This Day in Esoteric Political History
Jody Avirgan & Radiotopia
We’re living in unprecedented times. Maybe. In this show, Jody Avirgan (538, 30for30, TED) and historians Nicole Hemmer (Vanderbilt) and Kellie Carter Jackson (Wellesley) take one moment, big or small, from that day in U.S. political history and explore how it might inform our present –– all in about fifteen minutes.
New episodes release Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Sign up for the newsletter and more at ThisDayPod.com. We’re also posting about moments from the past @thisdaypod on Threads and Instagram. If you have a suggestion for a topic, get in touch.
This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud...
Why They Banned Dunking (1968) w/ Mike Sielski
It's February 19th. This day in 1967, the NCAA has decided to ban dunking in the college game -- a move largely seen as a response to Lew Alcindor (soon known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and other Black players using the move.Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Mike Sielski of The Philadelphia Inquirer to talk about the larger political and racial context of the dunk ban, and what the dunk has meant to the game of basketball over the years.Mike's new book is "Magic In The Air: The Myth, the Mystery
The PTA Is Born (1897)
It's February 18th. This day in 1897, 2000 educators, parents and legislators are gathered to kick off a new organization that would come to be known as the Parent Teachers Association.Jody, Niki, and Kellie dicsuss how the PTA has advocated for important issues over the years, and what kinds of activities the PTA works on in today's education environment. They also discuss how much parents should be involved in their kids' schools...This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Ra
The President vs. The Courts (Some Sunday Context)
Donald Trump has issued a flurry of executive orders, and Elon Musk is slashing and burning state capacity. But the courts, Congress, and public opinion may also have something to say about it.Welcome to "Some Sunday Context" series for Febraury 16th, 2025. Every Sunday, we try and bring you an episode that offers a little historical perspective on what we're seeing in Donald Trump's second term.Today: Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how Trump and Musk are testing -- and sometimes defying -- the
SNL Turns Fifty: Our Favorite Political Sketches (1975-2025)
This weekend Saturday Night Live celebrates its 50th anniversary. To help celebrate, we're bringing you an episode we recorded last fall about SNL's political impact.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the way that SNL's spoofs have changed, whether their skits have had a political impact -- and why it can be a struggle to do spoofs in the Trump era.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-wi
The Last Senator To Be Expelled (1862)
It's February 11th. This day in 1862, the U.S. Senate has expelled Indiana Senator Jesse David Bright for colluding with the Confederacy.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Bright remained in the senate, even after secession, and how his deep sympathies with the South were ultimately exposed.Sign up for our newsletter! Get your hands on This Day merch!Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independen
Immigration And MAGA (Some Sunday Context)
Today, an episode from the archives that may provide some context for the news playing out today. We'll be doing more Some Sunday Context episodes -- from the archives and fresh conversations -- throghout the first year of the second Trump administration.///Nicole Hemmer has a new book out! It’s called “Partisans: The Conservative Revolutionaries Who Remade American Politics in the 1990s.” All this week, she’s walking through some of her favorite stories from the book, which is available for pur
The U.S.S. Pueblo Hostage Crisis (1968)
It's February 6th. This day in 1968, 82 crewmembers of the U.S.S. Pueblo have been captured by North Korea, setting off a major hostage crisis in the midst of an already very tumultuous year.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the Pueblo came to be captured, what the eleven-month negotiations revealed about U.S. power, and why the incident isn't as well-remembered as some of the other events of 1968.Sign up for our newsletter! Get your hands on This Day merch!Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis D
ABSCAM Arrives (1980)
It's February 4th. This day in 1980, the story is breaking about the FBI's "ABSCAM" operation -- a bribery sting that ended up implicating many congressman and other elected officials.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the sting morphed from art theft to political corruption, the murky line between political maneuvering and corruption, and the waning appetite for political shenanigans post-Watergate.Sign up for our newsletter! Get your hands on This Day merch!Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis
Some Sunday Context: Airline Deregulation
Today, an episode from the archives that may provide some context for the news playing out today. We'll be doing more Sunday episodes -- from the archives and fresh conversations -- throghout the first year of the second Trump administration.///It’s December 17th. This day in 1978, holiday travelers are flying around the country under a regulatory system that was about to come to an end. The next year, the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 would kick in.Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Ganesh
The "Bedsheet Ballot" (1964)
It's January 29th. In 1964, because of an impasse over redistricting, the state of Illinois held elections in which every candidate was at-large.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss what happened when voters entered the booth and were confronted with 118 races to weigh in on.Sign up for our newsletter! Get your hands on This Day merch!Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcas
The First Issue Of National Geographic (1888)
It's January 28th. This day in 1888, a new society is formed in Washington D.C. to support the exploration of the entire globe -- and soon thereafter the magazine bearing its name would hit the shelves.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the National Geographic Society was founded, how it fit into the late 19th century American vision of the world, and how the magazine took off in the years since.Sign up for our newsletter! Get your hands on This Day merch!Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis Day
The Push To Impeach Perkins (1939) w/ Rebecca Brenner Graham
It's January 25th. This day in 1939, Republicans in Congress are holding hearings to impeach labor secretary Frances Perkins, claiming that she'd failed to deport a communist labor organizer.Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Rebecca Brenner Graham to discuss why they were going after Perkins in this moment, and how the impeachment effort fits into the wide scope of Perkins's politics and activism.Rebecca Brenner Graham, postdoctoral research associate at Brown University and author of the new
Trump's First 48 Hours, In Context
It's January 23rd. This day, we discuss Donald Trump's first 48 hours, and how other presidents have spent their first hours, days, and weeks in office.Sign up for our newsletter! Get your hands on This Day merch!Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.If you want to support the show directly, you can do so on our website: ThisDayPod.comGet
The Pussy Hat Protests (2017)
It's January 21st. This day in 2017, millions of people marched in Washington, DC and across the United States to protest for women's rights and against the inauguration of Donald Trump.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the "pussy hat" movement was born, what it symbolized about resistance to the first Trump administration -- and how resistance will look very different for the next four years.Sign up for our newsletter! Get your hands on This Day merch!Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis Day In
Biden's Farewell Address (2025)
It's January 19th. Today, we look at Joe Biden's farewell address, and the history of presidential goodbyes.Sign up for our newsletter! Get your hands on This Day merch!Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.If you want to support the show directly, you can do so on our website: ThisDayPod.comGet in touch if you have any ideas for future t
Prohibition Starts, Everyone Still Drinks (1920)
It's January 16th. 1920, at midnight (of the 17th) the Volstead Act took hold, bringing prohibition to the United States.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why this did very little to actually curb alcohol consumption, in those first hours and beyond. Plus, some thoughts on the decline of drinking in our modern age.Sign up for our newsletter! Get your hands on This Day merch!Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support he
Elizabeth Packard Is Not Insane (1864) w/ Therese O'Neill
It's January 14th. This day in 1864, an Illinois woman by the name of Elizabeth Packard is on trial, claiming that she has been wrongfully imprisoned -- and accused of insanity -- by her husband. Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Therese O'Neill to discuss why Packard was sent to a mental institution to begin with, how she argued for freedom from her husband, and her subsequent career of activism.Therese is the author of the book "Unbecoming A Lady: The Forgotten Sluts and Shrews Who Shaped A
Presenting: A Breach Repairer's Song w/ Terrence Blanchard
Today, we're honored to present an episode of a wonderful new podcast -- "A Breach Repairer's Song," hosted by Yara Allen and Rev. William Barber. A Breach Repairer's Song is an immersive series soundtracking the marriage between music as an art form and music as a tool for activism. Through interview, retrospection, and the dissection of one song per episode, this show explores the deep roots music and the pursuit of justice and equity have in America's history—and how song can move us to actio
The Panama Canal Flag Riots (1964)
It's January 9th. This day in 1964, riots broke out in the U.S.-controlled Panama Canal Zone over the flying of a Panamanian flag alongside the U.S. flag at a local High School.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the roots of the tensions in the zone, and how these riots created a flashpoint that eventually led to renegotiations of the Panama Canal treaty, and return of the canal to local control. Plus: what to make of Trump's claims that he wants to get control back.Sign up for our newsletter! Get y
Pardon Season, And A Case Before Biden w/ Shannon Lynch
It's January 7th. Today, we take a look at the history of presidential pardons, which often take place at the end of an outgoing president's term. Joe Biden is expected to -- and is being pressured to -- grant a number of pardons over the next few weeks.Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Shannon Lynch of the New America Foundation to look at the history of pardons, why they are often used for what seems like self-dealing, and how they can occasionally be used to right wrongs in the justice sys
Emancipation, Of Sorts (1863) w/ Jonathan Lande
It's January 4th. This day, in 1863, Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing enslaved Americans in the South. It also freed up Black soldiers to fight for the Union army -- but many of them found conditions in the military restrictive and oppressive as well.Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Jonathan Lande of Purdue University to discuss what life was like for Black soldiers -- and why many of them chose to escape from the army as well.Jonathan's latest book is called
Hello 2025! How History Will Help
Happy New Year, everyone! What will 2025 bring? We're not in the prediction business, but we do think there's a lot of history that can help us navigate whatever this year has in store.We discuss which historical era and theme we have at the top of mind, how to stay engaged as things seem to be spiraling out of control; and what we want this little podcast of ours to be in the coming year.Sign up for our newsletter! Get your hands on This Day merch!Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis Day In Esot
Goodbye Jimmy Carter, Goodbye 2024
We wrap up the year by talking about the death of Jimmy Carter, who we've done almost ten episodes about -- and was president during a period of American history that has lots of lessons for today. Then, we talk about 2024 - our favorite episodes, some of the big ideas that got us through the year, and more.Next episode we'll look forward to 2025. Happy New Year, everyone!This is a video episode -- be sure to catch the full video on our YouTube page: youtube.com/@ThisDayPodSign up for our newsle
Cheney Shoots His Friend (2006) [[Archive Episode]]
**It's the Radiotopia fundraiser! We can only make this show with your support. Give now and help support This Day and all the independent shows at Radiotopia. Thank you! https://www.radiotopia.fm/donate**//Today we're bringing you a favorite episode from the archives!It’s February 20th. This day in 2006, the news — and the jokes — are swirling about the incident that took place earlier in the month, when Vice President Dick Cheney shot his hunting partner Harry Whittington on a Texas ranch.Jody
You Can Smoke, But.. (1987) w/ Sarah Milov
**It's the Radiotopia fundraiser! We can only make this show with your support. Give now and help support This Day and all the independent shows at Radiotopia. Thank you! https://www.radiotopia.fm/donate**//Today we're bringing you a favorite episode from the archives!It’s February 6th. This day in 1987, federal regulations go into effect limiting where federal workers can smoke cigarettes. Smoking rooms, smoking couches, and the little designated smoking areas on sidewalks spring up as a result
R.A.D.D. - Reagan Against Drunk Driving (1982)
**It's the Radiotopia fundraiser! We can only make this show with your support. Give now and help support This Day and all the independent shows at Radiotopia. Thank you! https://www.radiotopia.fm/donate**It's December 24th. This day in 1982, the Reagan administration is putting focus on the high rates of drunk driving on American roads, especially around the holidays.Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the push to combat drunk driving was a mix of grassroots efforts, government policy, social no
Ike Wages War On A Golf Course Tree (1956)
**It's the Radiotopia fundraiser! We can only make this show with your support. Give now and help support This Day and all the independent shows at Radiotopia. Thank you! https://www.radiotopia.fm/donate**It's December 21th. This day in 1956, President Eisenhower is on his annual retreat to Augusta National golf course in Georgia -- and he is waging a vendetta against a pine tree that keeps getting in the way of his shots.Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why Ike was so obsessed with this tree, how
Gold Rush! (1848)
**It's the Radiotopia fundraiser! We can only make this show with your support. Give now and help support This Day and all the independent shows at Radiotopia. Thank you! https://www.radiotopia.fm/donate**It's December 18th. This day (or thereabouts) President Polk gave a speech in which he confirmed reports that gold had been found in the hills of California.Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how 1848 was a year of gold rush fever, and how Polk's speech added a major political and economic element
Mail Delivery For Everyone (1896)
**It's the Radiotopia fundraiser! We can only make this show with your support. Give now and help support This Day and all the independent shows at Radiotopia. Thank you! https://www.radiotopia.fm/donate**////[Today we're bringing you an episode from the archives]It’s September 29th. This day in 1896, a postal worker sets out to deliver the mail to ten rural towns in West Virginia. It’s the start of the Rural Free Delivery service.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the program changed the way Am
The Polio Vaccine Arrives! (1954) [Archive Episode]
**It's the Radiotopia fundraiser! We can only make this show with your support. Give now and help support This Day and all the independent shows at Radiotopia. Thank you! https://www.radiotopia.fm/donate**////[Today we're bringing you an episode from the archives]It’s February 23rd. This day in 1954, children in Pittsburgh began to receive vaccines as part of the first clinical trials for Dr Jonas Salk’s polio eradication efforts.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the arrival of the vaccine, the ini
Al Gore's Concession Speech (2000) w/ Leon Neyfakh
**It's the Radiotopia fundraiser! We can only make this show with your support. Give now and help support This Day and all the independent shows at Radiotopia. Thank you! https://www.radiotopia.fm/donate**It's December 12th. In 2000, the contested election between Bush and Gore finally comes to a close with a Supreme Court ruling -- and a concession speech.Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Leon Neyfakh to discuss Gore's speech, in which he deferred to both the court's ruling and the election
Clinton's National Conversation On Race (1997)
**It's the Radiotopia fundraiser! We can only make this show with your support. Give now and help support This Day and all the independent shows at Radiotopia. Thank you! https://www.radiotopia.fm/donate**It's December 9th. In 1997, Bill Clinton hosted a series of town hall conversations about America's race relations.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Clinton felt the town hall format was the best way to convene these events, and why the "national conversation on race" didn't lead to much actua
What "The Wizard Of Oz" Might Mean (1900-Present) w/ Ranjit Dighe
**It's the Radiotopia fundraiser! We can only make this show with your support. Give now and help support This Day and all the independent shows at Radiotopia. Thank you! https://www.radiotopia.fm/donate**Today, with the release of WICKED in movie theaters, we look at the many political interpretations of "The Wizard of Oz."Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Ranjit Dighe, chair of the Economics department at SUNY-Oswego, to discuss the theory that "The Wizard of Oz" is a parable about the 1893
Till, Memory, History and Place w/ Wright Thompson
**It's the Radiotopia fundraiser! We can only make this show with your support. Give now and help support This Day and all the independent shows at Radiotopia. Thank you! https://www.radiotopia.fm/donate**Jody, Niki, and Kellie continue their conversation with Wright Thompson, author of "The Barn," about how the story of Emmett Till's death stretches back for centuries, and how we can try to reconcile memory and history in modern America.Wright's new book is available now wherever you get your b
What Really Killed Emmett Till (1955) w/ Wright Thompson
**It's the Radiotopia fundraiser! We can only make this show with your support. Give now and help support This Day and all the independent shows at Radiotopia. Thank you! https://www.radiotopia.fm/donate**It's December 3rd. This day in 1955, the Civil Rights movement is gaining attention across the South and the country, due in part to the protest by Rosa Parks, and the death of 14-year-old Emmett Till earlier that summer. Both acts are often portrayed as singular moments of protest and tragedy,
Franksgiving: When FDR Moved Thanksgiving w/ Adam Conover [Archive Episode]
**It's the Radiotopia fundraiser! We can only make this show with your support. Give now and help support This Day and all the independent shows at Radiotopia. Thank you! https://www.radiotopia.fm/donate**///It’s November 26th. On this day in 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had declared that Thanksgiving would take place a week earlier than usual. Americans were not happy.Jody and Niki are joined by Adam Conover of “Adam Ruins Everything” and the podcast Factually to discuss why FDR tr
The Red Delicious Apple Crisis (2000)
**It's the Radiotopia fundraiser! We can only make this show with your support. Give now and help support This Day and all the independent shows at Radiotopia. Thank you! https://www.radiotopia.fm/donate**It's November 26th. This day, in 2000, the US Congress passed an agriculture subsidy bill that included a substantial financial bailout for apple growers in Washington State.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why growers were in so much trouble -- mostly because they'd foisted the substandard "Red
A Treaty Divvies Up The Colorado River (1922) w/ Charly Edsitty
**It's the Radiotopia fundraiser! We can only make this show with your support. Give now and help support This Day and all the independent shows at Radiotopia. Thank you! https://www.radiotopia.fm/donate**It's November 24th. This day in 1922, seven Western States enter into the Colorado River Compact, which splits up access to the water supply from the major river -- but cuts out access to indigenous tribes.Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by reporter Charly Edsitty to discuss how the compact c
The National Women's Conference, and the Schlafly Backlash (1977)
**It's the Radiotopia fundraiser! We can only make this show with your support. Give now and help support This Day and all the independent shows at Radiotopia. Thank you! https://www.radiotopia.fm/donate**It's November 21st. This day in 1977, the National Women's Conference in Houston is coming to a close after a joyous but tense event. It would be the first and last conference of its kind.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the conference came together, how it tried to bring together the many di
Fluoride To The Rescue (1945) [Archive Episode]
**It's the Radiotopia fundraiser! We can only make this show with your support. Give now and help support This Day and all the independent shows at Radiotopia. Thank you! https://www.radiotopia.fm/donate**As Trump floats RFK Jr -- a fluoride skeptic -- as a possible name to lead the Heath and Human Services department, we thought we'd bring you an episode from the archives about when fluoride first came to the United States.///It’s January 24th. On this day in 1945, the town of Grand Rapids, Mic
Memory Palace Week: The Art Of Storytelling w/ Nate DiMeo
**It's the Radiotopia fundraiser! We can only make this show with your support. Give now and help support This Day and all the independent shows at Radiotopia. Thank you! https://www.radiotopia.fm/donate**All this week, we're joined by Nate DiMeo of The Memory Palace to talk about his new book, his long-running podcast, and the art of history storytelling.Be sure to get your copy of Nate's new book "The Memory Palace" now! Sign up for our newsletter! Get your hands on This Day merch!Find out mor
Memory Palace Week: How A Rock Became Plymouth Rock (1741)
**It's the Radiotopia fundraiser! We can only make this show with your support. Give now and help support This Day and all the independent shows at Radiotopia. Thank you! https://www.radiotopia.fm/donate**All this week, we're joined by Nate DiMeo of The Memory Palace to talk about his new book, his long-running podcast, and the art of history storytelling.Today: Jody, Niki, Kellie and Nate discuss how the legend of Plymouth Rock got worked into US history, more than a century after the actual pi
Memory Palace Week: Hercules Posey and George Washington (1797) w/ Nate DiMeo
**It's the Radiotopia fundraiser! We can only make this show with your support. Give now and help support This Day and all the independent shows at Radiotopia. Thank you! https://www.radiotopia.fm/donate**All this week, we're joined by Nate DiMeo of The Memory Palace to talk about his new book, his long-running podcast, and the art of history storytelling.Today: Jody, Niki, Kellie and Nate discuss the story of Hercules Posey, a man enslaved by George Washington, how it complicates Washington's l
The USSR Almost Builds The Internet (1970) w/ Kevin Roose
It's November 9th. This day in 1970, a Soviet computer scientist named Victor Glushkov pitched to his bosses for a series of decentralized computer networks that would share information with one another. In other words: an early internet.Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Kevin Roose of the New York Times to discuss Glushkov's ambitious idea, why it ultimately clashed with Soviet-style innovation, and how it may have spurred the US to advance its efforts to develop the first computer networks.
2024 Election: Donald Trump Wins, Joins Grover Cleveland
One final episode about the 2024 election, as we gather to discuss Donald Trump's decisive victory on Tuesday night, how to place it in historical context, and what comes next.And these will all be video episodes! So if you'd like to watch the conversation, visit our YouTube page.www.youtube.com/@ThisDayPodSign up for our newsletter! Get your hands on This Day merch!Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps f
Why Do We Vote On A Tuesday Anyway? (1845-Present)
Happy Election Day! Today we're bringing you an episode from earlier this year about how we ended up with Tuesday as our voting day to begin with.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why that day was designated, and the many pitfalls that now exist around the fact that Election Day is only one day, and on a Tuesday.Sign up for our newsletter! Get your hands on This Day merch!Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support help
2024 Election Sunday: Final Days, Polling, Lawn Sings, Balance
On Sundays between now and the election, we're going to dip into the 2024 race to talk about the latest events -- plus offer some historical perspective.And these will all be video episodes! So if you'd like to watch the conversation, visit our YouTube page.www.youtube.com/@ThisDayPodToday, Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the final days of the campaign, how to process polling, and Kellie tells the tale of her missing lawn signs.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopi
SNL's Political Impact (1974-Present)
It's October 31st. Happy Halloween! In October 1974, Saturday Night Live premiered and, from the jump, included political satire.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the way that SNL's spoofs have changed, whether their skits have had a political impact -- and why it can be a struggle to do spoofs in the Trump era.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.If you want to support
The Harrison-Cleveland Rematch Takes A Pause (1892)
It's October 29rd. This day in 1892, Benjamin Harrison and Grover Cleveland are locked in a presidential election rematch, but not out on the campaign trail in the final days of the election.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the campaigns both took a pause after Harrison's wife died -- and ask whether we need to do all this campaigning anyway.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-win
Hamilton's Diss Letter To Adams (1800) w/ Lindsay Chervinsky
It's October 23rd. This day in 1800, Alexander Hamilton penned a letter titled "The Public Conduct and Character of John Adams."Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Lindsay Chervinsky to talk about why Hamilton wrote the scathing letter, and how it played into the politics of the time, just weeks before that year's election.Lindsay's new book is "Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic"This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia fr
Reagan's Age and "Youth and Inexperience" Quip (1984)
It's October 22nd. This day in 1984, Ronald Reagan served up one of the most memorable lines in political history when he said that he would not "exploit, for political purposes, my opponents youth and inexperience."Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why the line was so effective, and how deep the concerns over Reagan's mental fitness really were in the 1984 election.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned po
2024 Election Sunday: Trump Is Addled, The New Dark Money
On Sundays between now and the election, we're going to dip into the 2024 race to talk about the latest events -- plus offer some historical perspective.And these will all be video episodes! So if you'd like to watch the conversation, visit our YouTube page.www.youtube.com/@ThisDayPodToday, Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the increasingly addled nature of Trump's rallies; how Howard U is treating the Kamala run; and a very unfortunate reference to Arnold Palmer's penis size.Then they're joined by
A Brief History Of Election TV Ads (Part 2)
We continue our look at the history of television ads in American elections. This episode, how ads got so negative, and who watches TV ads anymore anyway?This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.If you want to support the show directly, you can do so on our website: ThisDayPod.comYou can also find our newsletter, merch store, transcripts, and lot more on our site.Get in t
A Brief History Of Election TV Ads (Part 1)
As we wrap up our very informal "media ecosystem week" we take a look at the history of television ads in American elections. This episode, how Madison Avenue execs crafted the first ads for Eisenhower, and how the Johnson "Daisy" ad changed the game in 1964.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.If you want to support the show directly, you can do so on our website: Th
2024 Election Sunday: Obama Scolds, A Podcast Election?
On Sundays between now and the election, we're going to dip into the 2024 race to talk about the latest events -- plus offer some historical perspective.And these will all be video episodes! So if you'd like to watch the conversation, visit our YouTube page.www.youtube.com/@ThisDayPodToday, Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the coin-flip nature of the race, Barack Obama's scolding message to Black men, and more.Then they're joined by Nayeema Raza, co-host of Semafor's Mixed Signals podcast.This Day
FOX News's First Broadcast (1996) w/ Josh Levin
We're kicking off a series of episodes about the media environment during the election season. Today, a look at the birth of FOX News Channel.Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Slate's Josh Levin to talk about the launch of FOX News in October 1996. They discuss how the tensions between journalism and partisanship were present in the channel from the very beginning -- but got supercharged with the 2000 election and the post-9/11 Bush presidency.Josh's new season of Slow Burn is called "The Ris
McCain Suspends Campaign To Deal With Financial Crisis (2008)
It's October 8th. This week in 2008, John McCain announced that he was suspending his campaign in order to focus on dealing with the fallout of the financial crisis.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why McCain felt it was necessary to stop running for president -- and how the move ultimately backfired on him.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.If you want to support the
2024 Election Sunday: Cross-Party Endorsements, A Race In Stasis
On Sundays between now and the election, we're going to dip into the 2024 race to talk about the latest events -- plus offer some historical perspective.And these will all be video episodes! So if you'd like to watch the conversation, visit our YouTube page.www.youtube.com/@ThisDayPodToday, Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss Liz Cheney's endorsement of Kamala Harris, whether notable endorsements change the election, and why this race feels like it's in a bit of a state of stasis.This Day In Esoteric
October Surprise! LIVE w/ Josh Gondelman (Part 2)
It's the October before a presidential election, which means that some final twists and turns are surely on the way.Jody, NIki, and Kellie were recently joined by comedian Josh Gondelman at This Day's first ever live show, at WBUR's CitySpace in Boston. They talked about the history of October Surprises, from gaffes to unforseen world events, to pure shenanigans.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned pod
October Surprise! LIVE w/ Josh Gondelman (Part 1)
It's the October before a presidential election, which means that some final twists and turns are surely on the way.Jody, NIki, and Kellie were recently joined by comedian Josh Gondelman at This Day's first ever live show, at WBUR's CitySpace in Boston. They talked about the history of October Surprises, from gaffes to unforseen world events, to pure shenanigans.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned pod
George HW Bush's Pro-Cop Stunt (1988)
It's September 26th. This day in 1988 George HW Bush holds a rally in Boston featuring police officers who were supporting his campaign -- a stunt meant to rattle his opponent Michael Dukakis, the Governor of Massachusetts.Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the back-and-forth police press conferences that ensued, and the larger question of why Republicans have tended to own the "tough on crime" and pro-police mantle.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your
Chet Arthur Steps Up (1881)
It's September 24th. This day in 1881 (actually, September 22nd) Vice President Chester Arthur assumes office after James Garfield dies from an assassination. Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how Arthur was really no one's first choice, but nevertheless rose to meet the moment and gravity of the situation.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.If you want to support the s
Washington's Farewell (Non) Address (1796)
It's September 22nd. This day in 1796, a letter from George Washington appeared in the Philadelphia Daily American Advertiser announcing that he would not be seeking a third term for president.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the significance of Washington's announcement, how it's often mis-remembered as an actual address -- and why it mattered that he went straight to the people to proclaim his intentions.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support
The New York City Pig Wars (1859)
It's September 19th. This day in 1859, New York City declared victory in the war on pigs.Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why there were so many pigs on the island of Manhattan, and how the city's expansion created an enormous amount of tension around race, class, health and gentrification.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.If you want to support the show directly, yo
Packwood Sent Packing (1995)
It's September 17th. This day in 1995, Oregon Senator Bob Packwood resigns before he can be expelled for decades of sexual misconduct.Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss Packwood's long record of abuse, which he chronicled in detail in his own diaries -- and why it took so long to finally hold him accountable.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.If you want to support the
Georgia's Three Governors Problem (1947)
This day, in 1947, Georgia holds a special election that finally - finally - brings an end to a period in which the state had three people claiming the governor's office.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how Georgia ended up in this constitutional crisis, and the many shenanigans that ensued within the halls of the capitol.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.If you want
Witches (1693) w/ Josh Gondelman [[Archive Episode]]
Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now! It features comedian Josh Gondelman -- so today we're rerunning and episode with Josh from 2020.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.If you want to support the show directly, you can do so on our website: ThisDayPod.comGet in touch if you have any ideas for future topics
The "Bra Burner" Myth Is Born (1969) w/ Cristen Conger
Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now!It's September 8th. This day in 1969, a group called "New York Radical Women" holds a protest at the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In the wake of the protest, a very persistent story emerged, despite no evidence to support it: that women burned their bras in protest.Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Cristen Conger of "Unladylike" to talk about the protest, how the bra burning
Frederick Douglass's Two-Day Escape North (1838)
Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now!It's September 5th. This day in 1838, Frederick Douglass makes a two-day escape from Maryland to New York City.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how perilous Douglass's trip was, and how he was able to navigate the route from Baltimore to Delaware to Pennsylvania and finally New York.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, a
Roosevelt's "Big Stick" (1901)
Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now!It's September 3rd. This day in 1901, Vice President Teddy Roosevelt gives remarks in which he refers to his notion that one should "speak softly and carry a big stick."Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss where Roosevelt got that phrase, and how it came to really embody American-style imperialism in the first decades of the 20th century. They also touch on other famous presidential quotes.This Day In Eso
The HIV-Positive Ray Brothers House Is Burned Down (1987) w/ Eric Marcus
Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now!It's August 29th. This day in 1987, an arson burns down the house of the Ray brothers, three HIV-positive children who had contracted the virus through blood transfusions.Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Eric Marcus of "Making Gay History" project to discuss why there was so much fear and ignorance around AIDS in that era -- and how even children became targets of abuse.Be sure to check out "Mak
Strom Thurmond's Epic Filibuster -- And Bladder Control (1957)
Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now!It's August 27th. This day (technically the 28th) in 1957, Senator Strom Thurmond embarks on what would be the longest filibuster in Senate history, arguing against civil rights legislation that would expand the vote for Black americans.Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why Thurmond decided to take his stand, how he filled the 24 hours and 18 minutes of talking, and answer the all-important question of
A Global Anti-War (Or Is It Pro-Peace?) Pact (1928)
Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now!It's August 25th. This day in 1928, representatives from the major world powers sign on to a treaty that states that promised to not use war to "resolve disputes or conflicts of whatever nature... or of whatever origin."Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the Kellogg-Briand treaty, why there was such a thirst to outlaw war in the wake of WWI, and why the treaty ultimately failed. Plus: Why do we not hear
Conventions Week: Hamer vs. Johnson (1964) [Archive Episode]
**Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now!**Welcome to Conventions Week! From time to time this election year, we're going to do some special series that highlight the rhythm of an election cycle. This week, as the Democrats are meeting in Chicago, we are looking at conventions, which are very strange affairs! Today, an episode from the archives about a legendary DNC moment.///It’s August 23rd. On this day in 1964, Mississippi activist Fa
Conventions Week: Seven Weird Conventions Moments (Part Two)
**Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now!**Welcome to Conventions Week! From time to time this election year, we're going to do some special series that highlight the rhythm of an election cycle. This week, as the Democrats are meeting in Chicago, we are looking at conventions, which are very strange affairs!Want to watch the video version of this episode? Visit our new YouTube channel at youtube.com/@ThisDayPodTo mark conventions week,
Conventions Week: Seven Weird Conventions Moments (Part One)
**Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now!**Welcome to Conventions Week! From time to time this election year, we're going to do some special series that highlight the rhythm of an election cycle. This week, as the Democrats are meeting in Chicago, we are looking at conventions, which are very strange affairs!Want to watch the video version of this episode? Visit our new YouTube channel at youtube.com/@ThisDayPodTo mark conventions week,
Trump's "Very Fine People" Comments (2017)
Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now!It's August 15th. This day in 2017, President Donald Trump gave a press conference in which he offered remarks about the violence that took place in Charlottesville, VA a couple days before.Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the roots of the white supremacist rallies and violence in Charlottesville, as well as Trump's comments that there were "very fine people on both sides." Those comments have since b
Thoreau Spends One Night In Jail (1846)
Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now!It's August 13th. This day in 1846, Henry David Thoreau is thrown in jail -- for one night -- for refusing to pay his back taxes.Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why Thoreau objected to the poll tax, and how his political stances intersected with the more personal work that emerged from his two years living on Walden Pond.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.
