Backstory

This is a special episode that’s a little bit different from our usual programming. For several years, BackStory hosts have appeared on WBUR’s Here & Now, discussing a range of topics that have been in the news. Last week, Nathan and Ed appeared on the program to talk about America’s relationship with tobacco. They relied on the research of Sarah Milov, an assistant professor of history at the University of Virginia, whose book, The Cigarette: A Political History, comes out in October.  As you may have seen reported in various media outlets, neither Nathan, nor Ed credited Prof. Milov on the air for her work. For that, we’re deeply sorry.  So in this special segment, Prof. Milov joins Nathan and Ed to talk about what happened last week, as well as broader issues facing historians who are regularly in the media. Image: A word cloud of this episode's transcript. *In the conversation, Nathan and Sarah Milov refer to the following historians: Nan Enstad, James Downs, Danielle McGuire and Silke-M

Whether its smartphones, laptops, or the Internet, there’s no doubt the products of Silicon Valley are a part of our daily lives. According to the Pew Research Center, 81% of Americans own a smartphone, and nearly three-quarters of adults have a desktop or laptop computer. But how did a slice of northern California turn into one of the most influential industries in history? Brian talks with historian Margaret O’Mara about the Valley’s rise to global tech capital. O’Mara’s new book is called “The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America.” Image: In this April 24, 1984 file photo, Steve Jobs, left, chairman of Apple Computers, John Sculley, center, president and CEO, and Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, unveil the new Apple IIc computer in San Francisco, Calif. Apple has become the world’s first company to be valued at $1 trillion, the financial fruit of tasteful technology that has redefined society since two mavericks named Steve started the company 42 years ago. Source: AP Images BackStory is

In the spirit of July 4th, BackStory revisits an episode on the abiding question: What does it mean to be an American? We’ll explore 19th-century notions of who could become an American and the ways they were expected to change. Plus, we’ll discuss how much room there was for a hyphenated American identity in the past and if there is any room for it today. Image: Cover of Theater Program for Israel Zangwill's play "The Melting Pot," 1916. Source: Wikimedia Commons BackStory is funded in part by our listeners. You can help keep the episodes coming by supporting the show: https://www.backstoryradio.org/support

In the early hours of June 28, 1969, a riot broke out at a rundown gay bar in New York City. Today the Stonewall uprising is famous around the world as a clash that helped spark a gay political revolution. Brian and Nathan talk to scholars and participants and discover how Stonewall led to a wave of activism, protest and political agitation. Image: Marsha P. Johnson hands out flyers for support of gay students at N.Y.U., 1970. Source: New York Public Library Digital Collections BackStory is funded in part by our listeners. You can help keep the episodes coming by supporting the show: https://www.backstoryradio.org/support

The Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment forms the basis for the separation of church and state: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Yet, throughout American history, this principle hasn’t stopped Americans from using religious differences to draw boundaries around who is and isn’t American. Joanne digs into the BackStory archives to bring you a selection of segments that look at religious identity in America and how faiths, cultures and rituals adapted to American life. Image: "Church and state - No Union upon any terms" by Thomas Nast in Harper's Weekly, Feb. 25, 1871. Source: Library of Congress BackStory is funded in part by our listeners. You can help keep the episodes coming by supporting the show: https://www.backstoryradio.org/support

Bleeped is a new podcast about censorship and the people who stand up to it. Each episode relives a time someone was censored, examines how they fought back, and explores what the things we try to censor reveal about our culture. Subscribe to Bleeped on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening now. Find out more at their website: https://www.bleeped.org/

