The Backstory with Patty Steele

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

November 1, 2024 7 mins

New Orleans was terrorized in 1918 and 1919 by the Axeman. He targeted the families of Italian grocers, broke into their homes in the dead of night, and went after them with an axe...or whatever else he could find. Who was he and why did he do this? 

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At age 16, Betty Robinson ran in the 1928 Olympics, the first games that allowed women to compete in track and field. She won gold and tied a world record. Three years later, she was in a horrific plane crash. Thought to be dead, she was taken to an undertaker. But her incredible determination and unbelievable recovery led her to another Olympic gold medal.

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The Exorcist was a best-selling book and an iconic movie over 50 years ago. But the true story that inspired it is even more chilling…and still unexplained. And the story of the child who at the center of the exorcism is even more amazing. 

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In this re-release episode: The Netflix hit film Society of the Snow is the true story of South American athletes trapped in the snowy mountains after a plane crash…with some surviving by eating their dead teammates. Now we look at the Donner party of pioneers in 1846, trapped in 22 feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains…and the even more gruesome way some of them survived. 

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You’d think having the richest father in America would make you fabulously happy. But for Consuelo Vanderbilt, it meant a cruel childhood and a forced marriage to a jerk with a title.

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We’ve seen it too many times: A young star begins the climb to the top, only to be murdered by an obsessed lover or fan. Dorothy Stratten burst onto the Hollywood scene when she was just 19 years old…and she was dead by 20. 

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On this replay episode: Frank Lloyd Wright, the most famous architect in American history, brought nature and tranquility to design. So how did his chaotic personal life lead to a mass murder at his home? 

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Body art...tattoos...are pretty ubiquitous these days. But where did it all start…and why? The first documented evidence of tattooing goes back over 5,000 years. But why did they do it? It’s not what you think. 

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Ever been in a spot where you'd do almost anything to make money? Imagine somebody putting out a want ad to hire an old seedy looking guy to live in the garden at their home. It's true! The ornamental hermit was all the rage among rich folks in the 18th century. 

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Presidential corruption…and Spiderman? It all boils down to the maxim “With great power comes great responsibility.” But not all of our leaders have taken that to heart.

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In this replay episode: What would we do to live better, longer, or maybe even forever? Lots of quests for immortality involved mystical potions or objects. And one very popular fad in the 1920s involved transplanted monkey testicles!

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In this replay episode: Sex scandals are as constant in Hollywood as gorgeous people, glittering clothes, and scads of money. But while the paparazzi these days use every trick to give us an inside look at the private lives of the stars, they have nothing on the stars of Hollywood’s golden age. Sex, shocking divorces, and even murder—there’s nothing new under the Hollywood sun.

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In this replay episode: On a beautiful summer morning in 1908, a massive explosion hit Siberia. It downed 80 million trees and lit the night sky 3,000 miles away in Sweden. But to this day, no one knows what caused it.

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In this replay episode: In the race to become the reigning superpower, nations have resorted to all sorts of bizarre tactics. Some of them were pretty humorous. And that reached new heights during the Cold War.

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On this replay episode of The Backstory: Born into complete poverty and now, by some accounts, the richest man in the world, Vladimir Putin has also become an enemy of most of the world. Here's where he came from, how he got a stranglehold on power, and what he’s doing with it.

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It’s never been easy to be a teacher, and yet their value is immeasurable. But imagine a time when teachers couldn’t date, dye their hair, go to a barber shop, or even enjoy a trip to an ice cream shop.

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Did you know there was a period of time when the U.S. government secretly used the public to test biological weapons? Some sites included rural Georgia, San Francisco Bay, and the New York City subway system. 

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There have been plenty of killers who admitted they were inspired by violent movies, TV shows, and video games. This is the story of a couple of teenagers from the Midwest who robbed and murdered folks just to recreate their favorite movie: Natural Born Killers. And there's a powerful celebrity connection in this saga.

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August 30, 2024 8 mins

We all know major public figures who drive us crazy because they loudly share opinions we don’t agree with. But that’s democracy, right? So, the iconic Greek philosopher Socrates was exactly that kind of big mouth 2,400 years ago in Athens, where democracy was just being originated. Problem is, he angered the wrong big shots and wound up being executed in a really unusual way.

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Partying is supposed to be all about providing entertainment for family, friends, or people you want to impress. But frequently, it’s about entertaining yourself. Some of history's wildest parties involved setting guests on fire, making them eat until they vomited, or making them have sex with strangers.

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