Contributor
Richard Paul is an independent radio producer and author based in Washington, DC. He has created award-winning audio stories and documentaries, as well as the book, We Could Not Fail: The First African Americans in the Space Program.
Richard started his career on Capitol Hill, as National Affairs Press Secretary for Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-AK) and Press Secretary for the Senate Subcommittee on Children, Families, Drugs And Alcohol. At night, he wrote and performed satirical political songs as a member of The Capitol Steps.
He jumped into radio at WAMU-FM in Washington, DC, working in the newsroom and producing The Diane Rehm Show and other programs over 14 years. He now runs rlpaulproductions, LLC.
Richard has won numerous awards for his audio stories, podcasts and documentaries. He is a contributor to PRI's Studio 360, a weekly program on pop culture, design and creativity.
His recent book, We Could Not Fail: The First African Americans in the Space Program, chronicles how the space race and the civil rights movement came together to help reshape the American South.
Shakespeare outside in the summer seems as natural as beaches or baseball. But first it had to overcome fears that it was demonic.
The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum is full of relics from the age of flight. But it's also home to items from the future — props from the original Star Trek TV show.
Fall is in the air, which means football is on the airwaves. And the games come with a distinct soundtrack, too.
How science and a computer algorithm identified a play that may have been written by William Shakespeare, but has long been attributed to Lewis Theobald.
In the ‘60s, black gospel musicians put their politicized music on the B-sides of their singles, in part because they feared political retribution. Many of the songs faded into obscurity, but one professor has made it his life’s mission to preserve that music before it's lost to history.
NASA's black engineers, mathematicians and technicians didn't just help American win the space race, they also played a key role in reshaping the American South.
Alan Lomax is celebrated for incredible recordings that serve as touchstones for the field of folk music. But he is not universally praised — with some critics saying his methods, and even his collections, reinforced a segregated South and highlight offensively stereotypical aspects of African American culture.
An Iranian playwright, without a passport and unable to leave his country, created a one-person play all about control and submission. Actors see the script for the first time on stage, as they start their first and only performance before a paying audience. The experience has spurred total panic in seasoned actors.
1960s protest music wasn't only for championing left-wing causes. A segment of the folk movement came out in praise of Barry Goldwater and warned against the evils of communism. Richard Paul investigates the right side of folk music.