BackStory with the American History Guys

GroupAccount image

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

Series image
0 Pieces

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

Series image
188 Pieces

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

Series image
1 Piece

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

Series image
42 Pieces

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

Series image
0 Pieces

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


Pieces

Piece image
BackStory producer Andrew Parsons talks with Sergei Khrushchev and Liz Garst on the unlikely friendship between their father and grandfather – Sovi...

Bought by New Hampshire Public Radio, WABE, XRAY.fm, and Radio Newark


  • Added: Sep 30, 2013
  • Length: 08:20
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: “Gift for the Grangers” [Detail], c1873, Credit: Library of Congress
With the fate of the mighty “Farm Bill” still unclear – the major federal legislation embracing agricultural subsidies and nutrition programs – thi...

Bought by WUFT, WNIJ, KBRP Community Radio, KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio, WRPI and more


  • Added: Sep 27, 2013
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 6
Caption: National Grange poster, 1873., Credit:  Source: UNC School of Education
30-second promo for "Green Acres: A History of Farming in America" with 5 second hole for station-specific time/date tag.

Bought by WUFT


  • Added: Sep 25, 2013
  • Length: :30
  • Purchases: 1
Piece image
The Guys share a little-known story about that time Stalin coined the term “American Exceptionalism"

Bought by WOUB, Radio Newark, and KFAI Minneapolis


  • Added: Sep 23, 2013
  • Length: 06:32
  • Purchases: 3
Piece image
Host Brian Balogh talks with musicologist Katherine Meizel about the song “America the Beautiful” and its unsung verses.

Bought by WOUB, PRX Remix, and Radio Newark


  • Added: Sep 23, 2013
  • Length: 06:42
  • Purchases: 3
Caption: "The great Bartholdi statue, Liberty enlightening the world," Currier & Ives, 1885., Credit: Library of Congress
President Obama recently invoked "American exceptionalism” in making the case for a military strike in Syria – a claim to special status for the U....

Bought by KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio, KSRQ, KFOK-LPFM, KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio, and KUOW


  • Added: Sep 20, 2013
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 5
Caption: "The great Bartholdi statue, Liberty enlightening the world," Currier & Ives, 1885., Credit: Library of Congress
30-second promo for BackStory episode, "City Upon a Hill: A History of American Exceptionalism [rebroadcast]" with 5-second music bed at end for st...

Bought by WUFT and Troy Public Radio


  • Added: Sep 17, 2013
  • Length: :30
  • Purchases: 2
Piece image
Host Brian Balogh sits down with historian Daniel Feller, to talk about Jacksonian America and the so-called “humanitarian” claims made on both sid...

Bought by KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio, KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio, Radio Newark, and KSRQ


  • Added: Sep 16, 2013
  • Length: 07:27
  • Purchases: 4
Piece image
Historian Ann Marie Wilson talks with host Brian Balogh about the call for intervention in Armenia during the early 1890s, and how arguments about ...

Bought by KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio, Radio Newark, and KFAI Minneapolis


  • Added: Sep 16, 2013
  • Length: 07:12
  • Purchases: 3
Piece image
Host Brian Balogh talks with former aid worker David Koren about his experiences during the Biafran airlift in the late 1960s, and explores whether...

Bought by Radio Newark


  • Added: Sep 16, 2013
  • Length: 09:09
  • Purchases: 1