BackStory

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279: Paying for the Past: Reparations and American History May 24, 2019

Show notes

Reparations for African-Americans has been a hot topic on the presidential campaign trail, with Democratic candidates including Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren coming out in favor of compensation for unpaid African-American labor.
But the debate around reparations is nothing new. In fact, it goes back centuries.
On this episode, Nathan, Ed and Brian explore the complicated - and often contentious - history of reparations, from the first mass reparations movement led by Callie House, an ex-slave, to a unique moment when African-Americans in Florida received compensation for the destruction of their community.
Image: "The Freedmen's Bureau" Man representing the Freedman's Bureau stands between armed groups of Euro-Americans and Afro-Americans. Drawn by A.R. Waud. https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/92514996/
BackStory is funded in part by our listeners. You can help keep the episodes coming by supporting the show: https://www.backstoryradio.org/support

Sponsored Promotion: Family Ghosts May 20, 2019

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Announcing Season 2 of Family Ghosts, a podcast that takes a closer look at the legendary tales that shape our family histories.
Listen: https://megaphone.link/FG7245488954

234: You Have The Right to Remain Silent: A History of the Miranda Warning May 17, 2019

Show notes

When a man named Ernesto Miranda confessed to a rape and kidnapping on March 13, 1963, his trial went all the way to the Supreme Court becoming one of the most well-known cases of the 20th century: "Miranda v Arizona." Nathan and Joanne look at the interrogation that led to the Supreme Court decision and ask how the Miranda warning transformed from technical bit of police procedure to pop-culture lexicon.
Download a full transcript of this episode.
Image: Ernesto Miranda, 1963. Source: Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, History and Archives Division,
Phoenix, #00-0517.
BackStory is funded in part by our listeners. You can help keep the episodes coming by supporting the show: https://www.backstoryradio.org/support

278: The Year of the Woman: A History of Women in Congress May 10, 2019

Show notes

Today, 131 women serve in the House and Senate, making Congress the most female and most diverse it’s ever been.
But women in politics continue to face an uphill battle. Even after their election, Congresswomen such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib have faced criticism for their choice of clothing and language. One radio commentator in Atlanta even suggested Lucy McBath should quote “go back to the kitchen.”
We look at the history of “women in Congress,” how much progress we’ve made and how much work lies ahead.
Image: A composite of all available images of the 365 women who have served in Congress since 1917. Compiled using a search of pictures available via the Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Historian, United States House of Representatives: https://history.house.gov/People/Search?Term=Search&SearchIn=LastName&ShowNonMember=true&ShowNonMember=false&Office=&Leadership=&State=&Party=&ContinentalCongress=false&BlackAmericansInCongress=false&WomenInCongress=true&WomenInCongress=false&HispanicAmericansInCongress=false&AsianPacificAmericansInCongress=false&Dates=All&CongressNumberList=65-66-67-68-69-70-71-72-73-74-75-76-77-78-79-80-81-82-83-84-85-86-87-88-89-90-91-92-93-94-95-96-97-98-99-100-101-102-103-104-105-106-107-108-109-110-111-112-113-114-115-116&PreviousSearch=Search%2cLastName%2c%2c%2c%2c%2cFalse%2cFalse%2cTrue%2cAll%2c65-66-67-68-69-70-71-72-73-74-75-76-77-78-79-80-81-82-83-84-85-86-87-88-89-90-91-92-93-94-95-96-97-98-99-100-101-102-103-104-105-106-107-108-109-110-111-112-113-114-115-116%2cMostRecommended&CurrentPage=31&SortOrder=MostRecommended&ResultType=Grid&Command=1
BackStory is funded in part by our listeners. You can help keep the episodes coming by supporting the show: https://www.backstoryradio.org/support

277: The Civil War in the 21st Century: A New Museum Marks an Old Conflict May 03, 2019

