydeco.
Guests: 
Adam Machado, director of the Arhoolie Foundation and producer of the retrospective box set, King of Louisiana Blues and Zydeco
CJ Chenier, son of Clifton Chenier and lead singer and saxophonist for CJ Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band
Dickie Landry, saxophonist, composer, and photographer
Maureen Loughran, director and curator of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings 
 
This episode features archival interview recordings of Clifton Chenier courtesy of the Arhoolie Foundation. You can find the full interviews and archival photographs here.

He’s a symbol of patriotism, protest, and power. But behind the red, white, and blue is a real man—and a disputed American origin story. How did a real guy go from meatpacker to meme, to personification of a nation and, eventually, the most famous Army recruiter in history?
I WANT YOU… to listen and find out.
Guests: 
Frank Blazich, curator of modern military history at the Smithsonian's National Musuem of American History
Kathy Sheehan, executive director of the Hart Cluett Museum in Troy, New York; The Redela County and Troy City historian

American newspaper publisher and all-around eccentric, Charles Francis Hall, was an unlikely candidate to become an Arctic explorer. Nevertheless, he made three trips to the frozen north, until he died there under suspicious circumstances. Sharpen your powers of deduction and join us on Sidedoor for an epic frozen whodunit, featuring shipwreck, romance, and a social media darling with a dark secret. We’re resharing this longtime favorite from 2021 to bring you some wintry vibes. 
Guests:
Stephen Loring, anthropologist and archeologist at the Arctic Studies Center of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History
Heidi Moses, volunteer with the Smithsonian Transcription Center
Emily Niekrasz, social media manager, Smithsonian Institution