All Episodes
BackStory — 259 episodes
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331: The End of the Road: BackStory and the History of Finales in America
Teaser: BackStory and the History of Finales in America
330: Best of BackStory: The Time the People Picked
Introducing: Seizing Freedom
329: Great, Small and Other Expectations: Charles Dickens and His History with America
328: The Clue of the Blue Bottle from "The Last Archive"
327: Another Burden to Bear: A History of Racial Health Disparities in America
326: Mystery, Murder, and Mayhem: A History of True Crime in America
325: American Empire: From Scene on Radio
324: Best of BackStory: The Time Joanne Freeman Went to Congress
276: Red in the Stars and Stripes?: A History of Socialism in America
323: Zooming Ahead: How Virtual Learning is Shaping the College Classroom
322: 1980s Environmentalism and How the Reagan-Era Shaped the Natural World
321: Give Us the Ballot: From LBJ and the Great Society
320: Best of BackStory: The Time Nathan Connolly Had A Close Encounter
319: Overcoming An Outbreak: How San Francisco Survived the Plague
281: Mind, Body and Spirit: The History of Wellness In America
318: Best of BackStory: The Time Brian Balogh Went to a Monastery
316: Fighting Jane Crow: The Multifaceted Life and Legacy of Pauli Murray
Blacks and Indians: From What's Ray Saying?
Past Pandemics: What Can We Learn That May Help Us Today?
315: New Stories for an Old Conflict: Rethinking Civil War Narratives
314: People Making History: The Power and Perils of Telling History Through Individual Stories
313: Best of BackStory: The Time Ed Ayers Marched Into Richmond
312: From Music to Madiba: A History of U.S. Relations with South Africa
311: "The Gay Agenda" from American Hysteria
310: Seminoles, Retirees and Florida Man: A Brief History of the Sunshine State
309: Best of BackStory: The Time Peter Onuf Declared Independence
308: The U.S. and Iran: A Brief History of an Often Tense Relationship
307: Those Were The Days: Nostalgia in American History
257: Stuffed - Taxidermy in the History of America
306: The Best of BackStory 2019
305: From BackStory to You: A History of Giving and Receiving
304: Telling Stories About the Past: Historians on Historical Fiction
225: What's Cooking? A History of Food in America
303: Sunny Days: The History of Sesame Street in America and the World
Sponsored: Introducing Clearstory, from This Old House
302: The End of an Era: History That Was Made - and Unmade - in the 2010s
301: The Chinese in American History: How Afong Moy, Mayling Soong and Bruce Lee Changed the Narrative About China
195: Call To Arms: Enlistment in America
300: Blasts from the Past: A History of Dynamite in the United States
Coming Up: The History of Dynamite in America
299: Haunted Histories: A BackStory Halloween Special
298: Rallying Behind Racism: The Women of White Supremacy
"The Schizophrenic Sixties" from episode "States of Mind"
297: How Reconstruction Transformed the Constitution: A Feature Conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning Historian Eric Foner
"Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight" from episode #0136 "Where There's Smoke"
Sponsored: Introducing American Elections: Wicked Game
296: Darkness Over the Plain: The Bison in American History
295: Impeachment Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: High Crimes and Misdemeanors in American History
Sponsored: Introducing Lost at the Smithsonian with Aasif Mandvi
294: The Long Shadow of the Plantation: How a Weighted Past Creates a Complicated Present
218: Close Encounters: UFOs in American History
216: What’s in a Number?: Thirteen in American History
"Trade Winds" from episode #0141 “They Might Be Giants: China and the U.S.”
293: Standing Rock and the History of Indigenous Resistance in the United States
"What We Have Here is a Failure to Communicate" from episode #043 "Weathering the Storm"
292: BackStory’s Labor Day Special: A History of Work and Labor Relations in the U.S.
"Let Freedom Ring" from episode #075 "Fierce Urgency of Now"
291: 1619: The Arrival of the First Africans in Virginia
Teaser: 1619: The Arrival of the First Africans in Virginia
"Above the Law" from episode #104 "Serve and Protect?"
