The Backstory with Patty Steele
by iHeartPodcasts
Latest episode
The Backstory: A Tycoon’s Love Affair Costs Him Big Time
The Backstory: A Tycoon’s Love Affair Costs Him Big Time
About this podcast
Love a good, juicy story that goes beyond what we already know? We're talking scandalous presidential family members, a mass murder at a world-famous architect's home, stolen inventions, nude athletes at the first Olympics, compulsive liars, the arrival of the bikini, and so much more. History fanatic Patty Steele tells you the inside backstories you didn’t know you needed to know.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 341 episodes
- The Backstory: A Tycoon’s Love Affair Costs Him Big Time · 12 minAs we’ve seen in the past weeks, months, and years . . no matter how successful somebody is, they all too often have a fatal flaw when it comes to sex and romance. It’s undone…
- The Backstory: The Gettysburg Address in Real Time · 9 minWe take a look behind the scenes the night before Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19th, 1863. It’s from the diary of one of Lincoln’s private secretaries…
- The Backstory: Addicted to Pain Relief · 7 minWe all want relief from pain when we're miserable. That’s been true for thousands of years. But how we've dealt with it . . has caused it’s own problems. 10,000 cigars and…
- The Backstory: How an Iconic TV Star Found His Voice · 7 minIt’s fascinating to see how someone faces personal challenges and then becomes more than they dreamed. Ted Knight wanted to be a serious TV star but he became a comedy icon of…
- The Backstory: What’s Under Your Feet in NYC? · 9 minDid you ever stop to think what’s beneath city streets and parks that we walk on everyday? Take the NY Public Library and Bryant Park on NYC’s 5th Avenue. Did you know that that…
- The Backstory: The Not So Innocent Origins of Trick or Treating · 8 minTrick or treating on Halloween is a rite of childhood. But it’s origins go back several thousand years and they were pretty dark, including human sacrifice. Centuries later…
- The Backstory: The Diamond Necklace That Led to 17,000 Beheadings · 10 minThe 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…
- The Backstory: Halloween: Why We Love Bloody Horror Flicks · 10 minWhat 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…
- The Backstory: Mark Cuban: Garbage Bags to Billionaire · 11 minHow 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…
- The Backstory: The Light Bulb Conspiracy · 9 minWe 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…
- The Backstory: Columbus Day? Who Really Discovered America? · 7 minIt’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…
- The Backstory: How to Create a Female Serial Killer · 10 minWatching 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…
- The Backstory: Death: How We Handle Our Expiration Date · 9 minDeath . . 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…
- The Backstory: The Salem Witch Trials: Stoned to Death · 9 minWe’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…
- The Backstory: Sex Before the Pill · 9 minA 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…
- The Backstory: An Aristocratic Murderer Vanishes · 12 minBorn 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…
- The Backstory: Brushing Your Teeth With Pee??? · 9 minWe try to imagine what everyday life was like for folks living a few hundred years ago or even longer. But sometimes, we forget to take into account the simplest things . . like…
- The Backstory: Bugs in Your Veins: The Dancing Plague · 8 minWhen there’s an outbreak of some sort, like the flu or COVID, we all wonder if we’re going to get it. But some of us are more compelled to think we’ve actually got it when people…
- The Backstory: Shocking Death of a Heroic 9/11 Widow · 11 min25 years ago the 9/11 terrorist attacks killed almost 3000 people. It was a horrific moment in our history but as in so many cases, heroes were born in the midst of tragedy…
- The Backstory: Technology: Where We Came From and Why We’re So Lonely · 11 minImagine trying to describe our technology to someone from 1926. Now imagine trying to defend our tech to someone from 2126! Most importantly, how is this evolution impacting our…
- The Backstory: The London Fog That Killed 12,000 · 10 minImagine walking out your front door and not being able to see where you’re stepping because the air is so thick with yellow, greasy smog. This happened in London for 5 days back…
- The Backstory: Sibling Squabbles in Royal Families · 10 minAs we watch the royal family feud in the UK escalate, we’re reminded of our own sibling rivalries. Of course, theirs plays out in the media for our questionable entertainment…
- The Backstory: Famous Cat Lovers · 7 minYou don’t have to be crazy about cats to be at least a little bit fascinated with them, hissing, murder mittens, and all. Great writers like Hemingway, Twain, and Dickens as well…
- The Backstory: Steven Spielberg: The Kid Who Literally Snuck Into Hollywood · 9 minBelieving in yourself is key to success. One of the best examples of that is Steven Spielberg. At the age of 18 he sneaked onto the Universal Studios lot and literally created a…
- The Backstory: Creepy but True: The Gruesome Story of the Castrati · 11 minThe angelic sounds of choirs from 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th centuries often featured the angelic voices of boy sopranos. But sometimes those angelic voices came from full grown…
- The Backstory: Black Bart: 3 Years as the John Gotti of Pirates · 11 minLove a good pirate story? This is a real life story of the most successful pirate in history. Black Bart Roberts was a gentleman who reluctantly became a pirate . . but who…
