Naughty & Nice: A History of The Holiday Season [rebroadcast]
The History Guys trace the evolution of Christmas in America from a public festival of rowdy excess to a child-centered celebration of church and family.
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?
City Upon a Hill: American Exceptionalism
The History Guys explore the changing meanings of American Exceptionalism, tracing it from the Founders through the presidential election of 2012.
Naughty & Nice: A History of The Holiday Season
The History Guys trace the evolution of Christmas in America from a public festival of rowdy excess to a child-centered celebration of church and family.
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.
Seasons of Giving
As we head towards the holiday season, BackStory takes a look at the origins and effects of American generosity. When did we start giving to people we’ve never even met?
“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 [...]
The Fox Sisters and American Spiritualism
The following audio clip is an extended version of an interview featured in the BackStory episode “American Spirit: A History of the Supernatural.” You can listen to the entire episode here. Nate DiMeo relates the story of the Fox sisters and speaks of their involvement in the development of American Spiritualism in the middle of [...]
Naughty & Nice: Online Resources
This is a list of resources connected to the BackStory episode, “Naughty & Nice: The History of the Holiday Season,” originally aired in December of 2009. Christmas A review of Stephen Nissenbaum’s book, The Battle for Christmas Excellent primer on what federal courts have ruled about holiday displays Christmas in Colonial Virginia 1913 NYT article [...]
Spiritualism in Lily Dale, NY
The following audio clip is an extended version of an interview featured in the BackStory episode “American Spirit: A History of the Supernatural.” You can listen to the entire episode here. 19th Century Guy Ed Ayers speaks with Cara Seekings, a spirit medium living in the Spiritualist community Lily Dale, in upstate New York.
