This Day (An America 250 History Show)

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 boo...

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. This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiot...

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. This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from P...

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. This Day In Esoteric...

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. This Da...

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. This Day In Esoteric Pol...

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 C...

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, W...

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...

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. This...

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. This Day In Esoteric Political History is a p...

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...

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 o...

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...

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...

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 a...

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 e...

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 effor...

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 i...

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 c...

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...

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...

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 epis...

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 This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia f...

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 This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PR...