BackStory Archive

About

BackStory was an innovative public radio program and podcast produced from 2008-2020. On each episode of the show, historian-hosts Ed Ayers, Brian Balogh, and Peter Onuf (and in the show’s later years, Joanne Freeman and Nathan Connolly) picked a topic from the news and explored its roots through the American past. The program, which featured interviews, free-wheeling conversation, and narrative storytelling, was produced by Virginia Humanities. This archive includes episodes and transcripts from BackStory’s entire 12-year run.

Newcomers in American Government

05.19.08

Election of 2008; political campaigns; political rhetoric; presidency; representative government; voting
Controversial Wars

06.06.08

American Civil War; American Revolution; Vietnam War; War in Iraq; World War I; World War II; antiwar protest; conscription (draft); military leadership; national unity; public opinion; war
Traffic

How We Get From Here to There

07.18.08

automobiles; canals; highway construction; transportation; transportation infrastructure
Serving Time

A History of Punishment

09.17.08

carceral state; convict leasing; criminal justice; incarceration/imprisonment; prison industry; prisons; punishment; reform movements
I Owe, I Owe

Debt in America

10.08.08

debt; economy; national debt
“Aliens” in America

10.13.08

illegal immigration; immigrants; immigration; immigration policy; immigration reform; immigration restrictions; nativism; undocumented immigrants
(The Invention of) Traditional Family Values

11.29.08

culture wars; family; family values; marriage; sexuality; tradition
Tolerance

A History of Drink

12.05.08

Prohibition; alcohol; alcoholism; drunkenness; temperance; temperance movement
Panic!

A History of Financial Crisis

12.19.08

Great Depression; Great Recession; capitalism; deregulation; economy; financial crisis; financial crisis of 2007–2008
From Whales to Wind

A History of Energy

12.19.08

conservationism; energy; energy production; fossil fuels; oil consumption; renewable energy; technology
Black & White

The Idea of Racial Purity

01.21.09

eugenics; race; racism; scientific racism
The More Things Change

The History of Presidential Transitions

01.23.09

executive power; inaugurations; presidency; presidential transitions
Laboratories of Democracy

The State of the States

02.27.09

federalism; political theory; state government
Just the Facts?

Partisanship and the Press

03.27.09

"fake news"; journalism; journalistic ethics; news media; objectivity; public confidence; publishing
Body Politics

A History of Health Care

10.01.09

health insurance; healthcare; healthcare policy; healthcare reform; public health
Teed Off

The Tea Party, Then and Now

05.21.10

Boston Tea Party; Tea Party Movement; appropriation; historical memory; populism; symbolism; tax policy
Looking for Work

A History of Unemployment

09.03.10

labor; unemployment
Borderlands and Bordered Lands

09.29.10

U.S. Border Patrol; U.S.-Mexico border; borderlands; immigration policy
Grand Old Parties: A History of Partisanship

A History of Partisanship

11.05.10

election of 2010 (midterm); partisanship; party politics; political parties; punditry; radio
Beyond Numbers

A History of the U.S. Census

12.22.10

U.S. Census; measurement; population size
Civil War 150th

I. The Road to Civil War

03.24.11
Civil War 150th

II. Why They Fought

03.31.11

American Civil War; soldiers
Civil War 150th

III. Questions Remain

04.08.11
In the Beginning

Science and Religion in America

06.01.12

Christianity; Darwinism; evolution; religion; science
Here to There

A History of Mapping

08.10.12

cartography; geography; maps
Climate Control

A History of Heating and Cooling

08.17.12

climate control; technological innovation; technology
School Days

A History of Public Education

09.07.12

declension narratives; public education
Borrowed Times

A History of the National Debt

10.05.12

debt; economic history; economy; national debt
You’ve Got Mail

A History of the Post Office

12.07.12

U.S. Postal Service; communication; mail; networks
Apocalypse Now & Then

A History of End-Times

12.14.12

apocalypse; predictions
Best of Times

BackStory Year in Review [2012]

