BackStory

Larpwright J Li joins Alex to talk emotional immersion, user-centric game design, and engaging in a fictional dialogue with the space around you. Curious about pervasive games, and one-player games? This one's for you.

According to the New York Times, the 2016 election “highlighted a growing rural-urban split.” So, on this episode of BackStory, Brian, Ed and Nathan look at what happens when urban and rural Americans collide. They’ll tell the story of one coastal couple’s proposal to make part of the Great Plains a vast nature preserve and how it wasn’t received too kindly by the residents of those states. They’ll look at how attitudes towards small town voters shaped American politics in the 1920s. Finally, they’ll explore the urban/rural divide during the Founding Era, when city slicker Alexander Hamilton challenged Thomas Jefferson’s vision of a country composed of humble yeoman farmers.

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Best of BackStory Pt. 2 by BackStory with the American History Guys

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BackStory is going through some big changes. Take a listen to this preview and learn about everything that's going into the new BackStory - premiering on Feb. 3!

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We’ll spend our last regularly scheduled broadcasts reviewing some of BackStory’s most memorable moments. We’ll revisit BackStory interviews with history makers, the Guys’ expeditions to see history being made, and the unexpected stories behind some of the 21st century’s most basic assumptions. You’ll hear portions of the very first broadcast of BackStory in 2008, Brian Balogh’s roadside conversation with a man from a jail’s work gang, Ed’s interview with a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and Peter’s epic turn as a movie director for a film version of the War of 1812.

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Artist and GM Rachel Khan joins us to talk about running an RPG campaign based on Persian mythology at the Aga Khan museum in Toronto. Isn't that the coolest thing ever? We also discuss illustrating for games and the magic of dice bowls. Warning: major spoilers for a thousand-year-old poem!

As Washington prepares for the next four years, BackStory looks back at some of the more dramatic presidential transitions from the past. On this show, the Guys explore several high-stakes presidential inaugurations and learn what each one tells us about the social and political forces at work at the time. From George Washington’s trembling voice while taking the Oath of Office to the general apathy surround Lincoln’s second inauguration, we’ll remember why inaugurations really matter. p3v647s9

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Health Nuts: A History of Nutritional Advice [rebroadcast] by BackStory with the American History Guys

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To celebrate one year of Backstory, Alex brings on indie legends and Apocalypse World co-creators Meguey and D. Vincent Baker. Topics range from sex education to censorship to masonic initiation ceremonies and quilt preservation - and yes, it's all related to game design.

Game designer Ole Peder Giæver, co-creator of Itras By (with Martin Bull Gudmundsen) and Old Friends (with Jason Morningstar) joins Alex for a dreamy chat about magic, masks, and Norwegian folklore. Also: an exciting announcement.