290: Enlightened America?: A History of Buddhism in the United States
289: Man Up: A Look at Masculinity in American History
“Armed For Freedom” from episode #183 “Taking it to the Streets”
Sponsored: Introducing Sean Carroll's Mindscape
252: Thar She Blows Again: The History of Whales and America (Part 2)
251: Thar She Blows: The History of Whales and America
288: Making the Team: Sports and Equality in American History
"Jose Julio Henna & the Invasion of Puerto Rico" and "What is Puerto Rico?" from episode 248 "After Hurricane Maria"
287: Moon, Man, and Myths: The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11
286: Historians in the Press: Why Citation by the Media is Important, Even if it Rarely Happens
285: How Silicon Valley Remade America in Its Image: A History of Digital Disruption
212: The Melting Pot: Americans and Assimilation
284: A History of Stonewall, the Riot That Started the LGBTQ Revolution
283: In God We Trust? The History of Religious Identity in America
Sponsored Promotion: Bleeped
282: The Many Lives of Roe v Wade: The Little Known History Behind the Famous Ruling
Sponsored Promotion: Unknown History Podcast
281: Mind, Body and Spirit: The History of Wellness in America
280: Song of Ourselves? Walt Whitman and the American Imagination
279: Paying for the Past: Reparations and American History
Sponsored Promotion: Family Ghosts
234: You Have The Right to Remain Silent: A History of the Miranda Warning
278: The Year of the Woman: A History of Women in Congress
277: The Civil War in the 21st Century: A New Museum Marks an Old Conflict
275: Alternative Facts, Falsehoods and Delusions: The Lies We've Told Ourselves and Each Other in American History
274: Death on the Assembly Line: Industrial Tragedies in American History
273: All the Presidents’ Vetoes: A Brief History of Saying No to Legislation
236: Teen Activists: A History of Youth Politics and Protest
272: Burnt Corks & Cakewalks: The Toxic Legacy of Blackface in American History
243: Shore Thing: A History of the Beach
271: Oh, Bloody Hell: BackStory’s History of Profanity in America
270: Shattering the Glass Ceiling in America: BackStory Celebrates Women's History Month
269: Man vs. the Machine: Technophobia and American Society
268: Love Off Limits: A History of the Relationships Once Considered Taboo in America
267: The Faces of Racism: A History of Blackface and Minstrelsy in American Culture
266: BlackStory: BackStory Celebrates Black History Month with a Compilation
265: Nixon Beyond Watergate: A History of the Presidency Before the Scandal
264: When You Just Want to be Alone: The History of Solitude in America
263: The BackStory Prize: Our Choice for the Best Public History Project in America
262: Finding Americana: Butter Sculptures, Tiny Towns and Other Irresistible Gems
225: What’s Cooking? A History of Food in America
261: Playing the Past: Video Games and American History
260: The BackStory Holiday Book Show: 19 History Books for the Holiday Season
259: Out of the Closet: The LGBTQ Community in American History
230: Forgotten Flu: America & the 1918 Pandemic
257: Stuffed: Taxidermy in the History of America
256: Divided States of America? The History of An Often Disjointed Union
255: Lincoln the Lawyer: Abraham Lincoln’s Early Life and Career
184: Border Patrols: Policing Immigration in America
254: The War to End All Wars: Remembering WWI
253: To be a Citizen? The History of Becoming American
250: Land of the Free? The History of Incarceration in the U.S.
249: Who Wants to be a Millionaire? The History of America’s Wealthy Elite
248: After Hurricane Maria: The History of Puerto Rico and the United States
181: Fit to Print?: A History of Fake News
247: Hot Enough For You? The History of Climate Change
246: In the Shadow of the Mushroom Cloud: A History of the Atomic Age
187: A More Perfect Union? The Reconstruction Era
245: The Battle for Charlottesville's Soul: One Year Later, A Community Looks Back
244: Elementary Mr. President: Sherlock Holmes, the Supreme Court and Dr. Spock
212: The Melting Pot: Americans & Assimilation
216: What’s in a Number? Thirteen in American History
191: Saving American History
242: Summer Reading List: 14 History Books You’ll Want to Read
241: The Camera Never Lies? History Through the Viewfinder
210: Death Before Dishonor: Shame and Reputation in American History
205: Are We There Yet? Americans On Vacation
240: Reflecting on Darkness: Lynching; Americans and the Holocaust
239: Upward Nobility: American-Made Royalty
238: Shock of the New: The Legacy of the 1893 World’s Fair
199: Crowning Glory: A History of Hair in America
237: “Dear Mr President…”: Letters to FDR, #twitterstorians, and one man's experience of slavery's legacy
185: Behind the Bylines: Advocacy Journalism in America
193: The Habit: Opioid Addiction in America
235: The Real Martin Luther King: Reflecting on MLK 50 Years After His Death
233: Wherever Green is Worn: The Irish in America
52: Turf War: A History of College Sports
204: Too Good To Be True?: Myths in American History
232: Billy Graham, Black Panther and Haiti, and Thomas Edison’s Reputation
231: Life After the Oval Office: Presidential Legacies
138: Catholics in America
99: US vs Them: Sports on the World Stage
