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

Caption: "Sugar - save it!" Detail from U.S. Food Administration poster, c1917 , Credit: U.S. National Archives
Valentine’s Day is around the corner, and that means candy, chocolate, cakes – all the sweet stuff for your sweetheart! It’s just one of the ways s...

Bought by KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio, WUFT, WMUU-LP, WRPI, KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio and more


  • Added: Feb 07, 2014
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 7
Caption: "Sugar - save it!" Detail from U.S. Food Administration poster, c1917, Credit: U.S. National Archives
30-second promo for BackStory episode, "Sweet and Dangerous: A History of Sugar," with 5-second music bed at end for station-specific time/date tag.

Bought by WUFT


  • Added: Feb 04, 2014
  • Length: :30
  • Purchases: 1
Piece image
Host Ed Ayers talks with historian Emily Skidmore about the 19th Century media fascination with women who lived as men.

Bought by Radio Newark, KFAI Minneapolis, and PRX Remix


  • Added: Feb 03, 2014
  • Length: 09:17
  • Purchases: 3
Piece image
BackStory producer Jesse Dukes explores the complex debates surrounding Walt Whitman’s sexuality, with help from poet Richard Tayson.

Bought by New Hampshire Public Radio, Radio Newark, and KFAI Minneapolis


  • Added: Feb 03, 2014
  • Length: 09:15
  • Purchases: 3
Piece image
Host Brian Balogh sits down with historian David Johnson to discuss the “Lavender Scare” of the 1950s, which saw thousands of gays and lesbians exc...

Bought by WDBM, Radio Newark, Louisville Public Media, KFAI Minneapolis, and PRX Remix


  • Added: Feb 03, 2014
  • Length: 08:02
  • Purchases: 5
Caption: Affectionate Valentine couple, c1890., Credit: Wikimedia Commons
As the Winter Olympics in Sochi approach, countries around the world have expressed concerns over Russian legislation outlawing LGBTQ “propaganda.”...

Bought by KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio, WCPN, WRPI, WPCA-LP, KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio and more


  • Added: Jan 31, 2014
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 7
Caption: Affectionate Valentine couple, c1890, Credit: Wikimedia Commons
30-second promo for BackStory episode, "Outed: Sexual Identity in America," with 5-second music bed at end for station-specific time/date tag.

  • Added: Jan 28, 2014
  • Length: :30
Caption: Harlem Newsboy, 1943, by Gordon Parks , Credit: Library of Congress
BackStory takes on the history of childhood in America. Have children shared a common core experience across American history? Or has the nature o...

Bought by KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio and WEZU


  • Added: Jan 24, 2014
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 2
Piece image
Host Ed Ayers talks with historian Brian DeLay about the two-front war Mexico faced in its 1840s conflict with the United States – fighting both th...

Bought by Radio Newark and KFAI Minneapolis


  • Added: Jan 21, 2014
  • Length: 11:30
  • Purchases: 2
Piece image
Historian Greg Downs tells host Brian Balogh about an anxiety about “Mexicanization” that ran through Reconstruction-Era politics, as Americans saw...

Bought by Radio Newark and KFAI Minneapolis


  • Added: Jan 21, 2014
  • Length: 09:52
  • Purchases: 2