Best of BackStory

The Time the People Picked

06.26.20

As BackStory nears the end of its production, we’ve asked our listeners to call in with moments from the show’s history and compile their very own “Best of BackStory.”

We got some great responses covering a range of topics, each of them meaningful to the present moment in their own way.

So in this best of BackStory, we present three of our listener’s favorite interviews from the show. You’ll learn about the early U.S. Postal Service, and hear from residents of Hamlet, North Carolina as we explore the painful memory of a 1991 tragedy. Then, you’ll discover the long evolution of the Confederate flag’s design.

Open Episode Transcript as PDF

Segments

Nickled and Dimed

Ed talks with David Henkin about the earliest letter writers, and how they cheated the postage rates of the 1830s.

U.S. Postal Service; communication; correspondence; mail

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The Hamlet Fire

On September 3rd, 1991, a fire erupted at the Imperial Food Products chicken processing plant in Hamlet, North Carolina. The blaze and toxic smoke killed 25 people and injured dozens. Many of the employees tried to escape through the exits, but they were trapped because several of the doors were padlocked from the outside. 28 years later, Hamlet residents and former employees of the plant are still grappling with the painful memories. Producer Charlie Shelton-Ormond travels to Hamlet to learn more.

Music:

Sanctuary by Podington Bear

Respiration by Podington Bear

Memory Wind by Podington Bear

Bespoke by Todd Gauthreaux

Hamlet; Hamlet factory fire; North Carolina; accidents; fire; food; manufacturing; mass production; tragedy

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Flags of Our Forefathers

American Civil War Museum historian John Coski walks Ed Ayers through the evolution of the Confederate flag’s design—from the original “Stars and Bars” to the “rebel flag” we know today, and its long, twisty path to becoming a pop culture icon.

American Civil War; Confederate States of America (confederacy); Confederate flag

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