BackStory with the American History Guys

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BackStory  is a weekly podcast that uses current events in America to take a deep dive into our past. Hosted by noted U.S. historians, Ed Ayers, Brian Balogh, Peter Onuf, Nathan Connolly and Joanne Freeman, each episode provides listeners with different perspectives on a particular theme or subject – giving you all sides to the story and then some.

Please confirm carriage of evergreen BackStory with the American History Guys episodes by contacting Diana Williams @(434)-924-6894 or dwilliams@virginia.edu.

Moving from current headlines to drill down into U.S. history, each surprising BackStory episode features lively interviews with a diverse roster of scholars, experts, and ordinary citizens from around the country; listener calls; host discussions; and produced pieces. Topics are as diverse as college sports, reenactments, sugar, memorials, domestic terrorism, birthing, homeownership, the post office, philanthropy, protests, privacy, marriage, revivalism, and childhood—all in the context of American history.

BackStory is produced by  Virginia Humanities. Major funding is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities with additional corporate, foundation, institutional, and individual support.

Please visit our station landing page for upcoming episodes, promotional photos, and other information.

 


Series

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This series is for stations that want to subscribe to Backstory for WEEKLY deliveries using PRX's SubAuto system.

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188 Pieces

A collection of the best stories and features from BackStory, meant for excerpt by programs or stations.

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A collection of one-hour BackStory specials for use in station holiday programming.

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42 Pieces

Promos for stations airing upcoming episodes of BackStory with the American History Guys.

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A special three-part series of hour-long episodes exploring the causes and consequences of the American Civil War.


Pieces

Caption: Classroom in the Islamic School in Seattle, Washington, 1982., Credit: Library of Congress
Anthropologist Nabeel Abraham tells host Brian Balogh about the fight between two Muslim communities over the future of a Dearborn, Michigan mosque...

  • Added: Oct 31, 2014
  • Length: 09:42
Caption: Classroom in the Islamic School in Seattle, Washington, 1982., Credit: Library of Congress
Frank Cogliano of the University of Edinburgh speaks with host Peter Onuf about the first Barbary War, which has often been cast as the first confl...

  • Added: Oct 31, 2014
  • Length: 09:05
Caption: Classroom in the Islamic School in Seattle, Washington, 1982., Credit: Library of Congress
Sylviane Diouf of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture talks with Ed Ayers about some of the overlooked legacies of enslaved Muslims ...

Bought by PRX Remix


  • Added: Oct 31, 2014
  • Length: 06:24
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: A version of Barnum's Feejee Mermaid. It may actually be his... in true Barnum fashion, the origins are unknown.
30-second promo for "Bridge For Sale:Deception in America" 5-second music bed at end for station-specific time/date tag.

Bought by WRGY and 90.1 WFYI Public Radio


  • Added: Oct 14, 2014
  • Length: :30
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Pedro Pan girls, Florida City, Fla., 1962.  , Credit: Courtesy of Ileana Ortega Menéndez.
Historian Tsianina Lomawaima talks about the enduring legacy of Indian boarding schools, which sought to forcibly integrate tribal children into wh...

Bought by KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio and PRX Remix


  • Added: Oct 08, 2014
  • Length: 09:31
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Pedro Pan girls, Florida City, Fla., 1962.  , Credit: Courtesy of Ileana Ortega Menéndez.
For nearly 75 years, children from the orphanages of New York and other cities were shipped west to families in the West who needed farm labor. Som...

Bought by WOUB and PRX Remix


  • Added: Oct 08, 2014
  • Length: 08:05
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Pedro Pan girls, Florida City, Fla., 1962.  , Credit: Courtesy of Ileana Ortega Menéndez.
BackStory editor Robert Armangol explores the legacy of Operation Pedro Pan, a plan to save Cuban children from communist indoctrination by leaving...

  • Added: Oct 08, 2014
  • Length: 12:09
Caption: The police in Gary, Ind., 1908, Credit: Library of Congress
Brian Balogh speaks with former Senator Fred Harris about the commission convened by President Lyndon Johnson in the dark days of the 1967 Detroit ...

Bought by Radio Catskill, New Hampshire Public Radio, WABE, RadioFreePalmer, KVSC and more


  • Added: Sep 24, 2014
  • Length: 10:24
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: The police in Gary, Ind., 1908, Credit: Library of Congress
Legal scholar Alasdair Roberts talks with Peter Onuf about the beginnings of municipal police departments in the U.S., which were organized not to ...

Bought by KFAI Minneapolis and PRX Remix


  • Added: Sep 24, 2014
  • Length: 07:40
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: The police in Gary, Ind., 1908, Credit: Library of Congress
Producer Nina Earnest explores how the professionalization of the Los Angeles Police Department -intended to free the police from municipal corrupt...

Bought by New Hampshire Public Radio, KFAI Minneapolis, and PRX Remix


  • Added: Sep 24, 2014
  • Length: 10:46
  • Purchases: 3