Segment from Love Me Did

Old Personals

The Backstory hosts set up the theme of the show and then segue into an interview between host Ed Ayers and historian Pam Epstein about 19th century personal ads in New York City.

00:00:00 / 00:00:00

Old Personals

The Backstory hosts set up the theme of the show and then segue into an interview between host Ed Ayers and historian Pam Epstein about 19th century personal ads in New York City.

00:08:32

The Inventions of Dating

Host Brian Balogh speaks with historian Beth Bailey about the origins of “dating,” and about how dating conventions changed over the course of the 20th century.

00:10:50

Bundle of Love

Host Peter Onuf describes the colonial New England practice of “bundling,” in which young men and women who intended to get married were encouraged to spend the night together in the home of the girl’s parents.

00:06:34

Listener Call

The Backstory hosts field a listener call.

00:06:09

Listener Calls

BackStory listeners call in with questions about the history of courtship.

00:17:03

Web Extra: Loveless?

Beth Bailey tells Brian about three generations of courtship in her own family… and why there are only two entries for the word “love” in the index of her book.

00:07:46