Major funding for backstory is provided by an anonymous donor, the National Endowment for the Humanities,

the University of Virginia, the Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, and the Arthur Vining Davis foundations.

From the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, this is backstory.

Welcome to backstory, the show that explains the history behind the headlines. I'm Joanne Freeman.

The backstory team is busy working on several upcoming episodes, so this week we're going to play another podcast that features a pretty amazing story from history.

It's from Reply All, a podcast that's part of Gimlett Media, the episode is called Man of the People and It aired last January.

The story is about a brand new technology that fell into the wrong hands. That technology was radio.

The story is also about the rise and fall of a dangerous demagogue. We'll let Reply All co-host PJ vote take it from here.

Thomas and Kevin have been married for years. When they first met, they fell in love over this very strange coincidence.

They were introduced to each other at a party, they got to talking, and they realized both of them had spent time in Del Rio, Texas as kids.

And as little kids, both of them had gotten really, really interested in this rundown mansion in town.

Weirder still, they'd both been obsessed with the widow who lived in the mansion, and Weirder still, they had both struck up friendships with her as children.

Thomas has started when he just tried calling her one day.

You could just call the Brinkley mansion and she would answer the phone and she would talk to anybody and she was very warm.

And I just said, my grandfather lives around the corner and I think I'm busy.

And I did because I said I'd love to write a paper on your school and she was delighted.

And so I went to the Brinkley mansion, opened the giant gates that's a doctor Brinkley across them and walked down the sidewalk and walked into the house.

So Thomas would go visit, hang out, chat with Mrs. Brinkley, and then separately, on days when Thomas wasn't there,

Kevin was doing the exact same thing.

Going to the Brinkley mansion, talking to Mrs. Brinkley.

This woman in her 60s who always wore modest cotton dresses and thick, cornering glasses, they were both fascinated by her.

Mrs. Brinkley, she had had skin cancer removed and so she had to have part of her nose cut away.

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