The Backstory with Patty Steele

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Latest Episodes:

The Backstory: The real American psycho Feb 07, 2025

Show notes

The Wisconsin countryside in autumn during the 1950s sounds idyllic. But it was the scene of a horrifying series of murders and body-snatching cases. Ed Gein, in “The Butcher of Plainfield,” was the loner who inspired movies like Psycho and Silence of the Lambs. So…what’s his story?

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The Backstory: How one woman helped ignite the Civil War Feb 04, 2025

Show notes

Who wrote the best-selling book in the U.S. in the 1800s? Why was she attacked from both sides for her story? And finally, how did she come to write the same exact book, word for word, 40 years later?

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The Backstory: Nxivm: A Hollywood sex cult Jan 31, 2025

Show notes

Hollywood, cults, sex, and crime. It all seems like the perfect set up for a Netflix multi-season series. But this is the real story of the rich and famous getting brain washed into a criminal sex club that ultimately led to convictions on charges of conspiracy, sex trafficking, child porn, and more.

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The Backstory (Replay): A middle-class kid rises to the top of the ad world Jan 28, 2025

Show notes

We all dream, but what stops us from making those dreams a reality? This is about a middle-class kid from Ohio who never stopped believing in the future.

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The Backstory: The Mariana Trench: A hundred horrible ways to die Jan 24, 2025

Show notes

Explorers are a special breed—fear of the unknown and of the awful possibilities of failure don’t seem to deter them. Perfect example: the handful of people who have explored the Mariana Trench, the deepest place on Earth.

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The Backstory: Beyond the Hamilton duel: Aaron Burr’s rise and fall Jan 21, 2025

Show notes

Some people are wildly talented but just can’t get out of the way of their own ego and ambition. Take Aaron Burr. He destroyed his political career by killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel, went on to treasonously plot a land grab to create his own empire, and wound up dying alone in a boarding house on Staten Island.

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The Backstory: Why did these two presidents have 2 nonconsecutive terms? Jan 17, 2025

Show notes

Donald Trump and Grover Cleveland are the only two presidents to get elected to two nonconsecutive terms. Their personalities and lifestyles explain a lot; neither liked having their opinions questioned, neither cared what others thought of them, and both had beautiful, much younger wives.

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The Backstory: The fire was master Jan 14, 2025

Show notes

Take a look back, and you’ll see how similar human reaction is over the centuries to so many things that happen to us today. Take the recent fires in LA and the great Chicago fire of 1871. How do people decide what to save, and what matters most, when faced with a catastrophic event?

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The Backstory: Our world on fire Jan 10, 2025

Show notes

The fires in California are terrifying to watch. But fire has a deep history…and there are lessons to be learned.

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The Backstory: Barbie dolls: boobs, Mickey Mouse club, and fraud Jan 07, 2025

Show notes

Success doesn’t always come easy. We’re talking boobs, plastic, marketing directly to little kids…and getting indicted for corporate fraud. Who knew there was all that drama surrounding Barbie dolls and their creator, Ruth Handler?

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