American as Pumpkin Pie: A History of Thanksgiving
When we sit down to Thanksgiving dinner, we think we know what we’re commemorating. But if an actual Pilgrim were to attend your Thanksgiving, chances are he’d be stunned, and a little disgusted, by what transpired there.
Coming Home: A History of War Veterans
Rambo, Elvis Presley, and former Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders have one important thing in common: military service. So who are America’s veterans? Soldiers travel far away to risk their lives, but how easy is returning home?
Grave Matters: A History of Death and Mourning
How present is death in American culture? Have improvements in public health and medicine removed death from our everyday lives? Join the History Guys in this Memorial Day episode of BackStory.
The Good Mother: A History of American Motherhood
For most of American history, women were charged with raising productive citizens, but not given full citizen status, themselves. Our Mother’s Day episode explores this enduring paradox.
"Worst Mother in American History" Challenge
Our special Mother’s Day show will explore what is has meant to be a “good mother” in American history–and there are a fair number of figures to choose from (though perhaps less than you would think): 1950s TV moms, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and now, Michelle Obama…
But we here at BackStory are stumped when it [...]
