For the twentieth installment of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we look at the moment that East and West were connected by railroad. Throughout the 1850s and 60s, railroad barons and the U.S. government worked to take over land push rail infrastructure across the plains, through the mountains and more. Along the way, some made huge riches and others met tragedy. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how railroads started to transform the country. Join our America250 newsletter community ! Subscribe for...
May 19, 2026•43 min
This past week we discussed the spring of 1970, when the massacre at Kent State and the Hardhat Riots in NYC showed how the "silent majority" was ascendent in Nixon's America. Today, a conversation about the cultural force that most represented that: Archie Bunker on All In The Family. 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 ...
May 17, 2026•33 min
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 now . Th...
May 14, 2026•35 min
For the nineteenth installment of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we talk about a fateful week in the spring of 1970, when the anti-Vietnam movement was confronted by a conservative backlash. We discuss the tragedy at Kent State University in Ohio, when four students were killed by National Guard. In the wake of the tragedy, many were shocked but lots of Americans felt that anti-War protesters had gone too far. Richard Nixon would dub this coalition the "silent majortity," and days later in New Y...
May 12, 2026•45 min
This past week we discussed the Plessy v Ferguson case, which helped open the door to the Jim Crow era in the American South. Today, a story from 1951 about the efforts to dismantle it -- starting with a group of students walking out of their school over unfair conditions. Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how this effort mirrored some of the elements of The Marshall Plan in Europe — and why US attempts to support Latin America generally fell short. Join our America250 newsletter community ! Subscr...
May 10, 2026•20 min
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 now . Thi...
May 07, 2026•38 min
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 our Am...
May 05, 2026•46 min
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 ou...
Apr 30, 2026•32 min
For the seventeeth installment of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we travel to California in the 1930s, where San Francisco planners have a big idea — build a massive suspension bridge across the Golden Gate strait. We discuss how the project came together despite the Great Depression, the big egos involved, what the story says about how audacious projects can pull a country out of malaise… and why the bridge is the color it is. Join our America250 newsletter community ! Subscribe for free to get...
Apr 28, 2026•32 min
This past week we discussed the Bay of Pigs fiasco in Cuba, 1961. Today, another episode about JFK' in the very same time period -- when he hosted a couple hundred Latin American diplomats to lay out his vision for the “Alliance for Progress,” an ambitious plan to support democracy and economic development throughout the region. Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how this effort mirrored some of the elements of The Marshall Plan in Europe — and why US attempts to support Latin America generally fell...
Apr 26, 2026•17 min
We continue our conversation about the Bay of Pigs invasion with a look at how it all went wrong on the two days of combat in Cuba. Plus, the long-term lessons for JFK, the CIA, and US foreign policy. 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, subscr...
Apr 23, 2026•28 min
For the sixteenth installment of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we go, for the first time to the Cold War. It’s April 1961, and the US is concerned about Cuba’s new leftist leader, Fidel Castro. The US has a new leader of its own, JFK, who adopts - and adapts - a plan from Eisenhower’s CIA to send a group of renegade Cuban dissidents into the Bay of Pigs to spark a revolution. It does not go well! We get into the botched plans, the rogue CIA, and why you can’t drive a boat over a coral reef. Joi...
Apr 21, 2026•36 min
For our "Sunday Context" episode, we look at how the Confederacy scrambled to draft a constitution as Civil War broke out in 1861. Plus, a quick follow up and correction about the founder of baseball. 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, subscr...
Apr 19, 2026•20 min
We continue our conversation about the start of the Civil War with why Fort Sumter was the site of the first battle, and how the fallout from Fort Sumter galvinized both North and South. 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 now . This...
Apr 16, 2026•27 min
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. Pa...
Apr 14, 2026•40 min
For our "Sunday Context" episode, we look at the 40-year battle for honoring Martin Luther King, Jr with a federal holiday. Many states and notable politicians dragged their feed and manipulated the system to prevent giving King this honor, until Ronald Reagan finally proclaimed the new holiday. 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. P...
Apr 12, 2026•22 min
Our conversation about MLK's assassination continues with a look at the day of King's death and the capture of James Earl Ray. Then, Niki, Kellie and Jody discuss how King's legacy has been contested and sanitized from the moment of his death up until today. 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...
Apr 09, 2026•28 min
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 news ...
Apr 07, 2026•37 min
We’re kicking off a series of chats that (until we find a better name) we’re calling “How to 250.” This is our chance to check in with some friends of the show - historians, writers, podcast folks - about how they are marking America 250, and what it means to do the work of history in this moment. And what better way to kick it off than with filmmaker Ken Burns! We get into his work, the idea of American history as a “series of revolutions,” and how to counter simplistic narratives. To hear the ...
Apr 05, 2026•11 min
**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 ...
Apr 02, 2026•28 min
**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 ! Subsc...
Mar 31, 2026•46 min
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 playing ...
Mar 29, 2026•21 min
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 ev...
Mar 26, 2026•30 min
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 better ...
Mar 24, 2026•46 min
**One week only, get a 20% discount on the newsletter using this link! thisdaypod.substack.com/35c7aaa4 ** For our "Sunday Context" episode, we go back to an episode from week two (!) of this podcast to look at the controversy over Obama's "cling to guns and religion" comments. Plus: a teaser of a doc on Obama-Wright that Jody produced for FiveThirtyEight. It's available in full for paying newsletter subscribers. Join our America250 newsletter community ! Subscribe for free to get the latest new...
Mar 22, 2026•21 min
Our conversation about Barack Obama and Reverend Jeremiah Wright continues with a look at what he said about race in America during his "A More Perfect Union" speech. Jody, Niki, and Kellie also look at how the speech previewed -- or didn't -- how Obama would talk about race and race relations throughout his presidency. 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-fre...
Mar 19, 2026•37 min
For the eleventh episode of “50 Weeks That Shaped America,” we go to the spring of 2008. Barack Obama was largely on path to clinch the Democratic nomination, but he had to navigate one last major controversy. In April, ABC did a report on remarks by his long-time Pastor Jeremiah Wright, and a scandal exploded. In response, Obama delivered a speech entitled “A More Perfect Union,” where he distanced himself from Wright, but also tried to put his pastor and his own life story into the larger cont...
Mar 17, 2026•40 min
For our "Sunday Context" episode, go back to the Clinton administration and look at how Republicans swept into power in 1994. It allowed them to present a new version of the GOP -- and organize a unified opposition to Clinton just as the Lewinsky scandal was exploding. Jody and Niki are joined by pollster and author Kristen Soltis Anderson. Join our America250 newsletter community ! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying subscribers get ac...
Mar 15, 2026•24 min
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 access t...
Mar 12, 2026•33 min
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 ascende...
Mar 10, 2026•43 min
