Meet Miss Subways

Radio Diaries

#True Stories #Radio Diaries & Radiotopia #Radio Diaries #Year Old #Society #Documentaries #Storytelling

30:20

Eli Beer is a pioneer, social entrepreneur, President and Founder of United Hatzalah of Israel. In thirty years, the organization has grown to more than 6,500 volunteers who unite together to provide immediate, life-saving care to anyone in need - regardless of race or religion. This community EMS force network treats over 730,000 incidents per year, in Israel, as they wait for ambulances and medical attention. Eli’s vision is to bring this life-saving model across the world. In 2015, Beer expanded internationally with the establishment of branches in South America and other countries, including “United Rescue” in Jersey City, USA, where the response time was reduced to just two minutes and thirty-five seconds. Episode Chapters (0:00) intro (1:04) Hatzalah’s reputation for speed (4:48) Hatzalah’s volunteer EMTs and ambucycles (5:50) Entrepreneurism at Hatzalah (8:09) Chutzpah (14:15) Hatzalah’s recruitment (18:31) Volunteers from all walks of life (22:51) Having COVID changed Eli’s perspective (26:00) operating around the world amid antisemitism (28:06) goodbye For video episodes, watch on www.youtube.com/@therudermanfamilyfoundation Stay in touch: X: @JayRuderman | @RudermanFdn LinkedIn: Jay Ruderman | Ruderman Family Foundation Instagram: All About Change Podcast | Ruderman Family Foundation To learn more about the podcast, visit https://allaboutchangepodcast.com/ Looking for more insights into the world of activism? Be sure to check out Jay’s brand new book, Find Your Fight , in which Jay teaches the next generation of activists and advocates how to step up and bring about lasting change. You can find Find Your Fight wherever you buy your books, and you can learn more about it at www.jayruderman.com .…

2 years ago 10:56

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Beauty pageants promote the fantasy of the ideal woman. But for 35 years, one contest in New York City celebrated the everyday working girl.

Each month starting in 1941, a young woman was elected “Miss Subways,” and her face gazed down on transit riders as they rode through the city. Her photo was accompanied by a short bio describing her hopes, dreams and aspirations. The public got to choose the winners – so Miss Subway represented the perfect New York miss. She was also a barometer of changing times.

Miss Subways was one of the first integrated beauty pageants in America. An African-American Miss Subways was selected in 1948 – more than thirty years before there was a black Miss America. By the 1950s, there were Miss Subways who were black, Asian, Jewish, and Hispanic – the faces of New York’s female commuters.

In this episode of the Radio Diaries Podcast, meet the Miss Subways. This episode originally aired on NPR in 2012.

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246 episodes

Radio Diaries

Meet Miss Subways

Radio Diaries

9,423 subscribers

published 2 years ago

MP3•Episode home

Beauty pageants promote the fantasy of the ideal woman. But for 35 years, one contest in New York City celebrated the everyday working girl.

In this episode of the Radio Diaries Podcast, meet the Miss Subways. This episode originally aired on NPR in 2012.

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

246 episodes

#True Stories #Radio Diaries & Radiotopia #Radio Diaries #Year Old #Society #Documentaries #Storytelling

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Radio Diaries

1
Prisoners of War 19:51

13 days ago19:51

19:51

It's been 50 years since the end of the Vietnam war. In honor of the anniversary, we're revisiting a story about a notorious American military prison on the outskirts of Saigon, called Long Binh Jail. LBJ wasn’t for captured enemy fighters—it was for American soldiers. These were men who had broken military law. And there were a lot of them. As the unpopular war dragged on, discipline frayed and soldiers started to rebel. By the summer of 1968, over half the men in Long Binh Jail were locked up on AWOL charges. Some were there for more serious crimes, others for small stuff, like refusing to get a haircut. The stockade had become extremely overcrowded. Originally built to house 400 inmates, it became crammed with over 700 men, more than half African American. On August 29th, 1968, the situation erupted. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

Radio Diaries

1
March of the Bonus Army 16:18

27 days ago16:18

16:18

Author James Baldwin once wrote, "I love America more than any other country in the world and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually." On this episode, we go back to 1932 when a group of World War I veterans set up an encampment in Washington, D.C., and vowed to stay until their voices were heard. It was a remarkable chapter in American history, and a demonstration of the power of citizens to come together for a cause. This is the story of the Bonus Army. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