In 1973, the landmark ruling in Roe v. Wade decriminalized abortion. But since then, the court’s findings have been simultaneously celebrated and contested. Now, Roe is in the news again. States including Alabama and Missouri have passed laws that challenge the Roe decision, leading some to ask: Are we close to seeing the Roe v. Wade ruling overturned? On this episode, we dig into the history of Roe and explore the life and legacy of a case whose details are often forgotten or misunderstood. Image: Demonstrators demanding a woman's right to choose march to the U.S. Capitol for a rally seeking repeal of all anti-abortion laws in Washington, D.C., Nov. 20, 1971. On the other side of the Capitol was a demonstration held by those who are against abortion. (AP Photo) BackStory is funded in part by our listeners. You can help keep the episodes coming by supporting the show: https://www.backstoryradio.org/support

In honor of the 75th anniversary of D-Day, "Unknown History" podcast, author and historian Giles Milton takes listeners through the perilous 24 hours of D-Day, sharing the tales of the men and women who risked their lives by land, sea, and air. For more from "Unknown History" visit https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/unknown-history.

Recent estimates have put the value of the “Wellness Industry” at $4.2 billion, with celebrities like Jay-Z and Gwyneth Paltrow offering advice on how to get, and stay, well. But being holistically healthy hasn’t always involved a daily dose of meditation. Ed and Brian explore the history of Wellness, a story which takes in breakfast cereal, leotards and Sigmund Freud.  Image: Aerobics created by Fotoburo de Boer between 1983 and 1985 Subscribe to American Hysteria on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. BackStory is funded in part by our listeners. You can help keep the episodes coming by supporting the show: https://www.backstoryradio.org/support

May 31st marks Walt Whitman’s 200th birthday. In honor of the man known as America’s “bard of democracy,” we explore diverse aspects of Whitman’s life and legacy - from sexuality to spirituality, poetics to place. Image: Walt Whitman by George C. Cox, 1887. Source: Library of Congress BackStory is funded in part by our listeners. You can help keep the episodes coming by supporting the show: https://www.backstoryradio.org/support

Reparations for African-Americans has been a hot topic on the presidential campaign trail, with Democratic candidates including Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren coming out in favor of compensation for unpaid African-American labor. But the debate around reparations is nothing new. In fact, it goes back centuries. On this episode, Nathan, Ed and Brian explore the complicated - and often contentious - history of reparations, from the first mass reparations movement led by Callie House, an ex-slave, to a unique moment when African-Americans in Florida received compensation for the destruction of their community. Image: "The Freedmen's Bureau" Man representing the Freedman's Bureau stands between armed groups of Euro-Americans and Afro-Americans. Drawn by A.R. Waud. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/92514996/ BackStory is funded in part by our listeners. You can help keep the episodes coming by supporting the show: https://www.backstoryradio.org/support

Announcing Season 2 of Family Ghosts, a podcast that takes a closer look at the legendary tales that shape our family histories. Listen: https://megaphone.link/FG7245488954

When a man named Ernesto Miranda confessed to a rape and kidnapping on March 13, 1963, his trial went all the way to the Supreme Court becoming one of the most well-known cases of the 20th century: "Miranda v Arizona." Nathan and Joanne look at the interrogation that led to the Supreme Court decision and ask how the Miranda warning transformed from technical bit of police procedure to pop-culture lexicon. Download a full transcript of this episode. Image: Ernesto Miranda, 1963. Source: Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, History and Archives Division, Phoenix, #00-0517. BackStory is funded in part by our listeners. You can help keep the episodes coming by supporting the show: https://www.backstoryradio.org/support

Today, 131 women serve in the House and Senate, making Congress the most female and most diverse it’s ever been. But women in politics continue to face an uphill battle. Even after their election, Congresswomen such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib have faced criticism for their choice of clothing and language. One radio commentator in Atlanta even suggested Lucy McBath should quote “go back to the kitchen.”  We look at the history of “women in Congress,” how much progress we’ve made and how much work lies ahead.   Image: A composite of all available images of the 365 women who have served in Congress since 1917. Compiled using a search of pictures available via the Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Historian, United States House of Representatives: https://history.house.gov/People/Search?Term=Search&SearchIn=LastName&ShowNonMember=true&ShowNonMember=false&Office=&Leadership=&State=&Party=&ContinentalCongress=false&BlackAmericansInCongress=false

