The Backstory with Patty Steele

Ever heard the term “drinking the Kool-Aid”? It all started with Jim Jones and his people’s temple cult in the 1970s. After outspoken support from people like Jane Fonda and First Lady Roselyn Carter, he led his followers to the jungles of Guyana in South America in 1978. In the end, over 900 people drank his cyanide-laced Kool-Aid. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lee miller, the subject of a fascinating new Kate Winslet film, lived a glamorous but troubled life. Abused as a child, she went on to become a star fashion model in the 1920s. Then, as a wartime photographer, found herself taking a bath in Adolf Hitler’s tub the day he committed suicide. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many of us see Thanksgiving, most importantly, as a day to express gratitude. What’s amazing is how many Native Americans also celebrate gratitude on that day—even though for them, it’s also a national day of mourning. But they still believe every day is a day to give thanks. This is a peek into another perspective.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thanksgiving is the best. Whether you celebrate with family, friends, or even on your own, what makes it the best is the focus on gratitude. But what about all those traditions? When we celebrate, how we celebrate, what we eat, and even the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade! Where did all those traditions come from and how have they evolved?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It might shock you to know how recently human beings were kidnapped and used as exotic displays at world fairs, museums, zoos, and all sorts of shows for public entertainment. This is one man’s story about being trapped…in a human zoo. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We revisit the life of the greatest artist in history as Ken Burns releases his new documentary “Leonardo da Vinci.” Leonardo da Vinci was one of the greatest artists in the history of the world. And he loved understanding how things worked, coming up with designs for helicopters, robots, a self-propelled car, and machine guns centuries before they got made. He was also one wacky guy! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Loretta Young was a superstar during Hollywood’s golden age. But after her death, in her memoir, she admitted that her daughter was fathered by Clark Gable. Her family later said she’d told them it was date rape.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Attacked by a grizzly bear in 1823 and left for dead by his companions, Hugh Glass crawled for 200 miles through the wilds of South Dakota. The true story behind Leo DiCaprio’s 2015 flick The Revenant is one of the wildest survival stories ever told.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You think the pirates of the Caribbean ruled the seas? They had nothing on the pirate queen who commanded the largest and most powerful pirate fleet in history. 250 years ago, she controlled more than 70,000 pirates…and never had to answer for her crimes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We think the political scene these days is intense...let’s go back to the 19th century and see how political passion led to legal murder!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Maybe you’ve seen Sicario, Scarface, Narcos, or Blow, but they have nothing on the bloody and intense real-life story of Pablo Escobar, the king of cocaine. Starting out as a kid in the slums of Medellin, Columbia, he went on to run the Medellin drug cartel in the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. In his short life, Escobar’s cartel made him the 7th richest man in the world, with a net worth of $30 billion. And then…it all collapsed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How does someone with such a brilliant mind and fierce work ethic turn out to be a world-class jerk as a dad? Steve Jobs knew how to create the world’s most valuable company. But when it came to his daughter, he admitted at the end of his life he’d failed her. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all know about the midnight ride of Paul Revere at the onset of the Revolution. But what about Sybil Ludington, the female Raul Revere? She was just 16 years old when she made her little-known 40-mile ride to warn about approaching British troops in Connecticut.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A father hates his son for being everything he’s not: gentle and wildly talented. That hatred culminates in murder. The tragic family story of Marvin Gaye, where a life of pain goes unaddressed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

War is a terrible thing under any circumstance. But imagine the Civil War. There were more deaths than the combined total in WW1 and WW2. Food, uniforms, medical supplies, working weapons, and more, all in short supply with con artists stealing as much as 25% of government war funds. But the passion and ideology so many soldiers brought to battle was astounding. This is the story of Johnny Clem who desperately wanted to fight for the Union. He joined the military at 9 years old and retired as a general 55 years later after marrying a Confederate’s daughter!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We had an attempted assassination on the campaign trail this summer. But in addition to the four U.S. presidents who were assassinated, there have been attempts on the lives of presidents or candidates nine other times...one of them was successful. What motivates the would-be killers? And how do we turn down the heat?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Re-release: 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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all dream, but what stops us from making those dreams a reality? This is about a middle-class kid from Ohio who never stopped believing in the future.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

George Washington never lived in the White House or Washington, DC. The White House wasn’t white when it was built, and it wasn’t called the White House for its first 100 years. The famous portrait of George Washington that hangs in the East Room isn’t the original. Those stories...and the famous DC influencer who saved the day when the White House burned.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are you intrigued by the thought of aliens visiting Earth and leaving behind signs like cave drawings and pyramids and geoglyphs? Did you know that many of these ancient sites are part of what’s called the Great Circle, appearing along an exact circle within a tenth of a degree of each other?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

She was the sexiest, most beautiful actress in Hollywood during her short career. But Marilyn Monroe had a heartbreaking childhood with a mentally ill mother. Her upbringing destroyed her self-confidence. And that allowed Hollywood and dozens of men to use and abuse her.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scandal, fraud, embezzlement, wild parties, and illicit affairs—sounds very presidential, right? Not only was that the name of the game in the roaring 20s, a lot of it was essentially covered up by the press during Warren Harding’s short presidency. It was pure historical drama. With his sudden death, conspiracy theorists pointed at the ultimate insider.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So we’re all sweltering from the heat…air so thick and hot you can feel it go down your throat as you breathe. But heat waves are nothing new. They killed thousands in 1898 and thousands more in the early 1900s. But the one that hit London 166 years ago, changed the city forever. It was “the great stink of 1858.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They say knowledge is power. But is it more important than ethics…or law? Over the centuries, researchers' quest to understand what’s under our skin, the human anatomy, has motivated scientists—as well as money-hungry grave robbers—to become body snatchers. But more than that, it sometimes inspired murder. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Polar explorer Ernest Shackleton and his crew spent almost 2 years trapped in sub-zero desolation after their ship, The Endurance, was ice-bound and finally sank, stranding them on an ice floe. This is their story of survival and endurance.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When you meet a guy dripping with testosterone who loves hunting, war, alcohol, and women, you don’t expect that he’s going to be obsessed with kittens and cats…and have dozens of them all over his home and office. That’s the paradox of Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning author, Ernest Hemingway.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You think politics bust up our families? It’s hard to believe that, like us, politics could fracture a Founding Father’s family. Ben Franklin was incredibly close to his son William, then NJ’s royal governor, until he declared his allegiance to the king.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He was an Academy Award-winning mega movie star. He had scores of affairs with women and men, 11 children by a variety of women, and a family story dominated by illness, mental illness, addiction…and murder. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Belle Cora went from minister’s daughter, to prostitute, to San Francisco’s richest madam, to wife of a man hung for the murder of someone who insulted her—all that before her death at 34. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An angry mob vandalizes a new home and then burns it to the ground. A young family barely escapes. Now 85 years later, after a lifetime of public service, the oldest daughter, now 97, moves back to that same piece of land, where another new home has been built as a gift from the community. It’s the full-circle life story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth, America’s second Independence Day. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.