Podcast
BackStory
Hosted by BackStory · EN
BackStory is a weekly public podcast hosted by U.S. historians Ed Ayers, Brian Balogh, Nathan Connolly and Joanne Freeman. We're based in Charlottesville, Va. at Virginia Humanities.
There’s the history you had to learn, and the history you want to learn - that’s where BackStory comes in. Each week BackStory takes a topic that people are talking about and explores it through the lens of American history. Through stories, interviews, and conversations with our listeners, BackStory makes history engaging and fun.
16episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
329: Great, Small and Other Expectations: Charles Dickens and His History with America
Jun 19, 202000:39:52Tap to summarizeCharles Dickens died 150 years ago this month. A famous chronicler and critic of English industrial capitalism, Dickens was also immensely popular in the United States. But in an age of widespread debate about slave versus wage labor, his writings meant different things to different readers. Music: Bright White by Podington Bear Outmoded Waltz by Podington Bear Quatrefoil by Podington Bear Theme in G by Podington Bear Refraction by Podington Bear Stages of Awakening by Podington Bear Associations by Podington Bear Arboles by Podington Bear
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328: The Clue of the Blue Bottle from "The Last Archive"
Jun 12, 202000:57:03Tap to summarizeThe Last Archive is a show from Pushkin Industries about the history of truth, and the historical context for our current fake news, post-truth moment. It’s a show about how we know what we know, and why it seems, these days, as if we don’t know anything at all anymore. The show is driven by host Jill Lepore’s work as a historian, uncovering the secrets of the past the way a detective might. On this episode, The Clue of the Blue Bottle, Jill tells the story of a Spring day in 1919, when a woman’s body was found bound, gagged, and strangled in a garden in Barre, Vermont. Who was she? Who killed her? Jill tries to solve the cold case—reopening a century-old murder investigation—as a way to uncover the history of evidence itself. Find out more about The Last Archive at their website.
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327: Another Burden to Bear: A History of Racial Health Disparities in America
Jun 5, 202000:56:09Tap to summarizeThe COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted communities of color. According to the CDC, 33% of people who’ve been hospitalized due to the virus have been African-American, despite making up only 18% of the population. The ongoing crisis is a reminder of the racial health disparities that have plagued the United States throughout its history. So on this episode of BackStory, Joanne and Brian learn about how different communities have struggled to acquire adequate health care. NOTE: This episode was recorded before protests took place across the country in response to the killing of George Floyd by a white police officer. The protests, in addition to the death toll of COVID-19, serve as brutal reminders of the systemic inequalities afflicting communities of color. Suggested Reading: Murray, Shaw, and Siegel’s Reproductive Rights and Justice Stories (Law Stories Series) Jim Crow in the Asylum: Psychiatry and Civil Rights in the American South by Kylie Smith Madness in the City of Magnificent Intentions: A History of Race and Mental Illness in the Nation’s Capital by Martin Summers
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326: Mystery, Murder, and Mayhem: A History of True Crime in America
May 29, 202001:06:33Tap to summarizeFor the last decade or so, true crime has been everywhere -- Netflix shows like Making a Murderer and podcast series like Serial. All of them are a testament to the fact that for some strange reason, so many of us love stories about murder. But this magnetism towards the morbid is far from new. Over the years, Americans have found fascination, repulsion and sometimes even comfort in true crime stories. So on this episode of BackStory, Joanne and Ed shine a light onto the dark history of true crime in modern American history.
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Sponsored: Introducing Sean Carroll's Mindscape
Aug 5, 2019Tap to summarizeEach week, Sean Carroll hosts conversations with some of the most interesting thinkers in the world. From neuroscientists and engineers to authors and television producers, Sean and his guests talk about the biggest ideas in science, philosophy, culture and more. Start listening now at: http://wondery.fm/MindscapeAB
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222: On the Take: Corruption in America
Nov 24, 2017Tap to summarizeWith allegations of corruption flying on both sides of the aisle in Washington, Brian, Joanne, and Nathan return to our episode on how Americans have wrestled with political corruption. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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