The Backstory with Patty Steele

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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.

iHeartPodcasts


    • Jun 24, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekdays NEW EPISODES
    • 7m AVG DURATION
    • 196 EPISODES

    Ivy Insights

    The Backstory with Patty Steele podcast is a refreshing change from the true crime podcasts that I usually listen to. It offers a unique perspective on history and provides interesting facts and stories that keep me entertained and engaged. I was initially confused about the release schedule as the host mentioned twice weekly episodes, but I only found around 4-5 episodes available. However, despite this small disappointment, I thoroughly enjoyed the episodes that were available and eagerly awaited more.

    One of the best aspects of The Backstory with Patty Steele podcast is Patty's storytelling abilities. She has a wonderful voice for storytelling and captivates listeners with her engaging narrative style. Her enthusiasm for history shines through in every episode, making it easy to get lost in the stories she presents. The topics covered are diverse and range from well-known historical events like Abraham Lincoln's shooting to lesser-known stories that pique my curiosity. As someone who loves history and interesting facts, this podcast has quickly become one of my favorites.

    While there are many positive aspects to this podcast, one of its drawbacks is the limited number of episodes available. When I first started listening, I was expecting a larger backlog of content given the mention of twice weekly releases. This left me wanting more as I quickly finished the handful of episodes that were available. However, considering how enjoyable each episode is, it is understandable that new episodes may take time to produce. Hopefully, future releases will come more frequently to satisfy eager listeners like myself.

    In conclusion, The Backstory with Patty Steele podcast offers a delightful taste of history in an easily digestible format. Patty Steele's storytelling skills make each episode interesting and fun to listen to, while her passion for history shines through in every word. Despite the limited number of episodes currently available, it is worth tuning in as each episode provides a captivating journey into fascinating historical tales. If you enjoy history podcasts or are simply looking for something different from your usual true crime fare, give The Backstory with Patty Steele a listen. You won't be disappointed.



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    Latest episodes from The Backstory with Patty Steele

    The Backstory: The FBI's Bloodiest Shootout

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 24, 2025 7:52 Transcription Available


    The FBI has had some pretty astounding moments of transformation in its 117-year history. But the bloodiest shootout in its history changed the way they do their job forever. It took place less than 40 years ago.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Backstory: My Perfect Co-worker . . Is a Baboon

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 20, 2025 6:49 Transcription Available


    Got a co-worker who likes to monkey around at work? Don’t be so quick to give them the thumbs down. There are lots of actual animals that are amazing at jobs most humans can’t do. But this is a story of an official railroad worker who was a real baboon . . literally.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Backstory: Two Degrees of Separation From George Washington!

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2025 6:38 Transcription Available


    As hard as it is to believe . . we just lost a guy who’s own grandfather was born in the 1700s and was president 185 years ago! It seems like the math doesn’t work . . but we’ll explain the life story of Harrison Tyler and his grandpa . . President John Tyler.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Backstory: America's Biggest False Alarm Causes Mass Hysteria in L.A.

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 13, 2025 8:15 Transcription Available


    Usually when an alarm goes off . . we take a minute to consider the possibilities so we don’t over react. But what if it comes on the heels on a world altering disaster? Can an entire city have PTSD? That’s what L.A. faced just 2 months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Did Barbed Wire End the Wild West?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 10, 2025 9:17 Transcription Available


    The Wild West as Hollywood Tells the Story, Was Nothing but Gun Battles and Saloon Girls. But the True Story Is Way More Complex and Fascinating, Although It’s Got Its Share of Gun Battles! Overall, It Was a 30-Year Period That in Many Ways Defines Who We Are in America. But Then . . . How Did Barbed Wire Play a Huge Role in Ending the Wild West?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Backstory: The Adventure of a Lifetime Ends in Murder

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 6, 2025 9:51 Transcription Available


    Her family is murdered while on the adventure of a lifetime and the 11 year old survivor is lost at sea for days. As it turns out, the murderer is someone they all trusted with their dreams . . and their lives.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Backstory: Versace: When Envy Leads to Obsession . . And Then to Murder

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2025 9:29 Transcription Available


    Gianni Versace was one of the world’s hottest designers. In 1997 he had a net worth of almost a billion dollars and some of the most exquisite mansions in the world. He had it all. And that was the problem. His success and possible connection to sex for hire circles, led spree killer Andrew Cunanan . . right to Versace’s front door one beautiful summer morning.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Backstory: Titanic's Boss: Bad Guy . . Or Victim of Bad Press

