BackStory represents yet another way in which professional historians seek to reach a wider audience. The Virginian Foundation for the Humanities sponsors a radio show where several historians (who tend to have ties to the University of Virginia) hold court on various issues. Now BackStory’s produced a new series of shows to mark the CW sesquicentennial. Among those historians featured (aside from the traditional trio of History Guys, Ed Ayers, Brian Balogh, and Peter Onuf) are Eric Foner, David Blight, Elizabeth Varon, William Freehling, Gary Gallagher, and Aaron Sheehan-Dean. The first episode looks at the Great Secession Winter of 1860-61; a second explores why soldiers fought, and the third is a wide-ranging discussion.
To listen to or to read the transcripts of these three shows, click here.
Crossroads 