What The Watts Riots Meant (1965)
Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now!It's August 11th. This day in 1965, six days of civil unrest erupts in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts.Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why the violence was sparked -- and how the reaction to it prefigured much of the conversation that would dominate the rest of the decade around protest, deprivation, backlash, and more.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from
George HW Bush Compares Sadaam To Hitler (1990)
Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now!It's August 8th. This day in 1990, George HW Bush addressed the country about Iraq's recent invasion of Kuwait. In it, Bush evoked WWII and made a comparison between Sadaam Hussein and Adolph Hitler.Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why Bush framed the conflict that way and how it shifted a new era for global politics. Plus, Jody shares his personal family connection to this moment.This Day In Esoteric
The Shirtless George Washington Statue Is Unveiled (1841)
Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now!It's August 5th. This day in 1841, a new statue is unveiled in the Capitol rotunda, to commemorate the 100th birthday of George Washington. One notable element: he's shirtless.Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why the statue of Washington arrived bare-chested and, let's be honest, kinda ripped.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster inde
Some 2024 Veepstakes Thoughts (Plus A Special Announcement)
Here in 2024, there is a lot of speculation about who Kamala Harris will select as her running mate. And the Veepstakes almost feel kind of...normal? So, today, Jody shares some thoughts about the nature of the VP pick, and we re-run our episode from "Veepstakes Week" about notable picks throughout history.Also -- we just announced our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now!For other episodes in the Veepstakes series, check out our conversation abou
Jim Traficant Heads To Jail, Toupee And All (2002)
It's August 1st. This day in 2002, Congressman James Traficant of Ohio has been expelled from Congress for bribery and corruption, only the second member ever kicked out of the institution.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss Traficant's bombastic reputation, corrupt dealings -- and how his shifting politics represented the way political fault lines were moving in places like Youngstown, Ohio.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster inde
The Mother Of Miami (1896)
It's July 28th. This day in 1896, residents vote to incorporate the city of Miami, Florida.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the birth of Miami was in large part due to a woman named Julia Tuttle and the arrival of the railroad to the Florida "frontier."This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.If you want to support the show directly, you can do so on our website: ThisDa
Jesse Owens v Hitler, Behind The Scenes (1936)
It's July 27th. Today we mark the start of the Olympics by looking at one of the most famous -- and perhaps apocryphal -- moments in Olympics history, when American Jesse Owens won four gold medals in front of Adolf Hitler.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the legend is a little more complicated than we may know, from the controversy over whether to boycott the games to Owens's remarks about his treatment on U.S. soil.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from P
A Record Election-Year Heat Wave (1936)
It's the middle of July. In 1936, much of the country -- especially the Midwest -- is experiencing record heat.Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why the heat was so deadly, how it created economic and social ripple effects, and why FDR was able to rally the country to talk about government solutions to some of the problems the heat exacerbated.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winnin
"Pretendians" And The Politics Of Native Identity (1934) w/ Angel Ellis and Robert Jago
It's July 22nd. This day in 1934, FDR has signed the "Indian Reorganization Act," which provided economic relief to many tribes, but also came with provisions to reorganize the way in which Native Americans self-governed, and self-identified. This opened up a vacuum for fundamental questions of identity and community which reverberate today.Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Angel Ellis and Robert Jago, the hosts of a new series called "Pretendians," which looks at the history of non-native pe
The Thiokol Weapons Plant Explosion (1971) w/ Patrick Longstreth
In 1971, a massive explosion at the Thiokol plant in Woodbine, Georgia shook the small town and killed 29 workers, injuring dozens of others.Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by director Patrick Longstreth to talk about how the plant provided good jobs for the rural community, but lax safety standards ultimately led to one of the worst industrial disasters in U.S. history.Patrick's new short film is called "The Day That Shook Georgia," you can watch it online now!This Day In Esoteric Political H
Reagan says "MAGA" (1980)
It's July 18th. This day in 1980, Ronald Reagan accepted the Republican nomination for president. His speech included the phrase "let's make American great again."Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the long history of that phrase, why it is so appealing, the power of nostalgia in American politics -- and of course how Trump made MAGA into a movement.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-w
'A Harvest Of Death' And The Power Of Photography (1863) w/ Robert Sullivan
It's July 15th. This day in 1863, photographer Timothy O'Sullivan has taken a photo of dead soldiers at Gettysburg called "A Harvest of Death." It would become one of the most famous photos in American history -- and O'Sullivan would soon be contracted to travel west and photograph the American frontier.Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by writer Robert Sullivan to talk about "A Harvest Of Death" and why Sullivan is so drawn to the work of Timoth O'Sullivan.Robert Sullivan's new book is availabl
The Real Free State of Jones (1863) [Archive Favorite]
[[It's the heart of the summer, which means that our crew is taking some breaks here and there. In the meantime, we'll bring you some favorite episodes from the vaults -- and we'll be back with new episodes very soon!]]It’s October 12th. This day in 1863, fighting is breaking out in Jones County, Mississippi, as a group of southern farmers starts to rebel against the Confederacy.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why this group felt compelled to rebel, what their fight was really about — and what th
A Bombing At LaGuardia Airport (1975) [Archive Favorite]
[[It's the heart of the summer, which means that our crew is taking some breaks here and there. In the meantime, we'll bring you some favorite episodes from the vaults -- and we'll be back with new episodes very soon!]]It’s December 29th. This day in 1975, a bomb, planted in a luggage locker, exploded at NYC’s LaGuardia Airport, killing 11 and injuring 74. If it had gone off just minutes earlier, it would have killed hundreds more.Jody and Niki discuss who was responsible for the bombing, the pr
The Big Dig's Big Start w/ Ian Coss [Archive Favorite]
[[It's the heart of the summer, which means that our crew is taking some breaks here and there. In the meantime, we'll bring you some favorite episodes from the vaults -- and we'll be back with new episodes very soon!]]It’s September 26th. This day in 1983, Massachusetts Senator Michael Dukakis held a press conference to announce an enormous and ambitious infrastructure project to take a roadway that cut through the center of Boston and move it underground.Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by re
The Statues That Represent The United States (1864)
It's July 2nd. This day in 1864, President Lincoln signed a law declaring the chamber previously used as the House of Representatives to be a statuary hall, featuring two statues submitted by each state.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the kinds of statues that got submitted, what kind of story of American history it told, and how that has started to shift in recent years.Want to test your knowledge of who is in the statuary hall? Check out the quiz put together by researcher Jacob Feldman! It's i
Reagan Re-Ups The Voting Rights Act (1982)
It's June 30th. This day in 1982, Ronald Reagan signed a bill re-authorizing the Voting Rights Act, among a lot of pressure to pass the civil rights legislation -- but also a growing legal strategy to undermine the enforcement of the provisions.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Reagan ultimately supported the act, and how legal advisors - including future Supreme Court Justice John Roberts - planted the seeds for taking the teeth out of the act.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud
The Weird History Of U.S. Debates (Part 2)
Ahead of this week's very weird debate, we take a look at the weird history of how political debates have been structured in the U.S. -- from format, to audience, to the role of the moderators.If you want to watch this episode, the full video is up on our YouTube page!Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.If you want to support the show d
The Weird History Of U.S. Debates (Part 1)
Ahead of this week's very weird debate, we take a look at the weird history of how political debates have been structured in the U.S. -- from format, to audience, to the role of the moderators.If you want to watch this episode, the full video is up on our YouTube page!Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.If you want to support the show d
Third Parties Week: Ross Perot Crashes The Debate (1992)
Welcome to Third Party Week! From time to time this election year, we're going to do some special series that highlight the rhythm of an election cycle. This week, we are looking at third parties: who runs for a third party bid, who votes for a third party, and how much do third party candidates really matter?Today, we bring you an episode we did in the fall of 2021 about Ross Perot. His presence looms large over the story of the 1992 election, but he'd actually dropped out for much of that race
Third Parties Week: John Anderson's Middle Path (1980)
Welcome to Third Party Week! From time to time this election year, we're going to do some special series that highlight the rhythm of an election cycle. This week, we are looking at third parties: who runs for a third party bid, who votes for a third party, and how much do third party candidates really matter?Today: The 1980 election is remembered for Jimmy Carter's "malaise" and the fresh face of Ronald Reagan reviving the Republican party. But there was a third party candidate, John Anderson,
Third Parties Week: Ralph Nader, Spoiler? (2000)
Welcome to Third Party Week! From time to time this election year, we're going to do some special series that highlight the rhythm of an election cycle. This week, we are looking at third parties: who runs for a third party bid, who votes for a third party, and how much do third party candidates really matter?Today: Ralph Nader's 2000 run as a Green Party candidate is largely remembered for the question of whether he drew votes away from Al Gore and "spoiled" the election. This episode, we look
Third Party Week: Who Goes Third Party? w/ Dave Weigel
Welcome to Third Party Week! From time to time this election year, we're going to do some special series that highlight the rhythm of an election cycle. This week, we are looking at third parties: who runs for a third party bid, who votes for a third party, and how much do third party candidates really matter?Today: Semafor's Dave Weigel joins us to break down the basics of third party bids, from the candidates who are running to shape policy, to those who are running to boost their ego. Later t
Lift Every Voice And Sing (1900) [Juneteenth Archive Episode]
Today we're reprising an episode we did for Juneteenth last year, as we get ready for this year's holiday!It’s June 18th. Today, for Juneteenth, we look at the history of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” aka the Black National Anthem.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the song’s history and the various ways in which it’s been presented as a song of resistance, militancy, and empowerment through the decades.If you want to hear our Juneteenth history episode, find it here! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/po
Coretta Scott Weds Martin Luther King (1953)
It's June 11th. This day (actually June 18th) in 1953, Coretta Scott married Martin Luther King, Jr. on the front lawn of her childhood home in Alabama.Jody, Niki, and Kellie talk about how Scott and King started their relationship, the compromises -- personal and political -- that Scott had to make in their marriage, and how history has begun to reassess her legacy.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned
The Sad Saga of the Late Lester Hunt (1953)
It's June 9th. This day in 1953, police in Washington, DC have arrested Lester "Buddy" Hunt, Jr on charges of soliciting sex from a male undercover officer.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how Hunt's arrest led to a tragic and twisted series of events involving his father, a prominent senator, and the parts of the government going after homosexuality during the so-called "lavender scare."This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster indep
We Refuse Week: Joy In Refusal, From Black Panther to The Boat Brawl
Our very own Kellie Carter Jackson has a brand new book! You can get "We Refuse" now wherever you get your books, and all this week we'll be looking at some of the most interesting stories she covers in the work.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.If you want to support the show directly, you can do so on our website: ThisDayPod.comGet in touch if you have any ideas
We Refuse Week: Carrie Johnson Kills A Police Officer
Our very own Kellie Carter Jackson has a brand new book! You can get "We Refuse" now wherever you get your books, and all this week we'll be looking at some of the most interesting stories she covers in the work.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.If you want to support the show directly, you can do so on our website: ThisDayPod.comGet in touch if you have any ideas
We Refuse Week: Kellie's Family History of Resistance
Our very own Kellie Carter Jackson has a brand new book! You can get "We Refuse" now wherever you get your books, and all this week we'll be looking at some of the most interesting stories she covers in the work.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.If you want to support the show directly, you can do so on our website: ThisDayPod.comGet in touch if you have any ideas
How Many Presidents? (1787) w/ A.J. Jacobs
It's May 7th. This day in 1787, the writers of the constitution are debating a central question -- how many presidents should the United States have?Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by author A.J. Jacobs, whose new book "The Year of Living Constitutionally" dives into the weird world of our founding document. They discuss why the founders were concerned with the imperial presidency, and how the system we have was finally agreed on.AJ's new book is out now! And be sure to check out The Puzzler t
The Incident That Led Ida B. Wells To Flee Memphis (1892)
It's May 28th. This day in 1892, the newspaper offices of Ida B. Wells are ransacked by a white mob in Memphis, TN.Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the incident that led up to the attack on Wells's office, why her journalism on lynching in the South was such a threat to white supremacy, and why she ultimately decided to leave Memphis and eventually land in Chicago.Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll be sending out links to all the stuff we recommended later this week.Find out more at thisdaypod.comT
War Stories: A Confederate Day of Fasting and Prayer (1863)
In the runup to Memorial Day, we're bringing you some stories from the archives about war and the cost of war. We'll be back with new episodes next week!It’s March 27th. This day in 1863, Jefferson Davis declared a “day of fasting and prayer” to support the Confederate cause in the Civil War.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the role of days like this — the fasting was as much about food shortages as anything — and how religion and the cause of the war mixed for both north and south.Sign up for our
War Stories: The Port Chicago Mutiny (1944)
In the runup to Memorial Day, we're bringing you some stories from the archives about war and the cost of war. We'll be back with new episodes next week!It’s August 25th. In 1944, a group of sailors at Port Chicago in California are facing mutiny charges, after refusing to work under dangerous conditions. Just under a month earlier, there had been a massive explosion at the same location, killing hundreds.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the sailors refused to work, the impact of the Port Chic
War Stories: Camp Casey (2005)
In the runup to Memorial Day, we're bringing you some stories from the archives about war and the cost of war. We'll be back with new episodes next week!It’s September 2nd. This day in 2005, Cindy Sheehan embarks on a tour around the country to protest the Iraq War, where her son Casey had died the prior year.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss Sheehan’s protests, the “Camp Casey” encampment she established outside of George W. Bush’s Texas ranch, and how public opinion around a number of issues was
War Stories: The Vietnam Draft Lottery Gets Exposed (1970)
In the runup to Memorial Day, we're bringing you some stories from the archives about war and the cost of war. We'll be back with new episodes next week!It’s January 7th. In 1970, the New York Times published an article with the headline “Statisticians Charge Draft Lottery Was Not Random.”Jody and Niki are joined by data reporter Walt Hickey to talk about how statistical analysis exposed that people born in December were more likely to be selected for the Vietnam War draft than those born in Jan
The "Louie Louie" Freakout (1964)
It's May 16th. This day in 1964, the FBI drops its years-long investigation into the pop song "Louie Louie."Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why there was a moral and political panic over the song and its indecipherable lyrics -- and look into what the song is actually about.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.If you want to support the show directly, you can do so on
Nixon Attacked In Caracas (1958)
It's May 14th. This day in 1958, Vice President Richard Nixon is on a goodwill tour of South America when his motorcade is attacked by a violent mob in Venezuela.Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the incident reflected the larger tensions between the United States and the region -- and how the U.S. saw Latin America as a key pawn in the growing Cold War showdown with Communism.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster inde
The Jefferson Davis Trial That Wasn't (1867)
It's May 12th. This day in 1867, Jefferson Davis, the former President of the Confederacy, left a courthouse in Richmond after waiting in jail on treason charges for two years. His trial would never take place.Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why Davis was brought up on charges in the first place, and the way in which his trial got delayed and eventually cancelled mirrored the overall progress of Reconstruction throughout the South.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member
What Do We Call The President? w/ A.J. Jacobs
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by author A.J. Jacobs, whose new book "The Year of Living Constitutionally" dives into the weird world of our founding document. They discuss the debate over what to call the new leader of the executive branch, and what that signaled about the direction of the new country.A.J.'s new book is out now! And be sure to check out The Puzzler too!The book A.J. mentioned is called "For Fear Of An Elective King"This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of
The Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)
It's May7th. This day in 1882, Congress passes the Chinese Exclusion Act, aimed at curbing Chinese immigration as fears about Asian immigrants threatening White American jobs is on the rise.Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the American economy relied on Chinese labor at the same time that policy sought to exclude Chinese immigrants -- and how the decades after the Civil War applied new pressures on race-based legislation around the country.This Day In Esoteric Political History is a p
A Deep Dive Into The Cultural Cold War (1960) w/ Benjamen Walker
It's May 5th. This day in 1960, a British theater critic named Kenneth Tynan is hauled before a Senate sub-committee to answer questions about what is seen as his anti-American work.It's a moment that captures the cultural and political swirl of the late 50s, which is the subject of Benjamen Walker's new audio series "Not All Propaganda Is Art," out now as part of the Radiotopia show "Theory of Everything." Check it out!Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis Day In Esoteric Political Histo
Pepsi Trades Soda For Soviet Warships (1989)
It's May 2nd. This day in 1989, Pepsi cuts a trade deal with the USSR in which it receives 17 submarines, a cruiser, a frigate, and a destroyer.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why exactly Pepsi is amassing a small naval fleet, and how the company found a market behind the Iron Curtain going back decades.Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winni
The Columbia Protests (1968)
It's April 30th. This day in 1968, Columbia University asks the NYPD to intervene and break up campus protests. Sound familiar?Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss what the protests in '68 were about, how they married campus politics with national politics -- and why so many of the lessons of that year have still not been learned.Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned po
Veepstakes Week: JFK Picks LBJ (1960)
Welcome to Veepstakes Week! From time to time this election year, we're going to do some special series that highlight the rhythm of an election cycle. This week, we are looking at the process of speculating, vetting, and selecting a Vice Presidential pick.Today: How JFK ended up picking Lyndon Johnson as his VP nominee. Its was an incredibly fraught and personal process, which of course had massive implications after JFK's assasination.Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis Day In Esoteri
Veepstakes Week: The Legend Of The Sarah Palin Cruise Ship (2007)
Welcome to Veepstakes Week! From time to time this election year, we're going to do some special series that highlight the rhythm of an election cycle. This week, we are looking at the process of speculating, vetting, and selecting a Vice Presidential pick.Today: We go to Juneau, Alaska, in the spring of 2007 to discuss the conservative-magazine-sponsored cruise rides where Governor Sarah Palin wined-and-dined the Washington cognoscenti. A year later, she would be picked to be John McCa
Veepstakes Week: Does A VP Pick Matter?
Welcome to Veepstakes Week! From time to time this election year, we're going to do some special series that highlight the rhythm of an election cycle. This week, we are looking at the process of speculating, vetting, and selecting a Vice Presidential pick.Today: What are the main considerations that go into a VP pick? What does a good, and not so good, vetting process look like?Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PR
The Great San Francisco Earthquake (1906)
It's April 18th. This day in 1906, a massive earthquake devastates San Francisco.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the political impact of the quake -- from how it reshaped housing policy, shifted the demographics of the city, and provided a model for disaster response for years to come.Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.If you w
Walter Cronkite's America (1962)
It's April 16th. This day in 1962, Walter Cronkite takes over as the anchor of CBS's evening news program.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how Cronkite quickly became America's most trusted voice -- not just because he played it straight, but because he was willing to show some emotion. They also look at why there may never be a single voice as trusted as his again.Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support h
George W. Bush Meets With Gay Voters (2000) w/ Neil J. Young
It's April 14th. This day in 2000, GOP candidate for president George W. Bush meets with a group of "Log Cabin" Republicans to discuss how the GOP can better do outreach to gay conservatives.Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Neil J. Young to talk about the "Austin Twelve" meeting, the big tent approach of the early 2000s, and how gay conservatives have tried to find a political home over the decades.Neil's new book is "Coming Out Republican: A History Of The Gay Right" and you can al
Democrats Seize Power In South Carolina (1877)
It’s April 11th. This day in 1877, Democrat Wade Hampton finally becomes the sole Governor of South Carolina after months of in-fighting and maneuvering following the previous fall's election.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how former confederate Democrats were able to regain political power in the aftermath of the Civil War, through the ballot and through mob violence -- marking an end to reconstruction and undermining democracy in the south for decades to come.Find out more at thisdayp
Marian Anderson Sings On The Steps Of The Lincoln Memorial (1939)
It’s April 9th. This day in 1939, singer Marian Anderson performs for 75,000 people outdoors on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial -- after being denied the chance to perform in every indoor venue in Washington, DC.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the concert came together, what Anderson meant to the civil rights movement at the time, and the mix of racial and cultural politics of the era.Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radioto
Wisconsin Tries To Recall Scott Walker (2012)
It’s April 7th. This day in 2012, there is an effort underway to recall Republican Governor Scott Walker.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the recall effort gained momentum, why this race became a national cause, and why the effort ultimately failed.Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.If you want to support the show directly,
Why William Henry Harrison Really Died (1841)
It’s April 4th. This day in 1841, President William Henry Harrison died, just 30 days after his inauguration.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the myth about how Harrison died -- he gave a speech in awful weather - what we really know about his illness; and what kind of president he might have been.Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stor
The Richmond Bread Riots (1863)
It’s April 2nd. This day in 1863, a riot breaks out in the Confederate capitol of Richmond, due to deepening hunger and frustration among residents as the Civil War dragged on.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the war was so brutal for the residents of Richmond, and how the riots revealed the class dynamic within the city as the confederacy waged their war with the north.Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your
Truman Says He Won't Seek Re-Election (1952)
It’s March 31st. This day (actually March 29th) President Harry Truman announces that he won’t be seeking the Democratic re-nomination for the election that fall.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Truman was bowing out in this moment, what that meant for his party’s chances in the fall — and how the story does and doesn’t mirror some of the conversations today about Joe Biden’s candidacy.
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The Slaveowner Executed for Killing His Slave (1839)
It’s March 27th This day in 1839, a North Carolina man by the name of John Hoover is found guilty and sentenced to be executed for killing a woman he’d enslaved named Mira.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why it was so rare to see slave-owners held accountable in this way, and why the laws around killing enslaved people cut right to the illogic at the heart of slavery.
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DC Plants The Cherry Blossoms (1912)
It’s March 26th. This day in 1912, First Lady Helen Herron Taft planted two cherry trees in Washington, DC. The trees were a gift from Japan, and have become a staple of spring in the nation’s capital.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the arrival of the trees was the result of a long lobbying campaign, what the trees came to symbolize — and they go through some of the other gifts that countries have given us.
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Lincoln's Avenger And The Aftermath Of Assassination (1894) [[Archive Episode]]
Today we’re bringing you a favorite recent episode, in part because there’s a new series on Apple TV about the aftermath of the Lincoln Assassination. Enjoy!
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It’s August 30th. This day in 1894, a man by the name of Thomas H “Boston” Corbett is presumed dead in a fire in Minnesota. Boston Corbett led a troubled life, particularly over the previous thirty years, during which he was best known as the man who killed John Wilkes Booth — the man who killed Abraham Lincoln.
Jody, Niki,
Montana Enshrines a Right To Privacy (1972)
It’s March 21st. This day in 1972, a group of 100 regular citizens are meeting to re-write Montana’s constitution. Among other provisions, the new document enshrines a “right of privacy.”
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why this right worked its way into the new document — and why the constitutional convention should take place in more states more often.
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The First Government Shutdown Fight (1879)
It’s March 19th. This day in 1879, a small group of Southern Democrats is holding up budget appropriations bills in order to force a fight over federal troops in the South.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how, for the first time, a government shutdown became a proxy war for a bigger political battle — and how it mirrors the many shutdown battles we see today.
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The Shamrock Summit (1985)
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! It’s March 16th. This day in 1985, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney met for what came to be known as “The Shamrock Summit,” which started to repair frayed relations between the two countries.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why a shared Irish heritage became the focal point for the meeting, and how a little singing and drinking probably helped as well.
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FDR Says Bottoms Up (1933)
It’s March 14th. This day in 1933, just over a week after taking office, President Frankin Roosevelt announces that a top priority is legalizing 3.2% alcohol beer.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why FDR was so keen on legalizing beer sales, how it fit into his economic recovery program, and how Americans rejoiced at the return of their low-ABV suds.
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Kennedy's Latin American Marshall Plan (1964)
It’s March 12th. This day in 1961, President John F Kennedy is hosting a couple hundred Latin American diplomats to lay out his vision for the “Alliance for Progress,” an ambitious plan to support democracy and economic development throughout the region.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how this effort mirrored some of the elements of The Marshall Plan in Europe — and why US attempts to support Latin America generally fell short.
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Hoover Almost Takes Over Baseball (1951)
It’s March 10th. This day in 1951, the owners of Major League Baseball are looking for a new commissioner, and a surprising name appears on the list — FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why Hoover was a candidate, and what these two institutions — the FBI and MLB — meant in the post-war era.
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When "Primary" Became A Verb (2004)
It’s March 4th. This day in 2004, Pat Toomey is challenging Republican Senator Arlen Specter in the Pennsylvania senate race — trying to outflank him from the right in the state’s primary.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie look back at the moment where “to primary someone” became a political phenomenon, and talk to Nick Troiano of Unite America about why the primary system has been weaponized.
Nick’s new book is “The Primary Solution” — it’s out now!
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The Ask President Carter 1-900 Number (1977)
It’s March 5th. This day in 1977, President Jimmy Carter and CBS’s Walter Cronkite took phone calls, unfiltered, from Americans all over the country who had dialed into 1-900-242-9611.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss what happened during the Dial-A-President experiment, the logistics of how it all came together, and how it serves as a perfect snapshot of the era.
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Hangers On Week: Al Smith and Remakes The Democratic Party
Throughout this election year, we’re going to be doing a few special series tied to the notable stretches in an election cycle, from primaries to conventions and October surprises and more. This is “Hangers-On Week” our look at the point in the primary calendar where candidates are, for one reason or another, still hanging around.
For our final episode of Hangers On Week, Jody, Niki, and Kellie look at Al Smith, who ran for president in 1924 and 1928, at a time when the Democratic part
Hangers On Week: Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition
Throughout this election year, we’re going to be doing a few special series tied to the notable stretches in an election cycle, from primaries to conventions and October surprises and more. This is “Hangers-On Week” our look at the point in the primary calendar where candidates are, for one reason or another, still hanging around.
For the third episode of Hangers On Week, Jody, Niki, and Kellie look at Jesse Jackson, who ran in 1984 and 1988, evolving from civil rights activism to elec
Hangers On Week: Sowing The Seeds of Trump
Throughout this election year, we’re going to be doing a few special series tied to the notable stretches in an election cycle, from primaries to conventions and October surprises and more. This is “Hangers-On Week” our look at the point in the primary calendar where candidates are, for one reason or another, still hanging around.
For the second episode of Hangers On Week, Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report to talk about a few failed candidates
Hangers On Week: Why Candidates Stick Around w/ Amy Walter
Throughout this election year, we’re going to be doing a few special series tied to the notable stretches in an election cycle, from primaries to conventions and October surprises and more. This is “Hangers-On Week” our look at the point in the primary calendar where candidates are, for one reason or another, still hanging around.
For the first episode of Hangers-On Week, Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report to lay out the basic categories of the
Malcolm X Is Assassinated (1965)
It’s February 22nd. This day (February 21st, in fact) in 1965, Malcolm X is assassinated as he’s giving a speech at a Harlem ballroom.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why X felt as if his killing was almost an inevitability, why the details of that day remain murky — and how two of the accused were exonerated decades later.
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Dick Cheney Shoots His Friend In The Face (2006)
It’s February 20th. This day in 2006, the news — and the jokes — are swirling about the incident that took place earlier in the month, when Vice President Dick Cheney shot his hunting partner Harry Whittington on a Texas ranch.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why it took so long for the news of the incident to come out, why Whittington apologized to Cheney at a press conference — and why it took so long for this podcast to talk about this moment.
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NJ Law Calls For "Gradual Emancipation Of Slaves" (1804)
It’s February 18th. This day in 1804, the Northern state of New Jersey passed a law that included a call for a “gradual emancipation of slaves.”
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the laws around abolition and the reality on the ground often differed considerably — but how in cases like this, you also had the law codifying the slow transition away from slavery.
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The FDR Assassination Attempt (1933)
It’s February 15th. This day in 1933, in Miami, Giuseppe Zangara pulled out a pistol and, while yelling “too many people are starving!” fired at President-elect Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why Zangara was trying to kill FDR, the others who were hurt in the incident — and the true “what if” in American history had Zangara succeeded.
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Mandela Released From Prison (1990)
It’s February 13th. This day — actually, February 11th — in 1990, South African leader Nelson Mandela emerges from prison after 27 years.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how attempts to keep Mandela out of the limelight backfired during his imprisonment, and how he once again picked up the freedom cause.
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The First Execution By Gas Chamber (1924)
It’s February 11th. This day in 1924, the State of Nevada executed a man named Gee Jon, using the gas chamber for the first time as capital punishment.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the adoption of gas reflected the Progressive Era, and how the way we kill people often tells us a lot about the time we’re living in.
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Lockheed Caught Bribing The Japanese Government (1976)
It’s February 8th. This day in 1976, officials for defense and airline manufacturer Lockheed Martin admit to spending millions of dollars to bribe Japanese government officials.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the Lockheed bribes were exposed, and how they were part of a larger era of multinational corporate meddling and corruption — as companies began to get more and more entangled in U.S. foreign interests.
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FDR's Court-Packing Plan Backfires (1937)
It’s February 6th. This day in 1937, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt announces a plan to reforming the judiciary, most notably forcing older members of the Supreme Court to retire, and expand the number of justices.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why FDR felt that he had a mandate after the previous fall’s election, and why he felt that expanding the court was a key step to passing many of his reforms. Ultimately, the plan backfired and helped close the window for FDR’s reform effo
The Sketchy Deal That Makes Hayes President (1877)
It’s February 4th. This day in 1877, a hastily assembled commission is meeting to try and sort out the very messy aftermath of the previous fall’s election between Samuel Tilden and Rutherford B. Hayes. Hayes won the popular vote, but in the end, they would hand the election to Hayes after a bargain with southerners that effectively ended reconstruction.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the 1876 election was so close, how a few rogue states were able to hold the process hostage — and
Groundhog Day's Very Weird Origins (1877)
It’s February 1st. This day in 1877, the first Groundhog Day ceremony is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania — in which a small rodent’s shadow determines long-term meteorological forces.
Jody, Niki and Kellie discuss how this ceremony came to be, and some of the very weird elements, from elixirs of everlasting life to secret societies pulling the strings.
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A Brawl In Congress (1798) w/ Joanne Freeman
It’s January 30th. This day in 1798, representatives Roger Lyon and Matthew Griswold get into a fight on the house floor — with spitting, wrestling, and even a caning.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Yale history professor Joanne Freeman to talk about why Lyon and Griswold came to blows and what the incident says about the moments of extreme partisanship and violence in American politics.
Be sure to check out Joanne’s Friday morning series “History Matters and So Does Coffee.”
No Nukes In Space (1967)
It’s January 28th. This day in 1967, the U.S., U.K., and Russia sign a treaty that, among other things, says that outer space should be off-limits for the testing and deployment of weapons of mass destruction.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why there was a need for the Outer Space Treaty, and how — despite its important language about nuclear weapons — it left a lot of grey area and confusion about how different countries would take on space exploration.
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Why Do We Vote On Tuesday? (1845)
It’s January 25th. This day in 1845, Congress passed a law designating that Americans would henceforth vote on “the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November.”
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why that day was designated, and the many pitfalls that now exist around the fact that Election Day is only one day, and on a Tuesday.
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Ed Roberts, Father Of Independent Living (2010)
It’s January 23rd, happy Ed Roberts Day! This day in 2010, the State of California proclaimed this day to commemorate the life and work of the pioneering disability rights activist.
Niki, Jody, and Kellie discuss how Roberts got his start in activism when he was denied entry to the University of California in the early 60s, and how his worked continued all the way through the passage of the ADA and beyond.
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Marion Barry Caught Smoking Crack (1990)
This day, January 19th, 1990, at the end of a joint sting operation by FBI agents and District of Columbia Police, DC Mayor Marion Barry is arrested and charged with drug possession for the use of crack cocaine.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the video of the incident went viral, led to an onslaught of scandal and punchlines about Barry — but never fully eroded DC resident’s support for their beloved mayor.
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The Pentagon, The Building (1943)
It’s January 17th. This day in 1943, the U.S. military has a shiny - and massive - new home.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the design of the building came into place, and how construction went into overdrive with U.S. involvement in World War II.
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America's Biggest Slave Rebellion (1811)
It’s January 16th. This day in 1811, the aftermath of what came to be known as the “German Coast” uprising in the Orleans territory.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how Charles Deslondes led a slave revolt that became the biggest in US history, and how it was inspired by the Hatian revolution, French ideas of freedom, and more.
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America Drags Its Feet on MLK Day (1986)
It’s January 14th. This day in 1986, Ronald Reagan issued a proclamation that January 15th would be a federal holiday recognizing the contributions of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why it took 20 years since King’s assassination for there to be a federal holiday, and how there was active resistance and subversion among many states even after the federal mandate.
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The Children's Blizzard (1888)
It’s January 11th. In 1888, a massive and quick-moving storm swept across the American Midwest, trapping hundreds of school-children in their schoolhouses.
Jody and Niki discuss why the storm was so severe, and deadly — and how the poor preparation for the storm led to a change in weather forecasting.
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Jefferson's Wall Between Church and State (1802)
It’s January 9th. In 1802, Thomas Jefferson penned a letter in which he referred to a “wall of separation between church and state.
Jody and Niki discuss how this phrase became wedded to the first amendment and a foundational political and legal idea for centuries — and how Jefferson’s intent has been contested at various points over the years.
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Vietnam Draft Lottery Is Exposed (1970) w/ Walt Hickey
It’s January 7th. In 1970, the New York Times published an article with the headline “Statisticians Charge Draft Lottery Was Not Random.”
Jody and Niki are joined by data reporter Walt Hickey to talk about how statistical analysis exposed that people born in December were more likely to be selected for the Vietnam War draft than those born in January, and what that tells us about randomness, trust, and more.
Walt’s most recent book is “You Are What You Watch” — check it out now!
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Ike vs. Squirrels (1955) [Archive Episode]
**We’ll be back on Sunday with our first new epsiode of 2024. In the meantime, here’s a treat from the archives!**
It’s March 13th. This day in 1955, news breaks that the White House is engaged in a full-on battle against the squirrels that have invaded the grounds.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why President Eisenhower is so determined to get rid of the squirrels, and how he tried everything from relocating them to shooting them to — really — deploying psychological torture to solve
The Great Idaho Beaver Parachute Drop (1948) w/ Ian Chillag
** It’s the final day of the Radiotopia fundraiser! Support the show using this link and you’ll get a 20% discount to our new merch store! https://on.prx.org/46XCf1R **
It’s December 31st. Today we wrap up the year by talking about — what else — the time that the Idaho Department of Fish and Game relocated 76 beavers by parachuting them out of airplanes.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by our Radiotopia pal Ian Chillag to discuss the story. Ian recently encountered it while doing an
A Bombing At LaGuardia Airport (1975)
** It’s the Radiotopia fundraiser! Support the show using this link and you’ll get a 20% discount to our new merch store! https://on.prx.org/46XCf1R **
It’s December 29th. This day in 1975, a bomb, planted in a luggage locker, exploded at NYC’s LaGuardia Airport, killing 11 and injuring 74. If it had gone off just minutes earlier, it would have killed hundreds more.
Jody and Niki discuss who was responsible for the bombing, the prevalence of scattered violence in the 1970s, and why Ne
The Assassination of Harry and Harriette Moore (1951)
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It’s December 26th. This day in 1951 — actually on Christmas Day — Florida activists Harry and Harriette Moore are killed by a bomb planted under their home.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie look at the life and activism of the Moore’s, why they became targets for assassination and Florida’s place in the early civil rights movement.
Here’s our
How Puzzles Explain WWII w/ A.J. Jacobs
** It’s the Radiotopia fundraiser! Support the show using this link and you’ll get a 20% discount to our new merch store! https://on.prx.org/46XCf1R **
It’s December 24th. Today, we look at a number of puzzle-related stories from the WWII era. This is when the New York Times finally got in the crossword game, codebreakers used puzzles to recruit great minds, and more.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by author and podcast host A.J. Jacobs to discuss what that first crossword looked l
The First Crossword (1913) w/ A.J. Jacobs
** It’s the Radiotopia fundraiser! Support the show using this link and you’ll get a 20% discount to our new merch store! https://on.prx.org/46XCf1R **
It’s December 21st. This day in 1913, the New York World published the very first crossword puzzle — originally called a “word cross.” Soon, a bona fide puzzle craze was sweeping the country.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by author and podcast host A.J. Jacobs to discuss what that first crossword looked like, why it was such a hit,
Poor Richard's Almanack (1732)
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It’s December 19th. This day in 1732, Benjamin Franklin first published “Poor Richard’s Almanack” — his book of weather forecast, practical advice, and all sorts of aphorisms about living your best life.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why the Almanack became such a sensation in Colonial America, and why his advice still feels like it c
When Flying Got Miserable (1978) w/ Ganesh Sitaraman
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It’s December 17th. This day in 1978, holiday travelers are flying around the country under a regulatory system that was about to come to an end. The next year, the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 would kick in.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Ganesh Sitaraman of Vanderbilt to discuss how the act changed the competitive structure
Alaskan Natives Embrace Capitalism (1971)
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It’s December 16th. This day in 1971, Richard Nixon signed the Alaska Natives Settlement Act, which established a new set of treaties and financial structures for Alaskan tribes — unlike any other arrangement in the so-called “lower 48.”
