This Day (An America 250 History Show)

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 hi...

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

It’s February 16th — Elizabeth Peratrovich Day! Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the life and work of Alaska Native activist Elizabeth Peratrovich. 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 independent...

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

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. Sign up for our ne...

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...

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

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

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. 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 suppor...

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. Sign up for ou...

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 beca...

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 wi...

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. Sign up for...

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

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

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 th...

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 wa...

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 revel...

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 ab...

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

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 ex...

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. 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 Poli...

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 Polit...

*** The Radiotopia fundraiser is happening right now! Support this show by becoming a member today: https://on.prx.org/3Ehr3B6 *** 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. Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll be sending out links to...

*** The Radiotopia fundraiser is happening right now! Support this show by becoming a member today: https://on.prx.org/3Ehr3B6 *** 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. Sign up for our ne...