The Backstory with Patty Steele
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
This summer is the 40th anniversary of the blockbuster "Back to the Future". But it originally starred an actor who hated the whole story line! He was replaced by Michael J. Fox . . and the rest is history. But there are a boatload of movies, with huge stars who hated the final product!
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It’s amazing how we beg for the heat of summer when we’re freezing in the dead of winter. And then the heatwaves hit. Once again this summer, we’re all sweltering from the heat… air so thick and hot you can feel it go down your throat as you breathe. But heatwaves are nothing new. They killed thousands in 1898 and thousands more in the early 1900s. But the one that hit London 167 years ago changed the city ...
The Idaho killer was sentenced this week to life in prison for stabbing to death 4 college students. But 60 years ago, another mass murderer stabbed and strangled 8 nursing students in Chicago. As in the Idaho case, he made one crucial mistake that got him caught.
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Jeffrey Epstein, millionaire sex offender and friend to presidents and royalty, is back in the news. It seems his partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, holds the key to what went on at Epstein’s private retreats with his powerful friends. Attorney Alan Dershowitz calls her the Epstein Rosetta Stone. But her backstory is just as fascinating. Her father, Robert Maxwell, was cut of the same cloth as Epstein. Ambitious and wildly successfu...
Nothing like a swim in the ocean on a hot summer day. But the movie Jaws, out 50 years ago this summer, took away some of our innocence. It still makes us all a little nervous about what’s beneath us as we paddle around. The inspiration for Jaws came from some horrifying shark attacks, including several along the Jersey Shore in July of 1916 that left 4 dead, as well as the shark attacks on as many as 150 sailors from the tor...
Queen Victoria, who ran the British Empire for 63 years, defined the buttoned-up, conservative era named for her… the Victorian Era. But it turns out… her many pleasures included opium, cocaine, and sex!
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During the Prohibition era of the 1920s and early 1930s, speakeasies and gin joints were the place to be to get ahold of “evil booze.” How did the government try to control access? They purposely poisoned industrial alcohol that was being repurposed for cocktails. It wound up killing and maiming tens of thousands of would-be partiers!
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No Time Like the Present to Revisit an Eye-Catching Topic! Sex Has Been... Complicated... Throughout History. At Times Celebrated as a Life Force... and at Other Times Vilified. But Get This!! Some of the Items Invented to Discourage Sex Included the Pricking Ring... and Believe It or Not... Corn Flakes!
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It's the 4th of July . . a perfect time to revisit an unsung hero during the Revolutionary War! We all know about the midnight ride of Paul Revere at the onset of the Revolution. But what about Sybil Ludington . . the female Paul Revere. She was just 16 years old when she made her little known 40 mile ride to warn about approaching British troops in Connecticut.
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Connection is as strong a need as air. For folks that can’t find it, there have been plenty of cults that offer community, acceptance, and love. But it all comes at a price.
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Maybe you’ve seen death masks of famous people like King Tut or Napoleon. But the 1888 death mask of a completely unknown teenager in Paris was used to create Resusci-Annie . . the CPR doll. And that inspired one of Michael Jackson’s biggest hits!
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The FBI has had some pretty astounding moments of transformation in its 117-year history. But the bloodiest shootout in its history changed the way they do their job forever. It took place less than 40 years ago.
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Got a co-worker who likes to monkey around at work? Don’t be so quick to give them the thumbs down. There are lots of actual animals that are amazing at jobs most humans can’t do. But this is a story of an official railroad worker who was a real baboon . . literally.
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As hard as it is to believe . . we just lost a guy who’s own grandfather was born in the 1700s and was president 185 years ago! It seems like the math doesn’t work . . but we’ll explain the life story of Harrison Tyler and his grandpa . . President John Tyler.
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Usually when an alarm goes off . . we take a minute to consider the possibilities so we don’t over react. But what if it comes on the heels on a world altering disaster? Can an entire city have PTSD? That’s what L.A. faced just 2 months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
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The Wild West as Hollywood Tells the Story, Was Nothing but Gun Battles and Saloon Girls. But the True Story Is Way More Complex and Fascinating, Although It’s Got Its Share of Gun Battles! Overall, It Was a 30-Year Period That in Many Ways Defines Who We Are in America. But Then . . . How Did Barbed Wire Play a Huge Role in Ending the Wild West?
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Her family is murdered while on the adventure of a lifetime and the 11 year old survivor is lost at sea for days. As it turns out, the murderer is someone they all trusted with their dreams . . and their lives.
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Gianni Versace was one of the world’s hottest designers. In 1997 he had a net worth of almost a billion dollars and some of the most exquisite mansions in the world. He had it all. And that was the problem. His success and possible connection to sex for hire circles, led spree killer Andrew Cunanan . . right to Versace’s front door one beautiful summer morning.
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Bruce Ismay ran the White Star Line but managed to save himself from the sinking of the Titanic by hopping into a lifeboat. Was he a coward . . or simply canceled by vicious press? His granddaughter said the greatest tragedy of Ismay's life . . was surviving.
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Reincarnation is one of those topics that you either believe is a real possibility or you think is nuts. But there are stories with no other easy explanation. They come from both everyday folks, especially little children, as well as some big-name “A” list celebrities.
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Patty Steele