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the structure of the act meant that tribes would now be embracin
The Garment Strikes Before Triangle Shirtwaist (1909)
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It’s December 12th. This day in 1909, garment industry workers in New York and Philadelphia are on a massive strike, protesting working conditions and beginning to unionize in favor of better working conditions. This was a couple years before the more infamous fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how
Louis Riel Needs Grant's Help (1875)
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It’s December 10th. This day in 1875, the Canadian Metis leader Louis Riel is in Washington, DC to ask US President Grant for assistance in his battle against the Canadian government.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the Metis fight, violence along the western parts of the US-Canadian border, and Riel’s subsequent religious “epiphany.”
Lā Kū'oko'a aka Hawaiian Independence Day (1843)
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Today we’re looking at Hawaiian Independence Day, marked on November 28th.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss what exactly “independence” meant for the islands, which were shifting from colonial rule to monarchical rule and, eventually, American annexation.
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Du Bois Joins The Communist Party (1961)
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It’s December 5th. In 196, W.E.B. Du Bois announces that he’s joining the Communist Party — at the age of 93.
Jody, Niki and Kellie discuss why Du Bois found an ideological home in the Party, his lifelong ideological seeking, and what it meant to join the Communist Party in this particular moment.
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The First Phone In The White House (1878)
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It’s December 3rd. In 1878, the White House got a phone line for the first time.
Jody, Niki and Kellie discuss why President Rutherford B Hayes was so embracing of new technology — and how the phone got other presidents into hot water over the years.
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The Alcatraz Occupation (1969) w/ Julian Brave Noisecat [[Archive Episode]]
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[[This episode is from the This Day archives]]
It’s November 24th. On this day in 1969, Native American activists have staged an occupation of Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay.
Jody and Niki are joined by Julian Brave Noisecat to discuss the 19-month occupation, often considered the birth of the modern Indigenous rights movement —
The Hopis On Alcatraz (1894)
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It’s November 27th. In 1894, a group of 19 Hopi men are arrested in Arizona and brought to Alcatraz Island in California, imprisoned for their resistance to the US government’s re-education efforts.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the group of Hopi’s were arrested, what Hopi resistance looked like in this era, and what happened to t
A Thanksgiving Potluck!
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Happy Thanksgiving everyone! For today, a special historical potluck. Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss some of their favorite historical stories related to food, drink, and dessert.
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JFK Almost Assassinated (1960) [Revisited]
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It’s November 21st. Tomorrow is the 60th anniversary of the JFK assassination, so we’re bringing you an episode from last year about the time someone made an attempt on the newly-elected president’s life, 3 years before the events in Dallas. We’ll be back with a new episode on Thursday for Thanksgiving!
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Joe Hill's Last Will (1915)
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It’s November 19th. This day in 1915, IWW activist and songwriter Joe Hill is executed by the state of Utah.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Hill’s songs were so powerful, how they posed a threat to big business at the time — and Jody finally gets to talk about his undergraduate thesis!
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Pence Gets Booed At "Hamilton" (2016)
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It’s November 16th. This day in 2016, Vice President-elect Mike Pence attends a performance of the hit Broadway show “Hamilton,” where he is booed by the audience before the show; and after the show the cast reads him a statement of protest.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how this story played out in 2016, what we make of it now — and
Henry Ford Contests An Election (1918)
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It’s November 14th. This day in 1918, famed industrialist Henry Ford starts to raise questions about the result of the Michigan Senate election, in which he lost by a narrow margin.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why Ford is contesting the vote, how it ties into his growing conspiratorial and anti-Semitic mindset — and how the worlds o
The Exploding Whale (1970)
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It’s November 12th. This day in 1970, a small town in Oregon decides that the best way to get rid of a massive whale that has washed up on its shores is by… dynamiting it into oblivion.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the plan went so awry, pay tribute to the one local who was trying to warn everyone — and discuss how footage of the
"The Demon of Andersonville" Executed for War Crimes (1865)
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It’s November 9th. This day in 1865, Confederate commander Henry Wirz is executed for war crimes — the only Confederate commanding officer to face such justice.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the Andersonville prison camp that Wirz oversaw, and why his particular crimes were seen as out of bounds during the brutal aftermath of the Civi
An Explosion Rocks The Capitol (1983)
It’s November 7th. This day in 1983, a bomb placed under a bench on the second floor of the Capitol building’s North Wing goes off, minutes after the Senate switchboard received a cryptic message claiming credit.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the little-known group that carried out the bombing, why they turned to violence in this moment — and what exactly they were protesting.
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Fin
Elected While In A Coma (1980)
It’s November 5th. This day in 1980, voters in the Maryland 5th Congressional District have just re-elected Gladys Noon Spellman — despite the fact that she is in a coma from which she would never recover.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the twists and turns of the election, how Congress reacted, and how this moment led to the political career of one of the most prominent Democrats in the House.
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The Unmarked Grave (2019) w/ Joe Richman
It’s November 2nd. This day in 2019, New York City began a process of opening up Hart Island to the public, after centuries of using the space to bury its unnamed dead.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Joe Richman of “Radio Diaries” to discuss the history of Hart Island and the ongoing tension between public space and private cemetery. Radio Diaries has a new series called “The Unmarked Grave: Stories from Hart Island.” Listen to it now!
Check out the Radio Diaries live event on N
The Americans Fighting In Spain (1938) w/ Adam Hochschild
It’s October 31st. This day in 1938, hundreds of thousands gather in Barcelona, Spain, to say thanks and bid farewell to the thousands of foreign volunteers who had come to join the fight in the Spanish Civil War.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by author Adam Hochschild to discuss why so many Americans were drawn to the battle in Spain, and how the anti-fascist fight there set the stage for WWII.
Adam is the author of many brilliant books, including “American Midnight,” “King Leopo
The Donora Killer Smog (1948)
It’s October 29th. This day in 1948, a heavy, pollutant-laden fog is sitting over the Pennsylvania town of Donora. Over the course of five days, dozens of people would die and half the town’s population would get sick.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the town of Donora was so vulnerable to the US Steel plant’s pollution, and how the company fought back against regulation over the course of decades.
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NOW is Next (1966)
It’s October 25th. This day in 1966, a group gathers for the first conference of the National Organization for Women, aka NOW.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why the group felt the need for a new activist organization — and how NOW navigated both the political and social spheres of the feminist movement.
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Colin + Obama (2008) w/ Leah Wright Rigueur
It’s October 24th. This day in 2008, former secretary of state Colin Powell goes on Meet the Press and endorses Barack Obama for president — over his longtime friend, and fellow Republican, John McCain.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Leah Wrigth Rigueur to talk about why Colin rebuked his own party, what Obama represented, and what it says about the crossroads he found himself in that moment.
Leah is a professor at Johns Hopkins and the author of The Loneliness of the Black Repu
"The Jazz Singer" and Hollywood Empire (1927) w/ Walt Hickey
It’s October 22nd. This day in 1927, Americans are flocking to the theaters to watch “The Jazz Singer,” the first major “talkie” film.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Walt Hickey to discuss how Hollywood became a major economic and political force in the aftermath of WWI, and how it the soft power of American entertainment started to shape the world.
Walt’s new book is “You Are What You Watch” — preorder it now and get a free poster!
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Trump Shows Up In New Hampshire (1987) w/ Robert Fleegler
It’s October 19th. This day in 1987, real estate mogul Donald Trump was invited to New Hampshire to give a speech to a local GOP group. He bragged about his accomplishments, drew a big crowd and — of course — teased a possible presidential run.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Robert Fleegler of the University Of Mississippi to discuss why Trump showed up in the early stages of the 1988 primary, and how his message then was almost exactly the same as his message now.
Robert’s late
Carter Restores Jefferson Davis's Citizenship (1978)
It’s October 17th. This day in 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed a resolution that passed Congress to restore the citizenship of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why there was a push to re-imagine Davis’s legacy — and whether Jefferson Davis would have even wanted this.
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"Operation Clark County" Totally Backfires (2004)
It’s October 15th. This day in 2004, voters in the swing region of Clark County, Ohio are receiving letters encouraging them to vote for John Kerry — letters written by readers of the left-leaning British newspaper “The Guardian.”
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why “The Guardian” had launched their letter writing campaign, what it says about the gamification of politics — and how the folks who got the letters responded.
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The Real Free State of Jones (1863)
It’s October 12th. This day in 1863, fighting is breaking out in Jones County, Mississippi, as a group of southern farmers starts to rebel against the Confederacy.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why this group felt compelled to rebel, what their fight was really about — and what the 2016 movie starring Matthew McConoughey got right and wrong about the incident.Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll be sending out links to all the stuff we recommended later this week.Find out more at thisdaypo
The Scrub Bull Trials (1919)
It’s October 9th. In 1919, the US Department of Agriculture began a nationwide campaign to promote better breeding among livestock — and stamp out so-called “scrub bulls.”
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how this effort took on absurd dimensions, but also reflected a deeper and darker cultural obsession with breeding and fitness.
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This Day In Esoteric
The Poisoned Tylenol Panic (1982)
It’s October 5th. This day in 1982, a massive recall is underway for Tylenol, in the wake of a series of random poisonings and deaths in the Chicago era.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the crisis, Johnson & Johnson’s relatively effective response — and the very strange ransom letter sent in the middle of it all.
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This Day In Esoteric Political Hi
Italy Invades Ethiopia, World Freaks Out (1935) w/ Isaac-Davy Aronson
It’s October 3rd. This day in 1935, Italian leader Benito Mussolini invades Ethiopia, one of the only independent Black states in the world.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by MSNBC’s Isaac-Davy Aronson to discuss what Italy’s aggression did to the very fragile world order — and how the move reverberated around the Black diaspora.
Be sure to check out “Deja News,” which did an episode about this moment.
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The Hiroshima Maidens (1955) w/ Josh Levin
It’s October 3rd. This day in 1956, a group of 25 Japanese women are heading back to Japan after spending a year in the United States receiving medical and cosmetic surgery.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Slate’s Josh Levin to talk about the “Hiroshima Maidens,” who came to this country and showed Americans the horrific consequences of nuclear attack.
Josh tells the story of the maidens in a new episode of his series “One Year: 1955.” Check it out now wherever you get your podca
Yeltsin Refuses To Leave The Plane (1994)
It’s October 1st. In 1994, Russian President Boris Yeltsin is set to stop off for a diplomatic visit in Ireland. But when his plane lands on the tarmac at Shannon Airport, Yeltsin refuses to get off.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss Yeltsin’s reputation for heavy drinking and boorish behavior, how that played into this incident, and what may have really happened on that plane.
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Find o
"Actually, You Forgot Poland" (2004)
It’s September 30th. This day in 2004, George W. Bush and John Kerry take the stage for the first presidential debate of the 2004 election. In response to Kerry saying that very few countries supported the United State’s invasion of Iraq, Bush responded that. “actually, you forgot Poland.”
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss what that comeback landed so poorly, and became an early internet meme — and the larger context of the “coalition of the willing” the Bush administration was using to j
Big Dig Energy (1983) w/ Ian Coss
It’s September 26th. This day in 1983, Massachusetts Senator Michael Dukakis held a press conference to announce an enormous and ambitious infrastructure project to take a roadway that cut through the center of Boston and move it underground.Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by reporter Ian Coss to discuss the initial plans for what would come to be known as “The Big Dig,” and why the project ended up taking decades, and billions of dollars, more than expected — and what it says about a
Stanislav Petrov Prevents Armageddon (1983)
It’s September 26th. This day in 1983, a lieutenant colonel in the Soviet Air Defense Forces determined that an alert about an incoming nuclear attack was, in fact, a computer glitch, likely preventing a series of retaliations by the USSR and the USA.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how Petrov made his decision, what could have gone wrong, and why the policy of “mutually assured destruction” invited such perilous scenarios.
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'The West Wing' Premieres (1999) w/ Hrishikesh Hirway
It’s September 22nd. This day in 1999, Aaron Sorkin’s podcast “The West Wing” premiered on NBC.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by fellow Radiotopian Hrishikesh Hirway to talk about the political influence and legacy of the show.
Check out The West Wing Weekly and all of Hrishi’s podcasts on his website!
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The First Anti-Amalgamation Law (1664)
It’s September 19th. This day, in 1664, Marlyand passed the first “anti-amalgamation” law in the colonies, outlawing the marriage between Black men and English women.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how these anti-miscegenation laws were first written, and how they were altered, evolved, and tested over the course of two centuries.
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This Day In Esoter
What YOU Learned On Your Summer Travels
A few episodes ago, we discussed what we’d learned on our summer travels, and asked for your stories. Today, we go through some tidbits, stories, and fascinating facts. Thanks to everyone who wrote it!
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Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.
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The Case For Capitalism (1970) w/ Noel King
It’s September 14th. This day in 1970, economist Milton Friedman pens an op-ed in The New York Times making the case that a corporation’s primary goal is to increase shareholder value and profits.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Noel King of “Today, Explained” to discuss how Friedman’s “shareholder theory” pushed back against existing ideas of corporate responsibility, and signaled a new vision for capitalism — and how the last forty years have reflected those values.
Noel is the
The Reagan's Prime-Time Drug Address (1986) w/ Donovan X Ramsey
It’s September 14th. This day in 1986, President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan gave a prime-time television address about drugs, drug policy, and crack cocaine.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by journalist Donovan X Ramsey to talk about why both Reagans took part in the address, the media-savvy narratives that emerged in the “Just Say No” era, and the real victims of drug abuse who were left behind.
Donovan’s new book is When Crack Was King — buy it now, or check out th
The First Food Nutrition Labels (1971) w/ Xaq Frohlich
It’s September 8th. This day in 1971, a consumer advocate Esther Peterson worked with the supermarket chain GIANT to come up with the first nutrition labels.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Auburn professor Xaq Frolich to talk about Peterson’s advocacy, what labels looked like before this initiative — and whether labels do actually help empower consumers to make better choices.
Frolich’s forthcoming book is “From Label to Table” — pre-order it now!
Learn about your ad choices: d
Upton Sinclair's Epic Run For Governor (1933)
It’s September 7th. This day in 1933, journalist Upton Sinclair launches a campaign for California governor.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Sinclair turned to politics after enormous success and influence as a muckraking journalist — and how his radical progressive campaign found a large audience.
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What We Learned On Our Summer Travels
It’s the end of summer, and today we’re doing a special episode where we talk about some of the most interesting stories from history we discovered on our various summer travels.
And we want to hear from you! If there was something you learned that has stuck with you, let us know and we’ll do a follow-up episode shortly. Email thisdaypod@gmail.com or find us on twitter or instagram.
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This Day In Esoteric Political History is
Adam Mckay is Morris The Cat (1992) [[Archive Episode]]
As we wrap up summer, we’re bringing you some of our favorite episodes from the archives. We’ll see you after Labor Day!
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It’s July 28th. This day in 1992, “Morris The Cat,” the feline spokesperson for Nine Lives cat food, is in the heart of a stunt presidential campaign.
Jody and Niki are joined by director and writer Adam McKay (Don’t Look Up, Vice, Anchorman) to talk about the campaign and how Adam’s career changed as a result.
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The Man Who Killed The Man Who Killed Lincoln (1894) [[Archive Episode]]
As we wrap up summer, we’re bringing you some of our favorite episodes from the archives. We’ll see you after Labor Day!
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It’s August 30th. This day in 1894, a man by the name of Thomas H “Boston” Corbett is presumed dead in a fire in Minnesota. Boston Corbett led a troubled life, particularly over the previous thirty years, during which he was best known as the man who killed John Wilkes Booth — the man who killed Abraham Lincoln.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the circumstances
Fred Korematsu's Internment (1942) [[Archive Episode]]
On Sundays this summer, we’re bringing you some of our favorite episodes from the archives. We’ll continue to do new episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Happy summer!
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It’s August 31st. This day in 1942, a judge upholds the arrest of a Japanese-American man named Fred Korematsu.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how Korematsu tried to resist the detention of Japanese-Americans in the wake of Pearl Harbor, and the legal battles that broke out after the Roosevelt administration moved h
Missouri's Early Emancipation Proclamation (1861)
It’s August 24th. This day in 1861, a Union general in Missouri issued an edict freeing all enslaved people in the territory — this some sixteen months before Lincoln would issue the formal Emancipation Proclamation.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Missouri went rogue, the way in which frontier and border states lived in a sort of limbo during the Civil War — and what kind of fallout there was from the edict.
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The Bridge To Nowhere (2005)
It’s August 22nd. In the summer of 2005, a proposed bridge in rural Alaska was becoming a hot-button controversy, as conservatives assailed its half-billion dollar price tag as emblematic of government overspending and pork-barrel politics.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie look back at the “Bridget to Nowhere” controversy, what it says about how local and national politics intersect — and whether the bridge really was way too expensive after all.
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Nat Turner's Community (1831) w/ Vanessa Holden [[Archive Episode]]
On Sundays this summer, we’re bringing you some of our favorite episodes from the archives. We’ll continue to do new episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Happy summer!
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It’s August 22nd. This day in 1831, Nathaniel “Nat” Turner is leading a rebellion in Southampton, Virginia — what would become perhaps the most famous slave revolt in the Antebellum South. But there’s a hidden story.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Vanessa Holden of the University of Kentucky to discuss how it
The Steam Tunnel Incident and the D&D Panic (1979)
It’s August 17th. This day in 1979, a young college student by the name of James Dallas Egber III disappeared into a steam tunnel below his university, intending to commit suicide. But the story of his disappearance became a media - and moral - panic because of his affinity for the fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss what we know and don’t know about Egber’s troubled life, and why the D&D narrative was so pervasive.
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The Smithsonian, Great Idea (1846)
It’s August 15th. This day (actually Aug 10th) in 1846, President Polk signed into law a bill establishing the Smithsonian Institution, after almost a decade of squabbling about how the United States would use the money donated to it by Englishman James Smithson.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the various ways in which the Smithsonian money could have been spent, why it was used the way it was — and whether the currrent institution honors Smithson’s original vision.
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"Macaca" (2006) w/ Peter Hamby [[Archive Episode]]
On Sundays this summer, we’re bringing you some of our favorite episodes from the archives. We’ll continue to do new episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Happy summer!
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It’s August 10th. This day in 2006, Virginia Senator George Allen is caught on tape referring to S.R. Sidarth, a young man filming his event, as “macaca.” This video became an early viral moment and helped lead to Allen’s defeat later that fall — showing how viral video could transform politics.
Jody, Niki, and Kell
Budd Trips Decker at the '84 Olympics (1984)
It’s August 10th. In 1984, at the LA Olympics, South African Zola Budd and American Mary Decker are facing off in the incredibly hyped-up 3000m final. But neither would finish, as Budd tripped Decker with just a couple laps to go.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why this was such a dramatic moment — not just on the track, but geopolitically.
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This Day
Clinton Finds Life On Mars (1996)
It’s August 8th. This day in 1996, President Bill Clinton gives a startling announcement about a rock — ALH84001 — that seems to indicate the presence of life on Mars.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the larger political and cultural context for why Clinton made this big announcement, and what we really know about the rock’s origins.
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This Day In Esot
The Roots of "Roots" (1976) [[Archive Episode]]
On Sundays this summer, we’re bringing you some of our favorite episodes from the archives. We’ll continue to do new episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Happy summer!
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It’s August 18th. This day in 1976, Alex Haley’s sprawling epic Roots hits the bookshelves. It quickly caused a sensation — and controversy.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how Haley’s work came together, the enormous impact it had, and the mix of fact and fiction that somewhat clouded the work.
Check out Reconsider
Clean Up After Your Dog! (1978)
It’s August 3rd. This day in 1978, dog owners in NYC are dealing with a whole new reality — they are now responsible for cleaning up after their pet’s waste.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss what life was like on NYC’s streets before the so-called “pooper scooper” law, and how these sorts of laws are more about shifting norms than actual enforcement.
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The Subway Vigilante (1984) w/ Leon Neyfakh
It’s August 1st. This day in 1996, a judge ruled that Bernie Goetz still owed his victims millions of dollars in damages as a result of the “Subway Vigilante” incident some twelve years earlier.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Leon Neyfakh to discuss the subway shooting, the media frenzy surrounding Goetz, and the long legal fallout that resulted from the incident.
Leon’s latest season of FIASCO on the vigilante story is available now on Audible and you can find information on ho
The Irish-American Gun-Runners (1973) w/ Nate Lavey [[Archive Episode]]
On Sundays this summer, we’re bringing you some of our favorite episodes from the archives. We’ll continue to do new episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Happy summer!
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It’s August 11th. This day in 1973, a group of Irish-Americans known as “The Fort Worth Five” are caught up in the court system, accused of running guns to Ireland to aid the independence movement.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Nate Lavey to discuss how regular Irish-Americans got involved in the freedom figh
Thunderation! The Speaker Demands Bean Soup (1904)
It’s July 27th. This day in 1904, Speaker of the House Joseph Cannon (IL) goes to the Capitol dining room expecting to have a nice hot cup of his favorite, bean soup, and is met with an unfortunate surprise.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Cannon was so upset at not being served bean soup, and why the Senate has featured it on the menu every single day since — except for one.
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Fi
The Plot To Blow Up Hell Gate Bridge (1942) w/ Rebecca Seidel
It’s July 24th. This day in 1942, a trial is wrapping up in New York City centered on a Nazi plot to target a number of significant US economic sites, from factories to dams and bridges.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by podcast producer Rebecca Seidel to discuss what came to be known as Operation Pastorius.
Be sure to check out Becca’s latest podcast series — Abridged!
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The Beer Summit (2009) [[Archive Episode]]
On Sundays this summer, we’re bringing you some of our favorite episodes from the archives. We’ll continue to do new episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Happy summer!
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It’s July 25th. This day (July 24th in fact) in 2009, President Obama extended an invitation to Henry Louis Gates, Jr and Sgt James Crowley to discuss an incident in which Crowley arrested Gates on his own doorstep.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the incident that sparked this attempt at reconciliation, and how Obam
The Szilard Anti-Nuke Petition (1945)
It’s July 20th. This day in 1945, a petition signed by 70 scientists working on the development of nuclear weapons is circulating in Washington — a petition arguing against the plans to drop weapons on Japan.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the Szilard Petition, how it reflected the deep moral wrestling taking place among the scientific community, and why it ultimately did not make it to President Truman’s desk.
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The Ft Ontario Holocaust Refugees (1944) w/ Sarah Botstein
It’s July 18th. This day in 1944, a group of almost one thousand refugees are headed to the United States, where they would eventually be housed at Ft Ontario, in New York. This was the only large group of Holocaust refugees permitted to enter the United States during World War II.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by filmmaker Sarah Botstein to discuss the Ft Ontario group and how the US thought about refugees in this era.
Sarah was a co-director and producer, alongside Ken Burns and
The Lost Robert E. Lee Oath Theory (1975) w/ John Reeves [[Archive Episode]]
On Sundays this summer, we’re bringing you some of our favorite episodes from the archives. We’ll continue to do new episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Happy summer!
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It’s July 22nd. This day in 1975, Congress voted to restore citizenship to Robert E. Lee, more than a hundred years after his death.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by author John Reeves to talk about why this vote took place, how it tied into a false theory about a missing citizenship oath, and what the myth of L
Hubert Humphrey Takes Center Stage (1948) w/ Samuel G Freedman
It’s July 13th. Only July 14th, 1948, at the Democratic National Convention, a young Hubert Humphrey took the stage and implored his party to embrace the cause of civil rights.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Samuel G Freedman of Columbia University to discuss why Humphrey’s speech sent such a shockwave through the party — and ultimately convinced it to adopt a pro-civil rights plank heading into that election.
Freedman’s new book about Humphrey is called Into The Bright Sunshine
Skylab Crashes Back To Earth (1979)
It’s July 11th. This day in 1979, Americans and others around the world are watching the skies as the first space station, Skylab, comes hurtling back down to earth.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why Skylab crashed, how people in the US and Australia reacted — and what the incident indicated about a time of national distrust and malaise.
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Nativists vs Catholics in Philadelphia (1844) [[Archive Episode]]
On Sundays this summer, we’re bringing you some of our favorite episodes from the archives. We’ll continue to do new episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Happy summer!
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It’s July 10th. This day in 1844, riots and violence are breaking out in Philadelphia as nativist groups coalesce around anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant sentiment.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the riots wrapped up fears about schooling, economic competition, religion — and marked a moment in which Nativism st
L'Enfant Maps Out DC (1791) w/ Scott W Berg
It’s July 6th. Today we revisit our conversation about how Washington DC came to be the nations capitol, with a look at Pierre Charles L'Enfant and how he originally conceived of the city’s layout.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by George Mason professor Scott W Berg to discuss the European inspiration for L’Enfant’s layout, and how he hoped to inspire drama and wonder through the city’s streets and circles.
Scott’s book on L’Enfant is called Grand Avenues: The Story of Pierre Char
Napalming Harvard's Soccer Field (1942)
It’s July 4th. This day in 1942, researchers at Harvard conducted the first ever napalm test — right in the middle of Harvard’s soccer field.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how napalm was developed on campus, and why people thought it was a good idea to test a weapon of mass destruction in such a prominent location.
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The Great American Roadtrip (1956) w/ Eddie Alterman [[Archive Episode]]
On Sundays this summer, we’re bringing you some of our favorite episodes from the archives. We’ll continue to do new episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Happy summer!
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It’s July 3rd. This day in 1956, President Eisenhower signed the National Highway Act, the largest infrastructure project in American history.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Eddie Alterman, longtime editor of Car & Driver magazine, to discuss how the highway network reshaped the country and changed car cu
The Abortion Pill Protest (1992) w/ TJ Raphael
It’s July 1st. This day in 1992, two abortion rights activist traveled to the United States carrying abortion pills, in order to get arrested and spark a legal case around the legality of the pill.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by podcast host TJ Raphael to discuss what happened after the two people were arrested, and the new podcast series that looks at the fight over the abortion pill that exploded in the early 1990s.
Be sure to listen to TJ’s series “Cover Up: The Pill Plot,” w
Readmitting Rebel States (1868)
It’s June 26th. In 1868, throughout the summer, there is a process underway to bring seven Southern US states back into the United States.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the logistics of re-admittance, and how different states took very different approaches to the process.
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Flag Burning Is Free Speech (1989) w/ Michael Liroff
It’s June 21st. This day in 1989, the Supreme Court ruled that the burning of the American flag was allowed as free expression under the first amendment.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Michael Liroff of the 5-4 Podcast to discuss the free speech precedent, the history of laws regarding “desecrating” the flag, and why the defendant, Gregory Lee Johnson, burned the flag in the first place.
Check out Five-Four wherever you get your podcasts! fivefourpod.com
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Superman vs KKK (1946)
It’s June 21st. This day in 1946, an epic battle is playing out across the radio waves, as The Adventures of Superman takes on a multi-part series in which the man of steel confront “The Clan of the Fiery Cross,” a loose stand-in for the KKK.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Superman was confronting the Klan in this moment, and what it signaled about the KKK’s diminishing role in American life.
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Nightwalking w/ Bianca Giaever
It’s June 20th. Tonight, it will be dark — and maybe you will go for a walk?
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Bianca Giaever, host of the podcast series “Constellation Prize,” to talk about her forays into walking at night, and her correspondence with the writer Terry Tempest Williams. They also discuss the rich social and political history of walking at night.
Be sure to check out Constellation Prize, from the Believer, wherever you get your podcasts!
https://www.thebeliever.ne
Lift Every Voice and Sing (1900)
It’s June 18th. Today, for Juneteenth, we look at the history of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” aka the Black National Anthem.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the song’s history and the various ways in which it’s been presented as a song of resistance, militancy, and empowerment through the decades.
If you want to hear our Juneteenth history episode, find it here! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/juneteenth-1865/id1502728938?i=1000519244206
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The Seligman Affair (1877) w/ Zev Eleff
It’s June 15th. This day in 1877, a prominent Jewish businessman by the name of Joseph Seligman is turned away from staying at the Grand Union Hotel, with the hotel claiming a new policy “no Israelites shall be permitted in the future to stop at this hotel.”
Jody, Niki and Kellie are joined by Zev Eleff, president of Gratz College in Pennsylvania, to discuss what came to be known as the Seligman Affair, perhaps the most high-profile case of antisemitism in the United States up to that
The Challenger Disaster Final Report (1986)
It’s June 13th. This day in 1986, the Rogers Commission has issued a report and is conducting a series of hearings on the causes of the Challenger space shuttle disaster earlier that year.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the report revealed not just technical failures, but deep bureaucratic dysfunction and lack of communication that ultimately led to warning about the shuttle’s safety not being heeded.
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Death On The Lot: Hattie McDaniel's Fight w/ Hadley Meares and Brian Steele
As it happens, the This Day team has a bunch of cool new projects coming out over the next week or two. So, we’re going to feature them here.
Today: Jody is the executive producer of a new series called Death On The Lot, a look at how changes and tragedy in Hollywood reflected larger shifts in American culture and politics in the 1940s and 50s.
The two writers for the series, Brian Steele and Hadley Meares, discuss our look a the life of Hattie McDaniel, who was the first Black actres
Death On The Lot: Hollywood's Wild Labor History w/ Brian Steele and Hadley Meares
As it happens, the This Day team has a bunch of cool new projects coming out over the next week or two. So, we’re going to feature them here.
Today: Jody is the executive producer of a new series called Death On The Lot, a look at how changes and tragedy in Hollywood reflected larger shifts in American culture and politics in the 1940s and 50s.
The two writers for the series, Brian Steele and Hadley Meares, discuss Hollywood’s labor history, and how in the post-war era unions were cor
The Obama Oral History Project Is Here
As it happens, the This Day team has a bunch of cool new projects coming out over the next week or two. So, we’re going to feature them here.
Today: Our very own Nicole Hemmer has been part of the years-in-the-making Obama Oral History Project, which talked to members of the administration and people affected by Obama’s policy about key moments in his presidency. Today, we talk about the project’s launch and the first batch of interviews about environmental policy within the administra
An Ode To The Obit w/ Don Van Natta and Jacob Feldman
As it happens, the This Day team has a bunch of cool new projects coming out over the next week or two. So, we’re going to feature them here.
Today: Our producer and researcher Jacob Feldman is also one of the co-writers of the excellent Sunday Long Reads newsletter. They just launched a podcast series about the art of the obituary. Jacob is joined by Don Van Natta to talk about Ronald Reagan’s obit and what they learned about the artform.
Subscribe to the SLR and check out the podcas
You Get A Podcast!
As it happens, the This Day team has a bunch of cool new projects coming out over the next week or two. So, we’re going to feature them here.
Today: Kellie’s other podcast is back! You Get A Podcast looks at the rich and wild history of the Oprah Winfrey Show, and the Queen of Talk’s influence on our culture and politics. Be sure to check it out wherever you get your podcasts or at YouGetAPodcast.com
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Etan Patz And The Rise Of "Stranger Danger" (1979)
It’s May 30th. This day in 1979, a Manhattan 6-year-old by the name of Etan Patz goes missing on his two-block walk to the bus stop.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the Patz case became such a media sensation, and contributed to the rise of the “stranger danger” era, with kids being warned about abductions, faces plastered on the side of milk cartons, and more.
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Memorial Rerun: The Vietnam Memorial Controversy
It’s Memorial Day — today we’re bringing you an episode from the archives to mark the weekend. We’ll be back with new episodes next week.
It’s November 12th. On this day in 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial opened in Washington, DC.
Jody and Niki discuss the controversy over the memorial’s design, the additions over the years, and how we memorialize forever wars.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Addy, American Girl Doll (Part 2) w/ Aisha Harris
We’re doing a special two-part series on the American Girl Doll line of historical dolls! This is part two.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Aisha Harris of NPR to look at Addy, the first Black American Girl Doll. Turns out, there was a lot of research done into developing the character — as unsettling as her backstory may be.
Be sure to check out Aisha’s work on Pop Culture Happy Hour, and pre-order her new book Wannabe: Reckonings With The Pop Culture That Shaped Me
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American Girl Doll (Part 1) w/ Aisha Harris
We’re doing a special two-part series on the American Girl Doll line of historical dolls!
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Aisha Harris of NPR to look at the origins of the American Girl Doll, the various periods of American history represented by the series — and how they served as an entry point to history for many people.
Be sure to check out Aisha’s work on Pop Culture Happy Hour, and pre-order her new book Wannabe: Reckonings With The Pop Culture That Shaped Me
Next episode:
William Burns, America's Sherlock Holmes (1934)
It’s May 21st. This day in 1934, William Burns resigns from the Bureau of Investigations in scandal, replaced by J Edgar Hoover.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how Burns had gained the reputation as “America’s Sherlock Holmes” as an independent investigator, then eventually was brought in to run the BOI — before eventually getting enveloped in various corruption scandals.
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The Bath School Bombing (1927)
It’s May 18th. This day in 1927, a man detonated bombs at a school in Bath, Michigan, killing dozens of children, then killing himself.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how Andrew Kehoe was motivated, in part, by anti-tax and anti-government animus, and how this school tragedy resonates with more modern violence at schools.