12.28.12
Straight Shot: Guns in America

Guns in America

01.25.13

firearms; gun ownership; gun regulations; gun rights; gun violence
Love Me Did

A History of Courtship

02.08.13

courtship; romance
Real to Reel

History at the Movies

02.22.13

depiction; film
Been There, Done That

Historical Reenactments

03.01.13

historical reenactment; performance; public history
Paying Up

A History of Taxation

04.12.13

tax policy; taxation
Born in the USA

A History of Birth

05.10.13

childbirth; children; motherhood
Patent Pending

A History of Intellectual Property

05.20.13

intellectual property
Monumental Disagreements

Memorials in America

05.24.13

memorialization; monuments
Home Bittersweet Home

Owning the American Dream

06.07.13

capitalism; home; home ownership; housing
That Lawless Stream

A History of the Mississippi River

06.14.13

Mississippi River; Mississippi River Valley; rivers
Weathering the Storm

A History of Extreme Weather

07.12.13

meteorology; weather
Fierce Urgency of Now

The 1963 March on Washington

08.23.13

March on Washington of 1963; civil rights movement
Rinse and Repeat

Cleanliness in America

10.04.13

hygiene
Grassy Knolls: Conspiracy Thinking in American History

Conspiracy Thinking in American History

11.22.13

conspiracy theories
Shocked and Appalled: A History of Scandal

A History of Scandal

12.06.13

political scandal; scandal
Wall of Separation: Church & State in America

Church & State in America

12.13.13

First Amendment; religion; separation of church and state
Heaven on Earth

A History of American Utopias

01.03.14

utopianism
Border Crossings

A History of US-Mexico Relations

01.17.14

Mexico; U.S.-Mexico border; borderlands; region
Young Americans

A History of Childhood

01.24.14

childhood; children
Sweet Talk

A History of Sugar

02.07.14

sugar; sugar industry; sugar production
Responsibility to Protect?

A History of Humanitarian Intervention

04.04.14

humanitarianism; interventionism
Mommy Dearest

A History of American Motherhood

05.09.14

motherhood; women’s history
Grave Matters

A History of Death and Mourning

05.23.14

death
Mission Accomplished

How Wars End

06.06.14

armistice; war
Splintered Parties

A History of Political Factions

06.13.14

factions; partisanship; party politcs; political parties
America, Inc.

A History of Corporations

06.20.14

capitalism; corporations
States of Mind

Mental Illness in America

07.18.14

diagnosis; mental health; mental illness; psychiatry; psychology
The Great War

The Long Shadow of WWI

08.22.14

World War I
Fair Wages

A History of Getting Paid

08.29.14

capitalism; labor; wages
The War of 1812

Which One Was That?

09.05.14

War of 1812
Degrees of Freedom

Higher Education in America

09.26.14

education; higher education. private colleges/universities; public colleges/universities
1492: Columbus in American Memory

Columbus in American Memory

10.10.14

Age of Exploration; Christopher Columbus; Spanish Colonization; conquistadors; hero worship; historical memory; history education
Imagined Nations

Depictions of American Indians

11.22.14

American Indians; depiction; historical memory
Tyrannophobia

The uses & abuses of executive power

12.05.14

executive power; presidency; tyrannophobia
What Gives

Generosity in America

12.12.14

gift giving; philanthropy; wealth
Naughty & Nice

A History of the Holiday Season

12.26.14

Christmas; holidays; tradition
Black Gold

An American History of Oil

01.09.15

energy; fossil fuels; oil consumption; oil industry; petroleum
Henceforth Free

The Emancipation Proclamation

01.16.15

Emancipation Proclamation; emancipation; slavery
Talk of the Nation

Oratory in America

01.23.15

communication; oratory; speeches
Women at Work

A History

02.06.15

economy; gender norms; gender stereotypes; labor
On the Clock

A (Brief) History of Time

03.06.15

measurement; time
The Green Show

03.13.15

color
Island Hopping

03.20.15

islands
Tapped Out

Thirsting for Fresh Water

03.27.15

water; water control
Born Again

Religious Renewal in America

04.03.15

religion; religious movements; religious revival
‘Now He Belongs to the Ages’

