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PODCAST

This Day (An America 250 History Show)

Jody Avirgan & Radiotopia

To mark our 250th birthday, “This Day” presents "50 Weeks That Shaped America," a series of deep dives into the stories that brought us to this moment. "This Day" takes you beyond the head-spinning headlines of today and into the unexpected historical moments that have shaped American politics and culture. Hosted by Jody Avirgan (538), and historians Nicole Hemmer (Vanderbilt), and Kellie Carter Jackson (Wellesley), each episode explores a moment from that day in U.S. political history to

history

All Episodes

35:51

Tulsa Massacre: Life On Black Wall Street (Part 1)

This Day (An America 250 History Show) ·

2026/05/26

For the twenty-first installment of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we go to Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1921, and trace two days of violence and terror by the White residents of the city on the community living in "Black Wall Street." We discuss life in Tulsa, how the violence kicked off, and why the story of the Tulsa Massacre was supressed for so long.Join our America250 newsletter community! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying

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32:16

Golden Spike: What The Railroads Built and Destroyed...

This Day (An America 250 History Show) ·

2026/05/21

We continue our conversation about the transcontinental railroad with a look at the impact of a connected America -- and what it means to be promised a new technology that will reshape everything.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 features throughout the year. To support our work and get access to everything,

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34:33

Silent Majority: Nixon and the Hardhat Riots (Part Two)

This Day (An America 250 History Show) ·

2026/05/14

Our conversation about the "silent majority" continues with a look at the so-called Hard Hat Riots in New York City, and how the idea of a conservative backlash politics began to coalesce.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 features throughout the year. To support our work and get access to everything, subscribe

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37:54

Separate But Equal: The Rise of Jim Crow (Part 2)

This Day (An America 250 History Show) ·

2026/05/07

Our conversation about Plessy vs Ferguson continues with a look at the world that the ruling helped usher in: Jim Crow laws, poll taxes, grandfather clauses, the rise of the KKK and more.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 features throughout the year. To support our work and get access to everything, subscribe

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46:09

Separate But Equal: The Plessy Case (Part 1)

This Day (An America 250 History Show) ·

2026/05/05

For the eighteenth installment of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we talk about a landmark Supreme Court case, Plessy v Ferguson, which in 1896 codified the idea of “separate but equal” accomodations for Black and White Americans. We trace the brief moment during Reconstruction when Black citizens in the South gained real rights, and how legislatures and White power structures began to push back. Then we discuss the case itself and the impact of the ruling, including the lone dissent.Join

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31:44

Golden Gate Bridge: We Can Do Big Things (Part 2)

This Day (An America 250 History Show) ·

2026/04/30

Out conversation about the Golden Gate Bridge continues with the opening of the bridge, and a bunch of people who didn't get enough credit. Plus, what the story says about how we need big ideas even in moments when things feel especially dire.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 features throughout the year. To support

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40:05

Fort Sumter And The Road To Civil War (Part One)

This Day (An America 250 History Show) ·

2026/04/14

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 community! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is playing out

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36:48

MLK Is Assassinated (Part 1)

This Day (An America 250 History Show) ·

2026/04/07

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 cheered his death.Join our America250 newsletter community! Subscribe for free to get the latest

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28:26

Over There! The US At War (Part 2)

This Day (An America 250 History Show) ·

2026/04/02

**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 analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying subscribers get access to early, ad-free versions of

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45:59

America Debates WWI (Part 1)

This Day (An America 250 History Show) ·

2026/03/31

**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 1917, Wilson is prepared to make a brutal decision.Join our America250 newsletter community

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21:24

The Boston Molasses Disaster [Some Sunday Context]

This Day (An America 250 History Show) ·

2026/03/29

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 newsletter community! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is

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29:55

How Triangle Ushered In An Era Of Reform [Part 2]

This Day (An America 250 History Show) ·

2026/03/26

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 versions of the show. Plus bonus features throughout the year. To support our work and get access to

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45:41

The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Shocks America [Part 1]

This Day (An America 250 History Show) ·

2026/03/24

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 took place with many of the city’s elite literally watching in person — galvanized calls for

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32:54

How Clinton-Lewinsky Set The Template For Modern...

This Day (An America 250 History Show) ·

2026/03/12

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 versions of the show. Plus bonus features throughout the year. To support our work and get

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42:46

Clinton, Lewinsky, FOX & Drudge [Part 1]

This Day (An America 250 History Show) ·

2026/03/10

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 impeachment. Much of this was fueled by a new media environment — blogs, Drudge, talk radio, and an

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18:20

The Speech That First Made Lincoln [Some Sunday Context]

This Day (An America 250 History Show) ·

2026/03/08

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 intellectual vision — one that was as much about continually evolving ideas on slavery as

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40:26

Lincoln's Second Inaugural w/ Jamelle Bouie (1865)...

This Day (An America 250 History Show) ·

2026/03/03

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 speech, Lincoln offers a religiously-tinged reckoning for the causes and impact of the Civil

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26:33

Valley Forge: From Militia To US Army (1778) [Part One]

This Day (An America 250 History Show) ·

2026/02/24

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 effectively a pop-up city, and how it reflected what would come in an independent United States.Join our

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35:17

The Iwo Jima Mystery And The Power Of War Images...

This Day (An America 250 History Show) ·

2026/02/19

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 and analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying subscribers get access to early, ad-free

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40:56

"Raising The Flag On Iwo Jima" (1945) [Part 1]

This Day (An America 250 History Show) ·

2026/02/17

This week on "50 Weeks That Shaped America," we're headed to February 1945, when attention in WWII has shifted to the Pacific. American forces are "island hopping" towards Japan, and in February a fierce battle broke out on the island of Iwo Jima. After an initial victory, a group of six men clambored to the top of the islands tallest point and hoisted a flag -- twice, as it happens. The photo of the second flag raising would become one of the most famous photographs in American history

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