The Backstory with Patty Steele

Episodes

• The Backstory: Columbus Day? Who Really Discovered America?It’s Columbus Day this Monday . . also called Indigenous People’s Day. But it begs the question, who really “discovered” America? Feel free to DM me if you have a story you’d like me to cover . . on Facebook it’s Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  331|12M
• The Backstory: How to Create a Female Serial KillerWatching the state of Georgia and their botched attempt to execute murderer Christa Pike this past week has been pretty cringy. Only about 1% of murderers put to death in the U.S. are female. It brought to mind one of America’s most prolific female serial killers, Aileen Wuornos. She admitted to killing at least 7 men, before she was executed in 2002. Her life was depicted in the 2003 movie Monster. But . . how did the little girl tormented by school mates as “the cigarette pig” . . become a monster? Feel free to DM me if you have a story you’d like me to cover . . on Facebook it’s Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  330|10M
• The Backstory: Death: How We Handle Our Expiration DateDeath . . the word makes us uneasy but we’re all sort of intrigued by it, thus our love of true crime, horror, mysteries, and graveyards. Death is the one thing we all have to face that we simply can’t rationally explain. Going back thousands of years it was the same for all humans. How do we celebrate a life . . . and dispose of the body? Feel free to DM me if you have a story you’d like me to cover . . on Facebook it’s Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  329|8M
• The Backstory: The Salem Witch Trials: Stoned to DeathWe’re sort of living in a time when finger pointing has become a huge spectator sport. Accuse somebody you don’t like or agree with of something, and you can destroy their life. But human beings have a long history of vicious finger pointing. Case in point, the Salem witch trials of 1692. Feel free to DM me if you have a story you’d like me to cover . . on Facebook it’s Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  328|19M
• The Backstory: Sex Before the PillA lot of people want sex . . but they don’t always want babies. That’s been the story of human sexuality for thousands of years. But the pill has only been around for about 65 years. So . . what did folks do to enjoy sex while minimizing the chance of procreation? Think poison plants, animal dung, lemon cups, and even Lysol. Not all of it paints a pretty picture! Feel free to DM me if you have a story you’d like me to cover . . on Facebook it’s Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  327|21M
• The Backstory: An Aristocratic Murderer VanishesBorn rich, titled, and impossibly handsome . . a British lord’s life falls apart and he chooses murder. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. The 7th Earl of Lucan, disappeared over 50 years ago after murdering his children’s nanny, having mistaken her for his ex wife. Did his aristocratic friends help him vanish into a new life? This story may remind you of the Netflix show “The Beast in Me.” But this time, the killer escapes. Feel free to DM me if you have a story you’d like me to cover . . on Facebook it’s Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  326|23M
• The Backstory: Brushing Your Teeth With Pee???We try to imagine what everyday life was like for folks living a few hundred years ago or even longer. But sometimes, we forget to take into account the simplest things . . like brushing your teeth or replacing them if you ran into issues. What did they use before toothpaste or worse yet, implants? It’s not a pretty picture and it will probably make you grit your teeth. Feel free to DM me if you have a story you’d like me to cover . . on Facebook it’s Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  325|16M
• The Backstory: Bugs in Your Veins: The Dancing PlagueWhen there’s an outbreak of some sort, like the flu or COVID, we all wonder if we’re going to get it. But some of us are more compelled to think we’ve actually got it when people around us show symptoms. Now, imagine being overcome with the urge to keep moving your body, as if you have bugs in your veins. There were outbreaks of dancing mania throughout medieval times. It sounds festive but it wasn’t pleasant. Feel free to DM me if you have a story you’d like me to cover . . on Facebook it’s Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  324|16M
• The Backstory: Shocking Death of a Heroic 9/11 Widow25 years ago the 9/11 terrorist attacks killed almost 3000 people. It was a horrific moment in our history but as in so many cases, heroes were born in the midst of tragedy. Beverly Eckert was speaking to her husband on his cell when she heard the South Tower collapse on top of him. She advocated for 9/11 families . . until she died in another tragedy less than 8 years later. Feel free to DM me if you have a story you’d like me to cover . . on Facebook it’s Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  323|18M
• The Backstory: Technology: Where We Came From and Why We’re So LonelyImagine trying to describe our technology to someone from 1926. Now imagine trying to defend our tech to someone from 2126! Most importantly, how is this evolution impacting our brains and our bodies? Feel free to DM me if you have a story you’d like me to cover . . On Facebook it’s Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  322|18M