Abraham Lincoln's Assassination

04.10.15

Abraham Lincoln; assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Rules of Engagement

Ethics in Warfare

04.17.15

international law; legal history; war; warfare
1865

United States of Uncertainty

04.24.15

1865; American Civil War
The Departed

Extinction in America

05.08.15

environmental degradation; environmental history; extinction
Tools of the Trade

America's Workplace Technologies

05.15.15

labor; technological innovation; technology
Speed Through Time

The Changing Pace of America

05.22.15

time
In Plain Sight

Stories of American Infrastructure

06.05.15

infrastructure
Balancing Acts

Claiming Rights in America

06.19.15

civil rights; legal history; religious liberty/freedom; rights
Independence Daze

A History of July Fourth

07.03.15

Consitutional Convention; Declaration of Independence; Fourth of July; commemoration
Beach Bodies

A History of the American Physique

07.10.15

beauty ideals; fashion
Let’s Make Up

Reconciliation and Its Limits

07.24.15

reconciliation
Where There’s Smoke

A History of Fire

08.21.15

environmental history; fire
American Apparel

A History of Fashion

08.28.15

fashion
Fear Tactics

A History of Domestic Terrorism

09.11.15

terrorism
Little Feet

Children Starting Over in America

10.02.15

children; family separation; immigrants; immigration
They Might Be Giants

China and the U.S.

10.09.15

China; U.S.-China relations
Green Acres: A History of Farming in America

A History of Farmers in America

10.16.15

agriculture; farmers
People’s Choice

A History of Populism

10.23.15

populism
American Spirit

A History of the Supernatural

10.30.15

spiritualism; supernatural
Coming Home

A History of War Veterans

11.06.15

soldiers; veterans; war; warfare
American Prophets

Religions Born in the U.S.

12.11.15

religion; religious movements; religious revival
Islam and the U.S.

12.18.15

Islam; religion
Cheers and Jeers

Alcohol in America (rebroadcast)

01.01.16

alcohol
The Future Then

Visions of America Yet to Come

01.08.16

futurism; predictions; science fiction
Color Lines

Racial Passing in America

01.15.16

authenticity; deception; identity; passing; race
City Upon a Hill

A History of American Exceptionalism

01.22.16

American Exceptionalism
Court of Public Opinion

A History of Trial-Watching in America

01.29.16

criminal justice; jury trial; legal history
Contagion

Responding to Infectious Disease

02.19.16

disease; epidemics; illness; public health
Hard Times

A History of Unemployment

02.26.16

capitalism; labor; unemployment; wages
The Middling Sort

Visions of the Middle Class

03.04.16

middle class; social class
Well-Regulated Militias

A History of Armed Resistance

03.11.16

armed resistance; rebellion
Small Island, Big Shadow

Cuba and the US

03.18.16

Cuba; U.S.-Cuba relations
Little Caesars

Local Power in America

03.25.16

local government
Pass/Fail

An American History of Testing

04.08.16

measurement
Stuck

A History of Gridlock

04.15.16

factions; failure; obstructionism; party politics; politicians
On the Money

A History of American Currency

04.29.16

currency; economy; money
All In

A History Of Gambling In America

05.06.16

gambling
Watch The Throne

America & Royalty

05.13.16

monarchy
All Hopped Up

Drugs in America

05.20.16

illegal drugs; perscription drugs
The Beasts Within

Domesticated Animals in America

05.26.16

animal history
Politically Incorrect

Speech In American Politics

06.03.16

freedom of speech; language
Hamilton

A History

06.10.16

Alexander Hamilton; founders
Committed

Marriage in America

06.16.16

family; marriage
Above The Fray?

