Back Story with the American History Guys

BackStory is a public radio program & podcast that brings historical perspective to the events happening around us today. On each show, renowned U.S. historians Ed Ayers, Peter Onuf, and Brian Balogh tear a topic from the headlines and plumb its historical depths. Over the course of the hour, they are joined by fellow historians, people in the news, and callers interested in exploring the roots of what’s going on today. Together, they drill down to colonial times and earlier, revealing the connections (and disconnections) between past and present. With its passionate, intelligent, and irreverent approach, BackStory is fun and essential listening no matter who you are.

BackStory has passed the 5.1 million mark for podcast downloads, with 64,000 downloads/plays per week, 29,000-31,000 weekly subscribers and more than 797,000 SoundCloud followers. The weekly show is currently broadcast by 49 primary public radio stations, serving 141 communities in 24 states and Washington, D.C.—and more than 40 other public stations, many in major markets, regularly air BackStory episodes as specials.