This Day (An America 250 History Show)

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 Constellati...

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/podcas...

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 A...

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...

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 Had...

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 Had...

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’...

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 ob...

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....

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. Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll...

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 episod...

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 pr...

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-...

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. Sign up for our newslette...

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. Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll be sending out links to all the stuff we r...

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. Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll be sending out links to all the stuff we recommended later this week. Find out...

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...

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...

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 j...

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 N...

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....

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. Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll be...

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 punishm...

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. Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll be sending out links to a...

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. Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll be sending out...