- The Backstory: America’s Most Notorious Hacker · 10 minWe’ve all dealt with scammers or hackers when it comes to our business or personal info. It can be mildly irritating . .or horrifying depending on what they get. One of the…
- The Backstory: Terror and Survival at 24,000 Feet · 8 minAlmost 40 years ago, the roof of a jetliner blew off at 24,000 feet. Amazingly, after a harrowing 13 minutes, the pilots managed to land the plane safely. All but one person…
- The Backstory: Choosing Your Poison · 8 minWe’re all pretty fascinated with the summer blockbuster ”The Odyssey” right now. So it’s a good time to revisit an unusual story about Socrates, Homer’s compatriot. Although he…
- The Backstory: When the Sun Disappeared · 8 minA total solar eclipse is coming on August 12th. They're awe inspiring. But imagine it’s a normal day in ancient times and suddenly the sun begins to get dimmer and dimmer. Is it…
- The Backstory: Did Woody Harrelson's Father Help Kill JFK? · 9 minWoody Harrelson has been outrageously successful as an actor. But the story of his father is even more unbelievable. A charming hustler and gambler, Charles Harrelson was also an…
- The Backstory: The Women Behind Rock & Roll Legends · 8 minThe term muse seems pretty straight forward when it comes to rock & roll. Some of the most enduring love songs like Layla, Something, and Woman . . have been inspired by these…
- The Backstory: Why Year Round Daylight Saving Time Failed 50 Years Ago · 10 minLots of folks, including a majority in Congress, want to see year round daylight saving time. But it actually has been tried before. The results were not what you’d expect. Feel…
- The Backstory: Sex, Murder, and the First Temporary Insanity Plea · 9 minYou think life among the big shots in 19th century Washington DC was all about restraint and honor? Think again. Behind the scenes there were actually plenty of illicit affairs…
- The Backstory: Smokey Skies: The Deadliest Wildfire in U.S. History · 8 minAgain this summer . . we’ve been dealing with smokey skies in North America mostly from Canadian wildfires. But the deadliest wildfire in U.S. history happened in Peshtigo…
- The Backstory: The Haunted Country Inn That Helped Launch the Computer Age · 9 minHard to imagine that a little country hotel could have been the launching pad for the 30 ton device called ENIAC, that completely changed our world . . . the computer. This is…
- The Backstory: Simplicity and the Greatest Jewel Heists · 10 minWatching TV shows or movies, you'd think big jewelry heists depend on all sorts of high-tech gadgets. But it turns out, some of the biggest thefts in history actually relied on…
- The Backstory: Stevie Nicks: Waitress to Rock Goddess to Taylor Swift Wedding Singer · 9 minStevie Nicks has been in the spotlight this week after performing at the Madison Square Garden wedding of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelcie. But . . that wasn’t just an…
- The Backstory: Thicker Than Blood: Ben Franklin Ditches His Royalist Son · 8 minThe time honored saying goes . . never discuss politics or religion in polite company. That seems truer today than ever. But is it? You think politics breaks up family ties now…
- The Backstory: Tip One Back with the Founding Fathers · 9 minIt’s the nation’s 250th birthday! It’s a time to celebrate . . . like the Founding Fathers, who certainly knew how to tip a few back. This is a look at their drinking habits. And…
- The Backstory: The Deadliest Shark Attack in History · 8 minAs we head out for our summer vacations, some of us are lucky enough to be headed to the ocean. Blue skies, sunshine, blue water to the horizon. But there's always that nagging…
- The Backstory: The Tallest Man in the World Dwarfs NBA Players · 9 minWatching the NBA Finals, a Lot of Us Became Mesmerized by the Size of These Athletes. A Lot of Those Guys Are 7 Feet or More. But Imagine Somebody Who Was a Full 2 Feet Taller…
- The Backstory: What They Don't Tell You About The Wizard of Oz · 7 minWe all love The Wizard of Oz, right? So why was it a box office flop when it came out? And why was production so horrible for the cast and crew? It’s a story of what people put…
- The Backstory: Juneteenth: The Evolution of Freedom · 7 minThis time of year, we're reminded that freedom is what America is all about. But as recently as 1972, there was still a living person who had been born into slavery. And another…
- The Backstory: Hometowns That Vanished Overnight · 9 minWe know over the course of decades, centuries, and millennia landscapes change... sometimes dramatically. But how can entire towns literally disappear overnight? Feel free to DM…
- The Backstory: Hey, What Time Is It? · 10 minDo you realize it was only a little over 140 years ago that the world began to adopt standardized time zones? You could take a 10am train to another town and arrive at 9:50am…
- The Backstory: Blood, Sex, and Movies of the 1920s · 13 minEver wonder what movies were like before the ratings codes kicked in back in the 1930s? Some were so wild, so bloody, and so sexy, Hollywood quickly realized they had to police…
- The Backstory: Marilyn Monroe: Genius IQ? · 8 minMarilyn Monroe was the ultimate bombshell. This week she would have turned 100 years old, but she’s still the iconic sex symbol of mid 20th century Hollywood. Despite her…
- The Backstory: Was This Royal A Nazi? · 9 minThe royals can seem like a bunch of people with too much money but with good intentions for their nation and their people. The scandals involving Charles and Diana . . and Harry…
- The Backstory: The A.I. Bubble: We’ve Been Here Before · 12 minHow are we gonna survive the craziness of our world . . the politics, out of control social media, and especially A.I.? Well . . it’s nothing new. Every period of rapid…
