This is backstory. I'm Brian Ballot. In the early 19th century, 20,000 pigs

roamed the streets of New York. They were kind of the city's garbage collectors.

These pigs are not like the pigs you would see in a movie like babe. That was

one of backstory's more surprising stories. We've also talked to history

makers like former Oklahoma Senator Fred Harris. President Lyndon Johnson asked

Harris to investigate the causes of the race riots in the 1960s. He said

I want you to remember you're a Johnson man. He said if you forget it, I'll take my

pocket knife and cut your blank off. He didn't say blanks.

Today we're revisiting some of our most talked about pieces and interviews along

with a few of our favorite bloopers. In our last show in the Civil War, we look

at how the election of Abraham Black. Just can't say his name any exactly.

Right through Clint's team. It's hard to tell. Coming up the best of backstory.

Major funding for backstory is provided by the ShiaCon Foundation, the National

Endowment for the Humanities, the Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation,

and the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations. From the Virginia Foundation for the

Humanities, this is backstory with the American History Guys.

Welcome to the show. I'm Ed Ayers. You're with Peter O'Rona.

Peter O'Rona.

And Brian Ballot.

Hey, there Ed. This is the second of a two-part series revisiting the best of

backstory from the past eight years. One thing we pride ourselves on is bringing

history to life, especially history that most Americans have forgotten or maybe

...