BackStory Creators & Guests

Joanne B. Freeman is a historian, tenured professor, and co-host the show BackStory.

Edward Lynn Ayers is an American historian, professor, administrator and co-host of the show BackStory.

Brian Balogh is a professor, author and co-host of the show BackStory.

Nathan Daniel Beau Connolly is an American historian and professor. He is the Herbert Baxter Adams Associate Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University and co-host of the U.S. history Podcast BackStory.

Dr. Beverly Gage is a historian, specializing in American political history, government and political development, and ideology and social movements. Currently, she a Professor of History and American Studies at Yale University and a contributing writer at the New York Times Magazine.Previouisly, Gage was the Director of the Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy at Yale.Gage's work has appeared in The New Yorker, the New York Times, The Nation, and the Washington Post. Her first book, "The Day Wall Street Exploded: A Story of America in Its First Age of Terror," was published in 2009. Her second book, "G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century," was published in 2022.Gage received her B.A. in American Studies from Yale University and her Ph.D. in History from Columbia University.In September 2021, she announced that she would resign as director of the Grand Strategy program, effective December 2021, citing concerns about academic freedom and a "board of visitors" that was formed to oversee her work.[4] In an interview with The New York Times, she stated, "It’s very difficult to teach effectively or creatively in a situation where you are being second-guessed and undermined and not protected." On October 1, 2021, the Yale history department issued a statement in support of her.[5]

Karl Rove is a Republican political consultant, policy advisor, and lobbyist.

Eric Foner is a historian, writer, and researcher.