Ideology & the Court

06.24.16

Supreme Court justicies; U.S. Constitution; U.S. Supreme Court; judiciary; legal history; partisanship
The Pursuit

A History of Happiness

07.01.16

Declaration of Independence; emotions; rights
Rare History Well Done

Meat in America

07.08.16

foodways; meat
The GOP

A History of the Republican Party

07.15.16

Republican party; party politics; policial parties
Conventional Wisdom

A History of American Political Conventions

07.22.16

party conventions; party politics; political parties
You’ve Come a Long Way?

A History of Women in Politics

07.29.16

women in politics
Another Man’s Treasure

A History of Trash

08.04.16

trash
Wish You Were Here

A History of American Tourism

08.09.16

leisure; tourism; travel; vacations
Serve & Protect?

A History of the Police

08.18.16

law enforcement; police
Nose To The Grindstone

A History Of American Work Ethic

09.01.16

American values; labor; social norms
Body Politics

Disability in America

09.08.16

disability; disability rights
Believer-In-Chief

A History of Faith & the Presidency

09.15.16

faith; presidency; presidents; religion
Banned

A History of Censorship

09.22.16

censorship
Keeping Tabs

Data & Surveillance in America

09.29.16

data; surveillance
Fighting Words

A History of Debate in America

10.06.16

debates; presidential debates
A History of Manufacturing in 5 Objects

10.13.16

invention; manufacturing; material history; technological innovation
Bridge for Sale

Deception in America

10.20.16

deception
American Horror Story

10.27.16

fear; folklore; horror films; supernatural
Short Take

A Brief History of the FBI's Involvement In U.S. Elections

11.02.16
Pulling the Curtain

Voting in America

11.04.16

elections; voting
Short Take

Putting the 2016 election into historical perspective

11.09.16
American Exodus

A History of Emigration

11.11.16

emigration
A Whole New World

A History of Utopias

11.17.16

community; utopianism
American as Pumpkin Pie

A History of Thanksgiving

11.25.16

Thanksgiving; holidays; tradition
Three Squares

Mealtime in America

11.28.16

food; foodways
Short Take

A History of Rigged Elections

11.30.16
New & Improved

Advertising in America

12.02.16

advertising; capitalism; marketing
Short Take

Native Americans, The U.S. Government, and a History of Treaties

12.06.16
Separation Anxiety

Church & State in America

12.08.16

First Amendment; religion; separation of church and state
Counter Culture

A History of Shopping

12.15.16

capitalism; consumer culture; consumerism; retail
Judaism in America

12.22.16

Jewish Americans; judaism; religion
Health Nuts

A History of Nutritional Advice

01.06.17

foodways; health
Four More Years

Presidential Inaugurations

01.13.17

inaugurations; presidency; presidential transitions; presidents
Worlds Apart

Urban/Rural Divides in America

02.04.17

urban/rural division
On The Outs

Restricting American Immigration

02.10.17

immigrants; immigration policy; immigration restrictions
Taking it to the Streets

Protest in America

03.03.17

activism; protest
Seeing Red

A History of U.S./Russia Relations

04.07.17

Russia; Soviet Union; U.S.-Russia/Soviet Union relations; international relations
Over There

America Enters WWI

04.14.17

World War I; foreign policy; interventionism; isolationism
National Lampoon

A History of American Satire

05.19.17

humor; satire
Prying Eyes

Privacy in America

06.09.17

privacy; surveillance
Contested Landscape

The Battle over Confederate Monuments

06.16.17

Civil War Memory; Confederate States of America (confederacy); Confederate flag; Confederate monuments
Revisionist Climate

Americans & the Atmosphere

08.11.17

Climate change; environment; meteorology; weather
Charlottesville:

Our Town, Our Country

08.18.17

Charlottesville riots (Unite the Right)
Starry-Eyed

A History of the Heavens

08.25.17

astronomy; space exploration
A Conversation with Karl Rove

09.08.17

Karl Rove; Republican party; William McKinley
Enemies

A history of Bad Blood

09.29.17

foreign policy; international relations
It is so Ordered

4 Landmark Decisions of the Supreme Court

10.06.17

U.S. Supreme Court; legal history
Other People’s Battles

American Volunteer Soldiers

11.03.17

soldiers; volunteerism
Red Dawn

Americans and the Bolshevik Revolution

11.10.17

Russian Revolution; Soviet Union; U.S.-Russia/Soviet Union relations
The Thin Light of Freedom

11.17.17
On the Take

Corruption in America

11.24.17

Political ethics; corruption
Untrammeled

Americans and the Wilderness

12.22.17

Wilderness; environmental history; nature
Schism

The Branch Davidians at Waco

01.05.18

Branch Davidians; religion
All That Glitters?