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Wounded Knee '73 (1973)
It’s May 16th. This day in 1973, a 70-day standoff at Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge reservation comes to an end.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Native activists occupied the town, how it tied into the larger Civil Rights movement, and why celebrities were so drawn to the standoff.
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RFK's Fateful Meeting With Baldwin And Belafonte (1963) w/ Paul Kix
It’s the second of two episodes we’re doing with Paul Kix about the critical weeks in Birmingham, Alabama in May 1963.
This day, in New York City, a group of civil rights leaders meets with Attorney General Robert F Kennedy to talk about the incidents in Birmingham and the state of the movement. The meeting is contentious, but it pushes RFK to ultimately support significant legislation.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Paul Kick to discuss the meeting, and the critical role that H
The Gaston Bombing in Birmingham (1963) w/ Paul Kix
It’s May 11th. This day in 1963, a series of bombs explode in Birmingham, Alabama — one at the hotel in which Martin Luther King, Jr. was staying, and one at his brother’s house.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by journalist Paul Kix to discuss the bombings, and how they fit in to a momentous stretch of time for the Civil Rights movement, centered in Birmingham.
Paul’s new book is You Have to Be Prepared to Die Before You Can Begin to Live: Ten Weeks in Birmingham That Changed Ameri
Biden Spoils Obama's Gay Marriage Evolution (2012) w/ Sasha Issenberg
It’s May 9th. This day in 2012, President Obama gives an interview in which he expresses his support for gay marriage, a stance that he’d been reluctant to take up until that point. His hand was forced, in part, because a few days earlier Vice President Biden had said he supported gay marriage in another interview — which. was largely seen as a “gaffe” on Biden’s part.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Sasha Issenberg to discuss how Biden spoiled the administration’s stance — and wh
Clinton Boxers or Briefs (1994) w/ Kelsey and Alex from Normal Gossip
It’s May 7th. This day in 1994, during a town hall airing on MTV, President Bill Clinton is asked whether he wears “boxers or briefs.”
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined once again by the hosts of Normal Gossip to discuss why MTV was hosting a town hall with the president, why Clinton even bothered to answer — and what we make of the more gossipy political interview approach.
Be sure to check out Normal Gossip wherever you get your podcasts!
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Anne Royall, Common Scold (1826) w/ Kelsey and Alex from Normal Gossip
We’re doing a couple episodes on moments of historical gossip with our new Radiotopia pals from the show Normal Gossip.
Today, we discuss Anne Royall, who in 1826 began publishing books and articles based on her travels around the country talking to everyday folks about their everyday lives. She was able to gather stories and map society in a new way — and also recieved a lot of pushback for it.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Kelsey McKinney and Alex Sujong Laughlin of Normal Go
USS Jamestown Helps Ireland (1847)
It’s May 2nd. In 1847, a US military ship, the USS Jamestown, was loaded up with food and other relief to sail to Ireland and help with the famine in that country.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how disparate communities in the US rallied around the cause, and how the Jamestown represented one of the first moments of international camaraderie for a new country.
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The Caning of Michael Fay (1994)
It’s April 30th. This day in 1994, an 18-year-old American named Michael Fay is awaiting his punishment in Singapore for acts of vandalism. That punishment included caning, which caused a media and diplomatic firestorm in the United States.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the details of Faye’s crime and punishment — and the way in which the incident revealed American’s appetite for corporal punishment.
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The Abu Ghraib Photos (2004)
It’s April 27th. In 2004, a report aired on 60 Minutes II featuring reports and photos of abuse by American troops at the Iraqi prison Abu Ghraib.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the photos caused such a scandal, and how the torture at the prison was largely within the framework of how the Bush administration conducted the war in Iraq.
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Sybill's Midnight Ride (1777)
It’s April 25th. In 1777, a 16-year-old by the name of Sybil Luddington went on a 40-mile nighttime ride to warn Colonial troops and citizens of an impending British invasion.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Luddington’s midnight ride isn’t nearly as famous as Paul Revere’s — and how we can ever know if the details of her story are actually true.
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Recent Favorite: Colored Conventions (1830)
We’re re-running some favorite recent episodes this week, and will be back with brand new episodes very soon!
It’s December 4th. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the Colored Conventions movement, which provided and intellectual and political space for Black leaders in the years before, during, and after the Civil War.
Check out the Colored Conventions database at coloredconventions.org
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Recent Favorite: Franklin in France (1776) w/ Mike Duncan
We’re re-running some favorite recent episodes this week, and will be back with brand new episodes very soon!
It’s October 4th. In 1776, Benjamin Franklin is headed to France as the Continental Congress’s first diplomat, looking to secure support for the American independence movement.
Jody and Kellie are joined by Mike Duncan, history podcaster behind series such as “Revolutions” and “The Fall of Rome.” They discuss Franklin’s diplomatic goal, his taste for the Parisian nightlife — a
Recent Favorite: JFK Almost Assassinated (1960)
We’re re-running some favorite recent episodes this week, and will be back with brand new episodes very soon!
It’s December 15th. In 1960, a New Hampshire man lined his car with dynamite and planned to ram in to the limousine in which President-Elect John F Kennedy was riding. He ditched his plan at the last second, and was arrested shortly after. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the plot, the incredible way it was uncovered, and why Kennedy was the target of such hatred even before he t
DC, Not A Swamp (1810)
It’s April 13th. This day 1810, a new canal is being built in Washington, DC in an attempt to give a little logic to the topography of the nation’s capital.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why DC was built where it was, and the persistent idea that DC is a “swamp” in both the literal and metaphorical sense.
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Reverse Freedom Rides (1962)
It’s April 11th. This day in 1962, ads are appearing in Louisiana newspapers offering one-way bus rides to northern cities for Black southerners.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the plan on the part of the racist Louisiana Citizens Council to mount “reverse freedom rides,” shipping Black southerners to northern cities.
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Rosewood Reparations (1994)
It’s April 8th. This day in 1994, the Florida legislature passed a bill that would offer some reparations and support for descendents of the Rosewood Massacre, when a Black town was burned down in 1923.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the original incident in Rosewood, the way the story faded from history for decades, and why in the early 90s there was a push to recognize and offer compensation for the tragedy.
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The Tank Fire-Nado (1926)
It’s April 6th. This day in 1926, a massive oil fire near San Luis Obispo, California is enveloping the area in smoke and heat and creating its own weather system.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss what came to be known as the Tank Fire, how the oil industry was lightly regulated in this era — and how you try to put out a miles-long river of fire.
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Mecham: Worst Governor Ever? (1990)
It’s April 3rd. This day in 1990, the Arizona Senate votes to remove Governor Evan Mecham from office — for all sorts of reasons.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss Mecham’s very sketchy track record on race, corruption, abuse of power and more; and how he ended up in office to begin with.
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The Hippo Meat Plan (1910) w/ Dan Pashman
It’s April 2nd. This day in 1910, a Louisiana senator proposes allocating a quarter of a million dollars to import hippos from Africa and grow them in American swamps, then harvest them for food.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Dan Pashman of The Sporkful to talk about how the hippo plan was intended to solve a hunger and ecological crisis — and why Americans never quite found the taste for hippo meat.
Be sure to check out Dan’s podcast and the new pasta shape he created!
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The Oyster Wars (1959) w/ Christine Keiner
It’s March 20th. This day in 1959, a skirmish between the fisheries police and an oyster boat results in the death of a Virginia oysterman — and sheds light on a decades-long battle known as the “Oyster Wars.”
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Dr Christine Keiner of RIT to discuss why there was so much tension and violence along the Chesapeake Bay, going all the way back in the mid-1800s.
Be sure to check out Christine’s book The Oyster Question: Scientists, Watermen, and the Mary
H1N1 Reaches America (2009) w/ James Hamblin
It’s March 27th. This day in 2009, the US is responding to the outbreak of the H1N1 flu, which would soon be a global pandemic.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Dr James Hamblin of the Yale School of Public Health to discuss the fairly strategic and effective response to that pandemic — and the lessons we failed to learn heading into future outbreaks.
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A Confederate Day of Fasting and Prayer (1863)
It’s March 27th. This day in 1863, Jefferson Davis declared a “day of fasting and prayer” to support the Confederate cause in the Civil War.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the role of days like this — the fasting was as much about food shortages as anything — and how religion and the cause of the war mixed for both north and south.
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Uncle Sam Is Born (1852)
It’s March 23rd. This is, in some ways, the birthday of Uncle Sam — it was the first time that the character appeared in a political cartoon.
Niki, Jody and Kellie discuss how Uncle Sam had its origins in a real-life figure, and how the character truly burst into the public imagination with those iconic “I Want You” posters.
Uncle Tom's Cabin, Bestseller (1852)
It’s March 20th. This day in 1852, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” is the best-selling book in the country, capturing a growing anti-slavery sentiment, as well as tremendous backlash.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel took off so quickly — and how even at the time it was viewed as well-intentioned but potentially misguided in its portrayal of the slave narrative.
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The Spitzer Scandal Breaks (2008) w/ Azi Paybarah
It’s March 19th. In 2008 (on March 17th) New York Governor Eliot Spitzer resigned after a week of reports about his patronizing a prostitution ring.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by long-time NY political reporter Azi Paybarah to discuss how quickly the salacious details broke, the media environment that fueled it — and why there was a particular hypocrisy at the heart of it all.
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Evacuation: A Very Boston Holiday (1901)
It’s March 16th. Today we mark Evacuation Day (technically the 17th), a day in which Boston marks the retreat of troops during the Revolutionary War. Over the years, the holiday has been combined and conflated with St. Patrick’s Day, making it the most Boston of holidays.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the holiday gained traction in the first part of the 20th century — and why in the last decade or so it’s receded a bit.
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Ike's War On Squirrels (1955)
It’s March 13th. This day in 1955, news breaks that the White House is engaged in a full-on battle against the squirrels that have invaded the grounds.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why President Eisenhower is so determined to get rid of the squirrels, and how he tried everything from relocating them to shooting them to — really — deploying psychological torture to solve the problem.
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Ruby Robinson and SNCC (1961)
It’s March 12th. This day in 1961, an Atlanta woman by the name of Ruby Doris Smith Robinson joins the civil rights organization SNCC — and quickly starts to advocate for the role of women within the organization.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss Robinson’s life and work, and the gender and class dynamics among civil rights workers.
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Nixon Sneaks Into China (1972)
It’s March 9th. In 1972, President Richard Nixon made a surprise visit to China, meeting with leaders and sending images back home that shocked Americans.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the trip came together, why the biggest criticism Nixon got was from his own party — and how the trip really did shift global diplomacy.
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Lincoln's Almost-Assassin (1869)
It’s March 7th. IN 1869, President Andrew Johnson pardoned a man by the name of Samuel Arnold — who had been imprisoned for five years for plotting to assassinate Abraham Lincoln.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Johnson is choosing to pardon many Confederate sympathizers, as well as the many ways in which people tried to kill Lincoln before he was finally assassinated by John Wilkes Booth.
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Superman Gets Sold For $130 (1938) w/ Glen Weldon
It’s March 5th. In 1938, the two original creators of Superman sold the character to what would become DC Comics for $130.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by NPR’s Glen Weldon to discuss the early days of Superman, the IP cautionary tale — and how the hero has reflected political and social changes throughout the decades.
Be sure to check out Glen’s work on Pop Culture Happy Hour, and his book: “Superman: An Unauthorized Biography.”
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Thatcher Meets Reagan (1981) w/ Dan Snow
It’s March 2nd. In 1981, in late February, UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher travelled to the United States to meet with new US President Ronald Reagan.
Jody and Niki are joined by Dan Snow to discuss why the two felt such a kinship — even though they disagreed on foreign policy in surprising ways.
Be sure to check out Dan’s Snow’s “History Hit” podcast and the many other great shows as part of the History Hit network!
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Clinton In Quebec (1995)
It’s February 27th. This day in 1995, President Bill Clinton is in Canada, where he offers seemingly-bland remarks about the country, but ones that are largely seen to reveal his opinion about the looming Quebec independence vote.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how Clinton’s remarks were received, and the larger context for why he was visiting Canada at this very tense moment to begin with.
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Good Sport Week: Aging and Growth
Jody has a new podcast series! It’s called “Good Sport” and all this week we’re featuring episodes. Be sure to find it wherever you get your podcasts.
Today, a sample from the episode on aging and growth.
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Good Sport Week: What Stadiums Can Teach Us
Jody has a new podcast series! It’s called “Good Sport” and all this week we’re featuring episodes. Be sure to find it wherever you get your podcasts.
Today, we discuss how the deals for new sports stadiums tend to reflect larger political and economic systems.
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Your su
Fat Tuesday Special: Integrating Mardis Gras (1992) w/ Oliver Thomas
It’s Fat Tuesday, Jody is in New Orleans, and today we’re bringing you an episode we did last year about the integration of Mardis Gras. It’s one of our favorites.
It’s March 1st, the first day of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. This day in 1992, a city ordinance mandating that all Mardi Gras krewes be integrated in order to march on city streets is in effect — making this a Mardi Gras unlike any in history.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by New Orleans city Councilman Oliver Thomas (al
Good Sport Week: Limbaugh and Sports Talk (2003)
Jody has a new podcast series! It’s called “Good Sport” and all this week we’re featuring episodes. Be sure to find it wherever you get your podcasts.
Today, we discuss the moment in 2003 when Rush Limbaugh was featured on ESPN’s football coverage. The first episode of Good Sport gets into the connections between sports talk and politics talk. It’s out now.
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Elizabeth Peratrovich Day (1988)
It’s February 16th — Elizabeth Peratrovich Day!
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the life and work of Alaska Native cativist Elizabeth Peratrovich.
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If you want to support the show di
Gandhi Meets the US Civil Rights Movement (1936)
It’s February 14th. This day in 1936, a delegation of US civil rights activists is touring India, where they would meet with Mahatma Gandhi to discuss non-violent resistance.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the visit and what the two resistance movement had to learn from each other.
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Utah Grants And Un-Grants Women The Right To Vote (1870)
It’s February 12th. This day in 1870, women in Utah become the first in the country to cast ballots in elections. But after granting women the right to vote, Utah then took it back a generation later.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why Utah’s move towards women’s suffrage was tied up in questions of polygamy, and how rights can be taken back just as easily as they are enshrined.
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Fi
The Beating of Isaac Woodard (1946) w/ Matthew Delmont
It’s February 9th. In 1946, a recently-returned World War II vet by the name of Isaac Woodard is beaten by police, an incident that became a national civil rights rallying cry.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by special guest Matthew Delmont of Dartmouth University to discuss how Black WWII vets were treated when they returned home, and how in many cases their service made them a target.
Be sure to check out Matt’s book “Half American.”
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Tractorcade! (1979)
It’s February 7th. This day in 1979, thousands of tractors descended on Washington, D.C. as part of a protest over agricultural policy.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why farmers were upset with the Carter administration’s economic policy, how D.C. residents felt about the tractors — and what happened when a blizzard descended on the city.
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This Day
Huey Long Invents a Bank Holiday (1933)
It’s February 4th. This day in 1933, Louisiana Senator Huey Long invents a holiday out of whole cloth in order to close banks and prevent a bank run.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the bank needed to close, and how Long settled on commemorating the day in 1917 when the US cut off diplomatic relations with Germany.
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This Day In Esoteric Political
Laddie Boy! First Celebrity Presidential Pet (1929)
It’s February 2nd. This day in 1929, Laddie Boy died and the country mourned.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss Warren Harding’s dog, and why he was such a beloved celebrity.
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If you w
Carter Hacks Iowa (1976)
It’s January 31st. This day in 1976, Jimmy Carter is coming out of Iowa having rocketed to the top of the Democratic nomination field. This is in large part because he was the first to recognize the particular way in which the Iowa caucus system favored a certain kind of politics.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why Carter was such a great fit for the Iowa style of campaign politics.
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Elian Gonzalez, Stuck in the US (2000) w/ Geraldo Cadava
It’s January 29th. This day in 2000, the Cuban relatives of Elian Gonzalez are in the United States arguing that the six-year-old child should be returned to Cuba — while his relatives in Miami and many in the Cuban-American community are fighting for him to be kept in the U.S.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Northwestern history professor Geraldo Cadava to discuss why the Gonzalez story became such a flashpoint, and how it played into the political moment.
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The Black Panther Breakfast Program (1969) w/ Mary Phillips
It’s January 26th. This day in 1969, free meals are being handed out to kids in Oakland, California as part of the Black Panther Party Free for Children Breakfast Program.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Mary Phillips, history professor at Lehman College, to discuss why the panthers started the program, how it reflected the community work they were doing — and how it subverted gender roles within the organization.
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The Billy Possum Craze (1909)
It’s January 24th. This day in 1909, the administration of William Howard Taft has gone completely possum crazy — and is desperately trying to make “Billy Possum” a mascot along the lines of the Teddy Bear.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Taft was so infatuated with the possum, and the key differences between the origin stories of the Teddy Bear and Billy Possum marketing campaigns.
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The Lumbees vs. the KKK (1958)
It’s January 22nd. This day in 1958, near Maxton, North Carolina, a KKK rally was broken up by a group of armed members of the Lumbee tribe.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss what came to be known as the “Battle of Hayes Pond,” the relationship between Black, White, and Native Americans in the region, and the role of armed resistance in the Civil Rights era.
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The Donkey and the Elephant (1870)
It’s January 19h. This day in 1870, a political cartoon by Thomas Mast depicts a donkey to represent southern Democrats. Around this same time, Nast also starts to use the elephant for Republicans.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the very convoluted origins of the very strange mascots — and whether the donkey-elephant divide even works anymore.
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This
Topsy the Elephant is Electrocuted (1903)
It’s January 16th. This day in 1903, film of the electrocution of an elephant, Topsy, is being viewed in kinetoscopes across the country. Topsy was executed on Coney Island a few weeks earlier.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the story of Topsy’s death lands at a moment when there are lots of changes in the way Americans thought about electricity, corporal punishment, animal rights — and how the death evokes the spectacle and bloodlust of the lynching era.
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McKinley Lost-Causes The Civil War (1898)
It’s January 15th. In the winter of 1898-99, at the end of the Spanish-American War, President McKinley is touring the south to drum up support from Southern lawmakers.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how as part of his appeal to Southerners, McKinley embraces a story of the Civil War as virtuous and noble — and makes key concessions about monuments and burial plots to Southern soldiers. In many ways, this starts to plant the seeds for the so-called “Lost Cause” narrative.
Thanks to li
Recent Favorite: Family Jewels w/ Rick Perlstein
Here’s a recent favorite episode — the first part of a four-part series we did on the Church Committee hearings. We’ll be back real soon with new stories!
We’ve got a new miniseries for you, looking back at the 1975 Church Committee hearings and report, which disclosed a wide array of shady behavior by the NSA, FBI, and CIA.
For the next four episodes, we’ll look at the findings and what the revelations meant for US government and media. We’ll look at Meddling Abroad, Meddling at Home
Recent Favorite: The Dominion of Melchizedek (1993)
Here’s a recent favorite episode — we’ll be back real soon with new stories!
It’s June 2nd. This day in 1993, the very-fake nation known as “The Dominion Of Melchizedek” received official recognition from the Central African Republic. The Dominion was a nation set up to commit bank fraud, but now it was formally recognized as a sovereign state.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how Melchizedek was able to exploit a number of legal loopholes to establish itself — and how the scheme brough
On The Media: The Divided Dial
This episode, we bring you a favorite conversation from our friends at On The Media. They have a whole new series on the rise and influence of talk radio, particularly on the political right. It’s hosted by Katie Thornton, and this is the first episode.
Listen to the full series here: https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/divided-dial
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This Day In
In The Bubble: Ken Burns on Franklin, Public Health, and More
This episode, we bring you a favorite conversation from our friends at In The Bubble with host Andy Slavitt. Here he talks with filmmaker Ken Burns about Benjamin Franklin, public health, and the work of history.
To hear more In the Bubble, head to https://link.chtbl.com/InTheBubble
More about In The Bubble, from Lemonada:
Every day, the world seems on the brink of crisis. Join Andy Slavitt and experts, policymakers, journalists and thought leaders Monday, Wednesday and Friday to sta
Ask Us Anything (Part 2)
Happy New Year! To kick off 2023, we’re answering a bunch of your questions about things big and small. Thanks for all your great questions and comments this year, and we’re looking forward to many great conversations in the year to come.
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This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.
Your support helps foster indep
Ask Us Anything (Part 1)
Happy New Year! To kick of 2023, we’re answering a bunch of your questions about things big and small. Thanks for all your great questions and comments this year, and we’re looking forward to many great conversations in the year to come.
Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll be sending out links to all the stuff we recommended later this week.
Find out more at thisdaypod.com
This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.
Your support helps foster indepe
Stuff That Inspired Us: Popular Work
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As 2022 comes to a close, we’re doing a few special episodes talking about favorite work from the year — and ideas that we’ll carry with us into 2023. Today, we talk about more “pop history” work that we loved.
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This Day
Stuff That Inspired Us: Academic Work
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As 2022 comes to a close, we’re doing a few special episodes talking about favorite work from the year — and ideas that we’ll carry with us into 2023. Today, we talk about more academic work and the current state of historical research and discourse.
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F
The Reagan Astrology Scandal w/ Mangesh Hattikudur (1988)
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It’s December 25th. Merry Christmas! In 1988, rumors began to swirl about Nancy Reagan using astrology to make decisions within the White House. The Reagans downplayed the story, but soon reporters began to dig into their longstanding use of star charts and numbers, dating back to their time in Hollywood.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by podcast host M
Karl Rove's "IT Guru" and the 2004 Ohio Rumor Mill (2008)
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It’s December 22nd. In 2008, Dan Connell, a technology consultant, died in a small plane crash in Ohio. Connell had been a longtime consultant for GOP campaigns, and his death set off all sorts of rumors and conspiracies reaching back to questions about the 2004 presidential election in Ohio. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the ecosystem of left-wing conspir
Ford on "Dynasty" (1983)
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It’s December 20th. In 1983, ex-President Gerald Ford appeared on the hit soap opera “Dynasty,” playing himself and delivering a six-word line — which most TV critics still went out of their way to pan. Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the appearance and the history of presidential cameos.
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This Day
JFK Almost Assassinated (1960)
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It’s December 15th. In 1960, a New Hampshire man lined his car with dynamite and planned to ram in to the limousine in which President-Elect John F Kennedy was riding. He ditched his plan at the last second, and was arrested shortly after. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the plot, the incredible way it was uncovered, and why Kennedy was the target of such ha
Bernie Madoff's Pyramid Collapses (2008)
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It’s December 13th. In 2008, FBI agents knock on the door of financier Bernie Madoff and arrest him for running a decades-long Ponzi scheme. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how Madoff was able to get away with it for so long, why it all collapsed — and the man people who were hurt as a result of his fraud.
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Sandy Hook Conspiracies Take Root (2012)
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On December 14th, 2012, the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School killed 28 people. Almost immediately conspiracy theories about the tragedy began to spread, promulgated in large part by people like Alex Jones. On the 10th anniversary of the event, Jody, Niki, and Kellie look back at how the right-wing media ecosystem spread and embraced these conspiraci
The Video Game Freakout (1993)
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It’s December 8th. In 1993, Senator Joe Lieberman announces hearings to air concerns about violence in video games. Jody, Niki and Kellie discuss how the moral panic about video game violence came to be, and how there will always be something for parents to freak out about.
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And don’t forget about
The Nullification Crisis and the Almost-Civil-War (1832)
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It’s December 6th. In 1832, South Carolina threatens to ignore a number of US tariff laws, and begins to threaten succession. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the “nullification crisis” and whether the country could have erupted into Civil War 30 years earlier than it eventually did.
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And don’t forg
Colored Conventions Movement (1830)
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It’s December 4th. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the Colored Conventions movement, which provided and intellectual and political space for Black leaders in the years before, during, and after the Civil War.
Check out the Colored Conventions database at coloredconventions.org
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And don’t forget ab
The First Email. Probably. (1971)
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It’s December 1st. In late 1971, a man by the name of Ray Tomlinson sends what is generally considered to be the first email message. He has virtually zero memory of what it actually was. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the history of this innovation is so murky, and how their relationship with email has changed over the years.
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Jews To Alaska (1938)
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It’s November 29th. In 1938, weeks after Kristallnacht, a plan emerges to accept Jewish refugees from Europe and settle them in Alaska. This was an attempt to skirt strict U.S. immigration quotas. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the plan and the larger context of anti-semitism and anti-refugee sentiment among Americans and congressional leaders.
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401 Episodes! w/ Jacob Feldman
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It’s November 27th. We continue our chat with our producer, Jacob Feldman, about how the show comes together and some of the lessons he’s learned along the way of helping make 400 episodes. Thanks to all of you who have been there along for the ride.
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And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by
400 Episodes! (pt 1) w/ Jacob Feldman
*** The Radiotopia fundraiser is happening right now! Support this show by becoming a member today: https://on.prx.org/3Ehr3B6 ***
It’s November 24th. And this is our 400th episode! We chat with our producer, Jacob Feldman, about how the show comes together and some of the lessons he’s learned along the way of helping make 400 episodes. Thanks to all of you who have been there along for the ride.
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And don’t forget about Oprah
The Jekyll Island Secret Meeting (1910) w/ Jacob Goldstein
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It’s November 22nd. In 1910, a group of the most powerful bankers in the country were invited to the secluded Jekyll Island, off the coast of Georgia, to develop a plan for what would eventually become the Federal Reserve.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Jacob Goldstein of Pushkin Industries to discuss the cloak and dagger arrangements for the meeting
Jaywalking (1923) w/ Doug Gordon
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It’s November 20th. In 1923, in Cincinnati, a referendum to limit the speed of cars fails after massive lobbying on the part of the auto industry. The referendum came up for a vote after tens of thousands of people signed a petition asking to limit the damage cars could do to pedestrians. In the wake of this, cities also passed jaywalking laws, effectively
Trotter Confronts Wilson (1914)
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It’s November 17th. In 1914, activist William Monroe Trotter confronted President Wilson, in the Oval Office, over the treatment and degradation of Black Americans. Wilson became enraged at the conversation and threw Trotter out of the White House.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the heated moment, the larger Jim Crow context for the confrontation, and Trot
Denver Rejects The Olympics (1972)
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It’s November 15th. This day in 1972, citizens of Colorado rejected a proposal that would have funded the 1976 Olympics Games. Denver had been awarded the games two years earlier, but now local residents and officials were starting to question the economic and environmental cost.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Denver said no, and how people are startin
The GOP Reckoning Report (2012)
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It’s November 12th. This day in 2012, the GOP is licking its wounds after an underwhelming election result. It begins a process of self-reflection that would result in the “Growth and Opportunity Report,” a blueprint for a party that turns off fewer voters and embraces diversity.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie revisit the report in the light of the 2022 midterms,
The Colored Conventions Movement (1830)
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It’s December 3rd. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the Colored Conventions movement, and how Black leaders found a space for agency and progress before, during, and in the aftermath of the Civil War.
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And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kellie, out now from Radiotopia.
This Day In Esoter
Election Day Special: Reporting The Results w/ Jad Abumrad
It’s election day here in the United States. We hope you’ve already voted, or maybe are reading this while you’re standing in line. Today, we bring you an episode we originally did on election day in 2020 — a look at the history of how election results get conveyed, and the tension between speed and accuracy. Our guest is Jad Abumrad, former host of Radiolab. Enjoy, and happy voting!
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And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted
Mid-Terms Week: NJ Voter Intimidation (1981)
In the run-up to the November election, we’re doing a number of episodes that may help you track and process the current news. This week, it’s Mid-Terms week, looking at a few of our favorite mid-term elections that planted historical seeds for this year’s contest.
Today, we look at an incident in 1981, where GOP-backed forces intimidated Black and Latino voters on Election Day as part of a ‘ballot security task force.” Some of the same tactics are popping up around the country in this
Mid-Terms Week: The First Blue Wave (1826)
In the run-up to the November election, we’re doing a number of episodes that may help you track and process the current news. This week, it’s Mid-Terms week, looking at a few of our favorite mid-term elections that planted historical seeds for this year’s contest.
Today, we look at the 1826 mid-term elections, where voters rebuked President John Quincy Adams after feeling that he’d been illegitimately elected in the previous election. This is also one of the first elections where the
Mid-Terms Week: 1946 Changes Everything (1946)
In the run-up to the November election, we’re doing a number of episodes that may help you track and process the current news. This week, it’s Mid-Terms week, looking at a few of our favorite mid-term elections that planted historical seeds for this year’s contest.
Today, we look at the 1946 mid-term elections, where Republicans scored a sweeping victory and America offered a rebuke of the FDR era.
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And don’t forget about Opr
Mid-Terms Week: I'm Not A Witch (2010)
In the run-up to the November election, we’re doing a number of episodes that may help you track and process the current news. This week, it’s Mid-Terms week, looking at a few of our favorite mid-term elections that planted historical seeds for this year’s contest.
Today, we look at the 2010 Delaware senate race, where Christine O’Donnell faced accusations and rumors that she was a witch in high school. She ended up losing by 17 points, but the legacy of her Tea Party moment continues.
Polling Week: Let's Get Thermostatic w/ Harry Enten
In the run-up to the November election, we’re doing a number of episodes that may help you track and process the current news. This week, it’s Polling Week, looking at some interesting polling-related stories with our friend Harry Enten of CNN.
Today, a look at the fundamental forces that underlie midterm elections, and ways to measure them, such as the generic ballot.
Be sure to catch Harry on CNN every day!
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And don’t forg
Polling Week: The Red Wave (1994) w/ Harry Enten
In the run-up to the November election, we’re doing a number of episodes that may help you track and process the current news. This week, it’s Polling Week, looking at some interesting polling-related stories with our friend Harry Enten of CNN.
In 1994, Republicans took back control of congress for the first time in 40 years (!) in what was clearly a “wave” election. We discuss how the polling didn’t anticipate such a big gain, and when you call something a wave vs a swing vs some othe
Polling Week: Harry Reid's Upset (2010) w/ Harry Enten
In the run-up to the November election, we’re doing a number of episodes that may help you track and process the current news. This week, it’s Polling Week, looking at some interesting polling-related stories with our friend Harry Enten of CNN.
In 2010, polls consistently showed Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid down to challenger Sharron Angle. But on election day, Reid ended up beating his polls by about seven points. We discuss what that race can teach us about midterm polling,
Referendum Week: Prop 13 (1978)
In the run-up to the November election, we’re doing a number of episodes that may help you track and process the current news. This week, it’s Referendum Week, looking at the world of referendums, ballot initiatives, and more.
Today, we look at California’s Proposition 13, perhaps the most significant ballot initiative in the 1970’s “referendum fever” era. It was part of a larger anti-tax revolt, and has had decades-long ripple effects for our politics and government.
Sign up for our
Referendum Week: The Badass Grandmas of North Dakota (2018) w/ Joshua Graham Lynn
In the run-up to the November election, we’re doing a number of episodes that may help you track and process the current news. This week, it’s Referendum Week, looking at the world of referendums, ballot initiatives, and more.
In 2018, a group of women who came to be known as the “Badass Grandmas” got together to pass anti-corruption legislation in North Dakota. It showed the power of referendums at the state level to help fix our democracy.
Our guest is Joshua Graham Lynn, CEO of the
Referendum Week: Direct Democracy In Action (1778) w/ Joshua Graham Lynn
In the run-up to the November election, we’re doing a number of episodes that may help you track and process the current news. This week, it’s Referendum Week, looking at the world of referendums, ballot initiatives, and more.
In 1778, Massachussets voters took part in the first referendum in US history, voting on whether to approve a state constitution. We discuss how that very first vote contained many of hte hallmarks of direct democracy initiative — and look at America’s appetite f
Mid-Term Favorites: The Murkowski Write-In (2010)
In the run-up to the November election, we’re taking on and revisiting some of our favorite mid-term related topics. Today, we revisit an episode from 2021.
In 2010, Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski prevailed in her re-election effort — one in which she was forced to mount a write-in campaign after losing the primary.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how hard it is to get a successful write-in campaign going, and what the Murkowski story says about the way in which parties and voters can
Mid-Term Favorites: Paul Wellstone Plane Crash (2002)
In the run-up to the November election, we’re taking on and revisiting some of our favorite mid-term related topics. Today, we revisit an episode from 2020.
Just days before the 2000 mid-term election, beloved Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone died in a plane crash, upending the race. Jody and Niki discuss the political effect, and the loss of a progressive champion.
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Mid-Term Favorites: Contract with America (1994) w/ Kirsten Soltis Anderson
In the run-up to the November election, we’re taking on and revisiting some of our favorite mid-term related topics. Today, we revisit an episode from 2020.
On this day in 1994, Republicans in the House of Representatives gathered on the steps of the Capitol to announce the “Contract with America,” a plank of ten policy points that they pledged to uphold if they seized back power in the upcoming midterm elections.
Jody and Niki are joined by pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson of Echelon
The Whiskey Rebellion and the Fear Of The Tax Collector (1794)
It’s October 6th. In 1794, violent skirmishes are breaking out in Western Pennsylvania as the newly formed country tries to levy a tax on whisky.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the tax was a test for the new government, and how paranoia and violence against tax collection has a long history in the United States.
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This Day In Esoteric Politica
Franklin in France (1776) w/ Mike Duncan
It’s October 4th. In 1776, Benjamin Franklin is headed to France as the Continental Congress’s first diplomat, looking to secure support for the American independence movement.
Jody and Kellie are joined by Mike Duncan, history podcaster behind series such as “Revolutions” and “The Fall of Rome.” They discuss Franklin’s diplomatic goal, his taste for the Parisian nightlife — and why the values of the Founding Fathers continue to be contested and politicized.
Mike is on tour all this m
Rudy vs Brooklyn Museum (1999) w/ Harry Siegel
It’s October 2nd. This day in 1999, a First Amendment battle is brewing between New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and the Brooklyn Museum, which is mounting a controversial exhibit Giuliani deems “sick stuff.”
