Backstory With Larry Potash

 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 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.

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 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.

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 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, 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.

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, 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 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 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.

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 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 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 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.

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 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.

Once upon a time in suburban Chicago, there was a fairly ordinary suburb, with an ordinary high school, with an ordinary janitor. But it turns out the janitor’s backstory was quite extraordinary. He maintained a secret, one that would bring about worldwide manhunt to American cities in pursuit of justice. Larry Potash has the story of Oak Park and a man named Reinhold Kulle in this segment 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. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Chicago Film Archive is on a mission to preserve. Archiving film footage shot in Chicago and all over the Midwest, preserving not just celluloid memories, but saving history. From protests to politics to home movies, Larry Potash profiles this unique organization in this segment 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.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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

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

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

 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.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.

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.

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.

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.

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

The guitar has always seemed like the “lead instrument” on stage. Its power chords pushed it to the front and center of radio airwaves. And yet, it seems to come and go from popular music. The one constant has been when it comes to making a guitar, nobody does it better than America. In this piece for Backstory, Larry Potash goes deep on six stringed instruments, those who make them and those who play them. 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.