Legacies of the California Gold Rush

01.19.18

California gold rush; gold; resource extraction
Us vs. Them

Sports on the World Stage

01.26.18

Olympic Games; competition; international relations; sports
Catholics in America

02.09.18

Catholic Church; Catholocism; Christianity; religion
Life After the Oval Office

Presidential Legacies

02.16.18

presidency; presidents
Too Good To Be True?

Myths in American History

03.02.18

folklore; mythology
Turf War

A History of College Sports

03.09.18

higher education; physical fitness; private colleges/universities; public colleges/universities; sports
Wherever Green is Worn

The Irish in America

03.16.18

Irish-Americans; irish immigrants
The Habit

Opioid Addiction in America

04.06.18

addition; illegal drugs; opiods; opioid epidemic; pharmaceutical drugs
Behind the Bylines

Advocacy Journalism in America

04.20.18

Ida B. Wells; Ruben Salazar; advocacy journalism; american history; history; journalism; media; media studies
“Dear Mr President…”

Letters to FDR, #twitterstorians, and one man's experience of slavery's legacy

04.27.18

correspondence; historical record; presidency; presidents
Crowning Glory

A History of Hair in America

05.04.18

fashion; hair
Shock of the New

The Legacy of the 1893 World’s Fair

05.11.18

1893 World Fair (Columbian Exhibition)
Upward Nobility

American-Made Royalty

05.18.18

aristocracy; marriage; monarchy
Reflecting on Darkness

Lynching; Americans and the Holocaust

05.25.18

atrocities; historical memory; racial violence
Are We There Yet?

Americans On Vacation

06.01.18

leisure; tourism; travel; vacations
Death Before Dishonor

Shame and Reputation in American History

06.08.18

honor; virtue
The Camera Never Lies?

History Through the Viewfinder

06.15.18

photography
Saving American History

06.29.18

archivs; collection; documents/manuscripts; historic preservation; historical record
Elementary Mr. President

Sherlock Holmes, the Supreme Court and Dr. Spock

07.27.18
The Battle for Charlottesville’s Soul

One Year Later, A Community Looks Back

08.03.18

Charlottesville; Charlottesville riots (Unite the Right); University of Virginia; trauma; violence
A More Perfect Union?

The Reconstruction Era

08.10.18

American Civil War; Reconstruction; civil rights; racial justice
In the Shadow of the Mushroom Cloud

A History of the Atomic Age

08.17.18

Cold War; Nuclear weapons; nuclear science
Hot Enough For You?

The History of Climate Change

08.24.18

Climate change; weather
Fit to Print?

A History of Fake News

08.31.18

"fake news"; journalism; journalistic ethics; news media
After Hurricane Maria

The History of Puerto Rico and the United States

09.07.18

Puerto Rico; U.S. territories
Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

The History of America’s Wealthy Elite

09.14.18

economic inequality; social class; wealth
Close Encounters

UFOs in American History

09.21.18

mystery; space; unidentified flying objects (UFOs)
Land of the Free?

The History of Incarceration in the U.S.

09.28.18

carceral state; criminal justice; prisons; punishment
To be a Citizen?

The History of Becoming American

10.19.18

citizenship; inclusion/exclusion; naturalization
The War to End All Wars

Remembering WWI

10.26.18

World War I
Border Patrols

Policing Immigration in America

11.02.18

U.S.-Mexico border; immigrants; immigration; immigration policy; nativism
Divided States of America?