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Harry Siegel of the podcast FAQ NYC to discuss how every side took advantage of the news cycle — and what the controversy presaged about today’s free speech debates.
Subscribe to FAQ NYC wherever you get your podcasts!
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Rural Free Delivery (1896)
It’s September 29th. This day in 1896, a postal worker sets out to deliver the mail to ten rural towns in West Virginia. It’s the start of the Rural Free Delivery service.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the program changed the way Americans got their mail, lined the pockets of the politicians and businessmen who backed the project — and transformed the country’s infrastructure. Plus: can you really mail a baby?
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No Crime Day (1986) w/ Josh Levin
It’s September 27th. This day in 1986, NBA star Isaiah Thomas promoted “No Crime Day” in the city of Detroit.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Slate’s Josh Levin to talk about the effort, how it represented the approach to drugs and violence in the 1980s, and the legacy of Thomas’s initiative.
Josh and his team have a full episode on No Crime Day in the latest season of Slate’s “One Year” podcast.
Be sure to subscribe to Josh’s latest season of One Year wherever you get your podc
Pauli Murray Shoots Her Shot (1971)
It’s September 25th. In 1971, the longtime activist and law professor Pauli Murray wrote a letter to Richard Nixon nominating herself for the vacant Supreme Court seat, even though she admits that the letter will likely make no difference as it “finds its way to the wastebasket.”
Jody, NIki, and Kellie what the letter represents about Pauli Murray’s long career of activism, advocacy, and art.
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Dogs as Deflection: Fala and Checkers (1944/1952)
It’s September 22nd. Today, we visit two speeches that used anecdotes about dogs to deflect and charm. In 1944, FDR gave a speech about his dog Fala and the misuse of government funds — the jokes he cut about Fala, written with the help of Orson Welles, helped belittle his critics. Eight years later to the day, in a long speech about improper gifts and funds, VP candidate Richard Nixon told a story about receiving his pet dog Checkers.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the two speeches, w
The Cleveland BalloonFest Fiasco (1986) w/ Clare Malone
It’s September 19th. In 1986, the city of Cleveland decided to stage a charity event in which they released millions of balloons into the air. It went very, very poorly.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by The New Yorker’s Clare Malone, a Cleveland native, to discuss why balloonfest went so wrong, and what to make of Cleveland’s many attempts at rehabilitating its image.
Here’s a video of Balloonfest: https://youtu.be/n0CT8zrw6lw
Be sure to check out Clare’s Ringer podcast series “J
Romney's Secret 47% Tape (2012) w/ David Corn
It’s September 17th. In 2012, durig the home stretch of the presidential election, a secretly-recorded tape of Mitt Romney at a fundraiser upended the race. The video showed him talking about “47% of Americans” who don’t pay taxes, expect to live off government largesse — and are not voters that Romney is concerned with.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by David Corn, DC Bureau Chief for Mother Jones magazine, who broke the story of the leaked tape. They discuss how the tape came into
The Christiana Resistance (1851)
It’s September 15th. This day in 1851, a dramatic showdown takes place in Christiana, Pennsylvania over four fugitive enslaved people who were hiding in a farmhouse near the Maryland border.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the details of the showdown and how the incident at Christiana ratcheted tensions in the run-up to the Civil War.
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This Day In
The Basket Of Deplorables (2016)
It’s September 13th. This day in 2016, comments from Hillary Clinton about how half of Trump supporters can be put into a “basket of deplorables” are going viral.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the context of where Clinton made those comments, why her larger point was lost — and why it’s always a mistake for politicians to generalize about their opponent’s supporters.
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Partisans Week: Clinton Chronicles VHS (1994)
Nicole Hemmer has a new book out! It’s called “Partisans: The Conservative Revolutionaries Who Remade American Politics in the 1990s.” All this week, she’s walking through some of her favorite stories from the book, which is available for purchase now.
Today: conspiracy theories about the Clintons circulate through a viral VHS tape.
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This Day In E
Partisans Week: Buchanan at Smuggler's Gulch (1992)
Nicole Hemmer has a new book out! It’s called “Partisans: The Conservative Revolutionaries Who Remade American Politics in the 1990s.” All this week, she’s walking through some of her favorite stories from the book, which is available for purchase now.
Today: a story about how Pat Buchanan carved out an extreme stance about the US-Mexico border, and immigration became a key GOP issue
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Partisans Week: Black Helicopters (1995)
Nicole Hemmer has a new book out! It’s called “Partisans: The Conservative Revolutionaries Who Remade American Politics in the 1990s.” All this week, she’s walking through some of her favorite stories from the book, which is available for purchase now.
Today: a story about black helicopters, conspiracy theories, and radicalism in the Pacific Northwest.
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And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kellie, out now from Radiot
The Mystery of LBJ's "Box 13" (1948) w/ Mark Lawrence
It’s September 4th. In 1948, a heated Texas Senate primary comes down to a very mysterious box of ballots found in Jim Wells County — which conveniently put Lyndon Johnson ahead by just a few votes.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Mark Lawrence of the UT-Austin and the LBJ Library to discuss what we know and don’t know about the “Box 13” scandal — and whether it truly changed the trajectory of LBJ’s political career.
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An
Brownie, Heckuva Job (2005)
It’s September 1st. In 2005, in the wake of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, George W Bush offered praise to the director of FEMA, Michael Brown, saying “Brownie, you’re doing a a heckuva job.”
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the phrase became such a flashpoint, and how it represented so much of what was wrong with the Katrina response and the Bush administration in general.
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Lincoln's Avenger (1894)
It’s August 30th. This day in 1894, a man by the name of Thomas H “Boston” Corbett is presumed dead in a fire in Minnesota. Boston Corbett led a troubled life, particularly over the previous thirty years, during which he was best known as the man who killed John Wilkes Booth — the man who killed Abraham Lincoln.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the circumstances under which Corbett killed Booth, the way in which he was treated as a hero, and the spiral Corbett’s life took as he embraced
Biden Bites Kinnock (1987)
It’s August 27th. This day in 1987, rumors are building that Joe Biden had plagiarized remarks from British politician Neil Kinnock. Soon, reporters would find evidence that Biden used lines directly from Kinnock’s remarks, without attribution, in a debate — and other instances of plagiarism would emerge in the coming weeks.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how Biden’s plagiarism was uncovered, how it sank his 1988 presidential bid, and how his reputation for borrowing phrases has persis
Port Chicago Mutiny (1944)
It’s August 25th. In 1944, a group of sailors at Port Chicago in California are facing mutiny charges, after refusing to work under dangerous conditions. Just under a month earlier, there had been a massive explosion at the same location, killing hundreds.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the sailors refused to work, the impact of the Port Chicago explosion, and the way in which the mostly-Black sailors were mistreated by the Navy and the U.S. government.
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Wooed By Mussolini (1926)
It’s August 22nd. Throughout the late summer of 1926, legendary journalist Ida Tarbell is publishing a series of flattering profiles of Benito Mussolini.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the muck-raking journalist is falling under the spell of the rising dictator, and why so many other Progressive voices seem to be doing the same.
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This Day In E
Hoover Feeds Russia (1922)
It’s August 19th. This day in 1922, a massive food relief program is underway, with tons of American supplies headed for Russia.
Jody, Kellie, and Niki discuss why the United States was committed to aiding the Russian famine, and how Herbert Hoover built his reputation as a food administrator in the wake of WWI.
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This Day In Esoteric Political His
The Roots of "Roots" (1976)
It’s August 18th. This day in 1976, Alex Haley’s sprawling epic Roots hits the bookshelves. It quickly caused a sensation — and controversy.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how Haley’s work came together, the enormous impact it had, and the mix of fact and fiction that somewhat clouded the work.
Check out Reconsidering Roots, the book Kellie edited about Haley and the Roots television miniseries.
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The Acquittal of Joan Little (1975)
It’s August 16th. This day in 1975, a woman by the name of Joan Little was acquitted of murder — the first case in which a woman is acquitted of a murder committed in self-defense against sexual assault.
Jody, Niki and Kellie discuss how Little became an unlikely public figure, how the civil rights movement of the time rallied around her case, and the legacy of her acquittal.
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The Benghazi Memo (2012) w/ Leon Neyfakh
It’s August 14th. In 2012, on August 16th, a State Department memo was sent regarding the security of the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. Less than a month later, the compound was attacked, and four Americans died, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Leon Neyfakh, host of FIASCO, to discuss the roots of the deep Benghazi attack — and how the politicization of the incident has completely muddied the waters of understanding why the traged
The Irish-American Gun-Runners (1973) w/ Nate Lavey
It’s August 11th. This day in 1973, a group of Irish-Americans known as “The Fort Worth Five” are caught up in the court system, accused of running guns to Ireland to aid the independence movement.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Nate Lavey to discuss how regular Irish-Americans got involved in the freedom fight, and the long political and financial nexus between groups like NORAID in the United States and the IRA in Ireland.
Nate is the host of the excellent new podcast “Foreign
TN Week: Elvis, Cash, and Tricky Dick (1972) w/ Jane Carr
Big news! Niki Hemmer is moving to Vanderbilt University to teach and found a center on the presidency. To help her get up to speed, she’s hosting “Tennessee Week” on the show with a few conversations around some key and fascinating moments in TN history.
Today, Niki and Kellie are joined by Jane Carr, editor at CNN and Memphis native, to discuss the strange ties between Richard Nixon and two musical icons — Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. They break down Nixon’s understanding of the ro
TN Week: State of Franklin (1784) w/ Jane Carr
Big news! Niki Hemmer is moving to Vanderbilt University to teach and found a center on the presidency. To help her get up to speed, she’s hosting “Tennessee Week” on the show with a few conversations around some key and fascinating moments in TN history.
Today, Niki and Kellie are joined by Jane Carr, editor at CNN and Memphis native, to discuss the “State of Franklin,” a short-lived breakaway republic in what is now eastern Tennessee.
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TN Week: Saint Dolly w/ Jad Abumrad
Big news! Niki Hemmer is moving to Vanderbilt University to teach and found a center on the presidency. To help her get up to speed, she’s hosting “Tennessee Week” on the show with a few conversations around some key and fascinating moments in TN history.
Today, Niki and Kellie are joined by Jad Abumrad, founder of Radiolab, Nashville native, and host of “Dolly Parton’s America.” They discuss what Dolly Parton has meant to TN, and the country.
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What About Your Gaffes (2012)
It’s July 31st, 2012. This day, on the campaign trail, a reporter shouts a question at Mitt Romney: “What about your gaffes?!”
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the question came to be asked and why it perfectly encapsulates everything wrong with modern political journalism. Plus, why the other questions asked that day weren’t that much better.
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The Sinking of Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior (1985) w/ Adam McKay
It’s July 31st. This day in 1985, two divers acting on behalf of the French government planted bombs on the Greenpeace ship The Rainbow Warrior, blowing a hole in the side of the hull and sinking the vessel, killing one person on board.
Jody and Niki are joined by Adam McKay to discuss the incident, the reasons that the French government attacked a private ship, and the legacy of Greenpeace’s environmental activism.
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And don’
Morris The Cat And Adam McKay's Big Break (1992) w/ Adam McKay
It’s July 28th. This day in 1992, “Morris The Cat,” the feline spokesperson for Nine Lives cat food, is in the heart of a stunt presidential campaign.
Jody and Niki are joined by director and writer Adam McKay (Don’t Look Up, Vice, Anchorman) to talk about the campaign and how Adam’s career changed as a result.
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This Day In Esoteric Political Hist
Bush Gets Stuck In A Bog (1995)
It’s July 26th. This day in 1995, former President George HW Bush gets stuck neck-deep in a Canadian bog while on a fishing trip.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how exactly Bush got stuck, how he got out, and his deep love of fishing, as expressed in a letter to the editor of the Deh Cho Drum paper in Fort Simpson, N.W.T.
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This Day In Esoteric Pol
The ADA Changes Everything (1990)
It’s July 24th. This day in 1990, President George HW Bush signed the American with Disabilities Act, after decades of activism and political pressure from disabilities rights advocates.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the ADA transformed American life, not just for people with disabilities, and how the passage fits into Bush’s legacy.
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This Da
DC's Red Summer (1919)
It’s July 21st. This day in Washington, DC, racialized violence is sweeping the city, part of what is known as “Red Summer” around the country.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why DC was a particular kind of powder keg for this kind of violence, given the city’s large and relatively upwardly mobile Black population, which sought to protect itself throughout the summer.
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The McDonald's Massacre (1984) w/ Cari Babitzke
It’s July 19th. This day in 1984, a gunman killed 21 people at a McDonald’s in San Isidro, California. It was one of the earliest public mass shootings in this country.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Cari Babitzke of Boston University to discuss the public and policy response to the event at the time — and the many lessons about mass shootings that we still haven’t learned today.
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The Wallace What-If (1944)
It’s July 17th. This day in 1944, there are real questions about who will be the Vice Presidential nominee going into FDR’s run for office that fall. Henry Wallace was almost chosen instead of Harry Truman — and the course of the end of WWII and a consequential moment in history may have looked very different.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the twists and turns of how Truman came to be nominated over Wallace, Wallace’s progressive “common man” politics, and what could have been.
Sign
Nelson Hackett's Escape -- and Return -- from Canada (1844)
It’s July 14th. This day in 1844, a formerly enslaved man by the name of Nelson Hackett is being sent back to the United States after having escaped to Canada. It would be the first — and last — time that the Canadian government would collaborate with the U.S. to return an escapee.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss Hackett’s journey north, the ad-hoc network of safe-houses and sympathetic institutions that carried people north, and why Canada sent Hackett back to Detroit.
Here’s the KUAF
The Great Upheaval (Railroad Strike Version) (1877)
It’s July 12th. This day in 1877, a railroad worker strike is starting in West Virginia and will soon spread throughout the midwest and eastern United States.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the strike was aided by the way in which railroads connected different parts of the country, and how it planted the seeds for an era of massive strikes.
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T
Nativists vs Catholics in Philadelphia (1844)
It’s July 10th. This day in 1844, riots and violence are breaking out in Philadelphia as nativist groups coalesce around anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant sentiment.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the riots wrapped up fears about schooling, economic competition, religion — and marked a moment in which Nativism started to wield political power.
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Harriet Jacobs, Budding Author (1853)
It’s July 7th. This day in 1853, Harriet Jacobs, a formerly enslaved woman, writes her first letter to the editor, and begins to work on her memoirs. Her story, published almost ten years later under a pseudonym as “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,” would paint a picture of slavery and sexual violence that was often not represented.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss Jacobs’s story, the impact of her work, and why it was lost to history for many years until fairly recently.
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Texas Opts In (1845)
It’s July 5th. This day in 1845, the Texas legislature votes to ratify a decision to join the United States of America. This marked the end, at least for a bit, of an era in which Texas changed hands, switched allegiances, went independent, and more.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the long and twisty road to this moment in Texas (and U.S.) history, and why questions of Texas going it alone are back in the air.
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The Great American Road Trip (1956) w/ Eddie Alterman
It’s July 3rd. This day in 1956, President Eisenhower signed the National Highway Act, the largest infrastructure project in American history.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Eddie Alterman, longtime editor of Car & Driver magazine, to discuss how the highway network reshaped the country and changed car culture.
Be sure to check out Eddie’s podcast Car Show! from our friends at Pushkin Industries.
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The Wrights Make Might (1909)
It’s June 30th. This day in 1909, the Wright Brothers are at Fort Meyer, Virginia, to demonstrate their latest airplane technology.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the Wrights went from independent inventors to striking a deal with the military — and their decades-long hope that aviation would actually help put an end to wars.
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This Day In Esot
The Abramoff Scandal (2005) w/ Philip Bump
It’s June 27th. This day in 2006, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee released a report about the breadth and depth of corruption on the part of lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his associates.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Philip Bump of the Washington Post to discuss how Abramoff cheated his clients out of millions — and the political price many Republicans paid as a result.
Be sure to subscribe to Phillip’s newsletter “How To Read This Chart!”
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Stuck On 435 (1929) w/ Philip Bump
It’s June 26th. In 1929, Congress passed the “Permanent Reapportionment Act,” which capped the number of representatives in the house.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Philip Bump of the Washington Post to discuss why the overall number of representatives had shifted a fair amount up to that point, but has now been stuck for almost a century. They also discuss the efforts at reform — and the unintended consequences of adding more seats.
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The Solar Panels On The White House Roof (1979)
It’s June 20th. This day in 1979, Jimmy Carter held a ceremony to celebrate the new solar panels that had been installed on the White House roof. The panels were symbolic support for new energy initiatives, but also looked to reduce the building’s energy bill at a time of soaring gas prices.
Jody, Niki and Kellie discuss the panels, the green energy efforts, and why Ronald Reagan tore them down.
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And don’t forget about Oprahd
The Dinner Where It Happened (1790)
It’s June 21st. This day in 1790, in lower Manhattan, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison sit down in a meeting brokered by Thomas Jefferson to work out a major compromise involving the Treasury department and the location of the US Capitol.
Jody, Niki and Kellie discuss the meeting, the myths around it, and how it was ultimately a major test of a new democracy in action.
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And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kellie
The Pig War (1859)
It’s June 19th. This day in 1859, a skirmish on the San Juan Islands over a pig that intruded on a farmer’s potato crops leads to an argument, which leads to a diplomatic crisis, which almost leads to a war between the US and Canada.
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Paired: HBCUs (w/ The Stoop)
For the next few episodes, we’re re-posting some of our favorite recent conversations — alongside episodes from fellow Radiotopia shows that cover the same topic or theme.
Today, two stories about HBCUs, including one from our friends at The Stoop.
Thanks to everyone at The Stoop for letting us run this episode!
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This Day In Esoteric Poli
Paired: Attica and San Quentin (w/ Ear Hustle)
For the next few episodes, we’re re-posting some of our favorite recent conversations — alongside episodes from fellow Radiotopia shows that cover the same topic or theme.
Today, a look at two prison uprisings from the summer of 1971. On our show, we talked about Attica and the many false narratives that emerged from that famous riot; and then our friends at Ear Hustle look back at a revolt at San Quentin in August 1971.
To learn more about George Jackson and the events of August 21,
Paired: The Moton School Strike (w/ Memory Palace)
For the next few episodes, we’re re-posting some of our favorite recent conversations — alongside episodes from fellow Radiotopia shows that cover the same topic or theme.
Today, our episode about the 1951 school walkout in Farmville, Virginia, paired with an episode of The Memory Palace about the same event, led by Barbara Johns.
Thanks to Nate DiMeo for letting us run this episode, and be sure to check out The Memory Palace wherever you get your podcasts!
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Paired: Nuclear Mishaps (w/ Radio Diaries)
For the next few episodes, we’re re-posting some of our favorite recent conversations — alongside episodes from fellow Radiotopia shows that cover the same topic or theme.
Today, our episode about the time the Air Force almost detonated nuclear weapons in Goldsboro, NC — paired with the Radio Diaries episode about a near-calamitous nuclear missile accident in Arkansas.
Be sure to check out Radio Diaries wherever you get your podcasts!
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The Oprah-Oz Conundrum (from Oprahdemics)
Dr. Mehmet Oz has secured the GOP nomination for Senate in Pennsylvania. On our sister show Oprahdemics, Kellie Carter Jackson and Leah Wright Rigueur discuss his very dubious medical track record, how much Oprah Winfrey is responsible for promoting his brand, and whether she has any obligation to speak out about his political life.
Check out Oprahdemics wherever you get your podcasts — and join us for an Oprahdemics live show on June 15th in New York City as part of the Tribeca Film F
Rosey Grier's Needlepoint for Men (1968)
It’s June 6th. This day in 1968, Robert Kennedy is assassinated, and the gunman is first tackled by former NFL player Rosey Grier.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Grier was on the scene, and Grier’s improbable and varied path through different parts of politics, media and society — including his turn as an advocate for needlepoint.
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This Day In
The Dominion of Melchizedek (1993)
It’s June 2nd. This day in 1993, the very-fake nation known as “The Dominion Of Melchizedek” received official recognition from the Central African Republic. The Dominion was a nation set up to commit bank fraud, but now it was formally recognized as a sovereign state.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how Melchizedek was able to exploit a number of legal loopholes to establish itself — and how the scheme brought up all sorts of deeper questions about politics, religion, and more.
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The Night Of The Johnstown Flood (1889)
It’s May 31st. This day in 1889, a wall of water rushing down the Conemaugh River wiped out the mountain town of Johnstown, PA. It was one of the worst “natural” disasters in American history, and due in large part to negligence by wealthy developers.
Jody, Niki and Kellie discuss the details of the flood, the class dynamics, and how the incident changed liability law. Plus: what to make of David McCullough, who wrote his first book about the flood.
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The Randolph Freedpeople (1846)
It’s May 29th. This day in 1846, 13 years after being granted their freedom, a group of formerly-enslaved Virginians arrive in Ohio to settle on land that they’d secured in a long court battle.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the plight of the “Randolph Freedpeople,” why their former owner John Randolph willed them their freedom, and the legacy of this group in Ohio today.
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Obama Apologizes, Sort Of, For Hiroshima (2016)
It’s May 26th. This day in 2016, President Obama offered remarks at a memorial ceremony in Hiroshima, Japan.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss Obama’s speech, whether it constituted a proper acknowledgment of the US’s use of nuclear weapons, and how Obama grappled with the political dimensions of his “apology tour.”
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And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kellie, out now from Radiotopia.
This Day In Esoteric Political Hi
Nellie Taft's Stroke (1909)
It’s May 23rd. This day in 1909, Helen “Nellie” Taft, wife of President William Howard Taft, suffered a stroke that caused her to retreat from the White House to recover.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how Nellie was a highly influential figure, and how her absence may have significantly effected the course of the Taft presidency. Plus, Jody floats a theory…
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The Potato Beetle Wars (1950)
It’s May 22nd. This day in 1950, East German farmers begin to report that the Colorado Potato Beetle has invaded their crops, causing devastation and fueling rumors that the infestation is part of an American plot.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the Beetles came to Germany, why the presence of the pest was so easy to propagandize, and the history of entomological warfare.
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And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kel
Tennessee Finally Teaches Evolution (1967)
It’s May 19th. This day in 1967, the Tennessee state legislature finally repealed the Butler Act, the law that had been on the books since the 1920s banning the teaching of evolution in public schools.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the law was finally repealed, and how many of the myths about the law’s passing — and the famous “Scopes monkey trial” — continue to this day.
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Tuskegee Study Apology (1997)
It’s May 16th. This day in 1997, President Clinton offered a formal apology for the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male, which took place in the 1930s-1970s.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the shameful study, the role of the Tuskegee Institute in the government study, and whether Clinton’s apology made a difference.
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Family Jewels Pt 4: Meddling In The Press (1975) w/ Rick Perlstein
We wrap up our four-part series on the 1975/76 Church Committee hearings with a look at the contentious, cozy, and murky relationship between intelligence communities and the press. The CIA targeted individual journalists, but often with the tacit approval of media elites.
Our guest throughout this series has been Rick Perlstein. Be sure to check out his many brilliant books!
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Family Jewels Pt 3: Meddling In Your Mind (1975)
Our miniseries on the 1975/76 Church Committee findings on CIA and FBI operations continues. This episode, we re-visit our conversation about the MKULTRA program, which conducted mind-control and psychedelic drug experiments on unwitting subjects during the 50s and 60s. The existence of the program came out during the Church Committee hearings.
Be sure to check out the whole “Family Jewels” series, where we’re looking at Meddling Abroad, Meddling at Home, Meddling with Your Mind, and M
Family Jewels Pt 2: Meddling At Home (1975) w/ Rick Perlstein
Our miniseries on the 1975/76 Church Committee findings on CIA and FBI operations continues. This episode, we look at what Americans learned with regards to COINTELPRO — domestic spying on people like MLK and John Lennon, as well as groups like the Black Panthers and KKK.
Be sure to check out the whole “Family Jewels” series, where we’re looking at Meddling Abroad, Meddling at Home, Meddling with Your Mind, and Meddling in the Press.
Our guest for this series is Rick Perlstein, author
Family Jewels Pt 1: Meddling Abroad (1975) w/ Rick Perlstein
We’ve got a new miniseries for you, looking back at the 1975 Church Committee hearings and report, which disclosed a wide array of shady behavior by the NSA, FBI, and CIA.
For the next four episodes, we’ll look at the findings and what the revelations meant for US government and media. We’ll look at Meddling Abroad, Meddling at Home, Meddling with Your Mind, and Meddling in the Press.
Our guest for this series is Rick Perlstein, author of Nixonland, Reaganland, The Invisible Bridge, a
Our Bodies, Ourselves (1969)
It’s May 5th, 1969. In Boston, a group of women are meeting to share information about women’s health, which would eventually lead to writing a 193-page pamphlet, which would eventually lead to the book “Our Bodies, Our Selves.”
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why women felt the need to share this basic information about their health, the book’s influence over the generations, and whether it’s still needed today.
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Haymarket and the Roots of May Day (1886)
It’s May 4th. This day in 1886, a deadly riot between police and protesters broke out in Haymarket Square in Chicago.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the Haymarket Riot came on the heels of days of escalating protest over an 8-hour work day; and how the roots of May Day, as a labor holiday, have at times been forgotten.
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And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kellie, out now from Radiotopia.
This Day In Esoteric Po
The She She She Camps (1934)
It’s May 1st. This day in 1934, Eleanor Roosevelt is holding a series of meetings at the White House to plan out a number of camps for women that would give them skills and community as the country tried to claw out of the Great Depression.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the role the camps played as a counterpart for the many programs aimed at giving men work, and how Eleanor was a champion for the effort.
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The Monkey Mayor of Hartlepool (2002) w/ Tim Harford
It’s April 28th. This day in 2002, the northeastern English town of Hartlepool is gearing up for a mayoral election, where they would end up voting in… the local football club’s monkey mascot to run their government.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Tim Harford to discuss the story of how H’Angus the Monkey got elected, and how the man inside the suit, Stuart Drummond, went on to be a very effective administrator.
Be sure to check out Tim’s excellent podcast “Cautionary Tales” fro
Henrietta Wood Sues For Reparations (1878)
It’s April 26th. This day in 1878, a verdict is delivered in a suit brought by the formerly-enslaved woman Henrietta Wood. She sued her former enslaver Zebulon Ward for reparations — and an all-white jury sided with her.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss this largely-forgotten early case for reparations, and why it didn’t set a larger precedent.
For more, be sure to read the book “A Sweet Taste of Liberty.”
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The Moton Walkout and the "Lost Generation" (1951)
It’s April 24th. This day in 1951, Black students at Robert Moton High School in Farmville, Virginia have walked out of school, staging a strike over poor conditions at their school, particularly when compared to the white school across town.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie talk about what motivated the school strike, and how the legal case around the walkout would eventually join up with other similar cases around the country and reach the Supreme Court in the landmark Brown v Board ruling.
S
They're Trying To Wash Us Away (1927) w/ Wright Thompson
It’s April 21st. This day in 1927, the Mississippi River is in beginning to breach levies and overflows the banks throughout the MS delta.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Wright Thompson to discuss the Great Flood of 1927, how it reshaped the American South, and the relationship the region has to the mighty river.
Find Wright’s work at ESPN and The Atlantic, check out “Pappyland,” and watch True South!
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The Mystery of 420's Origins (1986?) w/ Ellen Scanlon
It’s April 20th. 4-20 is a de facto holiday in weed culture, with murky origins and an interesting future as a day of activism and policy conversation.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Ellen Scanlon, host of “How To Do The Pot,” to discuss the many competing theories about where 420 came from as a touchstone. Plus they discuss how the decriminalization and legalization of marijuana may change the meaning of the day.
Be sure to listen to How To Do The Pot wherever you get your podc
Japanese Balloon Bombs Over U.S. Skies (1945)
It’s April 17th. This day in 1945, a balloon bomb exploded over Omaha, Nebraska. This was one of thousands of Japanese devices that were sent out over the Pacific ocean to ride the jet stream and explode on U.S. soil.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the balloon bomb program, why it was largely kept secret from U.S. citizens, and how they lead to a number of American deaths.
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And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kellie
Eugene Debs: Lock Him Up (1919)
It’s April 14th. This day in 1919, Socialist leader Eugene V Debs is sent to prison for violating the Espionage Act in his opposition to WWI. It wasn’t the first time Debs had been imprisoned — but a year later he would run for president and earn almost 4% of the vote from inside his jail cell.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss Deb’s imprisoned candidacy, and the history of jailing political opponents in the United States.
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Eleanor Roosevelt's Tuskegee Plane Ride (1941)
It’s April 12th. This day in 1941, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt took an airplane ride in a small plane piloted by Charles “Chief” Anderson, a Black pilot and member of the Tuskegee airmen.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the photo caused a sensation, and controversy — and helped bolster the case for Black pilots to serve in WWII.
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And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kellie, coming soon from Radiotopia.
This Day
Gloria Richardson, Connector (1964)
It’s April 10th. This day in 1964, activist Gloria Richardson is forging deep ties with other civil rights leaders, particularly Malcolm X.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss Richardson’s form of activism, her push for more forceful stance, and how much changed in the Spring of 1954 for her and the movement at large.
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And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kellie, coming soon from Radiotopia.
This Day In Esoteric Politica
The Forgotten Massacre at Dartmoor Prison (1815) w/ Nick Guyatt
It’s April 7th. This day in 1815, a chaotic attack at Dartmoor prison in England killled and injured dozens of American prisoners.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by historian Nicholas Guyatt to discuss why American prisoners of war were in Dartmoor even after the end of the War of 1812 — and how both the US and UK governments papered over the tragedy.
Nick’s new book, out now, is called “The Hated Cage.” Follow him on twitter for information about his US speaking dates.
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Nixon's Weird-Ass White House Uniforms (1970) w/ Avery Trufelman
It’s April 4th. This day in 1970, Richard Nixon’s great White House uniform experiment is coming to an end.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Avery Trufelman to talk about Nixon’s ill-fated design for new uniforms, what message he was trying to send — and the very weird afterlife of these uniforms once they were packed up into boxes. It involves Alice Cooper.
Be sure to check out Avery’s excellent Radiotopia series “Articles of Interest.”
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The Roots of Intersectionality (1979)
It’s April 3rd. This day in 1979, community organizations in Boston such as the Combahee River Collective are raising the alarm about a string of murders targeting Black women. The CRC looked to highlight the way in which race, gender, and class all intersected in the conditions that led to the murders and the city’s reaction.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the Roxbury murders and the identity politics that emerged from the community’s response.
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Our 300th Episode, and Something New
It’s March 31st. Turns out, it’s our 300th episode, and the second anniversary of the show! What better way to celebrate than by rolling out the new Radiotopia show Oprahdemics, hosted by our very own Kellie Carter Jackson. Here we feature a sneak preview, and be sure to find it wherever you get your podcasts.
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And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kellie, coming soon from Radiotopia.
This Day In Esoteric Political Hi
Washington Asserts His Privilege (1796) w/ Lindsay M. Chervinsky
It’s March 28th. This day in 1796, President Washington cited executive privilege in refusing a request for documents from Congress. This started a long and messy tradition of presidents shielding their actions from oversight.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by historian Lindsay M. Chervinsky to discuss why Washington finally drew an oversight line — and how others have tried to move that line over the centuries since.
Lindsay Chervinsky’s book is The Cabinet: George Washington and
Brando and Littlefeather Refuse The Oscar (1973) w/ Amy Nicholson
It’s March 27th. On Oscar Sunday in 1973, Marlon Brando refused to attend the ceremony and accept is Best Actor award for The Godfather. Instead, Native American activist and actress Sacheen Littlefeather took the stage and gave remarks about the portrayal of American Indians in Hollywood.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Amy Nicholson of the "Unspooled” podcast to talk about the moment, how LIttlefeather and Brando linked up, and the history of political speeches at the Oscars.
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Gerry + Mander (1812) w/ Harry Enten
It’s March 24th. This day in 1812, a political cartoon appeared in a Boston newspaper lampooning a newly proposed election district. The district was the work of Governor Elbridge Gerry, and the cartoonist depicted the district in the shape of a salamander. Hence, the “gerrymander” was born.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by CNN (and former 538) reporter Harry Enten to discuss the origins of redistricting weirdness, proposals to curb it, and how the politics of the 19th century seem
Monopoly's Secret History (1903)
It’s March 22nd. This day in 1903, a woman by the name of Lizzie Maggie filed for a patent for a new boardgame she’d invented — “The Landlord’s Game.”
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss Maggie’s version of the game that would eventually become Monopoly — and how she had originally intended it to be a lesson in cooperation and shared wealth, not ruthless capitalism.
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US Boycotts Russian Games (1980)
It’s March 20th. This day in 1980, President Jimmy Carter is about to issue a decree that U.S.
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The Cornerstone of the Confederacy (1861)
It’s March 16th. In 1861, Alexander Stephens, Vice President of the Confederate States of America, delivered a speech that came to be known as the “cornerstone speech.”
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how Stephens’s remarks left little doubt about the centrality of slavery in the Confederacy’s desire to secede — even though the role of slavery in causing the Civil War continued to be contested for decades.
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Latasha Harlins and the LA Riots (1991)
It’s March 15th. On March 16th, 1991, a young girl, Latasha Harlins, was killed by a shopkeeper in South Central Los Angeles.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how Harlins’s death led to outrage in the Black community in LA, inflamed Korean-American and African-American tensions, and eventually fed into the riots and violence around the Rodney King beating.
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The US Hunts Pancho Villa (1916)
It’s March 13th. This day in 1916, some 6,000 US troops are getting ready to enter Mexico to track down rebel leader Pancho Villa.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why President Wilson sent the troops into Mexico, and what it said about US meddling around the world, and colonial ambitions, in that era.
