Fighting pirates along the Barbary Coast in 1815, US Navy ships encountered a fierce and brave Algerian naval hero, Rais Hamidou.
"Hamidou"
![Photo: British Library digitised image from page 8 of "Algiers; being a complete picture of the Barbary States ... and containing ... A narrative of the various attacks upon Algiers by the European States, etc [With coloured illustrations]" source: Flickr/Creative Commons](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/37925a4/2147483647/strip/true/crop/800x602+0+0/resize/840x632!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F16%2Feb%2F80cc5a1f4b20a90bfd11cc8a7a0e%2F11003539855-6ca0a95f87-c.jpg)
Ric Cottom came to Baltimore more than four decades ago and never left. Formerly the editor and publisher at the Maryland Historical Society, he now runs the Chesapeake Book Company, publishing Chesapeake regional history, biography, and environmental studies.
Lisa Morgan covered the local arts community as co-creator and host of WYPR’s award-winning program The Signal from 2004 to 2015. She has created and produced many programs for WYPR, including news stories, features, commentaries, and audio documentaries. She taught audio production at Goucher College and has done voice-over work for a variety of clients. The Weekly Reader is her latest project.