Show notes

On May 4, 2019, the American Civil War Museum opens in Richmond, Virginia. It’s a historic endeavor, building upon a merger of several museums and historical sites in the region, including the former Museum of the Confederacy.
The museum’s goal is to tell an inclusive and balanced version of the Civil War. But for an event that’s arguably the most contentious conflict in American history, that’s a tall order.
So on this episode, BackStory gets an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the museum to explore what it means to tell new narratives of the Civil War in public spaces.
Image: "Storming Fort Wagner," chromolithograph by Kurz & Allison-Art Publishers, shows Union soldiers storming the walls of Fort Wagner on Morris Island, South Carolina, and engaging some Confederate soldiers in hand-to-hand combat. Source: Library of Congress
BackStory is funded in part by our listeners. You can help keep the episodes coming by supporting the show: https://www.backstoryradio.org/support

275: Alternative Facts, Falsehoods and Delusions: The Lies We've Told Ourselves and Each Other in American History Apr 19, 2019

Show notes

Late last month, the Washington Post reported President Trump has made some 9,451 false or misleading claims throughout his term in office. Yet, Trump’s supporters have maintained he’s not lying — he’s presenting so-called alternative facts. No matter how you look at it, it’s clear we’re living in what many pundits are calling a post-truth moment — where misinformation, lies and alternative facts are everywhere. Nathan digs into the BackStory archives to bring you a selection of segments that look at alternative facts in American life.
Image: Feejee Mermaid, shown in P.T. Barnum's American Museum, 1842, as leased from Moses Kimball of the Boston Museum, papier-mache - Peabody Museum, Harvard University. Source: Wikimedia Commons
BackStory is funded in part by our listeners. You can help keep the episodes coming by supporting the show: https://www.backstoryradio.org/support

274: Death on the Assembly Line: Industrial Tragedies in American History Apr 12, 2019

Show notes

On Wednesday an explosion from a gas leak in Durham, NC killed one person and injured 25 others. Local authorities say the leak started after a construction worker hit a gas line. The explosion occurred soon after.
From explosions to pollution, tragedies like the one in Durham have wreaked havoc on Americans and their communities throughout history. This week, BackStory considers the history of industrial disasters and how they’ve changed the nature of American capitalism.
Image: The front page of the Boston Daily Globe, January 16, 1919. Headline: "Molasses Tank Explosion Injures 50 and Kills 11." Source: newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/image/430831009
BackStory is funded in part by our listeners. You can help keep the episodes coming by supporting the show: https://www.backstoryradio.org/support

273: All the Presidents’ Vetoes: A Brief History of Saying No to Legislation Apr 05, 2019

Show notes

To veto or not to veto? That was the question President George Washington wrestled with on this day in 1792.
In honor of that decision, and the precedent it set for subsequent leaders, this week BackStory looks at presidential vetoes through two periods in American history. First, Joanne unpacks Washington’s complicated feelings about his first (and only) veto. Then, Brian speaks with historian Jeffrey Engel about how President Trump’s recent use of the veto pen fits into the big picture of presidents saying ‘thanks, but no thanks.’
Image credit: President Donald Trump signs the first veto of his presidency in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, March 15, 2019. Source: AP Images
BackStory is funded in part by our listeners. You can help keep the episodes coming by supporting the show: https://www.backstoryradio.org/support

236: Teen Activists: A History of Youth Politics and Protest Mar 29, 2019

Show notes

This month, youth around the globe participated in Youth Strike 4 Climate, coordinated demonstrations by school students who are demanding action by world leaders to prevent further climate change. So, in this episode, Joanne, Brian & Ed talk about the role young people have played in American politics. They’ll look at how the desegregation movement in Virginia was sparked in part by a 16-year-old girl, how young Americans made it okay to be independent voters and thinkers in the early centuries, a 1945 student walkout against integration, and the story of a young Lakota activist who travelled to Standing Rock when she was in high school.
The transcript for this episode is from the original broadcast and may contain some minor differences.
BackStory is funded in part by our listeners. You can help keep the episodes coming by supporting the show: https://www.backstoryradio.org/support

272: Burnt Corks & Cakewalks: The Toxic Legacy of Blackface in American History Mar 22, 2019

Show notes

Ed, Nathan and Brian explore the history of blackface, from its heyday as the most popular form of entertainment in America to its afterlife in the controversial images that appear in college yearbooks. What explains the long life of blackface in American culture?
BackStory is funded in part by our listeners. You can help keep the episodes coming by supporting the show: https://www.backstoryradio.org/support

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