Meet the Staff
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Tony Field, Producer
Tony always wondered why there weren’t any history shows on public radio. Then along came Ed, Peter, and Brian. They told him they were “the History Guys.” He was skeptical, but took their word for it. So far, they have him convinced.
Born and bred in the wilds of New Jersey, Tony moved to Virginia in early 2008 to launch BackStory. Before that, he lived in New York City and worked as a producer for NPR’s Peabody Award-winning On the Media. Tony has worked in radio since 2000, when he walked through the doors of WBUR in Boston and was handed a reel of tape and a razor blade to cut it with. Turns out it was one of the last razor blades in the business.
If Tony were a moment in American history, he would be the lean, hungry, wandering years of Cabeza de Vaca, barefooting through deserts from prickly-pear to prickly pear, seeking and healing, seeking and healing…
Rachel Quimby, Associate Producer
Rachel hails from sunny Upstate New York. She went to Barnard College, where she worked at Columbia University’s radio station, and created a new show called Grey Matters — a psychology-related program based loosely on her own insecurities. Then she went to the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, where she produced two pieces based loosely on other people’s insecurities. She has written for Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, and enjoys hiking, singing, and associate-producing.
If Rachel were a moment in American history, she would be the time she met Jon Stewart at the Borders in Columbus Circle. Either that, or the years of the first Cleveland administration.
Catherine Moore, Assistant Producer
Catherine Moore is originally from West Virginia and, in her dreams, Montana. She lives in Covesville, VA, in Hungrytown Hollow (the best street name ever). Trained as a writer, she holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Montana and a B.A. in Comparative Literature from Harvard University. Her interest in history developed through various jobs at historical archives and humanities organizations–a gig as Desk Attendant of the Woodberry Poetry Room of Houghton Library perhaps tops them all. She enjoys spending time at the Virginia Arts of the Book Center, walking in the woods, and cuddling with her new laptop for warmth and amusement. Future plans include mastering the pedal steel.
If Catherine were a moment in American history, she would most definitely be the railroad boom.
Andrew Wyndham, Executive Producer
BackStory’s own backstory goes back to August 2005, when Andrew, VFH’s Director of Media Programs, who knew Ed Ayers and Peter Onuf, broached the idea of bringing them together to create a call-in radio program that was prospectively called “The History Guys” and then became “The History Hotline.” At Ed’s and Peter’s suggestion, Brian Balogh was immediately drafted for the team and, over the next three years Andrew and other staff worked with the “fab three” on an R & D phase that included numerous studio sessions and several on-air gigs, leading up to the completion of a demo program. Andrew raised the funds to make the program fly for real and, in early 2008, recruited the show’s producers, Tony and Rachel, who were soon joined by Catherine–and who have made BackStory the highly produced, topical program that it is today.
Born in England of Polish-Irish parents, Andrew executive produces other VFH Radio programs, including “With Good Reason” and the Humanities Feature Bureau. He organized and directed the award-winning “Re-Imagining Ireland” conference and festival, directed a related documentary video, and edited a companion book.
If Andrew were a moment in American history he’d be any of the annual naturalization ceremonies at Monticello, or February 9, 1964.
Jamal Millner, Post-Production Engineer
Gaby Alter, Theme Song Composer
