Backstory: An american History show

FRoebel school

Hundreds of students walked out of Froebel High School in Gary, Indiana in 1945. All of the strikers were white. In what was called a hate strike, they demanded the removal of their African-American classmates.

king of the wild frontier?

One BackStory listener had a question about how Davy Crockett really died — a surprisingly controversial topic. With help from historians Andrew Torget, James Crisp, and writer William Groneman, I explore the frontiersman’s death at the Alamo and the myths that grew around Crockett in his own lifetime.

KORLA PANDIT

Musician Korla Pandit was a southern California television start in the 1950s. In his trademark turban, he mesmerized audiences with his pioneering exotica sound. A few years after his death, journalist RJ Smith stumbled upon what was – to him – a startling truth. Pandit, despite his claims, wasn’t from India at all. He was African-American.

let your freak flag fly

Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson moved to the mountains outside Aspen, Colorado in 1967. Three years later, he ran an unlikely campaign to for county sheriff.

The midnight RIDER

BackStory challenged its listeners to come up with ideas for historical movies with unique genre twists. We would then make a fake trailer for the film. Listener Michael Salgarolo submitted this idea for Paul Revere’s ride in the style of the movie “The Fast and the Furious.”

women of science

Historian David Holland explains why Christian Science’s assertion that “all is spirit” was so appealing to some mid-19th century women.

Party people

From BackStory website: Scholars Harry Watson and Jason Opal tell the story of “people’s president” Andrew Jackson’s notoriously wild inauguration party.

craddock v. comstock

Ida Craddock found her niche writing Victorian-era sex advice for married couples. But her stock in trade made her a target of censor Anthony Comstock, who was both appalled by her material and the fact that she was a single woman.

on the bly

Historians Joyce Chaplin and Matthew Goodman help tell the story of journalists Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland’s 1889 race around the world.

a port in the storm

Puerto Rican nationalist Pedro Albizu Campos and his followers fought for independence in a failed 1950 uprising.

the thin blue line

The professionalization of the Los Angeles Police Department, under the control of Chief William H. Parker, ended up putting the department above the law they were supposed to enforce. Story begins at 29:37.