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A Raisin In The Sun (1959)
It’s March 10th. This day in 1959, “A Raisin In The Sun” debuted on Broadway. It was the first Broadway show written by an African-American woman, and marked the arrival of Loraine Hansberry as a major creative force.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie talk about the play’s critique of the mid-century American dream, Hansberry’s creative peers, and the legacy she left despite her short life.
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We Are The World (1985)
It’s March 8th. This day in 1985, a song was released featuring virtually every major American music star, to raise money and awareness about the famine in Ethiopia.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how “We Are The World” came together, some of the stories from the recording session, and what the effort teaches us about charity, celebrity, and effective advocacy.
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The War on Pinball (1948) w/ Harry Siegel
It’s March 6th. This day in 1948, New York City’s war on pinball was raging, with police smashing machines
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Harry Siegel of The Daily Beast and The Daily News to discuss why Mayor La Guardia was so concerned with pinball machines and the long history of vice policing in New York City.
Listen to Harry’s podcast FAQ NYC for all things NYC!
(Harry also recommended Italo Calvino’s T Zero, which you can find here)
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The Woman Behind The New Deal (1933) w/ Jenny Kaplan
It’s March 3rd. This day in 1933, Frances Perkins is appointed Secretary of Labor, the first woman to hold a cabinet position.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Jenny Kaplan of Womanica to discuss Perkins’ role inside the FDR administration, the way she navigated both her person and professional worlds — and whether Perkins was the real architect of the New Deal.
Be sure to subscribe to the Womanica podcast wherever you get your shows!
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Mixing at Mardi Gras (1992) w/ Oliver Thomas
It’s March 1st, the first day of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. This day in 1992, a city ordinance mandating that all Mardi Gras krewes be integrated in order to march on city streets is in effect — making this a Mardi Gras unlike any in history.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by New Orleans city Councilman Oliver Thomas (also a poet, actor, and radio host) to talk about what the new law means for the very old tradition, and how difficult it is to enforce legal discrimination laws in la
Lincoln At Cooper Union, The Speech That Changed Everything (1860)
It’s February 27th. This day in 1860, Abraham Lincoln gave a speech at the Cooper Union in New York City. Before the speech, he was relatively unknown and not considered a viable candidate for president in that fall’s election. This speech changed everything.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the speech both boosted Lincoln as a candidate, but also laid out his intellectual vision — one that was as much about continually evolving ideas on slavery as anything.
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Our Favorite "Making Trouble" Stories
All this week, shows across the Radiotopia network are doing special episodes around the theme of “making trouble.” It’s being done to celebrate the Radiotopia fundraiser. If you want to support our work, become a member today at https://on.prx.org/367yNHv
For our contribution, we talk about how the word “trouble” has meant different things in different points in history. Then, we each nominate our favorite historical troublemakers.
Who’s yours? Let us know at thisdaypod.com or on soc
Birth of The Peace Symbol (1958) w/ Ian Chillag
It’s the Radiotopia fundraiser! We couldn’t make this show without your support. Become a member now at radiotopia.fm
It’s February 22nd. This day in 1958, in advance of a massive nuclear disarmament protest in London, designer Gerald Holtom came up with a simple design that would go on to be the logo not just for the no-nukes movement, but come to be known as the peace symbol.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Ian Chillag of Everything is Alive to talk about Holtom’s original desi
The Long Telegram (1946)
It’s February 20th. This day in 1946, diplomat George Kennan, stationed in Moscow, sent a 5,000 word telegram to the State Department outlining his assessment of the Soviet Union and how the U.S. should approach its expansion efforts. It would set a template for decades to come.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss what was in the telegram, how it was interpreted — and misinterpreted.
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Black History Month Week: Baldwin v Buckley (1965) w/ Nick Buccola
This week, we’re doing a number of episodes around the history of… Black History Month.
In 1965, two of America’s leading intellectuals debated the question of race — first in front of a packed university audience, and then on national television.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Nick Buccola of Linfield University to talk about James Baldwin and William F. Buckley and their riveting debates over civil rights, race, and the American dream.
Nick Buccola is the author of “The Fire
Black History Month Week: Capital B w/ Jelani Cobb
This week, we’re doing a number of episodes around the history of… Black History Month.
Over the course of this country’s history, the terms we use to describe black Americans have shifted and signified different things — from “colored” to “negro” to “African-American” and “black.” There’s now a debate about whether to capitalize the “b” in black.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Jelani Cobb of the New Yorker to talk about the current debate, and the key moments in the shifting la
Black History Month Week: Where BHM Came From (1924)
This week, we’re doing a number of episodes around the history of… Black History Month.
Today, February 13th — the roots of the celebration in 1924, when historian Carter G Woodson started Negro History Week.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Woodson started the commemoration and how Black History Month has evolved in the century since.
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And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kellie, coming soon from Radiotopia.
Thi
The Anarchist Soup Plot (1916)
It’s February 10th. This day in 1916, at an event attended by much of Chicago’s political and religious elite, an anarchist cook poisoned a batch of soup in an attempt to kill all two hundred attendees.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the plot failed, who the main suspect was, and whether any of the attendees ate soup again.
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And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kellie, coming soon from Radiotopia.
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"Birth Of A Nation" (1915) w/ Tyler Parry
It’s February 8th. This day in 1915, at Clune’s Auditorium in Los Angeles, “The Birth of a Nation” premiered.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Tyler Parry of UNLV to discuss D.W. Griffith’s film and some of the myths and truths about how the film portrayed the Civil War and led to a resurgence of the KKK around the country.
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The Smoking Section (1987) w/ Sarah Milov
It’s February 6th. This day in 1987, federal regulations go into effect limiting where federal workers can smoke cigarettes. Smoking rooms, smoking couches, and the little designated smoking areas on sidewalks spring up as a result.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Sarah Milov of the University of Virginia to talk about the way non-smokers rights were regulated and negotiated, legally and culturally, throughout the 1980s.
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The SPAM Strike (1986) w/ Julia Longoria
It’s February 3rd. This day, 1986, the town of Austin, Minnesota is being torn apart by an ongoing strike at the Hormel meat-packing plant.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by podcast host Julia Longoria to talk about the strike and her larger reporting on the way in which SPAM can explain many of the larger forces in American history.
Julia is the host of “The Experiment” from WNYC and The Atlantic — they have a three-part series on SPAM out now!
This Day In Esoteric Political Hist
McDonald's Comes to Moscow (1990)
It’s February 1st. This day in 1990, the very first McDonald’s opened in Moscow, after 14 years of negotiations and a moment where the USSR was softening its economic policy — and heading towards its eventual collapse.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss what it meant for the most American of brands to land behind the iron curtain, and the role of cultural forces in ushering in the end of the Cold War.
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Here Come the AKAs (1908)
It’s January 30th. This day in 1913, the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority was formally incorporated, five years after its founding in 1908 at Howard University.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the early days of the AKAs, the need for black women to create a space for themselves within HBCU’s, and the legacy of the group and its alumni network over the years. Plus: why Kellie never joined!
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Early Prohibition and The Rise of Weird Liquor Laws (1838)
IT’s January 27th. This day in 1838, some 80 years before national prohibition, the country’s first liquor restriction was passed.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the temperance movement gained momentum alongside other moral crusades in the mid-19th century, and how we are still living with a weird patchwork of alcohol laws around the country.
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The U.S. Almost Nukes Itself (1961)
It’s December 25th. In 1961, on the night of January 23rd, a bomber carrying two massive nuclear weapons broke up in the sky over eastern North Carolina. The bombs came crashing to the ground and an investigation later revealed that they had gone through several of the steps required for detonation.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the near-disaster, how many times the U.S. has come close to this sort of incident, and the big “what if” at the heart of this story.
This Day In Esoteric Po
Carter Pardons Draft Dodgers (1977)
It’s January 23rd. This day in 1977, on his first day in office, President Jimmy Carter pardoned Americans who had evaded service in the Vietnam War.
Jody, Nicole, and Kellie discuss how Carter saw a difference between “pardon” and “amnesty” for draft dodgers, the various ways in which people got out of military service, and how much this decision set the tone for the entire Carter presidency.
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Lurleen Wallace, Proxy Governor (1967)
It’s January 20th. This day in 1967, Lurleen Wallace took office as the Govenor of Alabama, only the third female governor in the United States history.
She was the wife of segregationist governor George Wallace, who was unable to run because of term limits. Instead, he asked his wife to run and they campaigned on a thinly-disguised “two governors, one cause” platform.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the dynamic between the Wallace’s, the proxy campaign — and how Lurleen Wallace’s heal
Silver Shenanigans (1980) w/ Bijan Stephen
It’s January 18th. This day in 1980, a group of Texas oil billionaires were in the middle of a scheme to drive up the worldwide price of silver. This would culminate in a few months later on what came to be known as “Silver Thursday,” when their speculation collapsed and sent worldwide markets into chaos.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Bijan Stephen, host of the podcast “Eclipsed,” which is currently running a four-part series on the Hunt brothers and Silver Thursday.
Listen to
The Great Boston Molasses Flood (1919) w/ Cara Giaimo
It’s January 16th. This day in 1919, the North End neighborhood of Boston is digging out from under 2.3 million gallons of molasses, which flooded city streets after a storage tank burst.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by science and history writer Cara Giaimo to discuss how the flood has been reduced to a quirky tidbit of history, when in fact it should be taken serious as an industrial disaster that could have been prevented.
Cara wrote about the flood for Atlas Obscura in 2019 a
The Hawaii (False) Missile Alert (2018)
It’s January 13th. This day in 2018, at 8:07am, residents of Hawaii received a disturbing alert on their phones: BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL..
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the false alert, how the mistake was made, and how residents of Hawaii reacted in the almost 40 minutes before word got out that it was a false alarm.
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The Harrisburg Seven's Plot to Kidnap Kissinger (1971)
It’s January 11th. This day in 1971, the federal government charged a group of anti-war activists, led by Catholic priest Father Phillip Berrigan, in a scheme to bomb tunnels in Washington DC and kidnap Henry Kissinger.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the details of the plot, Berrigan’s life of activism, and how it mixed with his religious pacifism.
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Declaring "War" on Poverty (1964)
It’s January 9th. In 1964, in his State of the Union speech, president Johnson declared “war on poverty.” It was part of his ambitious Great Society agenda to remake American lives from birth to death.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the language that Johnson used in his speech, and how branding an effort as a “war” can help or hurt a cause.
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January 6th, In Context (2021)
This episode, a conversation about the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol one year ago, and how the stories and themes we’ve discussed on this show can help us understand what took place.
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"The Body" Becomes Governor (1999)
It’s January 4th. This day in 1999, former wrestler Jesse Ventura is sworn in as Governor of Minnesota.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss “The Body’s” improbable and surprisingly-substantive third-party campaign, and how he was able to capture the media’s attention to sneak through to victory. Plus, what happened when his bombastic style came up against the much more boring work of governing.
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'21 Favorite: The Cussing Parrot (1845)
Heading into 2022, we’re re-airing a couple favorite episodes from the year, and bringing you a couple special episodes. We’ll be back live in the new year with a brand new slate. Thanks for all your support this year, if you’d like to become a member of Radiotopia you can do so on our website thisdaypod.com
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It’s June 10th. This day in 1845, at the funeral of Andrew Jackson, his parrot “Poll” had to be removed from the room for excessive swearing.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss P
'21 Favorite: NYC Slavery Revolt (1712)
Heading into 2022, we’re re-airing a couple favorite episodes from the year, and bringing you a couple special episodes. We’ll be back live in the new year with a brand new slate. Thanks for all your support this year, if you’d like to become a member of Radiotopia you can do so on our website thisdaypod.com
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It’s April 6th. This day in 1712, a group of enslaved people start a fire in New York City aimed at sparking a larger rebellion.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the slave rebe
'21 Favorite: Zoot Suit Riots (1943) w/ Emily Spivack
Heading into 2022, we’re re-airing a couple favorite episodes from the year, and bringing you a couple special episodes. We’ll be back live in the new year with a brand new slate. Thanks for all your support this year, if you’d like to become a member of Radiotopia you can do so on our website thisdaypod.com
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It’s June 3rd. This day in 1943 marked the start of the “Zoot Suit Riots,” a series of skirmishes and attacks in Los Angeles targeting Mexican-Americans, who were often ident
Favorite: A History of the War On Christmas (Part 2) w/ Michael Hobbes
Part 2 of one of our favorite — and most timely — episodes ever. We’ll be back with live episodes in 2022.
Our guest this episode is Michael Hobbes, host of the podcast “Maintenance Phase” and former host of “You’re Wrong About.”
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Favorite: A History of the War On Christmas (Part 1) w/ Michael Hobbes
We’re re-airing one of our favorite — and most timely — episodes ever. Part 1 of our conversation about the history of the War on Christmas. We’ll run part 2 next, and be back with live episodes in 2022.
Our guest this episode is Michael Hobbes, host of the podcast “Maintenance Phase” and former host of “You’re Wrong About.”
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The Calumet Christmas Tragedy (1913) w/ Erik Loomis
It’s December 19th. In 1913, on Christmas Eve, 73 people, 59 of them children, died during a stampede at a gathering in the mining town of Calumet, Michigan.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by labor historian Erik Loomis to discuss the Calumet tragedy, the brutal working conditions in the mines, the union organizing that was taking place at the time — and whether the tragedy was a result of company operatives.
Erik Loomis is associate professor of history at the University of Rhode
Grant Expels Jews (1860)
It’s December 16th. This day in 1860, Union General Ulysses Grant issued Order Number 11, which expelled Jews from Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky. Grant was trying to cut down on illegal trading in the region, and based his policy on an Semitic stereotype about Jewish merchants.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss Grant’s order, anti-Semitism in the United States, and the was in which Grants relationship with Jewish community evolved over the years.
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Bush, Meet Shoe (2008)
It’s December 14th. This day in 2008, at a press conference in Baghdad, an Iraqi journalist flung his shoes at George W Bush.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the incident, why Muntadhar al-Zaidi was moved to fling his shoes, and the many interesting wrinkles to the story — including the massive monument to the shoes that was built in Tikrit.
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A Vote Against Entering WWII (1941)
It’s December 12th. This day in 1941, the US Congress provides an overwhelming vote in support of Roosevelt’s declaration of war. But Jeanette Rankin of Montana was the lone dissenter.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss Rankin’s vote, her role as the first woman to hold elected federal office, and her long history of pacifism.
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The John Birch Society Is Born (1958) w/ John S Huntington
It’s December 9th. This day in 1958, a group of twelve men met in Indianapolis to found the “John Birch Society,” a virulently anti-communist, conspiracy-minded group that would come to be influential and controversial in 20th century conservatism.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by John S Huntington to discuss what the Birchers were hoping to accomplish, how they’ve floated in and out of conservative movement, and why a John Birch style of thinking is alive and well today.
John’s b
The Coup in Wilmington (1898)
It’s December 7th. In 1898, a white supremacist coup took place in Wilmington, NC — in which white leaders overthrew a biracial, democratically elected government.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the incidents in Wilmington, what it says about the backlash to Reconstruction, and the living legacy of the coup.
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Lenny Bruce Is Not Afraid (1962)
It’s December 5th. This day in 1962, comedian Lenny Bruce is arrested in Chicago during a performance at a nightclub. His arrest is ostensibly because of underage patrons at the club, but Bruce had been targeted and arrested a number of times for his use of obscenity, and for making jokes about religion, big business, and more.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss Bruce’s legacy and the way in which norms and laws around speech, comedy, and profanity have been negotiated over the years.
Thi
NYC Almost Burns to the Ground (1864)
It’s December 2nd. This day in 1864, a plot to burn down New York City just barely fails. A group of eight saboteurs tried to light simultaneous fires in hotels around the city on “evacuation day,” part of an effort to spark Confederate sympathy in the north.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why the plot failed, and what it says about pro-slavery forces in the north, and the razor’s edge on which the Civil War was balanced until the very end.
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The Battle In Seattle (1999)
It’s November 30th. This day in 1999, the city of Seattle was the site of massive protests during the meeting of the World Trade Organization.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the WTO protests represented a new kind of coalition between populist and environmental forces, and more — and marked a new era of protest in this country.
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'21 Favorite: Drafting the Confederate Constitution (1861)
This Thanksgiving week, we’re running some favorite episodes from the year that you may have missed. We’ll be back with new episodes the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.
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This episode originally ran on March 11th. This day in 1861, the Confederate States of America ratifies its own constitution. It’s largely based on the United States constitution, but with some key changes.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss what values were expressed in the constitutional do-over, and why the similarit
'21 Favorite: Oprah's Beef Beef (1996)
This Thanksgiving week, we’re running some favorite episodes from the year that you may have missed. We’ll be back the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.
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This episode originally aired on April 15th. On this day in 1996, Oprah Winfrey hosted a segment on her show about “Mad Cow Disease” and proclaimed that she would no longer eat beef. That same day, cattle futures plummeted, and she was soon sued by the cattle industry.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the power of Oprah, the “veggie lib
'21 Favorite: Instant City (1889) w/ Sam Anderson
This Thanksgiving week, we’re running some favorite episodes from the year that you may have missed. We’ll be back the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.
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This episode originally ran on April 22nd. This day in 1889, tens of thousands of people gathered in the middle of “unassigned territory” to wait for the signal at high noon — at which point they rushed to claim their free land in what would, overnight, become Oklahoma City.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Sam Anderson of the New
'21 Favorite: The Kerner Alarm (1967) w/ Jelani Cobb
This Thanksgiving week, we’re running some favorite episodes from the year that you may have missed. We’ll be back the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.
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This episode originally aired on July 27th. This day in 1967, LBJ convened the “Kerner Commission” to look into the roots of violence and unrest in America, largely in Black and brown communities around the country.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by The New Yorkers Jelani Cobb to discuss the convening of the Kerner commission and t
Milhouse's Missing Minutes (1973)
It’s November 18th. This day in 1973, the major revelation that there are 18 1/2 minutes missing from the secret recordings Richard Nixon was making in the Oval Office as he discussed the Watergate break-in.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the missing minutes supercharged the Watergate scandal, created loads of theories and conspiracies — an whether what’s on those tapes will ever be recovered.
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Murkowski's Write-In Surprise (2010)
It’s November 16th. This day in 2010, Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski prevailed in her re-election effort — one in which she was forced to mount a write-in campaign after losing the primary.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how hard it is to get a successful write-in campaign going, and what the Murkowski story says about the way in which parties and voters can moderate themselves.
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Why Sherman Marched (1864) w/ Anne Sara Rubin
It’s November 14th. This day in 1864, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman left Atlanta and began destructive march to the sea, burning buildings and supply lines in his attempt to “break the back” of the Confederacy.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Anne Sarah Rubin of UMBC to talk about why Sherman’s March endures as such a powerful story of “total war,” and how the story of the march has been reframed over the years.
Anne’s book is Through the Heart of Dixie: Sherman’s March
Bootlegger Biplane Bombings (1926)
It’s November 11th. This day in 1926, members of the Shelton gang in southern Illinois commandeered a biplane to drop homemade bombs on the hideout of their main bootlegging rivals, the Birgers.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the scheme, how the Shelton-Birger feud reached this level, and where this story fits in to the history of aerial bombings on American soil.
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"The Enemy Is The Knife" (1974)
It’s November 9th. This day in 1974, Dr. Connie Redbird Uri testified at a hearing about the practice of forced sterilization at Indian Health Services clinics. She sounded the alarm about the large numbers of women who were given hysterectomies and other procedures without their consent.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the long and shameful history of forced sterilization in this country, usually among poor and marginalized communities.
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Snatching Lincoln's Body (1876)
It’s November 7th. This day in 1876, a group of Chicago-area men attempt to steal Abraham Lincoln’s body from his grave in Springfield, Illinois, hoping to hold it ransom to release one of their colleagues from prison. It does not go well.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the harebrained scheme, the larger context of grave-robbing in the 19th century, and what ended up happening to Lincoln’s body.
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Carol Moseley-Braun Wears Pants (1992)
It’s November 4th. This day in 1992, Carol Moseley-Braun of Illinois is elected Senator, becoming the first Black woman elected to the Senate, the first African-American senator from the Democratic party, the first woman to defeat an incumbent senator in an election, and the first female senator from Illinois.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss Moseley-Brauns impressive list of firsts, and how her first term was both consequential and fairly quickly dragged down by scandal and allegations
A Minimum Minimum Wage Increase (1977)
It’s November 2nd. This day in 1977, Jimmy Carter signed legislation to raise the minimum wage to $3.35.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the relatively short history of the minimum wage in this country — one in which the rate was increased fairly regularly, until a generation ago.
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Spy vs. Spy in Louisiana (2015)
It’s October 31st. This day in 2015, the campaign of Louisiana Senator David Vitter is in a tailspin after reports of a bungled spying attempt on his opponent, Bel Edwards.
Jody, NIki and Kellie discuss why the Vitter campaign had sent a spy into a coffee shop to record conversations among Edwards supporters — and what happened when word got out that there was another spy in that same room.
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Godless Americans (2008)
It’s October 27th. This day in 2008, an ad endorsed by Elizabeth Dole is running in North Carolina accusing Senate candidate Kay Hagan of being a “godless American.”
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the ad was deceptively edited, why it created such a backlash, and why the charge of “Godlessness” is so stick in American politics.
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Central Park's Black Village is Demolished (1857) w/ Bobby Wooten
It’s October 26th. In October of 1857, the residents of Seneca Village, a community mostly comprised of formerly enslaved African-Americans, were forcibly removed in order to make room for the construction of Manhattan’s Central Park.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by musician Bobby Wooten to discuss the forgotten history of Seneca Village, the use of eminent domain, and how to go beyond signs and placards in terms of repairing the damage done to the residents.
Bobby is the bassist
Lennon's FBI File (1971) w/ Hrishikesh Hirway
It’s October 24th. This day in 1973, former Beatle John Lennon sued the U.S. government, demanding to know whether he was under FBI surveillance.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Hrishikesh Hirway of Song Exploder to discuss Lennon’s post-Beatles political life, his personal evolution, the threat of deportation he faced, and what was in his FBI file.
Check out Hrishi’s new music, his TED Talk, Song Exploder episode with John Lennon, and lots more here.
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Billy Beer (1978)
It’s October 21st. In October 1978, the Falls City Brewing Company ceased production of Billy Beer, a cheap brew endorsed by the younger brother of President Jimmy Carter.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the rise and quick fall of Billy Beer, why Billy Carter was an ongoing headache for the Carter administration, and the role of presidential siblings in general.
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The Textbook Wars Spiral Out of Control (1974)
It’s October 19th. This day in 1974, Kanawha County, West Virginia is embroiled in an increasingly violent battle over a slate of new textbooks being added to the local school curriculum. Over the course of a few weeks, there would be shootings, bombings, conspiracies to attack school buses full of children, and more.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the textbook battle got so out of control, what it says about the rise of backlash politics, and echoes to today’s violent political di
Why Lincoln Grew A Beard (1860)
It’s October 17th. This day in 1860, in the run-up to the next month’s presidential election, Abraham Lincoln received a letter from an 11-year-old girl urging him to grow a beard and improve his prospects.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie read from the incredibly charming exchange between Lincoln and Grace Bedell of Westfield, NY.
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The President Who Cried Swine Flu (1976) w/ Jim Hamblin
It’s October 14th. This day in 1976, President Ford invited cameras into the White House as he got his vaccination for the influenza strain that was commonly referred to as “swine flu.” It was part of a big effort from the White House to avoid a health disaster — a pandemic that never actually came to pass.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Dr. James Hamblin to talk about the swine flu response, whether political factors played into the administration’s response, and the parallels t
Perot Crashes The Debate (1992)
It’s October 12th. This day in 1992, Ross Perot joined Bill Clinton and incumbent George HW Bush on stage for the first three-person debate in modern presidential election history.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss Perot’s candidacy, how he was able to destabilize both Clinton and Bush on stage — and whether he was actually a “spoiler” in that election.
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The HoJo Incident (1957)
It’s October 10th. This day in 1957, Ghanaian finance minister Komla Gbedemah was refused service at a Howard Johnson’s restaurant in Delaware. The incident led to an apology from president Eisenhower and a meeting at the White House, which paved the way for American investment in a major infrastructure project in Ghana.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the incident, how American racism effected the U.S. standing on the global stage, and the rise of economic colonialism.
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The Access Hollywood Tape (2016) w/ Roy Wood, Jr
It’s October 7th. This day in 2016, the Washington Post published excerpts of a tape of Donald Trump talking to Access Hollywood host Billy Bush about how he commits sexual assault.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by The Daily Show correspondent Roy Wood, Jr. to talk about the impact of that tape, the way the Trump campaign quickly reacted by arranging for the release of Hillary Clinton’s emails, and other memories of that moment.
Check out Roy on tour this fall, and listen to “The
Borking (1987) w/ Jay Willis
It’s October 5th. This day in 1987, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the Supreme Court nomination of Robert Bork to a full senate vote — with the recommendation that he be struck down. Later that month, after an incredibly contentious hearing, Bork would be denied a seat on the court.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Jay Willis of Balls and Strikes to talk about what is misremembered regarding the Bork fight — and how “borking” lives on in conservative legal circles.
This D
Earl "Rusty" Butz Gets Weirdly Racist (1976)
It’s October 3rd. This day in 1976, Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz hands in his resignation after a media firestorm over racist comments he made on an airplane in front of Pat Boone, Sonny Bono, and former Nixon White House Counsel John Dean.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss Butz’s very baroque form of racism, and what to make of the argument that there’s no connection between what someone says in private and who they really are.
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The Congressional Page Scandal (2006)
It’s September 30th. This day in 2006, Florida Congressman Mark Foley resigned after inappropriate messages he’d sent to underage congressional pages were made public.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how rumors about Foley’s behavior persisted for years before the scandal broke, and how this story has so many of the hallmarks of future scandals. Plus, why Foley has still been able to maintain his standing within the Florida GOP.
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Lincoln's Spiritualist Stumper (1864)
It’s September 28th. This day in 1864, in the midst of the civil war and the run-up to the election of 1864, the notable spiritualist Emma Hardinge Britten gave a series of lectures in support of Lincoln's reelection.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Britten transitioned into politics and the rise of spiritualism in the midst of national tragedy.
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The War on Rats (1977)
It’s September 26th. This day in 1977, a Chicago alderman offered a $1 bounty to every one of his constituents who presented him with a severed rat tail.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how bad the rat problem got in Chicago in other cities throughout the 1970s, and how rodent infestations reflect larger questions of local government and services. Plus: everyone shares their most traumatizing rat stories.
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Atlanta Massacre (1906)
It’s September 23rd. This day in 1906, racialized mob violence broke out in Atlanta, GA, as part of a growing post-Reconstruction wave of violence and rioting around the country.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the familiar mix of factors that led to the rioting — but also how these events are uniquely Atlanta.
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DADT No More (2011)
It’s September 21st. This day in 2011, President Obama repealed the Clinton-era policy of “don’t ask don’t tell,” regarding openly gay military service members.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the repeal took almost twenty years, and the push and pull between cultural shifts and policy change.
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Charlie Chaplin's Exile (1952)
It’s September 19th. This day in 1952, during a trip abroad, the U.S. attorney general announced an inquiry into whether Chaplin would be allowed to return to the country. He would stay in Europe for the next 20 years.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how Chaplin’s political views evolved, and how he was caught up in red scare fears during the 1940s and 50s.
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Calendar Confusion (1752)
It’s September 16th. Or is it? We recently got an email from a listener asking us which calendar we are using when we discuss episodes prior to 1752.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie look at the switchover from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar that took place in the mid-1700s, how it got politicized, and how it continues to lead to mass confusion.
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Attica (1971) w/ Heather Ann Thompson
It’s September 14th. This day in 1971, the Attica Prison uprising was coming to a close. Over the prior four days, a massive riot had rocked the facility, killing dozens of prisoners and guards.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Heather Thompson to discuss how the story of Attica has been manipulated through the years — from the very first moments — and what lessons there are for prison reform today.
Heather Thompson’s book is called Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising o
Ship of Gold (1857)
It’s September 12th. This day in 1857, the SS Central America, a ship loaded with 30,000 pounds of gold, sank to the bottom of the ocean in a hurricane off the coast of South Carolina.
Jody, Niki and Kellie discuss the ship’s sinking and how the loss of the gold destabilized the world economy and may have even had implications for the civil war.
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Monkey Business (1987) w/ Matt Bai
It’s September 9th. This day in 1987, former Colorado Senator Gary Hart gave an interview on Nightline where he, finally, admitted that he’d been unfaithful to his wife. But it was too little, too late.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Matt Bai, author of “The Frontrunner,” to discuss the infidelity scandal that brought down Hart’s campaign, and changed political journalism forever.
Matt’s book was also turned into the movie “The Frontrunner” starring Hugh Jackman.
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McKinley Shot (1901)
It’s September 7th. This day in 1901, President William McKinley is in Buffalo, NY when he is shot twice in the chest. He would succumb to the injury a few weeks later.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss McKinley’s assassination and how it came at a moment when the nature of the presidency and American politics were shifting radically.
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The Condom On Jesse Helms's House (1991)
It’s September 5th. This day in 1991, members of the group ACT UP erected a giant yellow condom over the home of North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms to protest his stance on AIDS research and awareness.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the stunt, why Helms was a target, and just how you go about removing a two-story condom.
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Camp Casey (2005)
It’s September 2nd. This day in 2005, Cindy Sheehan embarks on a tour around the country to protest the Iraq War, where her son Casey had died the prior year.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss Sheehan’s protests, the “Camp Casey” encampment she established outside of George W. Bush’s Texas ranch, and how public opinion around a number of issues was starting to shift in late 2005.
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Fred Korematsu's Internment (1942)
It’s August 31st. This day in 1942, a judge upholds the arrest of a Japanese-American man named Fred Korematsu.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how Korematsu tried to resist the detention of Japanese-Americans in the wake of Pearl Harbor, and the legal battles that broke out after the Roosevelt administration moved hundreds of thousands of people to concentration camps along the west coast.
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Teacher In Space (1984)
It’s August 29th. This day in 1984, NASA and the Reagan administration announced a “Teacher in Space” program intended to find one American teacher who would join a shuttle mission.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the program to reinvigorate interest in space travel, some of the criticism it received — and the tragic conclusion two years later with the Challenger explosion.
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Capitol for A Day (1814)
It’s August 26th. This day in 1814, the small town of Brookeville, MD becomes the Capitol of the United States — for one night.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Brookeville became the seat of government amidst the chaos of the War of 1812. Plus, a bonus conversation about another story on this day, from 1970 — the bombing of a research facility at the University of Wisconsin.
Thanks to Ana and Chris, the listeners who wrote in to suggest these two stories!
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The Battle of Blair Mountain (1921) w/ Anna Sale
It’s August 24th. This day in 1921, tensions are mounting in southwestern West Virginia, where some 10-15,000 miners are going on strike to protest working and economic conditions. Eventually, this would lead to a violent showdown with the mining companies, local police, and federal forces — including bombs dropped from airplanes on the protesters.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Anna Sale, West Virginia native and host of the podcast “Death, Sex & Money” to discuss the Battle
Nat Turner's Community (1831) w/ Vanessa Holden
It’s August 22nd. This day in 1831, Nathaniel “Nat” Turner is leading a rebellion in Southampton, Virginia — what would become perhaps the most famous slave revolt in the Antebellum South. But there’s a hidden story.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Vanessa Holden of the University of Kentucky to discuss how it was the larger community in Southampton, particularly women, who made the rebellion possible.
Vanessa is the author of Surviving Southampton: African American Women and Res
Banneker's Sneaky Letter (1791)
It’s August 19th. This day in 1791, Benjamin Banneker sent an advance copy of his almanac to Thomas Jefferson. Along with the almanac, he included a letter pleading with Jefferson to recognize slavery as a moral wrong.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss Banneker’s enlightenment-era appeal, Jefferson’s reaction, and how the correspondence between the two helped galvanize the abolitionist movement.
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Leo Frank and the KKK's Resurgence (1915)
It’s August 17th. This day in 1915, a Jewish man by the name of Leo Frank was kidnapped from jail and hanged by a mob in Marietta, Georgia.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the incident helped galvanize a resurgent Ku Klux Klan, and how much anti-Semitism should be part of the story of lynchings and mob violence in the early part of the 20th century.
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The Flag, Elvis, Aliens (1977) w/ Josh Levin
It’s August 15th. This episode, we discuss three notable events from this day in 1977: a young woman’s protest over the pledge of allegiance; a scramble for photos of Elvis’s dead body; and possible alien contact.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Slate’s Josh Levin, host of the new series “One Year.” He has an episode devoted to these three events, and the series as a whole takes a look at why 1977 was such a consequential and interesting year.
You can listen to “One Year” from Sl
Lizzie Borden, Axe Murderer, Maybe (1892)
It’s August 12th. This day in 1892, Lizzie Borden is arrested for the murder of her father and step-mother, accused of hacking them to death with an axe in a gruesome murder that caused a media sensation.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the story of Lizzie Borden has continued to fascinate Americans, from articles to movies and podcasts, right up through the present — and what that says about our obsession with true crime.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/e
"Macaca" (2006) w/ Peter Hamby
It’s August 10th. This day in 2006, Virginia Senator George Allen is caught on tape referring to S.R. Sidarth, a young man filming his event, as “macaca.” This video became an early viral moment and helped lead to Allen’s defeat later that fall — showing how viral video could transform politics.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Peter Hamby of Snapchat and Puck News to discuss the incident, how the internet was changing politics in the mid-2000s, and whether Allen’s comments would h
East Africa Bombings (1998) w/ Karen Greenberg
It’s August 8th. This day in 1998, two massive truck bombs detonated outside American embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. They were the work of Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Karen Greenberg of the Fordham Law School Center on National Security to discuss why the embassies were targeted, the massive intelligence response, and what clues were missed about the rise of Al-Qaeda.
