BackStory Radio is a one-hour, highly produced radio series that includes expert interviews, listener calls, wide-ranging discussion and occasional special features. In each episode, renowned historians Peter Onuf, Ed Ayers, and Brian Balogh — BackStory’s genial, sometimes gregarious, and always thought-provoking hosts — take a topic from the headlines and use it to drill down into America’s past. They invite callers and fellow historians to the table, offering anecdotes, analysis, and a healthy dose of good humor, providing multiple perspectives on a wide variety of engaging issues, showing how the stories of America contribute to a narrative of democracy in which all of us have a stake.
BackStory Radio is a program of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. Tune in to learn about these topics, and go on line to join the conversation!
Scales of Justice: A History of Supreme Court Nominations
Independence Daze: A History of July Fourth
Teed Off: The Tea Party, Then and Now
Paying Up: A History of Taxation
Climate Control: A History of Heating & Cooling
Love Me Did: A History of Courtship
Naughty & Nice: A History of the Holiday Season
American as Pumpkin Pie: A History of Thanksgiving
Coming Home: A History of War Veterans
Body Politics: A History of Health Care
School Days: A History of Public Education
Looking for Work: A History of Unemployment
