“I’ve got guts, and they have—even if they hate what I’m fighting for—they have to admire my guts.” Madalyn Murray O’Hair was a leading activist for atheism and separation of church and state. She founded American Atheists and is best known for the Murray v. Curlett lawsuit, which challenged the policy of mandatory prayers and Bible reading in Baltimore public schools. Ultimately, the United States Supreme Court, which ruled that officially sanctioned mandatory Bible-reading in American public schools was unconstitutional. Listen to Studs Terkel’s interview with Murray O’Hair as they discuss feminism, theology, and her family history. Listen here.

Studs Terkel Radio Archive

Launched in May 2018 on Studs Terkel’s 106th birthday, is a digital platform whereon, eventually, will live the majority of the 5,600 radio programs Terkel created during his career at WFMT in Chicago between 1952 and 1997 live. The radio archive is jointly managed by CHM and the WFMT Radio Network, a division of Window to the World Communication Inc. CHM has owned Terkel’s tapes since he retired from WFMT and became a staff member of CHM in 1997. Explore the archive.

ABOUT THE CHICAGO HISTORY MUSEUM

The Chicago History Museum is situated on ancestral homelands of the Potawatomi people, who cared for the land until forced out by non-Native settlers. Established in 1856, the Museum is now at 1601 N. Clark Street in Lincoln Park, its third location. As a major museum and research center for Chicago and U.S. history, the Chicago History Museum strives to be a destination for learning, inspiration and civic engagement. Through dynamic exhibitions, tours, publications, special events and programming, the Museum connects people to Chicago’s history and to each other. To share Chicago stories, the Museum collects and preserves millions of artifacts, documents, images and other items that are relevant to the city’s history. The Museum gratefully acknowledges the support of the Chicago Park District on behalf of the people of Chicago.