Karen is the host of the “Vital Interests” podcast an
Reagan Fires Air Traffic Controllers (1981)
It’s August 5th. This day in 1981, President Ronald Reagan fired more than 11,000 air traffic controllers, who had gone on strike over failed negotiations for a new contract. In addition to firing them, he banned the workers from ever holding federal jobs again.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how this moment reflected and shifted a moment when American unions were in decline and employers — both at the federal and private level — were being emboldened in their negotiations with workers
Garvey's Great Gathering (1920)
It’s August 3rd. This day in 1920, the Universal Negro Improvement Association is holding a massive convention and rally in New York City, pushing a pan-African vision of economic empowerment for Black people.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the UNIA’s leader, Marcus Garvey, and how he fits into the long history of abolitionist and militant efforts in America and beyond.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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The Black Tom Explosion (1916)
It’s August 1st. This day in 1916 (July 30th, in fact) a massive explosion rocked New York Harbor, shattering windows in Times Square and causing tremors as far away as Philadelphia.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the explosion on “Black Tom Island,” and what we came to learn about the German spy network that caused it. This explosion also led to the rise of the FBI and national intelligence efforts to more proactively anticipate crimes.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://t
The U.S. Rewrites the Haitian Constitution (1915) w/ Jelani Cobb
It’s July 29th. This day in 1915, U.S. troops arrived in Haiti as the country’s political leadership is thrown into chaos by assassinations and violence. The U.S. would quickly rewrite the Haitian constitution and establish an occupying presence that lasted for decades.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Jelani Cobb of the New Yorker to discuss the political and economic justification for this intervention, and how you can’t understand Haitian history without understanding the histor
Kerner and the "Long Hot Summer" (1967) w/ Jelani Cobb
It’s July 27th. This day in 1967, LBJ convened the “Kerner Commission” to look into the roots of violence and unrest in America, largely in Black and brown communities around the country.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by The New Yorkers Jelani Cobb to discuss the convening of the Kerner commission and the report that came out the next year, which offered a frank and damning assessment of the complicity of white Americans.
Jelani Cobb is the author of an updated version, “The Essen
The Beer Summit (2009)
It’s July 25th. This day (July 24th in fact) in 2009, President Obama extended an invitation to Henry Louis Gates, Jr and Sgt James Crowley to discuss an incident in which Crowley arrested Gates on his own doorstep.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the incident that sparked this attempt at reconciliation, and how Obama’s handling of the moment was a turning point for many white Americans in how they viewed his presidency.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoteri
The Lost Robert E. Lee Oath Theory (1975) w/ John Reeves
It’s July 22nd. This day in 1975, Congress voted to restore citizenship to Robert E. Lee, more than a hundred years after his death.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by author John Reeves to talk about why this vote took place, how it tied into a false theory about a missing citizenship oath, and what the myth of Lee says about how the Confederacy has been restored in the public imagination.
John Reeve’s book is “The Lost Indictment of Robert E. Lee: The Forgotten Case against an Ame
Vanessa Williams Loses Her Crown (1984)
It’s July 20th. This day in 1984, the Miss America pageant issued an ultimatum to Vanessa Williams, the first Black Miss America, to relinquish her title, over the impending publication of nude photographs.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the moral panic over the photographs, how a photographer misled Williams, and the intersection of race, sexuality, and pornography.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Detroit Goes Bankrupt (2013)
It’s July 18h. This day in 2013, the city of Detroit declared bankruptcy.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how a city that was once the country’s fourth-largest ran out of money, and the way the path to recovery pitted civic interests against each other.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Mary Lincoln's Money (1870)
It’s July 14h. This day in 1870, Congress authorized a yearly pension of $3000 for Mary Todd Lincoln.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why it took years for the pension to be rewarded, and the many competing narratives about Mary Lincoln and money.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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A Native-Confederate Alliance (1861)
It’s July 13th. This day in 1861, a treaty is signed between the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes and the Confederate States of America.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why some Native American tribes aligned with the Confederacy, how this complicates the story of the Civil War, and more.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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FDR Wants More (1940)
It’s July 11th. This day in 1940, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt has a conversation with a supreme court justice to explore whether it would be legal for him to run for a third term.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the rationale for seeking another four years — and another four years after that — plus how the convention of two-term presidencies eventually became established law.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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The Roswell Crash (1947)
It’s July 8th. This day (July 7th actually) in 1947, two ranchers stumbled across a downed flying object in the middle of the Nevada desert.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the discovery of the “mysterious” object (it was a weather balloon) and why it tapped into a rising tide of conspiracies about UFOs and alien visits.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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The Death of Marsha P Johnson (1992)
It’s July 6th. This day in 1992, the body of Marsha P Johnson was found floating in the Hudson River off of New York City.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the death and life of Johnson, who for decades had been a central part of the drag scene in New York City and a key activist for gay rights, AIDS awareness, and more.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Garrison's 4th of July Defiance (1854)
It’s July 4th. This day in 1854, abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison burned a copy of the constitution at a rally in Boston, calling it a “covenant with death and an agreement with Hell.”
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss Garrison’s act, and how it folded into a fierce debate about whether the constitution is a pro- or anti-slavery document, or somewhere in between.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Old Enough To Fight, Old Enough To Vote (1971)
It’s July 1st. This day 1971, North Carolina voted to ratify the 26th amendment, which lowered the national voting age from 21 to 18.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the long fight to lower the voting age, and how it was often tied to an argument about the age at which Americans were sent to war. Plus: should the age be 17 or 16 or even lower?
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Moneybomb! (2008)
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It’s June 29th. This day (actually, June 30th) in 2008, Hillary Clinton raised over $6 million online in one day, part of a growing trend of fundraising events known as “moneybombs.”
Jody, NI
Joseph Smith's Assassination (1844) w/ Spencer W McBride
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It’s June 27th. This day in 1844, Mormon leader Joseph Smith was killed by a mob that stormed a jail in Carthage, Illinois. Earlier that spring, Smith had announced his candidacy for president
Sanford Hikes the Appalachian Trail (2009)
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It’s June 24th. This day in 2009, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford is exposed for having an affair with a woman in Argentina.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the scandal unfolded, and
Mandela in Boston (1990)
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It’s June 22nd. This day in 1990, South African leader Nelson Mandela visited Boston, Massachusetts, as part of a worldwide “thank you” tour after being released from prison.
Jody, NIki, and
The Len Bias Law (1986) w/ Adam McKay
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It’s June 20th. This day in 1986, news of the death of basketball star Len Bias is starting to spread around the country. Bias died of a cocaine overdose just days after being drafted by the B
A Rumor, An Exhumation (1991)
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It’s June 17th. This day in 1991, authorities in Louisville, KY dug up the body of former president Zachary Taylor, who had died in 1850. They were trying to put to rest a rumor that Taylor ha
Borat Before Borat (1970) w/ Jill Lepore
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It’s June 15th. This day in 1970, Russian television reporter Valentin Zorin aired an episode of his series “Masters Without Masks.” For decades, Zorin was the primary source by which Russians
Congressional Baseball Shooting (2017)
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It’s June 13th. This day (actually June 14th) in 2017, a shooter opened fire on a GOP practice for the annual congressional charity baseball game.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the incident,
The Case of the Cussing Parrot (1845)
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It’s June 10th. This day in 1845, at the funeral of Andrew Jackson, his parrot “Poll” had to be removed from the room for excessive swearing.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss Poll’s uncouth beh
Those Pesky Fenians (1866)
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It’s June 8th. This day in 1866, a series of raids by Irish-Americans is taking place, starting in Vermont and headed across the border to attack British outposts in southern Canada.
Jody, Ni
Ollie! (1994)
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It’s June 6th. This day in 1994 (June 4th, in fact) disgraced former National Security Council advisor Oliver North wins the GOP primary for the Virginia Senate race. He would go on to lose in
Zoot Suit Riots (1943) w/ Emily Spivak
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It’s June 3rd. This day in 1943 marked the start of the “Zoot Suit Riots,” a series of skirmishes and attacks in Los Angeles targeting Mexican-Americans, who were often identified by their flashy ensembles.
Jody, Niki and Kellie are joined by Emily Spivack of “Worn Stories” to discuss the causes of the riots, how the
Harriet The Spy (1863)
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It’s June 1st. This day in 1863, Harriet Tubman led Union soldiers on a nighttime to free some 700 enslaved people in South Carolina.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the Combahee River Raid, where it fits into Harriet Tubman’s long and varied life, and whether Tubman’s legacy has become flattened and distorted.
Learn
The Day Before The Tulsa Massacre (1921) w/ Cord Jefferson
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It’s May 30th. This day in 1921 was the day before a white mob descended on the Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma, burning hundreds of buildings to the ground in what was known as “Black Wall Street.”
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Cord Jefferson, writer for the HBO series “Watchmen,” which opens during
Voyage of the Damned (1939)
It’s May 27th. This day in 1939, authorities in Cuba turned away the SS St. Louis, a ship full of Jewish refugees escaping Nazi persecution in Germany. The U.S. and Canada would also turn the ship away, which had to eventually return to Europe.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the voyage of the St. Louis, and how it helps us understand the way the U.S. has treated refugees throughout history.
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The Unabomber Gets His Start (1978)
It’s May 25th. This day in 1978, a suspicious package mailed to a university in Chicago blows up.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the start of what would be a 15-year campaign by Ted Kaczynski to mail packages to universities, airlines, and other people he saw as causing the advance of modernity and the destruction of the environment. Kaczynski would eventually be captured and be known as “The Unabomber.”
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
This D
A Texas Dem Split (1944)
It’s May 23rd. This day in 1944, Texas Democrats hold two competing conventions ahead of the fall’s election, with the party split over FDR’s policies and larger civil rights issues.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the roots of the split, and the way in which internal fractures within a party can plant the seeds for political re-alignment.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Slow Your Roll (1901)
It’s May 20th. This day in 1901, Connecticut passed the first ever speed limit law for automobiles in the United States.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the chaos of the city streets, the rise of automobile regulation, and how anxieties over speed help define us.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Dan Quayle vs Murphy Brown (1992)
It’s May 18th. This day in 1992, Vice President Dan Quayle gave a speech about the erosion of “family values” in America, and towards the end criticized the TV show Murphy Brown, in which the main character had recently become a single mother.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the ensuing controversy, and how it mirrors the culture wars of today.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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The First Radio Debate (1948)
It’s May 16th. This day in 1948, New York Governor Thomas E Dewey and former Minnesota Governor Harold Stassen were preparing for the first nationally broadcast presidential debate.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the debate came together and the way in which it centered around one provocative question.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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The MOVE Bombing (1985) w/ Gene Demby
It’s May 13th. This day in 1985, the Philadelphia police department ended a standoff with the MOVE group by dropping two firebombs from a helicopter on a rowhouse, which eventually led to an entire city block burning to the ground and 11 people being killed.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Philly native Gene Demby of NPR’s “Code Switch” podcast to discuss the incident and its aftermath.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Dust, Everywhere (1934)
It’s May 11th. This day in 1934, a massive dust storm swept across the Great Plains, lifting up millions of tons of topsoil and spreading it as far as 300 miles off the coast of New York City.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the causes of the storm, the way it affected the economy and migration patterns — and the environmental efforts that finally brought the Dust Bowl era to an end.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
This Day In Esoteric Politic
Sitting Bull in Canada (1877)
It’s May 9th. This day in 1877, Lakota leader Sitting Bull leads a large group into Canada to seek refuge from the U.S. Army, which had been pursuing him after he defeated the U.S. in the Battle of Little Bighorn.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss Sitting Bull’s reasons for leaving Canada and why he eventually returned with a much smaller group.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Kennedy's Pulitzer Controversies (1957)
It’s May 6th. This day in 1957, Senator John F Kennedy of Massachusetts was awarded the Pulitzer prize for his book “Profiles in Courage.”
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the book, which profiled courageous acts by members of Congress throughout American history — many of which have been re-evaluated in the decades since. Plus, a ghostwriting controversy!
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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SEAL Team Six (2011) w/ Dan Taberski
It’s May 4th. This day (May 2nd, in fact) in 2011, a group of Navy SEALs raided a compound in Pakistan and killed Osama bin Laden.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Dan Taberski to discuss the details of the raid, how the news spread across the globe — and what the moment meant for Navy SEALs. Dan’s new podcast series “The Line” explores the physical and psychological pressures on Navy SEALs and why they have started to be more public facing in recent years.
Be sure to listen to “T
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED (2003) w/ Noreen Malone
It’s May 2nd. This day in 2003 (actually, May 1st) President George W. Bush gave a speech about the Iraq War on the USS Abraham Lincoln in front of a large banner reading “Mission Accomplished.”
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Slate’s Noreen Malone to discuss the stagecraft of the speech, and how it came at a moment when many people inside and outside the administration still felt as if the Iraq War was a justified and successful effort.
Be sure to listen to the new season of SLO
The First HBCU* (1854)
It’s April 29th. This day in 1854, the Ashmun Institute in Pennsylvania is chartered, the first (depending on how you count) university devoted to African-American students.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the founding of Ashmun, which later changed its name to Lincoln University, and the rise of HBCUs throughout the late 19th century. Plus, Kellie tells us why her alma mater Howard University is (clearly) the best HBCU.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoteri
Hinckley's Insanity (1982)
It’s April 27th. This day in 1982, John Hinckley went on trial for the attempted assassination of President Reagan. Hinckley’s lawyers would mount a successful insanity defense, based on his fixation with actress Jodie Foster.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the way the trial played out, why Foster was forced to testify, and how this trial played into the larger conversation — and criminalization — of mental health conditions in the 1980s.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://
Our Library (1800) w/ Kerri Greenidge
It’s April 25th. This day in 1800, President John Adams approved the appropriation of $5000 for the initial collection of the Library of Congress.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by special guest Kerri Greenidge of Tufts to discuss the founding of the library, how the collection kept being lost to fire — and what it means fro something to be included or not included in a nation’s library.
Kerri Greenidge’s latest book is “Black Radical: The Life and Times of William Monroe Trotter.”
Boom Town (1889) w/ Sam Anderson
It’s April 22nd. This day in 1889, tens of thousands of people gathered in the middle of “unassigned territory” to wait for the signal at high noon — at which point they rushed to claim their free land in what would, overnight, become Oklahoma City.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Sam Anderson of the New York Times Magazine to talk about the Oklahoma land rush, the chaos of those first few days, and how the forming of OKC represents modern America.
Sam’s book about Oklahoma City
The Franklin Cent (1787)
It’s April 20th. This day in 1787, Congress authorized the production of the country’s first coin.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the “Fugio cent,” designed — some say over-designed — by Ben Franklin, and what it meant for a new country to have a proper coin.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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John Freeman's Freedom (1809)
It’s April 18th. This day in 1809, a man by the name of John Freeman writes a letter to Thomas Jefferson, asking that Jefferson transfer his indentured servitude contract to incoming president James Madison.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie talk about the life of John Freeman, the role of enslaved people in building the White House, and the star-crosssed-lovers story at the heart of it all.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
This Day In Esoteric Political
Oprah's Beef (1996)
It’s April 15th. On this day in 1996, Oprah Winfrey hosted a segment on her show about “Mad Cow Disease” and proclaimed that she would no longer eat beef. That same day, cattle futures plummeted, and she was soon sued by the cattle industry.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the power of Oprah, the “veggie libel laws” and how she turned the trial into both television and a free speech crusade.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
This Day In Esoteri
The CIA LSD Experiments (1953)
It’s April 13th. This day in 1953, the CIA started the secretive MK Ultra program, which experimented on unwitting subjects to determine the effects of LSD and other drugs.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss some of the program’s tactics, the intelligence community’s obsession with “mind control,” and the legacy of the secretive program.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Pets are People (1866)
It’s April 11th. This day in 1866, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is founded.
Jody, Niki, Kellie and special guest Anne Helen Petersen discuss the rise of animal welfare groups, and how they reflected a growing conversation about morality, labor, child cruelty, and more.
Be sure to subscribe to Anne’s excellent newsletter “Culture Study” https://annehelen.substack.com/
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Go Ahead, Make Me Mayor (1986)
It’s April 8th. This day in 1986, Clint Eastwood is elected mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, a wealthy town of 4,000 in California.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Eastwood decided to get into politics, how he want about improving the town, and his political life in the decades since.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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NYC Revolt (1712)
It’s April 6th. This day in 1712, a group of enslaved people start a fire in New York City aimed at sparking a larger rebellion.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the slave rebellion of 1712, the landscape of slavery in New York City at that time, and the brutal crackdown to the revolt.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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MLK at Riverside (1967) w/ Peniel Joseph
It’s April 4th. This day in 1967, Martin Luther King, Jr delivers his “Beyond Vietnam” speech at Riverside Church in New York City.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Peniel Joseph of UT-Austin to discuss the speech, King’s anti-war stance, and the reaction to his remarks at the time.
Peniel’s latest book is “The Sword and the Shield.”
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Blowing Smoke
It’s April 1st. This day in the early 1980s, a surprising discovery at Mt Vernon.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie talk about George Washington, conspiracy theories, and more.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Get in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hell
The Rosenbergs (1951) w/ Jamelle Bouie
It’s March 30th. This day in 1951, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are convicted of spying in order to share nuclear secrets with the U.S.S.R. They would be sentenced to death and eventually executed.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times to discuss the case, whether the Rosenberg’s were railroaded, and the larger red-scare context of the time.
This is the one-year anniversary of the show! Thanks to everyone who has supported us throughout the year.
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Three Mile Meltdown (1979)
It’s March 28th. This day, in 1979, a partial meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear facility outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss what led to the crisis, and how poor communications after the fact caused high levels of panic and misinformation. Plus, Jimmy Carter’s unexpectedly competent response.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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I'm On A Boat (1933)
It’s March 25th. This day in 1933, the USS Sequoia is commissioned as a presidential yacht.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the long and strange history of presidential boats, from anti-rum-running efforts to secret negotiations and sketchy parties.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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If you want to support the show directly, you can do so on our website: ThisDayPod.
Illinois Blazes A Trail (1872)
It’s March 23rd. This day in 1872, the Illinois becomes the first state to pass a law guaranteeing equal employment for women.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the state was so far ahead of the rest of the country, and the life and career of would-be-lawyer Myra Bradwell. Plus, some thoughts on the anniversary of the passage of the ACA.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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La Masacre de Ponce (1937) w/ Alana Casanova-Burgess
It’s March 21st. On Palm Sunday, 1937, a peaceful march in Ponce. Puerto Rico was attacked by police who shot and killed 19 Puerto Ricans, including a seven year old girl and wounded over 200 others.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Alana Casanova-Burgess, host of “La Brega,” to discuss the incident and its place in Puerto Rican independence efforts — and crackdowns by U.S. government.
Find Alana’s podcast “La Brega” wherever you get your podcasts.
Find a transcript of this episo
Terri Schiavo's Right To Die (2005)
It’s March 18th. This day in 2005, a feeding tube was removed from Terri Schiavo for the final time. She would die later that month.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Schiavo case became such a media sensation and political cause.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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If you want to support the show directly, you can do so on our website: ThisDayPod.com
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3000 Troops To Honduras (1988)
It’s March 16th. This day in 1988, President Reagan ordered 3000 US troops to Honduras, along the border with Nicaragua.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the decision in the context of the larger Iran-Contra scandal — this move took place the very same day that two key Reagan officials were indicted.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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The Newburgh Conspiracy (1783)
It’s March 14th. This day in 1783, George Washington gave an address to his troops camped in Newburgh, NY, that averted a possible coup attempt.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Washington’s troops were upset in the last year of the war, whether the “coup” plot was legit, and how much to believe the story that it was the sheer power of Washington’s words that averted catastrophe.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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The Confederate Constitution (1861)
It’s March 11th. This day in 1861, the Confederate States of America ratifies its own constitution. It’s largely based on the United States constitution, but with some key changes.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss what values were expressed in the constitutional do-over, and why the similarities between the two documents might mean more than the differences.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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The Murder of Dr. Gunn (1993)
It’s March 9th. On this day in 1993, Dr. David Gunn was murdered outside the women’s clinic at which he worked by an anti-abortion protester.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the incident and how it marked a turn towards a more violent, with-us-or-against-us, chapter in the abortion debate.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Know-Nothings Steal The Pope's Stone (1854)
It’s March 7th. On this day in 1854, vandals broke into the construction site at the Washington Monument, made off with the “Pope’s Stone,” and threw it in the Potomac River.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the incident, why it was part of rising anti-Catholic sentiment in the United States, and the very rocky construction of the Washington Monument.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Florence Nightingale, Huge Nerd (1855) w/ Tim Harford
It’s March 4th. This day in 1855, a British sanitary commission arrived in Istanbul to inspect a field hospital where soldiers were dying at alarming rates. Among the nurses treating the soldiers was Florence Nightingale, who would go on to make one of the most famous data analysis of the conditions at the hospital.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by writer Tim Harford to discuss Nightingales findings and how they influenced the world of data visualization — plus the perils of compel
The Weather Underground Bombs the Capitol (1971)
It’s March 2nd. This day, in 1971, the leftist group The Weather Underground carries out a bombing at the US Capitol.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the bombing, and the rise of more violent direct action coming out of the late 1960s protest movements.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Sickles, American Weirdo (1859) w/ Wright Thompson
It’s February 28th. This day in 1859 (February 27th, actually) a New York representative named Daniel Sickles shot and killed Phillip Barton Key, the son of Francis Scott Key, in a dispute over an affair that Key was reportedly having with Sickles’s wife.
Jody, Niki, Kellie and special guest Wright Thompson discuss the shooting in broad daylight, and the many twists and turns of Daniel Sickles’s life.
Wright’s latest book is “Pappyland,” his TV show is TrueSouth, and his podcast seri
The Canuck Letter and Muskie's Tears (1972)
It’s February 25th. This day in 1972, Democratic frontrunner Edmund Muskie of Maine was embroiled in a “scandal” that would ultimately sink his candidacy.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the various twists and turns of the scandal, from a fake letter to possibly fake tears.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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The Polio Vaccine Arrives! (1954)
It’s February 23rd. This day in 1954, children in Pittsburgh began to receive vaccines as part of the first clinical trials for Dr Jonas Salk’s polio eradication efforts.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the arrival of the vaccine, the initial distrust, and the inequities in development and distribution of the vaccine to various communities.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Betty Friedan's Critique (1963) w/ Nichole Perkins
It’s February 21st. This day in 1963 (actually, it was the 19th), Betty Friedan published her enormously influential book “The Feminine Mystique.”
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Nichole Perkins to discuss the publishing of the surprisingly-academic book, the kind of women it addressed, and the women who were left out of the conversation around second wave feminism
Check out Nichole’s new podcast “This Is Good For You.” Her forthcoming memoir is called Sometimes I Trip on How Hap
The Chippendale's Conundrum (1984)
It’s February 18th. On this day in 1984, a New York State liquor board is holding hearings on the all-male strip club Chippendale’s.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the way in which Chippendale’s subverted and reinforced ideas about men, women, sex, and empowerment. Niki is a producer on the new podcast series “Welcome to Your Fantasy,” all about the wild history of Chippendale’s. Check it out now!
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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US vs Pirates (1804)
It’s February 16th. On this day in 1804, US Marines carried out a mission to destroy a ship that had been captured by enemy forces off the coast of Tripoli.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the first Barbary War, why the US (and Sweden!) were involved in a Mediterranean battle, and tensions between naval warfare and westward expansion.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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A Fascist Coup Plot (1935)
It’s February 14th. On this day in 1935, a Congressional committee released a report acknowledging what came to be known as “The Business Plot,” a scheme by Wall St financiers to stage a violent coup and replace Roosevelt with a military dictator.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the coup scheme, how it was not taken seriously at the time, and how seriously to take talk of fascist schemes today.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Ike's Vietnam (1954)
It’s February 11th. On this day in 1954, President Eisenhower expressed deep skepticism about US involvement in Vietnam. That would, of course, come to change.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how Eisenhower tried to avoid involvement, but also established the “Domino Theory” approach to viewing Vietnam that may have set up an inevitable US intervention.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Martial Law in Seattle (1886)
It’s February 9th. On this day in 1886, a mob descended on Seattle’s Chinatown, amid growing tensions between white and Chinese workers.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the events of the day, and the role of Chinese immigrant and Chinese-American workers in building the West — and how labor unions were often used to drive wedges between different ethnic groups.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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The Mayflower of Liberia (1820)
It’s Februrary 7th. On this day in 1820, 86 freed slaves boarded a ship from New York City headed to a region in West Africa that would soon come to be known as Liberia.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the “reverse Middle Passage” journey of the ship, the American Colonization Society, and tensions between anti-slavery groups and abolitionists.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Nixon Saves The Eagle (1973)
It’s February 4th. On this day in 1973, president Richard Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the legislation, how it fit into the growing environmental movement of the time, and whether Nixon gets enough credit for his green efforts.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Harding's Lust Letters (1920)
It’s February 2nd. On this day in 1920, Senator Warren G Harding pens a letter to his long-time mistress, laying out the terms under which they could break off their affair.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss Harding’s affair, why the racy letters took so long to be made public, and what to make of Harding’s disastrous presidency.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.
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The 13th You May Not Know (1865)
It’s January 31st. On this day (actually, February 1st) 1865, the House passed the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the 13th — especially the parts of the story that may be lesser known.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.
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Delaying The Civil War (1850)
It’s January 28th. This day in 1850, Senator Henry Clay introduced a series of resolutions aimed at trying to build compromise and forestall the Civil War.
Jody, Niki and Kellie discuss the series of bills, also known as “The Compromise of 1850,” and how the question of slavery was so tied up with the project of territorial expansion.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Run Margaret Run (1964)
It’s January 26th. On this day in 1964, Margaret Chase Smith announced that she was running for the GOP nomination for president.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss Smith’s trailblazing run, the legacy of women inside Republican politics, and the power of “symbolic” candidates.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Fluoride Scare (1945)
It’s January 24th. On this day in 1945, the town of Grand Rapids, Michigan became the first town in the country to add fluoride to its drinking water.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the program was a huge success when it came to public health, but nevertheless spawned a generation of conspiracy theories about fluoridation.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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"Blood In The Air" at the Capitol (1861)
It’s January 21st. On this day in 1861, Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis gave a farewell address in the Senate, announcing that his state (along with several others) would be seceding from the United States.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how Davis tried to position the move, and how this dramatic moment fit into the run-up to the Civil War.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Inauguration Day Special (and Kellie's First Show!)
On this Inauguration Day 2021, we look back at some notable other transition ceremonies, and discuss whether the day is pure symbolism or if it actually matters.
Plus, a big announcement about the show — Kellie Carter Jackson is joining as a third host! Find out more about her, Jody Avirgan, and Nicole Hemmer on our website.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.
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The Pets.Com Implosion (2001) w/ Julia Furlan
It’s January 17th. On this day in 2001, the company pets.com was in the process of liquidating its assets, after just 18 months in existence.
Jody and Niki are joined by Julia Furlan to discuss the 2000 dot-com bubble, why companies like pets.com got so big and went so broke; and what lessons there are about the difference between the stock market and the real economy.
Julia is the host of the Vox podcast series “Go for Broke.” The first season is all about the 2000 bubble.
Find a tr
Ford's (Second) Assassin (1976)
It’s January 14th. On this day in 1976, Sara Jane Moore was sentenced to life for her attempt to assassinate President Gerald Ford.
Jody and Niki discuss Moore’s life, motivations, and the landscape of apocalyptic political violence that extended from the late 60s into the mid-70s.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.
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Victory Sausages (1943)
It’s January 12th. On this day in 1943, the US announces limits to the amount of meat Americans could eat, as well as a re-working of the meat content in sausages and other products.
Jody and Niki discuss the rationing in WWII, and the wartime re-branding efforts of a lot of common American items.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.
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Vatican Ties (1984)
It’s January 10th. On this day in 1984, the United States and the Vatican established formal diplomatic relations for the first time in 117 years.
Jody and Niki discuss the history of anti-Catholic sentiment in the United States, and how the fear of Communism finally brought Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II together.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.
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Bush Vomits on the Japanese PM (1992)
It’s January 8th. On this day in 1992, President George HW Bush, on a diplomatic trip to Japan, ate some bad food and vomited during a state dinner, right onto the lap of the Japanese Prime Minister.
Jody and Niki discuss the event, the larger context of US-Japan relationships, and what counts as a gaffe in American politics. Plus, some thoughts on other embarrassing political moments.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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The Nixon Recount Committee (1961)
It’s January 5th. On this day in 1961, Vice President Richard Nixon, acting as President of the Senate, certified the electoral college results of the 1960 election, which he had lost to John F Kennedy. But this was after a long fight and lots of questions, conspiracy theories, and efforts to throw the election result into contest. Sound familiar?
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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2020 Favorite: "Coya Come Home" w/ Harry Enten
To wrap up 2020, and give ourselves a week off, we’re re-running some of our favorite episodes from the year. Thanks for listening all year, and we have lots more in store for 2021!
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On May 7th, Jody Avirgan, Nicole Hemmer, and special guest Harry Enten of CNN discussed the “Coya Come Home” letter — a public letter written by the husband of MN representative Coya Knutson, demanding that she leave office and return to domestic life.
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2020 Favorite: Dukakis on the Tank w/ Amy Walter
To wrap up 2020, and give ourselves a week off, we’re re-running some of our favorite episodes from the year. Thanks for listening all year, and we have lots more in store for 2021!
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On September 13th in 1988, Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis boarded an M-1 tank in order to set up a photo op, ostensibly to make him look tough on defense. It backfired horribly.
Jody and Niki are joined by Amy Walter of the Cook Political Reporter and The Takeaway to discuss the tank photo, huge
2020 Favorite: Wyoming's Suffrage w/ Maeve Higgins
To wrap up 2020, and give ourselves a week off, we’re re-running some of our favorite episodes from the year. Thanks for listening all year, and we have lots more in store for 2021!
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On July 23rd, 1890, Wyoming celebrated its entry into the United States. And it was doing so as a state that granted women the right to vote.
Jody and Niki are joined by Maeve Higgins of the New York Times and the podcast Mothers of Invention to discuss the suffrage movement on the American frontier
2020 Favorite: Obama's Tan Suit w/ Sam Sanders
To wrap up 2020, and give ourselves a week off, we’re re-running some of our favorite episodes from the year. Thanks for listening all year, and we have lots more in store for 2021!
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On August 24th in 2014, President Barack Obama gave a press conference about Ukraine and ISIS and foreign policy — but much of the political chatter was about his choice of tan suit.
Jody and Niki are joined by Sam Sanders of NPR’s “It’s Been A Minute” to discuss the “scandal” and what it how it rep
The War On Christmas (Part 2) w/ Michael Hobbes
It’s December 24nd. This Christmas week, we’re doing something a little different — a two-part special on the history of The War on Christmas.
In part two, Jody and Nikki are joined by Michael Hobbes of “You’re Wrong About” to go back in time and explore the surprising roots of the War on Christmas, from the Puritans to the Egg Nog Riot to the Red Scare.
Michael Hobbes’s podcasts are “You’re Wrong About” and “Maintenance Phase.”
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.c
The War On Christmas (Part 1) w/ Michael Hobbes
It’s December 22nd. This Christmas week, we’re doing something a little different — a two-part special on the history of The War on Christmas.
In part one, Jody and Nikki are joined by Michael Hobbes of “You’re Wrong About” to discuss the recent history of the War, beginning with a Bill O’Reilly segment on Fox News in December 2004.
Michael Hobbes’s podcasts are “You’re Wrong About” and “Maintenance Phase.”
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Back On The Montgomery Bus (1956) w/ Christina Greer
It’s December 20th. On this day in 1956, the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott ended after 381 days.
Jody and Niki are joined by Christina Greer of Fordham University to discuss what brought the boycott to an end, and the hard work that took place on the ground to maintain pressure and de-segregate the public bus system.
Christina Greer is a co-host of “FAQNYC” and her new podcast with The Griot is “What’s In It For Us.”
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esote
Ellis Island Opens (1900) w/ Brian Lehrer
It’s December 17th. On this day in 1900, the Ellis Island immigration center in New York harbor opened its doors.
Jody and Niki are joined by Brian Lehrer of WNYC to discuss the new wave of immigrants that entered the country in the first decades of the 1900s, and how the story of American immigration has evolved over the years.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.
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Boss Tweed Goes Down (1871)
It’s December 15th. On this day in 1871, William “Boss” Tweed is arrested in Manhattan while returning to the city to, reportedly, see the Christmas lights.
Jody and Niki discuss what this moment means for Boss Tweed and the notorious Tammany Hall power structure in New York City. Tweed spent much of the 1860s pulling the puppet strings in NYC, and would spend much of the next decade on the run from the law.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Trump the Moderator (2011) w/ James Poniewozik
It’s December 13th. On this day in 2011, Donald Trump wrote a letter announcing that he was bowing out of moderating (!) a Newsmax presidential debate.
Jody and Niki are joined by James Poniewozik of the New York Times to discuss Trump’s flirtation with both moderating a debate and running for president, and how the conservative media ecosystem has evolved over the last 10 years.
James’s latest book is “Audience of One.” Nikki’s book i “Messengers of the Right.”
Find a transcript of
The Great Toledo War (1836) w/ Hanif Abdurraqib
It’s December 10th. On this day in 1836, the final days of the “Great Toledo War,” a conflict over a strip of territory between the state of Ohio and the territory of Michigan.
Jody and Niki are joined by Hanif Abdurraqib to discuss the origins of the battle, whether it qualifies as a “war,” and what to make of the ongoing Ohio-Michigan rivalry.
Hanif is the host of the latest season of the excellent music podcast “Lost Notes.”
