The Backstory: Did Leonardo da Vinci invent robots and the helicopter??

We revisit the life of the greatest artist in history as Ken Burns releases his new documentary “Leonardo da Vinci.” Leonardo da Vinci was one of the greatest artists in the history of the world. And he loved understanding how things worked, coming up with designs for helicopters, robots, a self-pr…

The Backstory: Date raped by a superstar in classic Hollywood

Loretta Young was a superstar during Hollywood’s golden age. But after her death, in her memoir, she admitted that her daughter was fathered by Clark Gable. Her family later said she’d told them it was date rape.

The Backstory: Surviving a grizzly attack

Attacked by a grizzly bear in 1823 and left for dead by his companions, Hugh Glass crawled for 200 miles through the wilds of South Dakota. The true story behind Leo DiCaprio’s 2015 flick The Revenant is one of the wildest survival stories ever told.

The Backstory: From prostitute to queen of the pirates

You think the pirates of the Caribbean ruled the seas? They had nothing on the pirate queen who commanded the largest and most powerful pirate fleet in history. 250 years ago, she controlled more than 70,000 pirates…and never had to answer for her crimes.

The Backstory: Politics meets The Purge

We think the political scene these days is intense...let’s go back to the 19th century and see how political passion led to legal murder!

The Backstory: Searching for the killer called the Axeman

New Orleans was terrorized in 1918 and 1919 by the Axeman. He targeted the families of Italian grocers, broke into their homes in the dead of night, and went after them with an axe...or whatever else he could find. Who was he and why did he do this? 

The Backstory: Back from the dead to take the gold

At age 16, Betty Robinson ran in the 1928 Olympics, the first games that allowed women to compete in track and field. She won gold and tied a world record. Three years later, she was in a horrific plane crash. Thought to be dead, she was taken to an undertaker. But her incredible determination and …

The Backstory: Demons to moon landings – the story that inspired The Exorcist

The Exorcist was a best-selling book and an iconic movie over 50 years ago. But the true story that inspired it is even more chilling…and still unexplained. And the story of the child who at the center of the exorcism is even more amazing. 

(Replay) The Backstory: Cannibalism on the wild frontier

In this re-release episode: The Netflix hit film Society of the Snow is the true story of South American athletes trapped in the snowy mountains after a plane crash…with some surviving by eating their dead teammates. Now we look at the Donner party of pioneers in 1846, trapped in 22 feet of snow in…

The Backstory: All the money in the world…and a torturous upbringing

You’d think having the richest father in America would make you fabulously happy. But for Consuelo Vanderbilt, it meant a cruel childhood and a forced marriage to a jerk with a title.