Fear Tactics: A History of Domestic Terrorism [Rebroadcast]
In this hour of BackStory, the History Guys investigate the origins of domestic terrorism in the United States, and explore the question of what kinds of people and movements have been identified as “terrorists.”
Rinse and Repeat: Cleanliness in America
Cleanliness is next to godliness, we say, and Americans have long associated good hygiene with moral and spiritual purity. On this episode, we dig into the changing ways we’ve defined what it is to be clean. We’ll meet an 18th-century Pennsylvania woman who didn’t immerse herself in water for 28 years, and ask how Americans [...]
Rinse and Repeat: Cleanliness in America
Cleanliness is next to godliness, we say, and Americans have long associated good hygiene with moral and spiritual purity. But what does it mean to be “clean” in America?
Small Island, Big Shadow: Cuba and the US
On this episode, we mark the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis with a look back on the outsized influence that this small nation has had on three centuries of American history.
Small Island, Big Shadow
50 years ago this October, a US military jet photographed partially-built Soviet bases in western Cuba. To mark the anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, we’re turning our attention to Cuba — that tiny island with an outsized influence in US history.
Contagion: Responding to Infectious Disease
In this hour of BackStory we trace the trajectory of that change and examine the shifting role of the state when it comes to coping with epidemics. Where do we draw the line between promoting the public good and protecting individual rights? How did people understand the causes and experience of disease in their own time?
Fear Tactics: A History of Domestic Terrorism
In this hour of BackStory, the History Guys investigate the origins of domestic terrorism in the United States, and explore the question of what kinds of people and movements have been identified as “terrorists.”
Times of Terror
On Sept 16, 1920, a bomb exploded on Wall Street as workers took their lunch break. It was the deadliest terrorist bombing in the US until Oklahoma City — but at the time, people saw it as just one more incident in a long string of attacks. Why?
Sweet and Dangerous: A History of Sugar
In this episode, the History Guys will explore sweetness in American history. How has our national sweet tooth shaped our political and economic priorities?
“Questions Remain” — Transcript
This is the transcript of “Civil War 150th: Questions Remain,” broadcast in April of 2011. You can listen to the entire show here. Tape: From VFH Radio in Charlottesville, Virginia, this is “BackStory.” Peter Onuf: From weapons of mass destruction to the U.S.S. Maine, each of America’s wars has been accompanied by its own [...]
