Bible Explained: Backstory

The Bible explained, one story at a time.

Backstory is narrated audio Bible stories for adults. Every story has three parts. The Backstory gives you the real history: who these people were, what the world around them believed, and what the first listeners would have noticed. Then the Story itself, retold in clear, everyday English. Then the Lesson: why it still matters.

Each story takes a few minutes. Claire narrates every one, and captions follow her word by word, so you can listen on a walk or read along.

Your first story is free, with full narration. No account or payment card needed.

THE HISTORY BEHIND THE STORY
Did an innkeeper really slam the door on Mary? Was Saul thrown from a horse on the Damascus road? Why does Isaiah call a Persian king God's anointed? Each story starts with the context most of us never heard, then lets the text speak.

349 BIBLE STORIES, OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT
Old Testament stories and New Testament stories, from creation to the early church, with 60 Bible characters to explore. Change the speed, bookmark a moment, or set a sleep timer.

LEARN THE BIBLE AT YOUR OWN PACE
Use Backstory as a simple Bible study guide. Every story names the passage it retells, so you can open the original and read it for yourself.

ASK YOUR QUESTIONS
Still curious? Ask the AI study tools to explain something, or find a passage for what's on your mind. Type or speak your question, then check the Scripture cited in the answer.

WHAT'S FREE
Your first story, the one you pick when you start, with full narration and captions. Browse every story, save favorites, pick up where you left off, set reminders, and sync with an optional account. You also get three AI study requests and three voice recordings each day.

WITH BACKSTORY PREMIUM
All 349 narrated stories, collections and playlists, offline downloads, and up to 100 AI study requests and voice recordings each day.

Optional weekly, monthly and annual subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled in Google Play. Prices and eligible trial terms appear before purchase.

Backstory was called Told: Bible Stories for Adults. Its stories are retellings, not a Bible translation; every story names the passage it retells. AI can make mistakes; check the cited Scripture. Questions and optional voice recordings are processed by OpenAI.

Recent changes:
Told is now Backstory. All 349 stories are rewritten and newly narrated by Claire, with captions that follow her word by word. Every story, character and collection has new artwork, and the whole app has a fresh look. You can now choose a weekly plan as well as monthly or annual. Without Premium, you can listen to one story in full; Premium unlocks the rest.