The History of an Often Disjointed Union

11.16.18

polarization; political divisions
Forgotten Flu

America & the 1918 Pandemic

11.30.18

Flu Pandemic of 1918; epidemics; public health
Out of the Closet

The LGBTQ Community in American History

12.06.18

LGBTQ rights; queer history
Playing the Past

Video Games and American History

12.21.18

video games
Finding Americana

Butter Sculptures, Tiny Towns and Other Irresistible Gems

01.04.19

creativity; popular culture; spectacle
The BackStory Prize

Our Choice for the Best Public History Project in America

01.11.19

public history
When You Just Want to be Alone

The History of Solitude in America

01.18.19

solitude
Nixon Beyond Watergate

A History of the Presidency Before the Scandal

01.25.19

Nixon administration; Richard Nixon; presidency
BlackStory

BackStory Celebrates Black History Month with a Compilation

02.01.19

Black History Month; Black history
The Faces of Racism

A History of Blackface and Minstrelsy in American Culture

02.08.19
Love Off Limits

A History of the Relationships Once Considered Taboo in America

02.15.19

romance; social norms
Man vs. the Machine

Technophobia and American Society

02.22.19

fear; technology
Shattering the Glass Ceiling in America

BackStory Celebrates Women's History Month

03.01.19

women’s history; women’s rights
Oh, Bloody Hell

BackStory's History of Profanity in America

03.08.19

colloquialisms; language; profanity
Shore Thing

A History of the Beach

03.15.19

beaches; leisure
Burnt Corks & Cakewalks

The Toxic Legacy of Blackface in American History

03.22.19

blackface; entertainment; minstrelsy; popular culture; stereotypes
Teen Activists

A History of Youth Politics and Protest

03.29.19

protest; youth; youth activism
All the Presidents’ Vetoes

A Brief History of Saying No to Legislation

04.05.19

executive power; presidential veto
Death on the Assembly Line

Industrial Tragedies in American History

04.12.19

disaster; labor
Alternative Facts, Falsehoods and Delusions

The Lies We've Told Ourselves and Each Other in American History

04.19.19

"fake news"; deception; hoaxes
The Civil War in the 21st Century

A New Museum Marks an Old Conflict

05.03.19

American Civil War; American Civil War Museum; Civil War Memory; museums; public history
The Year of the Woman

A History of Women in Congress

05.10.19

Election of 2018 (midterm); U.S. Congress; women in politics
You Have The Right to Remain Silent

A History of the Miranda Warning

05.17.19

Miranda rights; criminal justice; police
Paying for the Past

Reparations and American History

05.24.19

reparations
Song of Ourselves?

Walt Whitman and the American Imagination

05.31.19

Walt Whitman; poetry
The Many Lives of Roe v Wade

The Little Known History Behind the Famous Ruling

06.14.19

Roe v. Wade; abortion; abortion laws; abortion rights; legal history
In God We Trust?

The History of Religious Identity in America

06.21.19

religion; religious identity
A History of Stonewall, the Riot That Started the LGBTQ Revolution

06.28.19

LGBTQ rights; Stonewall riots; commemoration; queer bars; queer history; rebellion
The Melting Pot

Americans & Assimilation

07.05.19

assimilation; citizenship; identity; inclusion/exclusion
How Silicon Valley Remade America in Its Image

A History of Digital Disruption

07.12.19
Historians in the Press

Why Citation by the Media is Important, Even if it Rarely Happens

07.17.19
Moon, Man, and Myths

The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11

07.19.19

Apollo 11; space exploration; the Moon
Making the Team

Sports and Equality in American History

07.26.19

activism; activist athletes; sports
Thar She Blows

The History of Whales and America

07.31.19

ships; whaling
Thar She Blows Again

The History of Whales and America (Part 2)

08.02.19

ships; whaling
Man Up

A Look at Masculinity in American History

08.09.19

gender norms; masculinity
Enlightened America?

A History of Buddhism in the United States

08.16.19

Buddhism; religion
1619: The Arrival of the First Africans in Virginia

08.23.19

1619; English colonists; Virginia; public history; slave trade (transatlantic); slavery
BackStory’s Labor Day Special

A History of Work and Labor Relations in the U.S.

