History News Network - Posted on Friday, May 30, 2008
Historians Provide Fresh Perspective on Current Events on New Radio Program

CHARLOTTESVILLE, May 29  -- Take a headline from today's news, add three
prominent American historians, give them each a microphone, and listen to
their lively conversation as they provide the context that helps you
understand just how we got from there to here. That's the premise of a new
public radio show from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, based at
the University of Virginia. It's called "BackStory with the American History
Guys," and it begins airing June 1. When Andrew Wyndham first conceived of a
history-based radio show, he knew its success would hang on who hosted it,
and he knew just whom he wanted - American historians Ed Ayers, Peter Onuf
and Brian Balogh.

When those three came together in the studio, "BackStory with the American
History Guys" was born. "It was like electricity," said Wyndham, media
program director for the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.

"Sometimes academics can come across as ivory tower-type presences," he
said. "But these guys are approachable and have a really good vibe because
they are friends. The show is basically three guys sitting around the
kitchen table, talking. It's an invitation to pull up a chair and join in
the conversation. They may know a lot, but they come across as real people
who have a lot to share with you and hope you will share with them."

In each hour-long episode, the program explores the historical context of
current events. The hosts take an issue and explore the connections between
past and present through interviews with historians and newsmakers and
call-ins from listeners. Twelve episodes of the program will begin airing
weekly on Virginia public radio stations in June, with 12 additional
episodes airing in the fall - and public radio content providers are
reviewing the show for national distribution. Among the first topics covered
by the program are newcomers in American politics, environmental crises,
debt, the American family and controversial wars.

Together the hosts provide a comprehensive and passionate understanding of
American history. Onuf, Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation professor of
history at the University of Virginia, is an expert on the federal period.
Ayers, president of the University of Richmond and a scholar of 19th-century
U.S. history, was the former Hugh P. Kelly Professor of History and dean of
U.Va.'s College of Arts & Sciences. Balogh, associate professor of history
at U.Va., studies the 20th-century experience in America and is co-chairman
of the Governing America in a Global Era Program at the Miller Center of
Public Affairs.

Despite the hosts' distinguished academic credentials, the radio show is
more a conversation with friends than a lecture. The "BackStory" guys
approach the study of history with intelligence, but also a refreshing
amount of irreverence.


The distinctly unpredictable and unreserved style of the hosts was evident
at a recent recording session. Amid light-hearted verbal jabs, the three
discussed controversial wars in American history. As the "BackStory" guys
compared public opinion of the Iraq War with home-front attitudes during
previous American conflicts, the discussion led to some surprising
suggestions and questions: Has there ever been a non-controversial war? Was
American participation in seemingly justifiable wars, such as World War II,
ever divisive? Why are some wars remembered with nostalgia and others with
disdain?

Improvisation is a common theme in the studio, as the American History Guys
resist their scripts and, on occasion, direction from the show's producers.

"What I love most is I never know what is going to happen, aside from some
technical problems which are becoming pretty predictable," Balogh joked
during a break in recording while producers adjusted the volume level in the
hosts' headsets.

"The camaraderie and opportunity to question easy assumptions about history,
in a public context, really drew me to this project," said Onuf. "First, we
do no harm - and, who knows, we might even do some good. In any case, it's a
lot of fun to tease out the present meaning of the past with these guys, our
producers and callers."

While "BackStory" producer Tony Field and associate producer Rachel Quimby
often end up the targets of the History Guys' banter, they also bring
considerable radio experience to the program and have turned the idea of a
history-themed radio show into a reality.

"The two of them have the production skills, creative brilliance and
intellectual commitment to take the 'BackStory' project to a whole new
level," Wyndham said. "And they are doing so with aplomb, developing the
program with a richness and variety that will make it highly appealing to
public radio programmers and listeners."

Field worked as an associate producer at NPR's Peabody Award-winning show
"On the Media," based at WNYC Radio in New York City. He has also produced
for NPR's Radio Lab and WBUR News in Boston and has edited The New Yorker
magazine's "Campaign Trail" podcasts. Quimby, who when she was a student
created "Grey Matters," a half-hour program on psychology-related issues,
for Columbia University's WKCR-FM, recently completed her study of radio
production at Maine's Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. New to the
staff is research assistant Catherine Moore, a recent graduate of the
University of Montana's MFA program in creative writing who has worked in
archives at Harvard University, the University of Montana and the West
Virginia Division of Culture and History.

According to Field, "BackStory" brings something new to the public radio
content due to its unique premise.

"Public radio and television have good historical specials, but there isn't
really any regular space in the programming lineup to pause, look backward
and ask, 'How did we get to this point?'" Field said. "And I think that's
something people are hungry for, wherever they fall on the ideological
spectrum. We're a nation of forgetters, and we know it."

Ayers, who has written and edited 10 books, including "The Promise of the
New South: Life After Reconstruction," which was a finalist for both the
National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, stressed the importance of
exploring the present through the perspective of the past.

"If you only know what's on the front page today - if you have no idea what
the backstory is - you're like flotsam, just pushed by whatever currents
come along. You don't have any perspective, any farther point on the horizon
to triangulate your position. You're lost. This is really a way of giving
depth to the things we are dealing with today," said Ayers, who also created
The Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil War, a Web
site that has attracted millions of users and won major prizes in the
teaching of history.

"BackStory" will air at 3 p.m. on Sundays on Radio IQ (starting June 1), and
at 3 p.m. on Saturdays on WMRA (starting June 7). By the end of the year,
the show will be aired nationally on a number of NPR stations, according to
Fields.

Although "BackStory" will not be broadcast live, the producers encourage
listeners to participate as callers on the program. Upcoming topics are
posted on the show's Web site
(http://www.BackStoryradio.org)<http://www.backstoryradio.org)/>.
Listeners can also subscribe to the show's weekly podcast.

"It is going to be pretty heavily Web-based," Quimby said of the show. "We
are developing interesting ways to engage the public online."

Individuals who e-mail the show's producers with reactions, observations and
questions on the issues may be invited to share their comments on the air.

Major production support for "BackStory with the American History Guys" was
provided by the David A. Harrison Fund for the President's Initiatives at
the University of Virginia; the Perry Foundation Inc.; Cary Brown-Epstein
and the W. L. Lyons Brown Jr. Charitable Foundation; Caroleen Feeney; Marcus
and Carole Weinstein; Trish and David Crowe; Jay M. Weinberg; Dr. Anna
Magee; and an anonymous donor.

- - - -

CONTACTS: Contact Andrew Wyndham at 434-924-6894 or at
[log in to unmask] MP3 files of several programs soon to be
aired. Tony Field and Rachel
Quimby may be reached at 434-924-8922 ([log in to unmask]) and 434-243-5530
([log in to unmask]). For media assistance, contact Rebecca Arrington,
434-924-7189, [log in to unmask]


-- 
Jon Kukla
www.JonKukla.com

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