Backstory with Larry Potash

Christmas Eve 1971, a man with a gun at 7 sticks of dynamite commandeers a United Airlines plane in the skies above Chicago. Larry Potash unearths what happened that night, and the connection that two Chicago area families have made 5 decades later. 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 whereve...

Death is the great equalizer. But how we mourn, our ceremonies and rituals, can be very different across cultures and through generations. In the United States, our perspective on funerals and grieving is rapidly changing. Larry Potash reports on the future of death in this piece for Backstory. Backstory with Larry Potash airs Sunday nights at 11 on WGN-TV and on smart TVs on the free WGN+ app. Fo...

Chocolate, and candy overall, used to be the domain of the wealthy, royalty, the elite. But all that changed in the early 20th century when Chicago become the candy capital of the world. In this piece for Backstory, Larry Potash looks at the past and future of candy. 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 Backsto...

LeRoy Neiman was an American artist known for his vivid, expressionist paintings of athletes, musicians, and sporting events. Muhummad Ali, Mickey Mantle, Frank Sinatra were just a few of his subjects, and the masses were drawn to his art because they could relate to the subject matter. In this piece for Backstory, Larry Potash takes a fresh look at Nieman, and why his style--situated at the confl...

Despite the obvious danger, hundreds of thousands of people serve in the Polish Underground during World War II. At a time when the world largely doesn’t know what’s going on behind the walls of Auschwitz, one man volunteers to go inside the concentration camp. In this piece for Backstory, Larry profiles the amazing tale of Witold Pilecki and others who chose to fight back against Nazi tyranny.&nb...

The Allies defeat the Nazis, “but now what?” asks Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson. He argues the victory would be incomplete without a legal reckoning. In this piece for Backstory, Larry Potash introduces us with two people in the present day with a personal connection to the Nuremberg Trials, who shed new light on this important historic event. Backstory with Larry Potash airs Sunday nigh...

The honeybee is perhaps the lynchpin to planet earth’s entire ecosystem, but their existence is very much threatened. In this piece for Backstory, Larry Potash connects with three Chicago area people, two scientists and a beekeeper, who are attempting to help restore the balance of nature. Backstory with Larry Potash airs Sunday nights at 11 on WGN-TV and on smart TVs on the free WGN+ app. Fo...

Baseball is a slower game, and in this Chicago area league, it’s even slower. And the only vital analytic in the Chicago North Men’s Senior Baseball League is 65—the minimum age to play. In this piece for Backstory, Larry Potash introduces us to a group of men still chasing a lifelong dream. Backstory with Larry Potash airs Sunday nights at 11 on WGN-TV and on smart TVs on the free WGN+ app. For m...

One author describes it as “Romeo and Juliet meets the shining.” Arguably America’s first celebrity sex scandal, and one that ended in tragedy, Larry Potash brings us the sordid tale of Frank Lloyd Wright, his mistress, and murders that shocked a nation. 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 wh...

WGN Films presents a true crime special: Who Killed Jennifer? The murder of a college student in 1993 leads to a rush to a wrongful conviction. What did detectives miss? We examine the case that investigators are still trying to solve. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Catchy jingles. Pithy slogans. They help tell stories and sell products. But advertising wasn’t always colorful or memorable. The modern form of advertising came into existence in large part due to one man’s vision, Albert Lasker. In this piece for Backstory, Larry Potash unearths what we know about the man, and how he changed the course of business history.  Backstory with Larry Potash...

During World War II, the U.S. captured hundreds of thousands of German Soldiers. What to do with them all? House them in the United States, of course. In this piece for Backstory, Larry Potash looks at one such Prisoner-of-War camp nestled in Chicago’s tony North Shore, and the tavern that will forever be tied to it . Backstory with Larry Potash airs Sunday nights at 11 on WGN-TV and on smart...

Toys are designed to be fun, but are rooted in reality. They mirror what is going on around us in the grown-up world. In this piece for Backstory, Larry Potash goes deep on some of the most popular toys ever made and what the future is for children’s toys in an increasingly digital world.  Backstory with Larry Potash airs Sunday nights at 11 on WGN-TV and on smart TVs on the free WGN+ ap...

One of the most famous and beloved films in history was never made. We’re talking about Walt Disney’s Bambi. During pre-production, there was a particular challenge that Disney and his team couldn’t quite figure out, until an artist named Tyrus Wong proposed an idea. Larry Potash profiles this immigrant artist who changed the course of cinematic history. Backstory with Larry Potash airs Sunda...

There are currently at least 10,000 cults in the United States. Cults have been part of life here going back four centuries. Why is America such a breeding ground for these groups? Larry Potash goes deep in this Backstory piece.  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...

  It’s a question that anyone who loves movies wants to know. Who was the inspiration for James Bond? In this episode of Backstory, Larry Potash looks at one possibility from Ian Fleming’s life, his wartime wingman, former NFL player, White House insider, and America’s first WWII spy, Ernest Cuneo.  Backstory with Larry Potash airs Sunday nights at 11 on WGN-TV and on smart TVs on t...

Even intelligent people fall victim to faulty thinking, especially when it comes to science. Some try to use it to validate their spiritual beliefs. In this piece for Backstory, Larry Potash delves into the history of pseudoscience, and what it can tell us about our present era. Backstory with Larry Potash airs Sunday nights at 11 on WGN-TV and on smart TVs on the free WGN+ app. For more...

  In a world where everything is explained, magic still offers two increasingly rare commodities--wonder and mystery. Larry Potash does a deep dive on the history of magic in this piece for Backstory, including a profile of two Chicago magicians plying the trade today. Backstory with Larry Potash airs Sunday nights at 11 on WGN-TV and on smart TVs on the free WGN+ app. For more, download...

Larry Potash looks at the backstory of what is for some, more than just a board game, but a way of life. See how the 1980s pop culture phenomenon Dungeons and Dragons is thriving a quarter of the way into the 21st century. 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 po...

Science fiction is everywhere in our 21st century culture, from superheroes to spaceships. But there was a time it was an odd subculture. But those in what was an eccentric circle of literary pioneers were visionaries, who gave people a glimpse into the future, and perhaps timeless lessons on how to build a better life. Larry Potash gives us a short history of science fiction in thi...

Ray Bradbury is perhaps the bridge between the early visionaries of science fiction and our currently catalogue of Marvel and Star Wars. And it all started just north of Chicago, in Waukegan, Illinois. Larry Potash unearths the true genius of Ray Bradbury in this piece 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...

In 1974, Dan Walker is shot and killed on a desert highway in the Mojave Desert. After nearly four decades, a break in the case leads Dan’s brother Doug to meet a key witness. Has he solved the case? Larry Potash brings us this cold case story 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 podcas...

He’s been called the “Mexican Lindbergh.” In this piece for Backstory, Larry Potash profiles Emilio Carranza, the famous Mexican aviator who was renowned for his long-distance flights and 1928 goodwill mission to the United States, and his tragic final flight. 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 podc...

In this piece for Backstory, Larry Potash asks the question, how does journalism survive?   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 t...

Crossing the Atlantic in the 15th century was no easy feat. But the Vikings did it 500 years earlier. Larry Potash unearths this story about a replica ship that took the world by storm at Chicago’s 1893 World’s Fair and is still captivating the imagination to this very day. Backstory with Larry Potash airs Sunday nights at 11 on WGN-TV and on smart TVs on the free WGN+ app. For more, download...