Well, in the magazine, the Klan had found out that the guy inside of the Barney costume was African American, so they banned their kids from ever ... darker side of the PBS series.

The anecdote is shared on the latest episode of Generation Barney, a new seven-part podcast from Connecticut Public devoted to the beloved dino and how the PBS program shaped generations.

“Barney and the Backyard Gang” hit PBS as “Barney & Friends” and found its way into the homes of millions of kids. “Barney was a one off,” Rifkin said. “As I say, Barney was a unicor ...