229: All that Glitters? Legacies of the California Gold Rush
228: Presidents in the Public Eye, Slogans, and the Value of History
227: Schism: The Branch Davidians at Waco
226: History for the Headlines: 2017 in Review
133: Untrammeled: Americans and the Wilderness
224: Man of The People: A New Technology Falls Into the Wrong Hands
223: Men Apologizing, Alabama Senate Race, Net Neutrality
222: On the Take: Corruption in America
221: The Thin Light of Freedom
220: Red Dawn: Americans and the Bolshevik Revolution
219: Other People’s Battles: American Volunteer Soldiers
217: Boy Scouts Welcome Girls, Trump Drums Up Support for War, America as a Judeo-Christian Nation
215: It is So Ordered: 4 Landmark Decisions of the Supreme Court
214: Enemies: A History of Bad Blood
213: Longer Commutes, Equifax Data Breach, and Income Inequality
212: The Melting Pot: Americans & Assimilation
211: A Conversation with Karl Rove
Starry-Eyed: A History of the Heavens
207: Charlottesville: Our Town, Our Country
Revisionist Climate: Americans & the Atmosphere
Skin Deep: Whiteness in America
Hometown History: Local Stories From Across The Country
Contested Landscape: The Battle over Confederate Monuments
Prying Eyes: Privacy in America
Body Politics, JFK at 100 and African American Memorials
National Lampoon: A History of American Satire
The Habit: Opioid Addiction in America
Over There: America Enters WWI
Seeing Red: A History of U.S./Russia Relations
Border Patrols: Policing Immigration in America
Taking it to the Streets: Protest in America
On the Outs: Restricting American Immigration
Worlds Apart: Urban/Rural Divides in America
PREVIEW - Worlds Apart
Best of BackStory Pt. 2
Preview
Best Of BackStory Pt. 1
Four More Years: Presidential Inaugurations [rebroadcast]
Health Nuts: A History of Nutritional Advice [rebroadcast]
Judaism In America [rebroadcast]
Separation Anxiety: Church & State In America
Short Take: Native Americans, the U.S. Government, and a History of Treaties
Short Take: A History Of Rigged Elections
American As Pumpkin Pie: A History Of Thanksgiving [rebroadcast]
A Whole New World: A History of Utopias
American Exodus: A History of Emigration [rebroadcast]
Short Take: The 2016 Election
Pulling the Curtain: Voting in America [rebroadcast]
Short Take: FBI and U.S. Elections
Bridge For Sale: Deception In America [rebroadcast]
A History of Manufacturing in 5 Objects
Fighting Words: A History of Debate in America
Keeping Tabs: Data & Surveillance in America [rebroadcast]
Banned: A History of Censorship [rebroadcast]
Believer-In-Chief: Faith & The Presidency
Body Politics: Disability in America [rebroadcast]
Nose to the Grindstone: A History of American Work Ethic
Untrammeled: Americans and the Wilderness [rebroadcast]
104: Serve & Protect? A History of the Police
Wish You Were Here: A History of American Tourism
Another Man’s Treasure: A History Of Trash [rebroadcast]
You've Come A Long Way?: A History Of Women In Politics
Conventional Wisdom: A History of American Political Conventions [rebroadcast]
The GOP: A History Of The Republican Party
Rare History Well Done: Meat In America [rebroadcast]
Independence Daze: A History of July 4th [rebroadcast]
The Pursuit: A History Of Happiness [rebroadcast]
Above The Fray?: Ideology & The Court
Committed: Marriage In America [rebroadcast]
Hamilton: A History
Politically Incorrect: Speech In American Politics
The Beasts Within Domesticated Animals In America [rebroadcast]
All Hopped Up: Drugs In America [rebroadcast]
Watch The Throne: America & Royalty
All In: A History of Gambling in America
On The Money: A History Of American Currency [rebroadcast]
Judaism in America
Stuck: A History of Political Gridlock [rebroadcast]
Pass/Fail: An American History of Testing
TURF WAR [2016]: A HISTORY OF COLLEGE SPORTS [rebroadcast]
Little Caesars: Local Power in America
Small Island, Big Shadow Cuba and the U.S. [rebroadcast]
Well-Regulated Militias: A History Of Armed Protest
The Middling Sort: Visions of the Middle Class [rebroadcast]
Hard Times: A History Of Unemployment
Contagion: Responding to Infectious Disease [rebroadcast]
Real To Reel 2016: History At The Movies
New & Improved: Advertising In America [rebroadcast]
PROMO - New & Improved: Advertising In America [rebroadcast]
Court Of Public Opinion: Trial Watching In America
City Upon A Hill: A History Of American Exceptionalism [rebroadcast]
Color Lines: Racial Passing In America
The Future Then: Visions of America Yet to Come [rebroadcast]
Cheers and Jeers: Alcohol in America [rebroadcast]
History for the Headlines: 2015 in Review
Islam and the United States [rebroadcast]
American Prophets: Religions Born in the U.S.
Counter Culture: A History of Shopping [rebroadcast]
Three Squares: Mealtime in America [rebroadcast]
Contested Landscape: Confederate Symbols in America
Body Politics: Disability in America
Coming Home: A History of War Veterans [rebroadcast]
People's Choice: A History of Populism
Green Acres: A History of Farmers in America [rebroadcast]
They Might Be Giants: China and the U.S.
Little Feet: Children Starting Over in America [rebroadcast]
Banned: A History of Censorship
Catholics In America
Fear Tactics: A History of Domestic Terrorism [rebroadcast]
Rare History Well Done: Meat in America