This Day (An America 250 History Show)

We continue our conversation about the start of the Civil War with why Fort Sumter was the site of the first battle, and how the fallout from Fort Sumter galvinized both North and South. Join our America250 newsletter community ! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying subscribers get access to early, ad-free versions of the show. Plus bonus...

For the fifteenth installment of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we go to the end of 1860 and the first months of 1861. Lincoln's election made it inevitable that Northern and Southern states would have a showdown over slavery. Despite last-ditch attempts to avert war, tensions mount at Fort Sumter in South Carolina, bringing the country to the brink of Civil War. Join our America250 newsletter com...

For our "Sunday Context" episode, we look at the 40-year battle for honoring Martin Luther King, Jr with a federal holiday. Many states and notable politicians dragged their feed and manipulated the system to prevent giving King this honor, until Ronald Reagan finally proclaimed the new holiday. Join our America250 newsletter community ! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of ho...

Our conversation about MLK's assassination continues with a look at the day of King's death and the capture of James Earl Ray. Then, Niki, Kellie and Jody discuss how King's legacy has been contested and sanitized from the moment of his death up until today. Join our America250 newsletter community ! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying su...

For the fourteenth episode of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we go (for the first time) to 1968 and the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. In the months leading up to his killing, King had become much more class-conscious, and spoken out against the Vietnam War. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how his politics and activism evolved over the late 60s, how Americans responded — and how many chee...

We’re kicking off a series of chats that (until we find a better name) we’re calling “How to 250.” This is our chance to check in with some friends of the show - historians, writers, podcast folks - about how they are marking America 250, and what it means to do the work of history in this moment. And what better way to kick it off than with filmmaker Ken Burns! We get into his work, the idea of A...

**We've got new merch ! Check it out.** We continue our discussion about WWI with Wilson's speech to Congress making the case for entering the war. Soon, troops are mobilizing and American men are experiencing a kind of brutality never seen before. In the wake of the war, the country tries to move forward. Join our America250 newsletter community ! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and ana...

**We've got new merch ! Check it out.** For the thirteenth episode of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we go to 1917 and the growing pressure on Woodrow Wilson to send American troops to Europe and enter WWI. We discuss the various factions, from warhawks to "America First" and peace activists. Teddy Roosevelt emerges as Wilson's main antagonist, and Germany keeps bombing US boats. By the spring of...

For our "Sunday Context" episode, we look at another industrial disaster from the 1910s -- the time a river of molasses wiped out much of Boston's North End. While not as tragic as the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, and somewhat ridiculous at its heart, the molasses flood was nevertheless a product of many of the same shoddy industrial regulations and protections of the era. Join our America250 newslet...

Our conversation about the Triangle Shirtwaist fire continues with how reformers responded to the tragedy, and how those who witnessed the fire personally made it their life's mission to change labor laws in America. Join our America250 newsletter community ! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying subscribers get access to early, ad-free ver...

For the twelfth episode of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we go to 1911 and the massive fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. The fire started on the 8th floor, spread to the 9th and 10th, and would lead to deaths of almost 150 people, mostly poor women who worked in the factory. This fire took place during an era of growing labor reform, and the tragedy — which...

**One week only, get a 20% discount on the newsletter using this link! thisdaypod.substack.com/35c7aaa4 ** For our "Sunday Context" episode, we go back to an episode from week two (!) of this podcast to look at the controversy over Obama's "cling to guns and religion" comments. Plus: a teaser of a doc on Obama-Wright that Jody produced for FiveThirtyEight. It's available in full for paying newslet...

Our conversation about Barack Obama and Reverend Jeremiah Wright continues with a look at what he said about race in America during his "A More Perfect Union" speech. Jody, Niki, and Kellie also look at how the speech previewed -- or didn't -- how Obama would talk about race and race relations throughout his presidency. Join our America250 newsletter community ! Subscribe for free to get the lates...

For the eleventh episode of “50 Weeks That Shaped America,” we go to the spring of 2008. Barack Obama was largely on path to clinch the Democratic nomination, but he had to navigate one last major controversy. In April, ABC did a report on remarks by his long-time Pastor Jeremiah Wright, and a scandal exploded. In response, Obama delivered a speech entitled “A More Perfect Union,” where he distanc...

For our "Sunday Context" episode, go back to the Clinton administration and look at how Republicans swept into power in 1994. It allowed them to present a new version of the GOP -- and organize a unified opposition to Clinton just as the Lewinsky scandal was exploding. Jody and Niki are joined by pollster and author Kristen Soltis Anderson. Join our America250 newsletter community ! Subscribe for...

Our conversation about the Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky affair continues, with a look at the changing media environment, the rise of FOX News, and how this created a template for the modern hyper-politicized scandal. Join our America250 newsletter community ! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying subscribers get access to early, ad-free...

This week on “50 Weeks That Shaped America” series, we go to fairly recent history — and the rise of the modern media-driven political scandal. During the government shutdown of 1995, Bill Clinton started a sexual relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. A couple years later, world of the relationship would begin to leak, leading to a massive scandal and, eventually, Clinton’s impeach...

For our "Sunday Context" episode, we look at another speech by Abraham Lincoln, one he gave in 1860 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 int...

We continue our conversation about Lincoln's second inaugural address with a close reading of how it was written and addressed. Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by special guest Jamelle Bouie to break it down, line by line. Be sure to check out his work in the New York Times, on YouTube , and his movie podcast “ Unclear and Present Danger .” Join our America250 newsletter community ! Subscribe fo...

This week on "50 Weeks That Shaped America," we're headed to March 1865 to talk ab out Abraham Lincoln for the first time in our series. There are two speeches inscribed in the Lincoln Memorial - Gettysburg, of course, but also his second inaugural address. If people know they speech, they likely know the final words about “malice towards none; with charity for all” but in the first half of the sp...

This past week, we took part in On Air Fest in Brooklyn, soft-launching a series of bonus conversations about America 250 and the work of history in 2026. We talked about which events we're actually excited to attend, how we'd craft the perfect historical road trip, and what stories from our series have stuck with us the most. As we do more bonus conversations, those will be available in full for...

Our conversation about the Continental Army's winter at Valley Forge, PA continues with a look at how the troops were trained, and what the winter of 1777-1778 tells us about the truth and legend of George Washington, humble leader... Join our America250 newsletter community ! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying subscribers get access to...

This week on "50 Weeks That Shaped America," we're headed to the winter of 1777-1778 and the strategic retreat by the Continental Army to Valley Forge, PA. Over the course of that winter, George Washington worked to turn the army from a group of ragtag militias into a unified force -- all with the help of a mysterious Prussian general. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how Valley Forge was effectivel...

For our "Sunday Context" series, we advance the story from Iwo Jima by a few months to August 1945, when the United States drops nuclear weapons on Japan in order to bring an end to WWII. We're joined by Garrett Graff to discuss the brutal calculus that went into that decision. Join our America250 newsletter community ! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is pl...

It's part two of our look at Joe Rosenthal's iconic photo "Raising The Flag On Iwo Jima." Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the mystery over who is actually in the photograph, how the photo shaped American's perception of the war -- and why war images continue to have such an impact, from Vietnam through Abu Ghraib. Join our America250 newsletter community ! Subscribe for free to get the latest news...