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Washington's National Mall will regain a star attraction Friday, when the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History reopens after a two-year renovation. It took $85 million and a horde of curators, builders, architects and advisers to reframe space for the museum's 3 million historic objects.

The Democratic Texas Congressman conspired with a rogue CIA operative to launch an operation to help the Afghan mujahedeen during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

On the eve of this year's Grammy Awards, the 50th anniversary of the show, Grammys producer Ken Ehrlich talks about highlights of his years of bringing together artists from across the music spectrum.

The new Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield, Ill., brings together authentic artifacts and flashy multimedia installations. Traditionalist curators argue that glitzy technology is inappropriate, but others believe it's the right approach for the 21st century. The museum is slated to open in April.

The slave trade was abolished in the British colonies 200 years ago this year. The film Amazing Grace commemorates the event. Writer Adam Hochschild discusses the birth of the abolitionist movement in Great Britain.

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Dale Minami, lawyer and former Asian American studies professor at U.C. Berkeley, about the history of anti-Asian sentiment in the United States.

The invention of Henry Ford's Model T in 1908 sparked the birth of the automobile industry. Since then, cars have played a monumental role in defining American culture. Paul Ingrassia's new book, Engines of Change, highlights 15 cars that have shaped the way Americans live.

The problems with decrepit hotel rooms and stray dogs in Sochi, Russia, are stealing the headlines, but they are hardly the first Olympics to stumble. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Esquire Magazine's AJ Jacobs about some of the more inglorious moments in Winter Olympics history.

After decades of trying to ignore the turbulent summer of 1964, when a campaign to register black voters was met with violent resistance, Mississippi is now embracing its history.