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.co
The ANTI-Suffragettes (1915) w/ Kimberly Hamlin
It’s December 8th. On this day in 1915, newspapers reported a “near riot” at a meeting of the Democratic party, when pro- and anti-suffrage women debated each other over the right to vote.
Jody and Niki are joined by Kimberly Hamlin of Miami University to discuss the “ANTIs” — women who fought against the right to vote.
Kimberly’s most recent book is “Free Thinker: Sex, Suffrage, and the Extraordinary Life of Helen Hamilton Gardener”
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tiny
United States vs One Book Called Ulysses (1933) w/ Kurt Andersen
It’s December 6th. On this day in 1933, a judge ruled that James Joyce’s “Ulysses,” which had been effectively banned in the United States, was not obscene.
Jody and Niki are joined by Kurt Andersen to discuss the ruling, the history of obscenity laws in the United States, and what to make of the current debates over free speech.
Kurt’s recent books are “Fantasylad” and “Evil Geniuses.”
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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US, Meet UN (1945)
It’s December 3rd. On this day in 1945 (technically, December 4th), the United States Senate voted to ratify an agreement to have the US join the United Nations.
Jody and Niki discuss the domestic politics that led to this moment, the lessons from the failed entry of the US into the League of Nations, and whether FDR gets enough credit in this story.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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John Brown's Body (1859)
It’s December 1st. On this day in 1859, abolitionist John Brown was awaiting his execution by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Jody and Niki discuss John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry, how much he wanted to spark revolution in his lifetime or become a martyr in death; and how contemporary depictions of Brown have reflected the politics of the time.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Harvey Milk is Assassinated (1978)
It’s November 29th. On this day in 1978, San Fransisco is in mourning, and there is violence in the streets, in the wake of the assassination of Harvey Milk, a board of supervisors member and gay rights advocate.
Jody and Niki discus the legacy of Harvey Milk, his evolution as a gay rights advocate, and the so-called “Twinkie Defense.”
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Franksgiving! (1939) w/ Adam Conover
It’s November 26th. On this day in 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had declared that Thanksgiving would take place a week earlier than usual. Americans were not happy.
Jody and Niki are joined by Adam Conover of “Adam Ruins Everything” and the podcast Factually to discuss why FDR tried to move the holiday, how it became politicized, and what Thanksgiving means to us in 2020.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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The Alcatraz Occupation (1969) w/ Julian Brave Noisecat
It’s November 24th. On this day in 1969, Native American activists have staged an occupation of Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay.
Jody and Niki are joined by Julian Brave Noisecat to discuss the 19-month occupation, often considered the birth of the modern Indigenous rights movement — and how exactly the protesters managed to pull off the occupation of the island.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Queen of Code (1943) w/ Mar Hicks
It’s November 22nd. On this day in 2016, Barack Obama awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to computer programmer Grace Hopper, who entered the Navy in the mid-1940s and helped pioneer a lot of modern electronic computing.
Jody and Niki are joined by Mar Hicks of Illinois Tech University to discuss Hopper’s legacy, her knack for storytelling, and the other women whose stories may not be as popular.
Hick’s book is Programmed Inequality
Find a transcript of this episode at: https:
The US Rejects A Peace Treaty (1919) w/ Christopher McKnight Nichols
It’s November 19th. On this day in 1919, the US Senate rejected the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles.
Jody and Niki are joined by Christopher McKnight Nichols of the University of Oregon to discuss why the US rejected the peace treaty and what it says about how the country saw its role in the world in the wake of World War I.
Christopher’s book is Promise and Peril: America at the Dawn of a Global Age
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
The Governator (2003)
It’s November 16th. On this day in 2003, Arnold Schwarzenegger was sworn in as Governor of California, after having won a recall election that ousted former Governor Gray Davis.
Jody and Niki discuss how Schwarzenegger came to power, California’s recall system, and the legacy of celebrity politicians crashing the GOP.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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The Occupy Encampment (2011)
It’s November 15th. On this day in 2011, the NYPD issued orders to clear the encampment at Zuccotti Park in lower manhattan, that had been the site of the Occupy Wall Street protests since the fall.
Jody and Niki discuss the roots of the encampment, and how Occupy helped introduce ideas of income inequality into the modern political discourse.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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The Vietnam Memorial Controversy (1982)
It’s November 12th. On this day in 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial opened in Washington, DC.
Jody and Niki discuss the controversy over the memorial’s design, the additions over the years, and how we memorialize forever wars.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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The Obama Transition (2008)
It’s November 10th. On this day in 2008, President-Elect Obama stepped into the Oval Office for the first time for a meeting with President George W Bush.
Jody and Niki discuss the lessons from that 2008 transition, why the lame duck period is as long as it is, and what makes for a smooth transition, especially during a moment of crisis.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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GOP Latinos (1973) w/ Geraldo Cadava
It’s November 8th. On this day in 1973, a many by the name of Ben Fernandez testified during the Watergate hearings. Fernandez was a Nixon fundraiser but also a major organizer around Latinos within the Republican Party.
Jody and Niki are joined by Geraldo Cadava of Northwestern to discuss the history of conservative Latinos, and the narratives emerging around how Hispanics swung hard towards Donald Trump in the 2020 election.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/
Special: What Moment Are You Thinking Of? (2020) w/ Kellie Carter Jackson
In the wake of the 2020 election, we have been thinking about and asking “What historical moment are you thinking about in this moment?” Jody and Niki are joined by Kellie Carter Jackson of Wellesley College to share their thoughts and read your emails.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Quick Update, Question, Recommendation (2020)
Jody with a quick update on our post-election coverage. We’re recording on Friday morning with the question “What historical moment are you thinking about in this moment?” Email us thisdaypod@gmail.com or find a form at thisdaypod.com
In the meantime, if you’re looking for something to listen to, check out the latest episode of Radio Diaries, about the history of the concession speech. It’s great.
https://www.radiodiaries.org/how-to-lose-election/
When Black Voters Went Blue (1936) w/ Leah Wright Rigueur
It’s November 3rd. Election Day! On this day in 1936, FDR won his second term for president in a landslide. But it was the first election since the Civil War in which African-American voters voted for Democrats.
Jody and Niki are joined by Leah Wright Rigueur of Brandeis to discuss the shift, and how the election would preview the modern Democratic coalition, and the way in which Republicans would try to seize the Black vote back.
A quick note about our next show: We’ll be recording a
Election Sunday: Election Night Info w/ Jad Abumrad
It’s November 1st. On this Sunday before election day, we mix it up a bit and look at number of moments from history that teach us about how election results have been conveyed, from the origins of “news flash” to the New York Times’ election-night needle.
Jody and Niki are joined by Jad Abumrad of WNYC’s Radiolab to discuss how the pressure to get results as quickly as possible has increased over the last century, and how that could complicate things for 2020’s very a-historical elec
Witches (1693) w/ Josh Gondelman
It’s October 29th. On this day in 1693, the Salem witch trials came to an end when a superior court decided it would no longer hear “spectral evidence.”
Jody and Niki are joined by comedian Josh Gondelman to discuss what the witch trials were really about, and what they teach us about conspiracy theories.
Josh’s podcast is “Make My Day.”
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Reagan's "Time for Choosing" (1964)
It’s October 27th. On this day in 1964, Ronald Reagan gave a televised speech that marked him as the leading voice of American conservatives.
Jody and Niki discuss the “Time for Choosing” speech, Reagan’s long political evolution, and how the remarks set the stage for his eventual presidency.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Election Sunday: Wellstone Plane Crash (2002)
It’s October 25th. On this day in 2002, Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone died in a plane crash, eleven days before the midterm election.
Jody and Niki discuss the impact of his death on the midterm election that year, and the political legacy Wellstone left behind.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Ike's Heart Attack (1955) w/ Will Hitchcock
It’s October 22nd. On this day in 1955, President Eisenhower was recovering from a serious heart attack the month before.
Jody and Niki are joined by William Hitchcock of UVA to discuss the incident and how a president’s inner circle handles the press and questions of succession when the Commander In Chief is sick.
Will Hitchcock’s new podcast is called “Democracy In Danger.”
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Are You, Or Have You Ever Been... (1947) w/ Will Hitchcock
It’s October 20th. On this day in 1947, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) began hearings to root out communist sympathizers in Hollywood.
Jody and Niki are joined by William Hitchcock of UVA to discuss the long history of HUAC and how Congress has tried to define “un-American.”
Will Hitchcock’s new podcast is called “Democracy In Danger.”
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Election Sunday: Podium Protests (1968) w/ Joel Anderson
It’s October 18th. On this day in 1968, US Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists in a Black power salute on the podium in Mexico City.
Jody and Niki are joined by Joel Anderson of Slate to discuss the backstory to the protests, the symbolism in their act, and what athletes risk when they take a political stand.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Million Man March (1995) w/ Joel Anderson
It’s October 15th. On this day in 1995 hundreds of thousands of Black Americans descended on Washington DC for the Million Man March.
Jody and Niki are joined by Joel Anderson of Slate to discuss the march, respectability politics, and the cultural moment that led to the march. Plus, why it’s so hard to estimate crowd sizes.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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A Bull Moose Gets Shot (1912) w/ Alex Schmidt
It’s October 13th. On this day in 1912 (well, technically the 14th), Teddy Roosevelt is shot as he’s on his way to a speech in Milwaukee. He still gave the speech.
Jody and Niki are joined by Alex Schmidt to discuss the incident, the wild election of 1912, and violence in politics.
Alex’s podcast is called “Secretly Incredibly Fascinating” and is available wherever you get your podcasts.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Election Sunday: Anita Hill's Testimony (1991) w/ Farai Chideya
It’s October 11th. On this day in 1991, Anita Hill provided testimony during the confirmation hearings for Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. Hill alleged that Thomas sexually harassed her while they were colleagues.
Jody and Niki are joined by Farai Chideya to discuss the hearings, the changing (and not changing) nature of the sexual harassment conversation, and Joe Biden’s role in the matter.
Farai’s new public radio show is called “Our Body Politic” and will be running on statio
Anthrax Letters (2001)
It’s October 8th. On this day in 2001, the FBI opened an investigation into a series of letters containing anthrax powder that were mailed to news organizations and politicians.
Jody and Niki discuss the case of the anthrax letters, why it remains somewhat unsolved, and why this story doesn’t get better remembered.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Fallout Shelters (1961)
It’s October 6th. On this day in 1961, President Kennedy penned a letter urging the country to prepare fallout shelters and take other steps in anticipation of nuclear warfare.
Jody and Niki discuss the fear that pervaded the era and what it teaches us about how we prepare for disasters.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Election Sunday: A Great Debate Zinger (1988) w/ Mike Pesca
It’s October 4th. On this day in 1988, Lloyd Bentsen delivered one of the most memorable debate lines of all time when he told his VP opponent Dan Quayle that he “was no Jack Kennedy.”
Jody and Niki are joined by Mike Pesca, the host of Slate’s “The Gist,” to discuss why Benson’s line worked so well and what it can teach us about other great debate moments.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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REPOST -- The President Catches The Virus (1919)
With the news that President Trump has COVID, we are reposting our episode from early April about the time that President Wilson caught the Influenza virus in 1919.
We’ll be back with a new episode this Sunday.
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Get in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Our website is thisdaypod.com Follow us on social @thisdaypod
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Shutdown (2013) w/ Steve Kornacki
It’s October 1st. On this day in 2013, the United States government shut down after the Congress was unable to agree to a new budget proposal, that had been saddled with provisions that would have defunded Obamacare.
Jody and Niki are joined by NBC/MSNBC correspondent Steve Kornacki to discuss the shutdown, how Ted Cruz used it to increase his profile, and why we may be suffering from shutdown fatigue.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Goodbye 538 (1970) w/ Steve Kornacki
It’s September 29th. On this day in 1970, the United States Senate came six votes shy of voting for an amendment that would have scrapped the Electoral College system in favor of a much more straightforward popular vote.
Jody and Niki are joined by NBC/MSNBC correspondent Steve Kornacki to discuss the context for that amendment push, the way the Electoral College has been politicized, and whether it will ever go away.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterich
Election Sunday: Contract with America (1994) w/ Kristen Soltis Anderson
It’s September 27th. On this day in 1994, Republicans in the House of Representatives gathered on the steps of the Capitol to announce the “Contract with America,” a plank of ten policy points that they pledged to uphold if they seized back power in the upcoming midterm elections.
Jody and Niki are joined by pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson of Echelon Insights to discuss how the contract helped propel New Gingrich to stardom and brand the new Republican party.
Kristen’s book is “The S
The Republic of West Florida (1810) w/ Kristen Soltis Anderson
It’s September 24th. On this day in 1810, a band of rebels took control of a fort in Baton Rogue and shortly thereafter established “The Republic of West Florida,” which would last for… just under 50 days.
Jody and Niki are joined by pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson of Echelon Insights to discuss the breakaway republic, and the very weird history of the Gulf Coast region.
Kristen’s book is “The Selfie Vote.”
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
T
Dueling Lincoln (1842) w/ Alexis Coe
It’s September 22nd. On this day in 1842, Abe Lincoln almost duels, using swords, with a man named James Shields, but manages to get out of it.
Jody and Niki are joined by historian Alexis Coe to talk about why the duel isn’t part of the Lincoln mythology, and how scores were settled in the 1840s.
Alexis Coe’s book is called “You Never Forget Your First.”
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Election Sunday: Carter's Lust (1976) w/ Alexis Coe
It’s September 20th. On this day in 1976, Democratic presidential candidate Jimmy Carter gave an interview to Playboy magazine in which he admitted that he has “lust in his heart” for women.
Jody and Niki are joined by historian Alexis Coe to talk about how the comments set off a firestorm, in several different directions, and how Carter was never able to fully balance his authentic self with his political life.
Alexis Coe’s book is called “You Never Forget Your First.”
Find a transc
Khrushchev Comes to America (1959)
It’s September 17th. On this day in 1959, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev was in New York City as part of his goodwill tour of the United States.
Jody and Niki discuss the visit by Khrushchev, the protests against it, and the difference between political and cultural diplomacy.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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A Dead Candidate (1992)
It’s September 15th. On this day in 1992, the congressional district on Manhattan’s west side held its Democratic Primary. Incumbent Ted Weiss won handily. There was just one catch — Weiss had died of heart failure the day before.
Jody and Niki discuss the aftermath of Weiss’s death which saw Jerry Nadler assume the seat. They also look at the incumbency advantage in American politics, and why there has traditionally been so little turnover in Congress.
Find a transcript of this episo
Election Sunday: Dukakis on the Tank (1988) w/ Amy Walter
It’s September 13th. On this day in 1988, Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis baorded an M-1 tank in order to set up a photo op, ostensibly to make him look tough on defense. It backfired horribly.
Jody and Niki are joined by Amy Walter of the Cook Political Reporter and The Takeaway to discuss the tank photo, huge polling collapses, and the power of attack ads.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Bank War (1833) w/ Jacob Goldstein
It’s September 10th. On this day in 1833, President Andrew Jackson announced that the U.S. government would no longer be keeping its money with the Second Bank of the United States.
Jody and Niki are joined by Jacob Goldstein, host of the “Planet Money” podcast, to discuss Jackson’s showdown with the country’s official bank, and how it fits into the long history of distrust in banking institutions in America.
Jacob’s new book is called “Money: The True Story of a Made Up Thing.” Buy i
The Obama Star Trek Theory (2004) w/ Ian Chillag
It’s September 6th. On this day Star Trek debuted. We are discussing Star Trek because of a convoluted theory that if the actress Jeri Ryan had never been cast on the series Star Trek: Voyager, Barack Obama would never have become president.
Jody and Niki are joined by Ian Chillag, host of Everything Is Alive, and fan of this convoluted theory. Ian walks us through it and we discuss how much luck plays in political trajectories.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.co
Election Sunday: The Stars and Stripes and Sports (1918) w/ Jason Concepcion
It’s September 6th. On this day in 1918, during the seventh inning stretch of a World Series game between the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox, a band played the “Star Spangled Banner” for the first time at a major sporting event.
Jody and Niki are joined by Jason Concepcion of The Ringer to discuss why we now sing the national anthem at virtually every sporting event, and how sports, patriotism, and militarism have intertwined in the 100 years since.
Find a transcript of this episode
Recy and Rosa (1944) w/ Danielle McGuire
It’s September 3rd. On this day in 1944, a woman by the name of Recy Taylor was raped in Abbeville, Alabama.
Jody and Niki are joined by Danielle McGuire to discuss how Taylor’s case became one of the most notable cases in the early modern civil rights movement — and an important chapter in the political life of Rosa Parks.
Danielle McGuire’s book is “At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Race and Resistance -- A New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Ri
Tax The Rich (1862)
It’s September 1st. On this day in 1862, the Internal Revenue Act went into effect.
Jody and Niki discuss how the act codified many of the systems and precepts of our tax code — including the idea that the rich should be taxed at a higher rate than the poor; and that certain “vice” items should be subject to a sales tax.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Election Sunday: Carter and the Killer Rabbit (1979) w/ Sam Sanders
It’s August 30th. On this day in 1979, newspapers around the country reported on an encounter President Jimmy Carter had earlier that summer with a rabbit while fishing.
Jody and Niki are joined by Sam Sanders of NPR’s “It’s Been A Minute” to discuss how the Carter vs. Rabbit narrative spiraled out of control and turned into a genuine scandal.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Obama's Tan Suit (2014) w/ Sam Sanders
It’s August 27th. On this day in 2014, President Barack Obama gave a press conference about Ukraine and ISIS and foreign policy — but much of the political chatter was about his choice of tan suit.
Jody and Niki are joined by Sam Sanders of NPR’s “It’s Been A Minute” to discuss the “scandal” and what it how it represented a shifting moment in political coverage.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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The 19th (1920) w/ Kellie Carter Jackson
It’s August 25th. On this day in 1920, Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby signed papers that ratified the 19th amendment, which stated that the right to vote would not be denied “on account of sex.”
Jody and Niki are joined by Kellie Carter Jackson of Wellesley to talk about the passage of the amendment, the intersectional nature of the suffrage movement, and why it wasn’t another 45 years until all women were really free to vote.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl
Election Sunday: Fannie Lou Hamer vs Lyndon B Johnson (1964)
It’s August 23rd. On this day in 1964, Mississippi activist Fannie Lou Hamer gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention about her efforts to be recognized as part of the MS delegation. President Lyndon B Johnson, sensing that Hamer’s speech was getting attention, scheduled impromptu remarks.
Jody and Niki are joined by Kellie Carter Jackson of Wellesley to talk about Hamer’s remarks, legacy, and whether dramatic showdowns like this are even possible at modern conventions.
Fin
Rockefeller Republicans (1974)
It’s August 20th. On this day in 1974, Gerald Ford announced Nelson Rockefeller of New York as his pick for Vice President.
Jody and Niki discuss how the pick of Rockefeller represented Ford’s attempt to find a moderate in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Nixon’s resignation — and whatever happened to the “Rockefeller Republican” wing of the GOP.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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The Dakota War and the Mankato Hanging (1862)
It’s August 18th. On this day in 1862, fighting broke out in southern Minnesota between Dakota Indians and the United States. Later in the year, 38 Dakota men would be hanged in Mankato, the largest mass execution in US history.
Jody and Niki discuss the conflict, how it fit into the context of the Civil War, and why it’s been largely written out of history.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Election Sunday: Adlai and The Always-Rans (1952) w/ Harry Enten
It’s August 16th. On this day in 1956, Adlai Stevenson accepted the nomination for Democratic candidate for president. It was the second election in a row that he would go up against Eisenhower — and Stevenson was almost nominated again the following cycle.
Jody and Niki are joined by Harry Enten of CNN to talk about Stevenson and other figures who keep popping up in American politics.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Ebola (2014) w/ Andy Slavitt
It’s August 13th. On this day in 2014, deaths from Ebola passed 1,000 in four West African nations. Over the summer and fall fears about Ebola would grow around the world and in the US.
Jody and Niki are joined by Andy Slavitt, former Acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to talk about the response then and what it says about the response now.
Andy is the host of the “In The Bubble” podcast. Check it out!
Find a transcript of this episode at: https:/
RBG Arrives (1993) w/ Dahlia Lithwick
It’s August 11th. On this day in 1993, Ruth Bader Ginsburg spent her first full day on the Supreme Court.
Jody and Niki are joined by Dahlia Lithwick of Slate to discuss Ginsburg’s nomination and how she went from measured incrementalist to feminist icon.
Be sure to listen to Dahlia’s special series on RBG in the Amicus podcast feed.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Election Sunday: How Third Parties Happen (1848)
It’s August 9th. On this day in 1848, former President Martin Van Buren was nominated as the presidential nominee for the breakaway Free Soil Party. The party was short-lived, but influential, and partly responsible for the Republican party’s anti-slavery stance.
Jody and Niki discuss the FSP, MVB, and what conditions it takes for a viable third party to arise in American politics.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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The Case Of The Missing Judge (1930)
It’s August 6th. On this day in 1930, NY Judge Joseph Force Crater disappeared after getting dinner and heading to a Broadway show. He was never seen again, and his case has been a vacuum for conspiracy theories in the years since.
Jody and Niki discuss Crater’s disappearance, and what his life tells us about the Tammany Hall of corruption and graft in New York City.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Braceros (1942)
It’s August 4th. On this day in 1942, the US started an immigration program for “braceros,” agricultural workers from Mexico who came to work on farms using temporary visas.
Jody and Niki discuss how the program forged ties between the US and Mexico, and what it teaches us about borders.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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Election Sunday: Reagan's Dog Whistle (1980)
It’s August 2nd. On this day in 1980, Ronald Reagan kicked off his 1980 presidential general election campaign with a speech at the Neshoba County Fair in MS. During the speech he used the phrase “states rights,” which was widely seen as a racial dog whistle.
Jody and Niki are joined by Kevin M Kruse of Princeton to discuss Reagan’s campaign, the significance of that kick-off speech, and the long running Southern Strategy.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esot
How We Got "In God We Trust" (1956) w/ Kevin M Kruse
It’s July 30th. On this day in 1956, Congress approved a bill to adopt “In God We Trust” as the official motto of the United States, mandating that it appear on paper currency and elsewhere.
Jody and Niki are joined by Kevin M Kruse of Princeton to discuss why the 1950s was the era in which so much religion was codified into American political and society. Kevin’s book about the subject is “One Nation Under God.”
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A Major Watergate Vote (1974) w/ Leon Neyfakh
It’s July 28th. On this day in 1974, the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee voted 27-11 to recommend the impeachment of Richard Nixon on counts of obstructing justice. The vote would be followed by several other counts and, a few weeks later, Nixon’s resignation.
Jody and Niki are joined by Leon Neyfakh, host of FIASCO and host of the first season of Slow Burn, all about the Watergate scandal.
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Election Sunday: Chappaquidick (1969)
It’s July 26th. On this day in 1969, Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy pled guilty to leaving the scene of the crime following a car accident on the island of Chappaquidick.
Jody and Niki are joined by Maeve Higgins of the New York Times and the podcast Mothers of Invention to discuss the legacy of the scandal, the Kennedy family’s impunity, and how Mary Jo Kopechne has been erased from the story.
This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.
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Why Wyoming (1890) w/ Maeve Higgins
It’s July 23rd. On this day in 1890, Wyoming celebrated its entry into the United States. And it was doing so as a state that granted women the right to vote.
Jody and Niki are joined by Maeve Higgins of the New York Times and the podcast Mothers of Invention to discuss the suffrage movement on the American frontier.
This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.
Get in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Our web
Small Step For (A?) Man (1969) w/ Maeve Higgins
It’s July 21st. On this day in 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin rode the Apollo 11 lunar module down to the moon’s surface — while their pal Michael Collins stayed behind.
Jody and Niki are joined by Maeve Higgins of the New York Times and the podcast Mothers of Invention to discuss whether we have going-to-the-moon like projects anymore.
This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.
Get in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just
Election Sunday: Convention Speeches (1980s)
It’s July 19th. In our first special Sunday show, Jody Avirgan and Nicole Hemmer discuss some notable convention speeches from the 1980s, and what makes for a good speech in the room and on TV. We’re doing special Sunday shows from now through Election Day.
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Riots Sweep NYC (1863)
It’s July 16th. On this day in 1863, riots are raging in New York City. Jody Avirgan and Nicole Hemmer discuss how the unrest shifted from Civil War protest to a race riot, and what it says about the North’s role in the conflict.
Reminder! We are adding a third episode each week, starting this Sunday. Be sure to tune in, and spread the word.
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The Pandemic We Forget (1968) w/ Leon Neyfakh
It’s July 14th. On this day in 1968, reports of a new strain of influenza. The “Hong Kong Flu” would spread worldwide and kill upwards of a million people, including 50-100,00 in the United States.
Jody Avirgan and Nicole Hemmer are joined by Leon Neyfakh, host of FIASCO and original host of Slow Burn, to discuss why we don’t remember this pandemic as part of the story of 1968.
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VP Gore (1992) w/ John Dickerson
It’s July 9th. On this day in 1992, Bill Clinton announced Al Gore as his selection to be his Vice Presidential running mate.
Jody Avirgan and Nicole Hemmer are joined by John Dickerson of 60 Minutes to discuss why Clinton went with another young Southerner, and whether VP selections even matter.
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Welcome Alaska (1958) w/ John Dickerson
It’s July 7th. On this day in 1958, President Eisenhower signed the Alaska Statehood Act, bringing Alaska on as the 49th state.
Jody Avirgan and Nicole Hemmer are joined by John Dickerson of 60 Minutes to discuss how states get added, and whether we think we will be adding a new one in this country anytime soon. John’s new book is “The Hardest Job In The Room.”
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The Man Who Didn't Sign The Declaration (1776) w/ John Dickerson
It’s July 2nd. Today, the story of John Dickinson, who attended the Continental Congress, was witness to the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, but abstained from voting for or signing the document.
Jody Avirgan and Nicole Hemmer are joined by John Dickerson of 60 Minutes to discuss the story of the “forgotten founder.” John’s new book is “The Hardest Job In The Room.”
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Newspaper Strike! (1945) w/ Jane Coaston
It’s June 30th. Jody Avirgan and Nicole Hemmer are joined by Jane Coaston of Vox to discuss the NYC newspaper strike of 1945. There were eight daily newspapers serving millions and millions each day. When delivery workers went on strike, it revealed a lot about the media environment, labor, and more.
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The Great Reunion (1913) w/ Jane Coaston
It’s June 25th. Jody Avirgan and Nicole Hemmer are joined by Jane Coaston of Vox to discuss “The Great Reunion” of 1913. 50 years after the Battle of Gettysburg, Civil War veterans returned to swap stories and shape the story of how America remembers that conflict.
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Resurrection City (1968) w/ Jane Coaston
It’s June 23rd. Jody Avirgan and Nicole Hemmer are joined by Jane Coaston of Vox to discuss “Resurrection City,” an encampment that occupied the National Mall in Washington DC for six weeks in the summer of 1968.
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Juneteenth (1865)
It’s June 18th. Jody Avirgan and Nicole Hemmer discuss the history of Juneteenth — which is tomorrow, June 19th! It started as a Texas commemoration of the end of slavery, and has slowly spread throughout the country, and appears to be on its way to becoming an official holiday.
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Getting The New Deal Done (1933)
It’s June 16th. Jody Avirgan and Nicole Hemmer discuss the passage of the first raft of legislation that would come to be known as The New Deal. History remembers the entire era as one of sweeping reform, but there was traditional politics at play in its passage, too.
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One Of Those Days (1963) w/ Josh Levin
It’s June 11th. We’re breaking format a bit today. Jody Avirgan and Nicole Hemmer are joined by Slate’s Josh Levin to talk about a day in 1963 where four massive events all happened together. Alabama Governor George Wallace tried to block two black students from entering a building at the University of Alabama. In response, President Kennedy federalized the Alabama national guard. That same night, civil rights activist Medgar Evers was assassinated. And in Vietnam, Buddhist monk Thích Q
David Duke The Democrat (1988)
It’s June 9th. Jody Avirgan and Nicole Hemmer are joined by Slate’s Josh Levin to talk about neo-nazi David Duke, who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988, and continued to seek office throughout the 80s and 90s. Duke is the subject of the latest season of the excellent podcast “Slow Burn,” hosted by Levin.
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Shirley Shows Up (1972)
It’s June 4th. Jody Avirgan and Nicole Hemmer discuss the California democratic debate of 1972, which features Shirley Chisholm — the first woman to appear on a presidential debate stage. She was also the first African-American woman elected to Congress.
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The Steel Strike Showdown (1952)
It’s June 2nd. Before the show, some words about the protests and violence over the weekend. Then, Jody Avirgan and Nicole Hemmer discuss a massive steel strike in 1952, and the way it pitted President Truman, unions, and the Supreme Court against each other.
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Ain't I A Woman (1851) w/ Akilah Hughes
It’s May 28th. Jody Avirgan, Nicole Hemmer, and special guest Akilah Hughes (What A Day podcast) discuss Sojourner Truth’s famous “Ain’t I a Woman” speech. It tells us a lot about how myths are made, and historical figures are flattened over time.
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Hands Across America (1986)
It’s May 26th. Jody Avirgan, Nicole Hemmer, and special guest Akilah Hughes (What A Day podcast) discuss “Hands Across America,” the charity event that tried to get Americans to line up from coast to coast in order to raise awareness about homelessness and hunger.
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Treason! (1807)
It’s May 21st. Jody Avirgan, Nicole Hemmer, and special guest Joanne Freeman (Backstory Radio) discuss the treason trial of Aaron Burr. It pitted Burr against Thomas Jefferson, for whom he had served as VP, and posed lots of questions about what our young democracy would look like.
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The Caning Of Sumner (1856)
It’s May 19th. Jody Avirgan, Nicole Hemmer, and special guest Joanne Freeman (Backstory) discuss one of the more notorious incidents in U.S. political history — when Senator Charles Sumner was severely beaten with a cane by a political opponent inside the Congressional chamber.
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Ron Paul Bows Out (2012)
It’s May 14th. Jody Avirgan, Nicole Hemmer, and special guest Harry Enten of CNN discuss the career of Ron Paul. He ran in several Republican primaries, capturing a part of the electorate that would come to play a big role in future elections on both sides of the aisle.
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The Killer Ds (2003)
It’s May 12th. Jody Avirgan, Nicole Hemmer, and special guest Harry Enten of CNN discuss the incident where over 50 Texas legislators fled across the boarder to Oklahoma, to avoid having to vote on a redistricting proposal.
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Coya Come Home (1958)
It’s May 7th. Jody Avirgan, Nicole Hemmer, and special guest Harry Enten of CNN discuss the “Coya Come Home” letter — a public letter written by the husband of MN representative Coya Knutson, demanding that she leave office and return to domestic life.
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The Forgotten Crash (1893)
It’s May 5th. Jody Avirgan and Nicole Hemmer discuss the crash of 1893. It was the result of a rapidly changing economy, heavy debt, and slow-footed governmental response. And it ushered in a new era in American politics.
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Bernie Jumps In (2015)
It’s April 30th. Jody Avirgan and Nicole Hemmer discuss the moment Bernie Sanders entered the 2016 Democratic primary. He was relatively unknown, but the issues he was championing were already gaining momentum.
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The East Coast Dims Out (1942)
It’s April 28th. Jody Avirgan and Nicole Hemmer talk about the “dim outs” of 1942, when businesses and residents along the east coast were asked to turn off their lights to protect from enemy submarines. It’s a moment of collective effort during WWII that has lots of lessons for today.
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Howard Stern For Governor (1994)
It’s April 23rd. Jody Avirgan, Nicole Hemmer, and special guest Alexis Coe (You Never Forget Your First) discuss when shock-jock Howard Stern secured the Libertarian Party nomination for New York Governor. His platform included just four items.
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Adams Doesn't Want To Be VP (1789)
It’s April 21st. Jody Avirgan, Nicole Hemmer, and special guest Alexis Coe (You Never Forget Your First) discuss America’s first Vice President, John Adams. He was inaugurated nine days before George Washington, and was complaining about playing second fiddle from day one.
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Letter from a Birmingham Jail (1963)
It’s April 16th. Jody Avirgan, Nicole Hemmer, and special guest Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times discuss Martin Luther King’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail, in which he rejected calls to go slow and appease moderates in his civil rights efforts.
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The Lincoln Coup (1865)
It’s April 14th. Jody Avirgan, Nicole Hemmer, and special guest Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times discuss the assasination of Abraham Lincoln, and what parts of the story history tends not to consider.
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The Amendment That Changed The Senate (1913)
It’s April 9th. Jody Avirgan, Nicole Hemmer, and special guest Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times discuss the passage of the 17th amendment. It changed the way that senators are elected, and the fundamental mechanics of our democracy.
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Obama's "Bitter Clinger" Comments (2008)
It’s April 7th. Jody Avirgan and Nicole Hemmer discuss the scandal that erupted after candidate Barack Obama made comments at a fundraiser ahead of the Pennsylvania primary. His remarks about “bitter” voters who “cling to guns and religion,” and the controversy that erupted, in many ways previewed the politics of the next decade.
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Wilson Gets The Flu (1919)
It’s April 2nd. Jody Avirgan and Nicole Hemmer discuss the Influenza pandemic of 1918-1919. In the spring of 1919, President Wilson got sick on his way to Paris for talks to bring a close to World War I.
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LBJ Isn't Running (1968)
It’s March 31st. Jody Avirgan and Nicole Hemmer discuss President Johnson’s surprise announcement that he isn’t running for re-election, and how politics can be upended in a tumultuous year like 1968.
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Introduction: This Day In Esoteric Political History
This Day In Esoteric Political History is hosted by Jody Avirgan, with historian Nicole Hemmer of Columbia. Our researcher and producer is Jacob Feldman.
Find us online at thisdaypod.com. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @thisdaypod
This Day in Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.