Backstory with Larry Potash

A 19th century daredevil was obsessed with balloons. He wanted to travel far and away... But one stunt ended in tragedy. And the details are still shrouded in mystery. This is the Backstory. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Advertisements painted on old brick buildings still linger in Chicago, but they're slowly disappearing. That's why Joe Marlin is documenting these fading ads of Chicago... This is the Backstory. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

A historian gets a rare look inside the Royal Archive to read King George's writings about the Revolutionary War, and Larry takes a trip to his hometown of Boston to walk in the footsteps of history. This is the Backstory. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Ian Fleming worked in British intelligence before he created James Bond... so how much of the world's greatest fictional secret agent was Fleming himself? Find out, on Backstory. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

He's found several photographs from more than a century ago, and now Mark Hersch is painstakingly recreating these images, and giving them new life — one frame at a time. This is the Backstory. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

He was the man who helped the Feds nail Al Capone on tax evasion charges. But his legacy is greater than that. Find out how, on Backstory. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Considered a useless byproduct by many, offal cuisine is gaining in popularity. Larry Potash gives us the past, present, and future of this culinary tradition through the eyes of some very talented local chefs. This is the Backstory. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Lipizzans are some of the most beautiful horses in the world, but how did they become ensconced on Chicago’s North Shore? Find out, on Backstory... See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

The first-ever successful lawsuit brought by a slave was filed by Henrietta Wood. Her ordeal would take her from Kentucky to Mississippi to Cincinnati where she would finally win her freedom and a $2,500 settlement. This is the backstory... See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

In 1629, the Salem witch trials led to the execution of 20 people as witch hunt frenzy reached the U.S. That might sounds like ancient history, but only a few decades ago a case documented by the Catholic church inspired "The Exorcist." But what really happened? Get the Backstory on these iconic tales of witches and demons. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Not...

How two sisters' stories of speaking to ghosts in the 19th century sparked a move towards mysticism in the U.S. — and profiting from it. Larry Potash returns to his hometown to explore its tales of spiritualism and abolitionism. And how a group of experts is offering real money for proof of the supernatural. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://a...

NASA's revolutionary sales pitch worked to enlist the American public in the space race in the '60s, but that race also stoked Cold War fears, whose remnants are still hidden across Chicagoland. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

In 1978, Bill German turned 16 years old, and like many kids his age was a major Rolling Stones fan. He didn’t want to be a rock star, or simply go to their concerts. German wanted to chronicle their careers, and make a living doing so. How does an innocent, straight-A student from an orthodox Jewish school in Brooklyn, New York, end up chasing the world’s Greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll band around the wo...

During Northern Ireland's "Troubles," a gang of masked people dragged Gene McConville away from her 10 kids. "Watch the children until I come back," she yelled to her oldest son. But they never saw her again, and were abandoned after her assumed death. Years later, McConville's body was found with a single gunshot wound to the head. While the murder remains unsolved, an author says he used a secre...

When pinball was illegal, he was called upon to prove it's more than a game of chance. That's when one shot changed it all. Watch this full story online . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Jack Hersch said it was a tradition every Passover for his father, David, to tell his sons about how he escaped the Nazis. "He would talk about the death march - put on a 34-mile march, he made it sound like he was going to get a cup of coffee around the corner," Jack Hersch said. Then a mysterious photo led Jack to wonder if there was more the story — and go in search of answers.  Watch the...

While many remember the DeLorean thanks to its appearance in “Back to the Future,” but the story of its iconic creator John DeLorean is just as interesting. You can also watch Backstory online. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

How does a black detective go undercover to investigate the Ku Klux Klan? Ron Stallworth shares the amazing true story of how he accidentally used his own name, and talked his way into becoming a card-carrying Klan member. Want to see the video? Watch this on "Backstory" online. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-m...

Meet the man who accomplished the impossible: capturing a German sub at sea, helping to turn the tide of WWII. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

For decades, Phil Cresta was the best thief on the East Coast. He stole millions and nobody knew who did it. After fleeing the law and the mob, he was found living under a fake name as a Chicago toy store owner. Not even his wife knew of his past— until he confessed to it all. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-...

Secret societies are a common concern of conspiracy theories and Hollywood blockbusters, and at Ivy League schools, secret societies are the elite among the elite. While the legends surrounding them often obscure the truth, a member of the Delphic Club at Harvard opens up about his unlikely recruitment, and how the myths surrounding such groups compare with the reality. Larry Potash has the Backst...

The Chicago American Gears were the city's first basketball champions — until their trophy was taken away, and a team with the makings of a dynasty was forced to disband. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

Legendary G-Man Eliot Ness is remembered for taking down Al Capone in Chicago, but as pop culture grew the legend around him, it begs the question: what really happened? In a historical society in Cleveland, meticulous scrapbooks Ness kept track his career as he took on the mob, jaywalkers, and a serial killer called the Torso Murderer. Larry Potash digs into the Backstory on what parts of Ness' l...

You've probably heard of how legendary mobster Al Capone's criminal empire was disrupted by investigator Eliot Ness and his group of "Untouchables." But what really happened in Chicago, and what was invented by Hollywood? Max Allan Collins, author of the 2002 Chicago mob story "Road to Perdition," and A. Brad Schwartz, a Princeton historian, talked to relatives, re-examined evidence, and sifted th...

Brothers Michael and Jeffrey Gentile say their childhood was a cross between The Wonder Years and The Sopranos. While he never got into a life of crime, their dad's friends included some of Chicago's most infamous mobsters. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .