Backstory with Larry Potash

Few Americans have captured our attention as much as Abraham Lincoln. More books have been written about him than any other American, and many of them are at a small bookshop in the River North neighborhood of Chicago. In this segment for Backstory, Larry Potash meets a Lincoln expert whom some might call ‘obsessed’ with our 16th President, and explores the numerous Lincoln artifacts in his possession.

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Most everyone collects something. Coins. Baseball cards. Stamps. For some people, it’s not just a hobby, it’s a passion. But why? In this segment for Backstory, Larry Potash talked to a collector, who is also a neurologist to explore the psychology of collecting.

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 Where and how did the game of golf get its start? And how pivotal was Chicago in the game’s rise in popularity? Larry Potash has the Backstory.

Backstory with Larry Potash airs Sunday nights at 11 on WGN-TV and on smart TVs on the free WGN+ app. For more, download the Backstory podcast wherever you get your podcasts, go to WGNtv.com/backstory, or follow Larry Potash on your favorite social media. Click here to see how to download the free WGN+ app.

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So often history class is a bunch of names and dates we’re perhaps remember long enough for test day and then forgotten. But history is rich with stories and too often we get those stories wrong. One professor came up with a new strategy—he teaches history through a video game. Larry Potash reports for Backstory.

Backstory with Larry Potash airs Sunday nights at 11 on WGN-TV and on smart TVs on the free WGN+ app. For more, download the Backstory podcast wherever you get your podcasts, go to WGNtv.com/backstory, or follow Larry Potash on your favorite social media. Click here to see how to download the free WGN+ app.

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Secrets and wartime are common pairings. But what happens when the secret could end a career and alter lives? In this segment for Backstory, Larry Potash profiles a U.S. Army psychologist caught between two worlds.

Backstory with Larry Potash airs Sunday nights at 11 on WGN-TV and on smart TVs on the free WGN+ app. For more, download the Backstory podcast wherever you get your podcasts, go to WGNtv.com/backstory, or follow Larry Potash on your favorite social media. Click here to see how to download the free WGN+ app.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this segment for Backstory, Larry Potash digs into his own family tree and ancestral DNA. What did he learn?

Backstory with Larry Potash airs Sunday nights at 11 on WGN-TV and on smart TVs on the free WGN+ app. For more, download the Backstory podcast wherever you get your podcasts, go to WGNtv.com/backstory, or follow Larry Potash on your favorite social media.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

5,000 children wrongfully removed from their homes, sent to live with total strangers. And the worst part? It was all completely legal. In this Backstory piece, Larry Potash looks at the life and terrible legacy of one Georgia Tann, and some of the descendants that she left in her wake.

Backstory with Larry Potash airs Sunday nights at 11 on WGN-TV and on smart TVs on the free WGN+ app. For more, download the Backstory podcast wherever you get your podcasts, go to WGNtv.com/backstory, or follow Larry Potash on your favorite social media.

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Before Bond. Before Bourne. There was a real-life man named Thomas Miller Beach, AKA Major Henri Le Caron. His claim to fame? Arguably, he was the world’s first super spy, caught in a four-nation conflict in the 19th century. Larry Potash has the fascinating Backstory on the man who led a ragtag band of ex-soldiers to invade no less than the dominion of Canada.

Backstory with Larry Potash airs Sunday nights at 11 on WGN-TV and on smart TVs on the free WGN+ app. For more, download the Backstory podcast wherever you get your podcasts, go to WGNtv.com/backstory, or follow Larry Potash on your favorite social media.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Michael Jordan Statue. Some argue this sculpture of the G.O.A.T., unveiled in 1994, ushered in a golden era of monuments to our heroes on the field. Larry Potash has the backstory on it, as well as other Chicago sports legends immortalized in bronze, and asks the question, what if statues aren’t history, but archaeology?

Backstory with Larry Potash airs Sunday nights at 11 on WGN-TV and on smart TVs on the free WGN+ app. For more, download the Backstory podcast wherever you get your podcasts, go to WGNtv.com/backstory, or follow Larry Potash on your favorite social media.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A stroll through a neighborhood on the northwest side of Chicago leads a local woman to come across a stone that’s a part of history. Behind the stone? A story of one man caught in two worlds, pursuing peace and history. The man? Billy Caldwell. In this piece for Backstory, Larry Potash looks at his legacy through a modern-day lens.

 Backstory with Larry Potash airs Sunday nights at 11 on WGN-TV and on smart TVs on the free WGN+ app. For more, download the Backstory podcast wherever you get your podcasts, go to WGNtv.com/backstory, or follow Larry Potash on your favorite social media.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.