Behind The Story Show
Welcome to Behind The Story Show, a long-form interview podcast hosted by Jelani Gonzalez that goes beyond the headlines to uncover the real journeys behind extraordinary people and powerful ideas.
Each week, Jelani sits down with entrepreneurs, athletes, artists, creators, leaders, and change-makers to explore the defining moments, hard-earned lessons, personal challenges, and bold decisions that shaped their path. From business and creativity to leadership, culture, innovation, and reinvention, Behind The Story brings you candid conversations that reveal not just what people achieved, but what it took to get there.
If you are building something, chasing a vision, navigating change, or looking for stories that educate, inspire, and challenge the way you think, this show is for you.
Join us as we go behind the success, behind the struggle, and Behind The Story.
Behind The Story Show
Latest Episodes
The Ali G Movie Firestorm: Banned Before Anyone Saw It
Twenty-six years ago, a comedian in a yellow tracksuit and orange shades sat across from real politicians, generals, and diplomats — and they answered him seriously. That was Ali G. This fall, Sacha Baron Cohen is bringing the character back in...
Arrested Over an $87 Check — Dr. Sheena Meade on Second Chances
In 2004, Sheena Meade was a young single mother earning about $18,000 a year when an $87.26 check bounced. Two months later, police arrested her in front of her four children. She paid the check back, completed the courses, and thought her sent...
Robert Kennedy III: The Introvert Who Speaks to Thousands for a Living
He was born in Jamaica, named Robert Kennedy III by a grandfather who said it "with such glee" — and he's spent his life turning that name into a conversation starter. In this episode of Behind the Story, Jelani Gonzalez sits down with communic...
Judge Rules Trump's Mail Ballot Order Unconstitutional — What Happens Next
Back where we started — except this time, it's different. The same judge who was forced to lift her block on Trump's mail-ballot rule put a new one right back up, days later — and for the first time in five months, a federal court actually rule...
Mail Ballot Fight Part 2: The Judge Says They Broke Her Order
We told you two days ago this story wasn't over — it moved even faster than expected. A federal judge has now ruled that the Trump administration violated her own court order restricting mail ballot rules... and then declined to do anything abo...