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Explore the BACKSTORY behind some of the most intriguing tales in history, culture, religion and science from Chicago and beyond.
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Recent Episodes
Who Killed Jennifer?
WGN Films presents a true crime special: Who Killed Jennifer?The murder of a college student in 1993 leads to a rush to a wrongful conviction.What did detectives miss? We examine the case that…
The Hidden Suburban P.O.W. Camp
During World War II, the U.S. captured hundreds of thousands of German Soldiers. What to do with them all? House them in the United States, of course. In this piece for Backstory, Larry Potash looks…
The Father of Modern Advertising
Catchy jingles. Pithy slogans. They help tell stories and sell products. But advertising wasn’t always colorful or memorable. The modern form of advertising came into existence in large part due to…
The Artist Who Saved a Hollywood Classic From Never Being Made
One of the most famous and beloved films in history was never made. We’re talking about Walt Disney’s Bambi. During pre-production, there was a particular challenge that Disney and his team couldn’t…
The Rise & Fall of Toys
Toys are designed to be fun, but are rooted in reality. They mirror what is going on around us in the grown-up world. In this piece for Backstory, Larry Potash goes deep on some of the most popular…
America’s History of Doomsday Cults
There are currently at least 10,000 cults in the United States. Cults have been part of life here going back four centuries. Why is America such a breeding ground for these groups? Larry Potash goes…
The History of Pseudoscience
Even intelligent people fall victim to faulty thinking, especially when it comes to science. Some try to use it to validate their spiritual beliefs. In this piece for Backstory, Larry Potash delves…
Ian Fleming’s Wartime American Wingman
It’s a question that anyone who loves movies wants to know. Who was the inspiration for James Bond? In this episode of Backstory, Larry Potash looks at one possibility from Ian Fleming’s life, his…
A Short History of Magic Acts
In a world where everything is explained, magic still offers two increasingly rare commodities--wonder and mystery. Larry Potash does a deep dive on the history of magic in this piece for Backstory,…
Why Dungeons and Dragons Still Thrives
Larry Potash looks at the backstory of what is for some, more than just a board game, but a way of life. See how the 1980s pop culture phenomenon Dungeons and Dragons is thriving a quarter of the way…
From Pulp to Popular: A Short History of Science Fiction
Science fiction is everywhere in our 21st century culture, from superheroes to spaceships. But there was a time it was an odd subculture. But those in what was an eccentric circle of literary…
The True Genius of Ray Bradbury
Ray Bradbury is perhaps the bridge between the early visionaries of science fiction and our currently catalogue of Marvel and Star Wars. And it all started just north of Chicago, in Waukegan,…
A Decorated Pilot’s Final Mission
He’s been called the “Mexican Lindbergh.” In this piece for Backstory, Larry Potash profiles Emilio Carranza, the famous Mexican aviator who was renowned for his long-distance flights and 1928…
Murder in the Desert: a Break in Brother’s Search for Killer
In 1974, Dan Walker is shot and killed on a desert highway in the Mojave Desert. After nearly four decades, a break in the case leads Dan’s brother Doug to meet a key witness. Has he solved the case?…
The Viking Ship that Took the World by Storm
Crossing the Atlantic in the 15th century was no easy feat. But the Vikings did it 500 years earlier. Larry Potash unearths this story about a replica ship that took the world by storm at Chicago’s…
How Journalism Survives
In this piece for Backstory, Larry Potash asks the question, how does journalism survive? Backstory with Larry Potash airs Sunday nights at 11 on WGN-TV and on smart TVs on the free WGN+ app. For…
Preserving history: The rarely seen reels of the Chicago Film Archive
The Chicago Film Archive is on a mission to preserve. Archiving film footage shot in Chicago and all over the Midwest, preserving not just celluloid memories, but saving history. From protests to…
The Suburban Nazi Janitor Hiding in Plain Sight
Once upon a time in suburban Chicago, there was a fairly ordinary suburb, with an ordinary high school, with an ordinary janitor. But it turns out the janitor’s backstory was quite extraordinary. He…
Collecting Abraham Lincoln
Few Americans have captured our attention as much as Abraham Lincoln. More books have been written about him than any other American, and many of them are at a small bookshop in the River North…
Psychology of Collecting
Most everyone collects something. Coins. Baseball cards. Stamps. For some people, it’s not just a hobby, it’s a passion. But why? In this segment for Backstory, Larry Potash talked to a collector,…
Frequently Asked Questions
Backstory with Larry Potash has published 128 episodes since February 2019, covering topics in History, News.
Backstory with Larry Potash is currently sporadic with new episodes weekly. Average episode length is 9m.
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