08.30.19

Labor Day; labor; labor history
Standing Rock and the History of Indigenous Resistance in the United States

09.06.19
What’s in a Number?

Thirteen in American History

09.13.19

superstition
The Long Shadow of the Plantation

How a Weighted Past Creates a Complicated Present

09.20.19

Civil War and Reconstruction; american history; history; history of plantations; plantations; slavery
Impeachment Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

High Crimes and Misdemeanors in American History

09.27.19
Darkness Over the Plain

The Bison in American History

10.04.19

animal history; bison; environmental history; zoology
How Reconstruction Transformed the Constitution

A Feature Conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Eric Foner

10.11.19
Rallying Behind Racism

The Women of White Supremacy

10.18.19

racism; white supremacy; white womanhood
Haunted Histories

A BackStory Halloween Special

10.25.19

supernatural
Blasts from the Past

A History of Dynamite in the United States

11.01.19

explosives
Call To Arms

Enlistment in America

11.08.19

military; military history; soldiers; veterans
The Chinese in American History

How Afong Moy, Mayling Soong and Bruce Lee Changed the Narrative About China

11.11.19

China; Chinese immigrants; Chinese-Americans; U.S.-China relations
The End of an Era

History That Was Made - and Unmade - in the 2010s

11.15.19
Sunny Days

The History of Sesame Street in America and the World

11.22.19

Sesame Street; children’s entertainment; public media; television
What’s Cooking?

A History of Food in America

11.29.19

American food; foodways
Telling Stories About the Past

Historians on Historical Fiction

12.06.19
From BackStory to You

A History of Giving and Receiving

12.13.19

gift giving
Stuffed

Taxidermy in the History of America

12.27.19

taxidermy
Those Were The Days

Nostalgia in American History

01.03.20

historical memory; nostalgia
The U.S. and Iran

A Brief History of an Often Tense Relationship

01.10.20
The Real Martin Luther King

Reflecting on MLK 50 Years After His Death

01.17.20

MLK; Martin Luther King Day; civil rights movement; historical memory
Best of BackStory

The Time Peter Onuf Declared Independence

01.24.20
Seminoles, Retirees and Florida Man

A Brief History of the Sunshine State

01.31.20

Florida
From Music to Madiba

A History of U.S. Relations with South Africa

02.14.20

South Africa; international relations
Best of BackStory

The Time Ed Ayers Marched Into Richmond

02.21.20
People Making History

The Power and Perils of Telling History Through Individual Stories

02.28.20
New Stories for an Old Conflict

Rethinking Civil War Narratives

03.06.20

American Civil War; historiography; revisionism
Fighting Jane Crow

The Multifaceted Life and Legacy of Pauli Murray

03.20.20

Pauli Murray; activism
Best of BackStory

The Time Brian Balogh Went to a Monastery

03.27.20
Mind, Body and Spirit

The History of Wellness in America

04.03.20

health; wellness
Overcoming An Outbreak

How San Francisco Survived the Plague

04.09.20
Best of BackStory

The Time Nathan Had a Close Encounter

04.10.20
1980s Environmentalism and How the Reagan-Era Shaped the Natural World

04.24.20

Earth Day; Reagan Era; environmentalism
Zooming Ahead

How Virtual Learning is Shaping the College Classroom

05.01.20
Red in the Stars and Stripes?

A History of Socialism in America

05.08.20

socialism
Best of BackStory

The Time Joanne Freeman Went to Congress

05.15.20
Mystery, Murder, and Mayhem

A History of True Crime in America

05.29.20

crime; murder; mystery; popular culture; publishing
Another Burden To Bear

A History of Racial Health Disparities in America

06.05.20

health disparities
Great, Small and Other Expectations

Charles Dickens and His History with America

06.19.20
Best of BackStory

The Time the People Picked

06.26.20
The End of the Road

BackStory and the History of Finales in America

07.03.20

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