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PODCAST

This Day

Jody Avirgan & Radiotopia

“This Day” takes you beyond the head-spinning headlines of today and into the unexpected historical moments that have shaped American politics. 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 uncover its lasting impact. On Sunday episodes, Jody, Niki and Kellie react to current news with their usual mix of humor, analysis, and historical perspective.New

history

All Episodes

24:54

Japanese Cars, Made In America (1982)

This Day ·

2025/10/30

It's October 30th. This day (technically November 2nd) in 1982, a Honda Accord rolls off the assembly line at a new plant in Marysville, Ohio -- the first Japanese car made by American workers.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the rise of Japanese auto manufacturing throuhgout the 1970s, the arguments over protectionism and American manufacturing that arose as a result -- and the compomise during the Reagan era to have the automakers build plants in the United States.Sign up for our America250

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24:13

The Obamacare Website Crashes On Day One (2013)

This Day ·

2025/10/14

It's October 13th. This day in 2013, the healthcare.gov website is a total fiasco. It had launched a couple weeks earlier and was immediately unusable, with only six people being able to enroll in the Obamacare exchanges on the first day.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the website was so broken, the blame game that ensued, and the lessons about implementation found in the website's sordid tale. You can create great policy, but if people can't feel it in their day to day lives, does it

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29:25

Teach-Ins (Plus A Special Announcement!) w/ Nate DiMeo

This Day ·

2025/10/09

It's October 9th. Today, we look back at the first "teach-ins" at the University of Michigan in 1965, and discuss the power of gathering together to learn and teach. Plus, we announce our very own teach-in, taking place in Washington DC on October 26th!Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Nate DiMeo, host of our fellow Radiotopia show "The Memory Palace," who is co-organizing the upcoming teach-in. Find more information about the event here: https://linktr.ee/historyteachinSign up for our

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24:25

The First Modern Shutdown w/ Steve Kornacki (2013)...

This Day ·

2025/10/07

Today, we look back an episode we did about October 2013, when the United States government shut down after the Congress was unable to agree to a new budget proposal, that had been saddled with provisions that would have defunded Obamacare.Jody and Niki are joined by NBC/MSNBC correspondent Steve Kornacki to discuss the shutdown, how Ted Cruz used it to increase his profile, and why we may be suffering from shutdown fatigue.Sign up for our America250 Watch newsletter, where you'll also get

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21:22

The First Time Democrats Shut Down The Government...

This Day ·

2025/10/05

On Sundays, we try to bring you new conversations and episodes from the archives that provide a little context for the news of 2025. Today: a look back at the very first government shutdown, and how shutdowns have wrapped up budget fights and larger ideological battles before.Sign up for our America250 Watch newsletter, where you'll also get links and lots more historical tidbits.https://thisdaypod.substack.com/Find out more about the show at thisdaypod.comThis Day In Esoteric Political

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31:44

"We Didn't Start The Fire's" Crash Course In History...

This Day ·

2025/10/02

It's October 2nd. This day in 1989, Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start The Fire," which name-checks a ton of events that took place from the 50s through the 80s, is rocketing up the charts.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Joel felt compelled to write the song, some of the more obscure references in the song -- and whether they are buying Joel's historical argument presented in the song.Sign up for our America250 Watch newsletter, where you'll also get links and lots more historical

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31:42

Post-911 Patriotic Mania (2001) [Chilled Speech Week...

This Day ·

2025/09/25

This week, we're bringing you two episodes that highlight periods in American history where political speech was being policied, repressed, and persecuted -- much like it is today.Today: A look back at the way speech was policed in the wake of the 9-11 attacks. Bill Maher lost his job, professors were fired, Clear Channel removed songs that mentioned airplane crashes... and the Bush White House told people to "watch what they say."Sign up for our America250 Watch newsletter, where you'll

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27:56

The Red Channels Whisper Network (1950) [Chilled...

This Day ·

2025/09/23

It's September 22nd. This week, we're bringing you two episodes that highlight periods in American history where political speech was being policied, repressed, and persecuted -- much like it is today.Today: A look back at "Red Channels," an anti-Communist newsletter that started to create lists, mostly in the entertainment industry, of suspected Communist sympathizers. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss who funded Red Channels, how people ended up on the list, and how political, cultural,

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16:58

Campus Loyalty Oaths [Some Sunday Context]

This Day ·

2025/09/21

It's Sunday, and on Sundays we like to bring you new conversations and conversations from the archives that help provide a little context for the stories playing out today. Today, as we see a chilling effect on free speech around the country, we revisit part of our conversation on the history of universities and government funding, and how a lot of pressure was applied during the Cold War era for academics to pledge loyalty to the United States.Plus, a plug for our upcoming two-parter on

