BackStory

The following are individual show segments included in the BackStory episode “You’ve Got Mail: A History of the Post Office” broadcast in July of 2012. You can listen to the entire episode here.

A Walk in the Woods

Peter tells the story of Alexis de Tocqueville wandering the Michigan wilderness and stumbling upon a magical institution unlike anything in France: The Post Office.

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Nickled and Dimed

Ed talks with David Henkin about the earliest letter writers, and how they cheated the postage rates of the 1830s.

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How Much Is Too Much?

Richard John and Jennifer Mercieca recount the events surrounding the first mass mailing campaign, and how it went up in flames… LITERALLY!

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After the Deluge

The History Guys put the mass mailing into context and ask why the Post Office suddenly became a hotbed of controversy.

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Try Anything Once

The National Postal Museum’s Nancy Pope shares some of the technological innovations in postal history, some more practical than others.

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Listener Calls

The History Guys take calls from listeners.

[http://backstoryradio.org/vfhradio-audio/backstory/2012/07/Listener-Calls1.mp3]

Cowboys and Mailmen

BackStory producer Eric Mennel acts like a big jerk and debunks everybody’s favorite postal memory: the Pony Express.

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Web Only Audio Extra

Children’s Show Post Office Montage

Montage from Mr. Rodgers Neighborhood and Blue’s Clues.

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