    Play Episode Listen Later May 30, 2025 8:55 Transcription Available


    Bruce Ismay ran the White Star Line but managed to save himself from the sinking of the Titanic by hopping into a lifeboat. Was he a coward . . or simply canceled by vicious press? His granddaughter said the greatest tragedy of Ismay's life . . was surviving.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Backstory: Reincarnation Stories From the Famous and Not So Famous

    Play Episode Listen Later May 27, 2025 7:36 Transcription Available


    Reincarnation is one of those topics that you either believe is a real possibility or you think is nuts. But there are stories with no other easy explanation. They come from both everyday folks, especially little children, as well as some big-name “A” list celebrities.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Backstory: From 30 Pounds of Wool to the Thong . . In One Century

    Play Episode Listen Later May 23, 2025 9:02 Transcription Available


    If women in the 1800s wanted to take a swim . . they were pulled into the surf in a cabana on wheels, wearing 30 pounds of wet wool. So how did we get to the bikini, much less the thong?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Backstory: Party Like a Pope!

    Play Episode Listen Later May 20, 2025 7:15 Transcription Available


    While watching the Catholic Church choose a new pope earlier this month, it seemed completely immersed in tradition. But Pope Leo the 14th is a very different leader than an earlier namesake . . Pope Leo the Tenth, from the powerful Medici family. His reign in the early 1500s and his love of partying and living like a king . . brought about one of the biggest religious upheavals in European history.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Backstory: Did a Missing Heiress Vanish Into a New Life?

    Play Episode Listen Later May 16, 2025 10:34 Transcription Available


    What happens when you’re born into tremendous wealth and social standing, but all you want is a bohemian life filled with creativity and freedom? In 1910 the life of a socialite was pre determined before birth. One young woman felt trapped and simply disappeared. But what really happened to Dorothy Arnold?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Backstory: Dead Pope's Body . . On Trial

    Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2025 9:23 Transcription Available


    We’ve been intrigued in the past few weeks with the ancient traditions surrounding the choice for a new pope to lead the Roman Catholic Church. But that transition hasn’t always been smooth. This is another look at one of the darkest moments in Church history. It was the Cadaver Trial of a dead pope, which took place 1100 years ago.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Backstory: The Tragedy That Inspired Will Ferrell's Anchorman Flicks

    Play Episode Listen Later May 9, 2025 9:25 Transcription Available


    Jessica Savitch had a dramatic rise... and an even more dramatic fall in the network news business of the 1970s and ’80s. It’s a shocker! But her tragic story oddly inspired Will Ferrell to do the movie Anchorman: The Rise and Fall of Ron Burgundy. Here’s the backstory!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Backstory: Jack Kerouac: On the Road With a Brilliant Disaster

    Play Episode Listen Later May 6, 2025 10:12 Transcription Available


    Few authors have impacted literature and our culture like On the Road author Jack Kerouac. But his short life was filled with pain, depression, addiction, and murder... as well as brilliance. This is a peek at his rise and fall.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Backstory: How Do You Kidnap a Race Horse?

    Play Episode Listen Later May 2, 2025 7:18 Transcription Available


    Nothing like the Kentucky Derby... even if you’re not a dedicated thoroughbred race fan. Those animals are exquisite bundles of pure muscle. So... imagine trying to kidnap one! How would you do it... and what happens after you get him? It happened over 40 years ago in Ireland to one of the most remarkable European Derby winners of all time and his billionaire owner. This is his story.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Backstory: The Great Gatsby Was a Total Failure!

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 29, 2025 8:27 Transcription Available


    How does a book start out as a complete failure only to suddenly be celebrated as one of the great American novels, decades later? And what was its heartbreaking inspiration? This is the story of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic The Great Gatsby, published 100 years ago this month.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Backstory: Why Do We Love Dog Movie Stars?

