The Backstory with Patty Steele

The Boston Marathon is next month, but women weren’t officially allowed to run in it until 1972. Officials said it would shock a woman’s body to run more than one and a half miles at a time! In 1966 one woman began to change all that by sneaking into the race wearing her brother’s shorts and a new pair of men’s running shoes since they didn’t make them for women until a dozen years later. But Bobbi Gibb’s finish time was outstanding.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What’s the real story behind the love affair and long delayed marriage between King Charles and Queen Camilla? Their love affair predated his marriage to Princess Diana by almost 20 years. But British rules about virginity caused one of the biggest scandals in history. This is how it all came down.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is so much fascination and mystery in the history of feudal Japan. The true story of the only black samurai in Japanese history will be brought to life in the coming week with the release of Assassin’s Creed: Shadows. But who was he, how did he become a samurai and what happened to him?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Boleyn sisters were red-hot English socialites in the early 1500s. Their rise and fall, one as the mistress of King Henry the Eighth and one as his queen, was shocking even by the standards of the time. Why did a bishop call one of them the “most infamous whore of all”? How did they catch the king? And how did they lose him, along with one of their heads? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The destruction of Pompeii in 79 AD by the volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius was complete. But the people who lived there left behind personal stories. Graffiti was their social media.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Imagine a world with no internet. Head back 30 years or so and you’ll see how the world wide web changed everything about how we communicate, learn, bank, socialize, and entertain ourselves. And we have one kind of geeky guy to thank.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kate Chase was the 20-year-old queen bee of Washington society at the onset of the Civil War. She had the ear of Abe Lincoln and the hatred of his jealous wife Mary Todd Lincoln. Kate married rich but then fell for another powerful man…until they were caught. And that changed everything. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s hard to imagine how a couple of 21-year-old kids could think up a scheme to snatch the son of one of the most famous entertainers in the world, much less carry it out. This is the crazy story of the kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Jr.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

George Washington’s 293rd birthday is this weekend, and his death in 1799 was a shock to the brand-new United States of America. Everybody loved him and a lot of people wanted a piece of him…literally. That led to the plot to steal George Washington’s head.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How does a guy go from running with gangs on the Lower East Side to reinventing the mafia to going to prison as a convicted felon…to finally working with the U.S. government to protect NYC’s waterfront during World War II?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Emotional attachment is thousands of years old, but it actually started off with apes! For humans, Valentine’s Day started off as a blood-soaked pagan fertility festival loaded with alcohol, nudity, and blood! On the flip side, the romance element is a pretty recent invention. You can thank the Victorians for that. Plus, find out who sent the first Valentine!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s called the most famous love story of all time: William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. But was it a true story or did it come completely from Shakespeare’s brilliant creative mind? Maybe neither.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Wisconsin countryside in autumn during the 1950s sounds idyllic. But it was the scene of a horrifying series of murders and body-snatching cases. Ed Gein, in “The Butcher of Plainfield,” was the loner who inspired movies like Psycho and Silence of the Lambs. So…what’s his story?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who wrote the best-selling book in the U.S. in the 1800s? Why was she attacked from both sides for her story? And finally, how did she come to write the same exact book, word for word, 40 years later?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hollywood, cults, sex, and crime. It all seems like the perfect set up for a Netflix multi-season series. But this is the real story of the rich and famous getting brain washed into a criminal sex club that ultimately led to convictions on charges of conspiracy, sex trafficking, child porn, and more.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.

Explorers are a special breed—fear of the unknown and of the awful possibilities of failure don’t seem to deter them. Perfect example: the handful of people who have explored the Mariana Trench, the deepest place on Earth.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some people are wildly talented but just can’t get out of the way of their own ego and ambition. Take Aaron Burr. He destroyed his political career by killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel, went on to treasonously plot a land grab to create his own empire, and wound up dying alone in a boarding house on Staten Island. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donald Trump and Grover Cleveland are the only two presidents to get elected to two nonconsecutive terms. Their personalities and lifestyles explain a lot; neither liked having their opinions questioned, neither cared what others thought of them, and both had beautiful, much younger wives. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Take a look back, and you’ll see how similar human reaction is over the centuries to so many things that happen to us today. Take the recent fires in LA and the great Chicago fire of 1871. How do people decide what to save, and what matters most, when faced with a catastrophic event?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The fires in California are terrifying to watch. But fire has a deep history…and there are lessons to be learned.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Success doesn’t always come easy. We’re talking boobs, plastic, marketing directly to little kids…and getting indicted for corporate fraud. Who knew there was all that drama surrounding Barbie dolls and their creator, Ruth Handler?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this replay episode of The Backstory: Did you know that as recently as the Victorian era, somebody could have you committed to an insane asylum just because you disobeyed a husband, were too opinionated, were caught masturbating, and so much more? The treatment ranged from being chained to a wall, beaten...and more. And no one had to prove your insanity! This is the story of how one woman, post-lock-up, changed the status quo.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’ll do anything to look fabulous these days—Ozempic, Botox, plastic surgery—but we have nothing on our ancestors. Sounds unpleasant, but they used face creams made from animal and human pee. They glued animal pelts on surprising body parts. And they literally poisoned themselves in their quest for perfect skin and hair. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Was Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" inspired by political outrage? That’s the story and it makes sense when you hear what he went through and what he was seeing in London back in 1843.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this replay episode of The Backstory: We all have our Christmas traditions, but how did Santa Claus, Christmas trees, and George Washington’s recipe for heavily spiked eggnog rule the season?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Espionage in the mid-1900s was very much like what you see in the early James Bond movies. Kim Philby, a British aristocrat and a notorious double agent lived a life a lot of us fantasize about. He was never arrested. But why…and what happened to him?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this re-release episode: 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.

In this re-release episode: Have we really only known about dinosaurs for less than 200 years? They roamed the earth for almost 200 million years and were wiped out in a matter of months. Where did they go and how did we find out about them?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’ve all had jobs that we’re less than proud of but took out of a lack of judgment or, most probably, a need to make a buck. But what happens when you make a bad choice and the whole world is watching? Stars like Brad Pitt, Jacob Elordi, Julia Roberts, and lots more weigh in. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.