The Backstory with Patty Steele

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Latest Episodes:

The Backstory: The Diamond Necklace That Led to 17,000 Beheadings Oct 23, 2026

Show notes

The riots in France last week were all about the same things that caused the American Revolution in 1776 as well as the French Revolution in 1789. Distrust and disappointment in how the government treats us. In France 250 years ago, it was actually a stolen diamond necklace that began the downfall of the monarchy.

Feel free to DM me if you have a story you’d like me to cover . . on Facebook it’s Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Backstory: Halloween: Why We Love Bloody Horror Flicks Oct 20, 2026

Show notes

What is we love about the blood and gore of a great horror movie or story? And where and when did that spooky interest start? Turns out we’re programmed to love terror . . and Hollywood has made a bundle off of it.

Feel free to DM me if you have a story you’d like me to cover . . on Facebook it’s Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Backstory: Mark Cuban: Garbage Bags to Billionaire Oct 16, 2026

Show notes

How does someone go from being a working class kid to being a billionaire before he’s 40? This is Mark Cuban’s story!

Feel free to DM me if you have a story you’d like me to cover . . on Facebook it’s Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Backstory: The Light Bulb Conspiracy Oct 13, 2026

Show notes

We all know the term "planned obsolescence”. But where did it begin? We head back to the light bulb manufacturers of the early 1900s to see where basic needs and business collided, and how nothing has ever been the same since.

Feel free to DM me if you have a story you’d like me to cover . . On Facebook it’s Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Backstory: Columbus Day? Who Really Discovered America? Oct 09, 2026

Show notes

It’s Columbus Day this Monday . . also called Indigenous People’s Day. But it begs the question, who really “discovered” America? Feel free to DM me if you have a story you’d like me to cover . . on Facebook it’s Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Backstory: How to Create a Female Serial Killer Oct 06, 2026

Show notes

Watching the state of Georgia and their botched attempt to execute murderer Christa Pike this past week has been pretty cringy. Only about 1% of murderers put to death in the U.S. are female. It brought to mind one of America’s most prolific female serial killers, Aileen Wuornos. She admitted to killing at least 7 men, before she was executed in 2002. Her life was depicted in the 2003 movie Monster. But . . how did the little girl tormented by school mates as “the cigarette pig” . . become a monster?

Feel free to DM me if you have a story you’d like me to cover . . on Facebook it’s Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Backstory: Death: How We Handle Our Expiration Date Oct 02, 2026

Show notes

Death . . the word makes us uneasy but we’re all sort of intrigued by it, thus our love of true crime, horror, mysteries, and graveyards. Death is the one thing we all have to face that we simply can’t rationally explain. Going back thousands of years it was the same for all humans. How do we celebrate a life . . . and dispose of the body?

Feel free to DM me if you have a story you’d like me to cover . . on Facebook it’s Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Backstory: The Salem Witch Trials: Stoned to Death Sep 29, 2026

Show notes

We’re sort of living in a time when finger pointing has become a huge spectator sport. Accuse somebody you don’t like or agree with of something, and you can destroy their life. But human beings have a long history of vicious finger pointing. Case in point, the Salem witch trials of 1692.

Feel free to DM me if you have a story you’d like me to cover . . on Facebook it’s Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Backstory: Sex Before the Pill Sep 25, 2026

Show notes

A lot of people want sex . . but they don’t always want babies. That’s been the story of human sexuality for thousands of years. But the pill has only been around for about 65 years. So . . what did folks do to enjoy sex while minimizing the chance of procreation? Think poison plants, animal dung, lemon cups, and even Lysol. Not all of it paints a pretty picture!

Feel free to DM me if you have a story you’d like me to cover . . on Facebook it’s Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Backstory: An Aristocratic Murderer Vanishes Sep 22, 2026

Show notes

Born rich, titled, and impossibly handsome . . a British lord’s life falls apart and he chooses murder. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. The 7th Earl of Lucan, disappeared over 50 years ago after murdering his children’s nanny, having mistaken her for his ex wife. Did his aristocratic friends help him vanish into a new life? This story may remind you of the Netflix show “The Beast in Me.” But this time, the killer escapes.

Feel free to DM me if you have a story you’d like me to cover . . on Facebook it’s Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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