© 2024
NPR for Northern Colorado
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
In commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, KUNC presents a day of special programming from NPR News, StoryCorps, The Sonic Memorial Project, and independent radio producers and reporters nationwide. All coverage will be collected in this archive.6:00 AM – 12:00 PM: NPR Special Coverage“To mark 10 years since the attacks on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon on September 11, NPR will air coverage leading up to September 11 and on the day itself. The overarching theme of coverage is: How has America changed? NPR will air rigorous reporting on everything from national security to politics to our culture, and also reflecting on the human toll -- the impact of September 11th on people's lives and our country. Hosted by Audie Cornish”12:00 PM – 1:00 PM: StoryCorps: We Remember“An intimate look at lives forever changed by the attacks on 9/11. These are stories from families and friends who tell us about their loved ones and their loss: the father who recalls the last words he shared with his son, the recovery worker who discovers a new meaning for normal, the fireman's daughter who knew that her dad who perished in the line of duty wouldn't have wanted it any other way. On the 10th anniversary of the attacks, host Audie Cornish checks in with StoryCorps families to find out how they make their way today.”1:00 PM – 2:00 PM: Our 9/11: Growing Up in The Aftermath“WNYC's Radio Rookies and PRX, in partnership with the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, looks at the 9/11 attacks through the eyes of young people who were just kids when the towers fell: a girl whose dad never returned from police duty, two families ripped apart by trauma, a Muslim girl who coped with the angry reaction to her faith, and a young man who has helped one community remember. Hosted by On the Media's Brooke Gladstone.”2:00 PM – 3:00: The Sonic Memorial Project“On the 10th Anniversary of 9/11, we re-visit The Sonic Memorial Project, which commemorates the life and history of the World Trade Center and the people who passed through its doors. A collaboration between The Kitchen Sisters Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva, PRX, NPR, independent producers, and stations and listeners nationwide, the project was created with audio artifacts, rare recordings, and the input of thousands of people who called in with their personal stories.”3:00 PM: Bob Edwards Weekend Doyle McManus, Washington columnist for the Los Angeles Times joins Bob to talk about 9/11, then and now. Shortly after the terror attacks of September 11th, 2001 writer Joan Murray read her poem, “Survivors Found,” on NPR’s Morning Edition, the program Bob hosted at the time. Ten years later, she’s back to reflect on that poem, and how it helped people heal from the tragedy.4:00 PM: This American LifeTEN YEARS IN: In this show, we return to people who've been on This American Life in the last ten years, whose lives were drastically altered by 9/11, including Hyder Akbar, an Afghan-American teen who moved to Afghanistan after his father was tapped to become governor of Kunar province there; Marian Fontana, whose husband Dave was a fireman who died in the Twin Towers; and Lynn Simpson, who escaped from the 89th floor and made it out of the World Trade Center with about a minute to spare.6:00 PM: NPR Special CoverageNPR will offer live, anchored coverage of A Concert for Hope, which will be held at The Kennedy Center at 8pm ET. President Obama will speak during the concert, which will also feature performances by Patti Labelle, Alan Jackson and Denyce Graves.

Remembering Sept. 11: 'I Threw The Phone Down, I Screamed'

Outside the Pentagon, 184 benches are part of the memorial honoring those killed there on Sept. 11, 2001.
Jose Luis Magana
/
AP
Outside the Pentagon, 184 benches are part of the memorial honoring those killed there on Sept. 11, 2001.

As the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks draws closer, we're pointing to some of the stories being told about that day and the days since.

Madeleine V. Leckie Elementary School in Washington, D.C., has a strong, painful connection to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, as NPR's Claudio Sanchez reported earlier onMorning Edition.

A teacher, Hilda Taylor, and a student, 11-year-old Bernard Brown, were aboard American Airlines Flight 77 — the jet that terrorists flew into the Pentagon.

Parents of two children at the school, Johnnie Doctor and Marsha Ratchford, were at their jobs at the Pentagon that day and also were killed.

Clementine Homesley, who was the school's principal, tells Claudio that when she got a call that morning telling her of the school's losses, "I threw the phone down, I screamed."

Ten years later, the students who were at Leckie that day have all moved on. But the school teaches about the events and honors the memories of those who died. There's a glass case with some of Taylor's and Bernard's prized possessions — including one of her hats and a ball of Bernard's. And parents have started a petition to rename the school to "Taylor-Brown Public School Academy."

Other 9/11 stories of note this morning:

-- The Wall Street Journal looks at how the New York City Fire Department "has revamped everything from its on-scene protocol to its communications to prevent a repeat of the catastrophic losses the department suffered on Sept. 11, 2001. The department lost 343 firefighters that day, and hundreds more took early retirement in the next year. The FDNY hired and trained more than 2,600 new firefighters in less than two and a half years after Sept. 11."

-- USA Todaywrites about "How 9/11 Changed America" (online here). As the lead piece says, "we can see the changes in our nation by looking at the changes in our people — some who were close to the cataclysm, some far from it." And the story focuses on "20 such Americans. They suggest 9/11 was like a rock thrown in a pond, its impact rippling out until all the water is roiled."

-- WHYY's Fresh Air posts about the conversation host Terry Gross had with two New York City firefighters who responded to the disaster at the World Trade Center that day. One, Ken Haskell, lost two brothers that day. They were also firefighters. Another, Jay Jones, survived despite being in the North Tower when it collapsed.

Related: NPR.org's "Reflecting On Sept. 11, 2001" page is asking "what one word describes how you felt that day?"

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.