Radio Diaries

1
The Girls of the Leesburg Stockade 16:14

6 weeks ago16:14

16:14

On July 19, 1963, at least 15 Black girls were arrested while marching to protest segregation in Americus, Georgia. After spending a night in jail, they were transferred to the one-room Leesburg Stockade and imprisoned for the next 45 days. Only twenty miles away, the girls' parents had no knowledge of their location. A month into their confinement, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) heard rumors of the girls' detention and sent photographer Danny Lyon, who took pictures of them through barred windows. Within days, these photographs appeared in publications around the country. As the girls' ordeal gained national attention, they were released without charges. This is the story of the 'Stolen Girls.' ***** To see more photos by Danny Lyon, visit bleakbeauty.com and Instagram . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

Radio Diaries

1
Guest Spotlight: Signal Hill 37:20

8 weeks ago37:20

37:20

This week we're featuring a story from a brand new audio magazine we've been listening to called Signal Hill . "Pie Down Here" features oral history interviews with farmworkers and Communist Party members who organized a sharecroppers' union in Alabama during the Great Depression. The interviews were recorded by historian Robin Kelley for his book, Hammer and Hoe . You can learn more about Signal Hill and check out the rest of their first issue—eight original stories—at signalhill.fm . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

Radio Diaries

1
Making Waves: The Woman Who Warned The World 12:30

10 weeks ago12:30

12:30

In 1939, Time Magazine called Dorothy Thompson a woman who “thinks, talks and sleeps world problems — and scares men half to death.” They weren’t wrong. Thompson was a foreign correspondent in Germany in the years leading up to World War 2, and she broadcast to millions of listeners around the world. She became known for her bold commentaries on the rise of Hitler. The Nazis even created a “Dorothy Thompson Emergency Squad” to monitor her work. She was an eloquent and opinionated advocate for the principles of democracy. But by the end of the war, those strong opinions put her career in jeopardy. This is the story of the woman who tried to warn the world. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

Radio Diaries

1
Making Waves: The Original Angry Talker 12:32

11 weeks ago12:32

12:32

These days, we’re used to media that thrives on conflict and amplifies the most outrageous voices in the room. It's something we often trace back to shock jocks, like Howard Stern, and in-your-face talk show hosts like Tucker Carlson and Rush Limbaugh. But before all those guys, there was Joe Pyne. At the height of his career in the 1960s, the New York Times called him “The ranking nuisance of broadcasting.” Today, episode two of our series Making Waves: The Original Angry Talker. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

Radio Diaries

1
Making Waves: The Happy-Am-I Preacher 18:08

12 weeks ago18:08

18:08

In 1934, the Washington Post called Elder Lightfoot Solomon Michaux, the “best known colored man in America.” He was known as the Happy-Am-I Preacher. His Sunday services were broadcast to over 25 million listeners on CBS radio. Black America saw Michaux as a leader for racial harmony and progress. But during the civil rights movement, his reputation took an unlikely turn. This is episode 1 of our new miniseries Making Waves, three profiles of people who pushed the boundaries of radio. They used the microphone in different ways: one to warn, one to rile, one to preach. What they had in common is they were all controversial, they spoke to huge audiences in their time, and today, they’re largely forgotten. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

Radio Diaries

1
Sealab: A Home on the Ocean Floor 20:41

17 weeks ago20:41

20:41

From ancient myths of sea monsters lurking below to Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, the ocean has long been both a source of fear and fascination. For Captain George Bond, a Navy medical officer in the 1960s, the deep sea was humanity’s next frontier. Undersea agriculture, deep sea mining, and human colonies on the ocean floor made up his dream for the future. Today we bring you the story of the U.S. Navy’s little-known experiment building homes on the ocean floor. They called it, Sealab. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