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20:31

Washington's Masonic Cornerstone (1793)

This Day ·

2025/09/18

It's September 17th. This day in 1793, President Washington visits a site where construction is beginning on what would be the Capitol.Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the ceremony around the laying of the cornerstone was shot through with Masonic symbolism and pageantry --- and some of the many conspiracy theories that surround the cornerstone.Don't forget to sign up for our America250 Watch newsletter, where you'll also get links and lots more historical

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29:45

Ollie North, Still In The News [Some Sunday Context]

This Day ·

2025/09/14

On Sundays, we try to bring you fresh conversations and stories from the archives that give you a little context on the news playing out in front of us. Today, Jody and Niki discuss the very dish-y news that Oliver North secretly married Fawn Hall, 40 years after they worked together and testified during the Iran-Contra scandal. Then, we rerun our episode from 2021 about North running for Senate in 1994.Don't forget to sign up for our America250 Watch newsletter, where you'll also get links

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31:09

The Subway Vigilante Shooting (1984) w/ Leon Neyfakh...

This Day ·

2025/08/28

It’s August 1st. This day in 1996, a judge ruled that Bernie Goetz still owed his victims millions of dollars in damages as a result of the “Subway Vigilante” incident some twelve years earlier.Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Leon Neyfakh to discuss the subway shooting, the media frenzy surrounding Goetz, and the long legal fallout that resulted from the incident.Don't forget to sign up for our America250 Watch newsletter, where you'll also get links and lots more historical

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17:40

The U.S. Gets A New Capitol - For One Day (1814)...

This Day ·

2025/08/26

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 Chris, the listeners who wrote in to suggest these two stories!Don't forget to sign up for our

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41:02

Emergency Podcast: Smithsonian Showdown, Relitigating...

This Day ·

2025/08/24

This is audio of a video chat we recorded earlier this week in reaction to the recent attacks on the Smithsonian by the Trump administration, the conversation about slavery's legacy, and more. We released this in full video for our newsletter subscribers first -- consider subscribing to America250 Watch now to get access to all our ongoing coverage of how history is being done in the Trump era, and to support our efforts!Find out more about the show at thisdaypod.comThis Day In Esoteric

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21:56

The First Battle Over The Smithsonian (1846) [Archive...

This Day ·

2025/08/21

The Trump administration has ramped up its attacks on museums and The Smithsonian. We're recoding a special reaction episode that will appear in our newsletter - sign up now to get it. In the meantime, here's an episode from the archives on the founding of the institution.It’s August 15th. This day (actually Aug 10th) in 1846, President Polk signed into law a bill establishing the Smithsonian Institution, after almost a decade of squabbling about how the United States would use the money

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18:19

The Dumbest, Most Perfect, Political Question Ever...

This Day ·

2025/08/19

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.Don't forget to sign up for our America250 Watch newsletter, where you'll also get links and lots more historical

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18:49

WWII Internment: Latin Americans in Texas (1944)

This Day ·

2025/08/05

It's August 5th. This day in 1944, a crucial moment in World War II history, a series of internment camps are being set up in Texas. Unlike the more widely known camps on the US West Coast, these camps held not only Japanese Americans but also individuals of Japanese, German, and Italian descent from Latin America, who were deported to this country.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the US was bringing people into the country just to put them behind fences; what life was like inside Crystal

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15:57

Texas Dems Flee To Stop Redistricting (Some Context)...

This Day ·

2025/08/04

One of the biggest stories today, in 2025, is that Texas Democracts have left the state and are in Illinois, looking to hold up drastic redistricting legislation proposed by the GOP. In 2020, we recorded an episode about another time that Texas Dems fled the state to stop redestricting... We're bringing it to you now as part of our ongoing series to provide some historical context for stories playing out in American politics right now.Join our newsletter community

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25:16

Weird, Controversial, and Fake Historical Markers...

This Day ·

2025/07/31

Last episode, we talked about the history of historical markers, and what they indicate about the present. Today, a tour through some of our favorite examples of strange and controversial markers from around the country. Be sure to share your favorite historical marker in our newsletter chat!https://thisdaypod.substack.com/Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned

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22:15

The History Of History Markers (Part 1) (1913)

This Day ·

2025/07/29

It's July 29th. This day in 1913, Pennsylvania passed a law that would establish a system for adding historical markers and plaques around their state. Over the coming decades, other states would follow suit, and into the first half of the 20th century, the United States saw a flourishing of those road-side historical markers.Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why there was such an appetite for historical commemoration in the early 20th century, and how something ends up getting a marker in the

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126 results

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