From the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities comes BackStory with the American History Guys, a radio show and podcast dedicated to exploring the history behind a number of current events, popular trends, and other contemporary phenomenon. "The History Guys" who host each episode are Peter Onuf, Professor Emeritus of American History at the University of Virginia; Ed Ayers, Professor of Humanities at the University of Richmond; and Brian Balogh, Professor of History at the University of Virginia. One recent episode explores the history of Thanksgiving; some listeners may be surprised to learn that Puritans actually commemorated Thanksgiving by fasting. In another recent episode, the History Guys explore voting throughout U.S. history, illuminating a number of issues including the history of non-citizen voting and the persistence of the electoral college. Each episode is approximately fifty minutes in length and often features guest history scholars. On this website, listeners can explore past episodes and check out related resources. Those interested may also subscribe on iTunes.
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