On May 4, 2019, the American Civil War Museum opens in Richmond, Virginia. It’s a historic endeavor, building upon a merger of several museums and historical sites in the region, including the former Museum of the Confederacy.  The museum’s goal is to tell an inclusive and balanced version of the Civil War. But for an event that’s arguably the most contentious conflict in American history, that’s a tall order. So on this episode, BackStory gets an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the museum to explore what it means to tell new narratives of the Civil War in public spaces.  Image: "Storming Fort Wagner," chromolithograph by Kurz & Allison-Art Publishers, shows Union soldiers storming the walls of Fort Wagner on Morris Island, South Carolina, and engaging some Confederate soldiers in hand-to-hand combat. Source: Library of Congress  BackStory is funded in part by our listeners. You can help keep the episodes coming by supporting the show: https://www.backstoryradio.org/support

Late last month, the Washington Post reported President Trump has made some 9,451 false or misleading claims throughout his term in office. Yet, Trump’s supporters have maintained he’s not lying — he’s presenting so-called alternative facts. No matter how you look at it, it’s clear we’re living in what many pundits are calling a post-truth moment — where misinformation, lies and alternative facts are everywhere. Nathan digs into the BackStory archives to bring you a selection of segments that look at alternative facts in American life.  Image: Feejee Mermaid, shown in P.T. Barnum's American Museum, 1842, as leased from Moses Kimball of the Boston Museum, papier-mache - Peabody Museum, Harvard University. Source: Wikimedia Commons BackStory is funded in part by our listeners. You can help keep the episodes coming by supporting the show: https://www.backstoryradio.org/support

On Wednesday an explosion from a gas leak in Durham, NC killed one person and injured 25 others. Local authorities say the leak started after a construction worker hit a gas line. The explosion occurred soon after. From explosions to pollution, tragedies like the one in Durham have wreaked havoc on Americans and their communities throughout history. This week, BackStory considers the history of industrial disasters and how they’ve changed the nature of American capitalism. Image: The front page of the Boston Daily Globe, January 16, 1919. Headline: "Molasses Tank Explosion Injures 50 and Kills 11." Source: newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/430831009 BackStory is funded in part by our listeners. You can help keep the episodes coming by supporting the show: https://www.backstoryradio.org/support

To veto or not to veto? That was the question President George Washington wrestled with on this day in 1792. In honor of that decision, and the precedent it set for subsequent leaders, this week BackStory looks at presidential vetoes through two periods in American history. First, Joanne unpacks Washington’s complicated feelings about his first (and only) veto. Then, Brian speaks with historian Jeffrey Engel about how President Trump’s recent use of the veto pen fits into the big picture of presidents saying ‘thanks, but no thanks.’ Image credit: President Donald Trump signs the first veto of his presidency in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, March 15, 2019. Source: AP Images BackStory is funded in part by our listeners. You can help keep the episodes coming by supporting the show: https://www.backstoryradio.org/support

This month, youth around the globe participated in Youth Strike 4 Climate, coordinated demonstrations by school students who are demanding action by world leaders to prevent further climate change. So, in this episode, Joanne, Brian & Ed talk about the role young people have played in American politics. They’ll look at how the desegregation movement in Virginia was sparked in part by a 16-year-old girl, how young Americans made it okay to be independent voters and thinkers in the early centuries, a 1945 student walkout against integration, and the story of a young Lakota activist who travelled to Standing Rock when she was in high school. The transcript for this episode is from the original broadcast and may contain some minor differences. BackStory is funded in part by our listeners. You can help keep the episodes coming by supporting the show: https://www.backstoryradio.org/support

Ed, Nathan and Brian explore the history of blackface, from its heyday as the most popular form of entertainment in America to its afterlife in the controversial images that appear in college yearbooks. What explains the long life of blackface in American culture? BackStory is funded in part by our listeners. You can help keep the episodes coming by supporting the show: https://www.backstoryradio.org/support