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
30-second promo for "Rules of Engagement: US Laws of War" 5-second music bed at end for station-specific time/date tag.

  • Added: Aug 27, 2013
  • Length: :30
Caption: Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., at the March on Washington, August 28th, 1963, Credit: National Archives
August 28th marks the 50th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous speech in front of the Lincoln memorial in Washington, D.C., wh...

Bought by WAER Syracuse, NY, WUFT, WESM 91.3 FM, WCSU-FM, Georgia Public Broadcasting and more


  • Added: Aug 23, 2013
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 14
Caption: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., at the March on Washington, 8/28/1963, Credit:  (National Archives)
30-second promo for "The Fierce Urgency of Now: The 1963 March on Washington" with 5 second hole for station-specific time/date tag

Bought by WUFT and Troy Public Radio


  • Added: Aug 21, 2013
  • Length: :30
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Detail from cocaine toothache drops advertisement, 1885.
At the beginning of August, Illinois legalized medical marijuana, becoming the 20th state to do so. And less than a year ago, Washington and Colora...

Bought by KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio, RadioFreePalmer, KREV-LP, and Troy Public Radio


  • Added: Aug 16, 2013
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 4
Caption: Bayer advertisement, 1911
30-second promo for "All Hopped Up: Drugs in America [rebroadcast]" with a 5 second hole for station-specific time/date tag.

Bought by Troy Public Radio


  • Added: Aug 14, 2013
  • Length: :30
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Depiction of the 1833 Leonid meteor storm, in Bible Readings for the Home Circle (1889).
On this episode of BackStory, we’re examining Americans’ ongoing fascination with the skies above us. How have people made sense of comets, eclipse...

Bought by KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio, WABE, KBRP Community Radio, KREV-LP, and WCAI / WNAN Cape & Islands, Mass.


  • Added: Aug 09, 2013
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 5
Caption: Depiction of the 1833 Leonid meteor storm, in Bible Readings for the Home Circle (1889).
30-second promo for "Starry Eyed: A History of the Heavens," with a 5 second hole for station-specific time/date tag.

Bought by Radio Newark and Troy Public Radio


  • Added: Aug 07, 2013
  • Length: :30
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Harlem newsboy, 1943. Photograph by Gordon Parks, Credit: Library of Congress
With summer in full swing — and kids all over the country enjoying a blissful respite from school — BackStory is taking on the history of childhood...

Bought by KSVR Studios: Skagit Valley Radio, KBRP Community Radio, KREV-LP, WMMT, and WXDU


  • Added: Aug 02, 2013
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 5
Caption: Seminole children on a reservation in Florida, c1948., Credit: Florida Photographic Collection
30-second promo for "Young Americans: A History of Childhood," with a 5 second hole for station-specific time/date tag.

Bought by Troy Public Radio


  • Added: Jul 30, 2013
  • Length: :30
  • Purchases: 1
Piece image
Host Brian Balogh and historian Rachel Moran discuss how the federal government began to claim a stake in the public’s physical fitness, and Moran ...

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


  • Added: Jul 29, 2013
  • Length: 09:44
  • Purchases: 3