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2025 6:51 Transcription Available


    Nothing makes us melt like a great story about a kid and a dog. Lassie was a megastar in the 1950s, watching over her 7-year-old boy Timmy...but was her act lifted from the first canine movie star back in 1905?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Backstory: Blueprint For a Serial Killer

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 22, 2025 10:12 Transcription Available


    One of America’s most prolific female serial killers was Aileen Wuornos. She admitted to killing at least seven men before she was executed in 2002. Her life was depicted in the 2003 movie Monster. But how did the little girl, tormented by schoolmates as "the cigarette pig," become a monster?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Backstory: The Glamorous Ghost of Mar-a-Lago

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 18, 2025 7:04 Transcription Available


    Mar-a-Lago, President Trump’s long-time property in Palm Beach, gets a lot of press these days. But it’s an architectural marvel. The thing is, its past is way more glittering than its present. It was built in the roaring 1920s by a young woman who was, for most of her life, the richest woman in America. This is about where her money came from and how she spent it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Backstory: Murder in the golden age of Hollywood

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 15, 2025 9:43 Transcription Available


    The murder of movie star Lana Turner’s mobster boyfriend by her 14-year-old daughter was the biggest story in Hollywood in the late 1950s. But did young Cheryl really wield the knife? Or did she take the hit for her mother?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Backstory: Test tube holds Thomas Edison's dying breath

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 11, 2025 7:41 Transcription Available


    Two of the most famous inventors of the late 19th and early 20th century were Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. They were great friends and shared a strong belief in the afterlife. That connection led Ford to obtain a test tube from Edison’s son…allegedly containing Edison’s dying breath.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Backstory: Millions gazed at Lincoln's decomposing face

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 8, 2025 9:17 Transcription Available


    Hard to imagine loving a politician so much that a third of the entire U.S. populace shows up to watch his funeral train go by and millions file past his open coffin. But sadly, Abe Lincoln was decomposing before their eyes. His two-week journey home was on a train meant to be the 1860s version of Air Force One, and his only trip on it was after his death. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Backstory: The Superfreak Behind Superfreak

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 4, 2025 8:43 Transcription Available


    44 years ago this month, the song Superfreak was released by funk legend Rick James. But success didn’t sit well with him .. eventually leading to prison and an early death.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Backstory: Abraham Lincoln dreams of his own murder

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 1, 2025 8:02 Transcription Available


    April 15th will be the 160th anniversary of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. He was noted for having a personality that was a unique combination of strength and determination, softened by incredible sensitivity to the pain of others. So, he was aware of the passions that influenced Americans on both sides during the Civil War. Did that knowledge and sensitivity allow him to predict the events of his own murder?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Backstory: Robert Downey Jr. reinvents himself

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 28, 2025 7:17 Transcription Available


    Robert Downey Jr. has had an amazing career—huge movies as a young actor and even bigger ones in his 40s and 50s. But in between, he spent serious time in prison on drug charges. How did he find sobriety?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Backstory: Tiny kidnap victims survive the Titanic disaster

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 25, 2025 7:28 Transcription Available


    The 113th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic is just weeks away, but the disaster still resonates. Two of the 710 survivors were tiny little boys, traveling with their father under an assumed name...after he kidnapped them from his ex-wife. They were the only children to survive without a parent or guardian that night. The older son, just 4 at the time, lived until 2001 when he was 92. He shared their amazing story.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    The Backstory: How come there were no women's running shoes until 1978?

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 21, 2025 8:18 Transcription Available


    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.

    The Backstory: Charles, Camilla, and Diana: Proving your virginity

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 18, 2025 8:02 Transcription Available


    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.

    The Backstory: Yasuke: The only black samurai

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 14, 2025 5:43 Transcription Available


    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 Backstory: Losing your head over royalty

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 11, 2025 6:27 Transcription Available


    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 Backstory: Graffiti was Pompeii's Instagram

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 7, 2025 6:55 Transcription Available


    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.

    The Backstory: The guy that connected us all

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 4, 2025 6:37 Transcription Available


    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.

    The Backstory: Kate Chase: From the belle of Washington to egg lady

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 28, 2025 8:02 Transcription Available


    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.

    The Backstory: Stealing Frank Sinatra Jr.

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2025 11:02 Transcription Available


    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.

    The Backstory: Stealing George Washington's head

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 21, 2025 7:43 Transcription Available


    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.

    The Backstory: Lucky Luciano: From mob boss to war hero

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2025 9:25 Transcription Available


    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.

    The Backstory: My bloody valentine!

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2025 11:24 Transcription Available


    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.

    The Backstory: Did Shakespeare steal the Romeo and Juliet story?

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 11, 2025 7:06 Transcription Available


    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 Backstory: The real American psycho

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 7, 2025 8:48 Transcription Available


    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.

    The Backstory: How one woman helped ignite the Civil War

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 4, 2025 7:10 Transcription Available


    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.

    The Backstory: Nxivm: A Hollywood sex cult

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 31, 2025 8:27 Transcription Available


    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.

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