Radio Diaries

1
Guest Spotlight: The Memory Palace with Nate DiMeo 13:45

18 weeks ago13:45

13:45

Happy 2025! We have a slate of new stories coming soon, but we want to start the year by shouting out fellow podcaster (and friend of the show) Nate DiMeo of The Memory Palace. He just put out his first book, The Memory Palace: True Short Stories of the Past . So to celebrate, we're featuring one of our favorite episodes from The Memory Palace, "These Words, Forever." Joe also sat down with Nate to chat about his book, storytelling and the dream of having a device that could allow you to hear anything. Find Nate's book The Memory Palace: True Short Stories of the Past NOW online or at your local bookstore. Check out The Memory Palace wherever you get your podcasts, or on radiotopia.fm. If you liked this episode, follow us on X and Instagram @radiodiaries. Hear more episodes on our feed and at radiodiaries.org. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

Radio Diaries

1
Teen Contender 21:08

20 weeks ago21:08

21:08

If you follow boxing, you've heard of Claressa Shields. At the 2012 Olympics, she became the first American woman to win gold in boxing. She repeated the feat 4 years later, becoming the first American boxer — woman or otherwise — to win consecutive medals. Now, she's the subject of a new movie called The Fire Inside, tracing her journey to Olympic stardom. Claressa Shields' story was one of our earliest at Radio Diaries. We gave her a tape recorder and asked her to document her journey leading up to the 2012 Olympics. She was sixteen at the time. Today, we revisit the story of Claressa Shields — before the world knew who she was. The Fire Inside comes out exclusively in theaters on Christmas Day. If you liked this story, follow us on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram @radiodiaries! See more stories in our feed and on our website, radiodiaries.org. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

Radio Diaries

1
Last Witness: The Kerner Commission 12:45

23 weeks ago12:45

12:45

Former Oklahoma senator Fred Harris died recently, at 94 years old. In 1967, Fred Harris and 10 senators came together and released the Kerner Report, a 1400-page explanation of the causes of the protests that filled American cities that summer. It was an instant — and unlikely — bestseller, selling over half a million copies in just three weeks, getting shoutouts by celebrities like Marlon Brando, and sparking debates on news programs throughout the country. The book talked about white racism at a time when that phrase was mostly used by Black activists, not white politicians. Fred Harris was the last surviving member of the Kerner Commission. If you liked this episode, follow us on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram @radiodiaries. Visit our website at radiodiaries.org. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

Radio Diaries

1
A Guitar, A Cello and the Day that Changed Music 17:15

25 weeks ago17:15

17:15

November 23, 1936 was a good day for recorded music. Two men, an ocean apart, sat before a microphone and began to play. One, Pablo Casals, was a cello prodigy who had performed for the Queen of Spain. The other, Robert Johnson, played guitar and was a regular in the juke joints of the Mississippi Delta. These recordings would change music history. This episode originally aired on NPR in 2011. **** Right now is Radiotopia's Annual Fall Fundraiser! If just 1% of our listeners donated, we would hit our goal TODAY. Donate today at radiotopia.fm./donate. Thanks so much for your support. Liked what you heard? Follow us on Instagram , X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook @radiodiaries. To see photos and hear our Casals/Johnson mashup in full, visit us at radiodiaries.org. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

Radio Diaries

1
The John Birch Society 15:18

29 weeks ago15:18

15:18

In today’s political climate, conspiracy theories are commonplace. But they’re nothing new. In fact, back in the 1960s, there was one organization that built a movement around them. The John Birch Society was started by a small group of wealthy businessmen including Robert Welch and Fred Koch. It expanded, with chapters of like-minded Americans meeting in private living rooms and finished basements across the country, fueled by conspiracy theories that caused a schism in presidential politics. While the Birch Society’s influence has waned, its impact is still felt today. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

Radio Diaries

1
American Migrant 15:59

31 weeks ago15:59

15:59

During the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, millions of desperate Americans abandoned their homes, farms and businesses. It was one of the largest migrations in US history. In the 1940s, Pat Rush’s family were farm laborers, exhausted by trying to make ends meet. So they left Arkansas and followed the hundreds of thousands who had traveled Route 66 to California. There, the federal government had built resettlement camps to help deal with the influx. Migrant stories have two parts: the leaving of an old life, and the building of a new one. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices…

Radio Diaries

1
The Longest Game 44:13

34 weeks ago44:13