This Day (An America 250 History Show)

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’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...

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. Sign up for our newsletter! Find out more at thisdaypod.com And d...

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. Sign up for our newsletter! Find out more at thisdaypod.com And don’t forget about Opr...

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....

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. Sign up for our newsl...

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 politi...

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 Uni...

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 musi...

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 re...

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...

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. Sign up for our newsletter! Find out more at thisday...

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 envi...

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. Sign up for our newsletter! Find out more at thisdaypod.com And don’t forget about Opra...

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. Sign up for our newsletter! Find out more at thisdaypod.com And don’t forget...

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. Sign up for our newsletter! Find out more at thisdaypod.com...

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. Sign up for our newsletter! F...

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. Sign up for...

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 o...

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 institution...

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. Sign up for our newsletter! Find out more at thisdayp...

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. Sign up for our newsletter! Find out more at thisda...

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 o...

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 bac...

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 In...