It’s May 9th. This day in 2012, President Obama gives an interview in which he expresses his support for gay marriage, a stance that he’d been reluctant to take up until that point. His hand was forced, in part, because a few days earlier Vice President Biden had said he supported gay marriage in another interview — which. was largely seen as a “gaffe” on Biden’s part. Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Sasha Issenberg to discuss how Biden spoiled the administration’s stance — and where this m...
May 09, 2023•31 min
It’s May 7th. This day in 1994, during a town hall airing on MTV, President Bill Clinton is asked whether he wears “boxers or briefs.” Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined once again by the hosts of Normal Gossip to discuss why MTV was hosting a town hall with the president, why Clinton even bothered to answer — and what we make of the more gossipy political interview approach. Be sure to check out Normal Gossip wherever you get your podcasts ! Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll be sending out links...
May 07, 2023•21 min
We’re doing a couple episodes on moments of historical gossip with our new Radiotopia pals from the show Normal Gossip . Today, we discuss Anne Royall, who in 1826 began publishing books and articles based on her travels around the country talking to everyday folks about their everyday lives. She was able to gather stories and map society in a new way — and also recieved a lot of pushback for it. Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Kelsey McKinney and Alex Sujong Laughlin of Normal Gossip to di...
May 04, 2023•24 min
It’s May 2nd. In 1847, a US military ship, the USS Jamestown, was loaded up with food and other relief to sail to Ireland and help with the famine in that country. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how disparate communities in the US rallied around the cause, and how the Jamestown represented one of the first moments of international camaraderie for a new country. 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 ...
May 02, 2023•13 min
It’s April 30th. This day in 1994, an 18-year-old American named Michael Fay is awaiting his punishment in Singapore for acts of vandalism. That punishment included caning, which caused a media and diplomatic firestorm in the United States. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the details of Faye’s crime and punishment — and the way in which the incident revealed American’s appetite for corporal punishment. Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll be sending out links to all the stuff we recommended later th...
Apr 30, 2023•16 min
It’s April 27th. In 2004, a report aired on 60 Minutes II featuring reports and photos of abuse by American troops at the Iraqi prison Abu Ghraib. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the photos caused such a scandal, and how the torture at the prison was largely within the framework of how the Bush administration conducted the war in Iraq. 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 Po...
Apr 27, 2023•24 min
It’s April 25th. In 1777, a 16-year-old by the name of Sybil Luddington went on a 40-mile nighttime ride to warn Colonial troops and citizens of an impending British invasion. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Luddington’s midnight ride isn’t nearly as famous as Paul Revere’s — and how we can ever know if the details of her story are actually true. 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 ...
Apr 25, 2023•16 min
We’re re-running some favorite recent episodes this week, and will be back with brand new episodes very soon! It’s December 4th. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the Colored Conventions movement, which provided and intellectual and political space for Black leaders in the years before, during, and after the Civil War. Check out the Colored Conventions database at coloredconventions.org Sign up for our newsletter! Find out more at thisdaypod.com And don’t forget about Oprahdemics , hosted by Kellie...
Apr 23, 2023•16 min
We’re re-running some favorite recent episodes this week, and will be back with brand new episodes very soon! It’s October 4th. In 1776, Benjamin Franklin is headed to France as the Continental Congress’s first diplomat, looking to secure support for the American independence movement. Jody and Kellie are joined by Mike Duncan, history podcaster behind series such as “Revolutions” and “The Fall of Rome.” They discuss Franklin’s diplomatic goal, his taste for the Parisian nightlife — and why the ...
Apr 20, 2023•33 min
We’re re-running some favorite recent episodes this week, and will be back with brand new episodes very soon! It’s December 15th. In 1960, a New Hampshire man lined his car with dynamite and planned to ram in to the limousine in which President-Elect John F Kennedy was riding. He ditched his plan at the last second, and was arrested shortly after. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the plot, the incredible way it was uncovered, and why Kennedy was the target of such hatred even before he took office...
Apr 18, 2023•13 min
It’s April 13th. This day 1810, a new canal is being built in Washington, DC in an attempt to give a little logic to the topography of the nation’s capital. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why DC was built where it was, and the persistent idea that DC is a “swamp” in both the literal and metaphorical sense. 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...
Apr 13, 2023•19 min
It’s April 11th. This day in 1962, ads are appearing in Louisiana newspapers offering one-way bus rides to northern cities for Black southerners. Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the plan on the part of the racist Louisiana Citizens Council to mount “reverse freedom rides,” shipping Black southerners to northern cities. 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 ...
Apr 11, 2023•16 min
It’s April 8th. This day in 1994, the Florida legislature passed a bill that would offer some reparations and support for descendents of the Rosewood Massacre, when a Black town was burned down in 1923. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the original incident in Rosewood, the way the story faded from history for decades, and why in the early 90s there was a push to recognize and offer compensation for the tragedy. Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll be sending out links to all the stuff we recommended...
Apr 09, 2023•18 min
It’s April 6th. This day in 1926, a massive oil fire near San Luis Obispo, California is enveloping the area in smoke and heat and creating its own weather system. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss what came to be known as the Tank Fire, how the oil industry was lightly regulated in this era — and how you try to put out a miles-long river of fire. 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 Esote...
Apr 06, 2023•13 min
It’s April 3rd. This day in 1990, the Arizona Senate votes to remove Governor Evan Mecham from office — for all sorts of reasons. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss Mecham’s very sketchy track record on race, corruption, abuse of power and more; and how he ended up in office to begin with. 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 P...
Apr 04, 2023•19 min
It’s April 2nd. This day in 1910, a Louisiana senator proposes allocating a quarter of a million dollars to import hippos from Africa and grow them in American swamps, then harvest them for food. Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Dan Pashman of The Sporkful to talk about how the hippo plan was intended to solve a hunger and ecological crisis — and why Americans never quite found the taste for hippo meat. Be sure to check out Dan’s podcast and the new pasta shape he created ! Sign up for our n...
Apr 02, 2023•26 min
It’s March 20th. This day in 1959, a skirmish between the fisheries police and an oyster boat results in the death of a Virginia oysterman — and sheds light on a decades-long battle known as the “Oyster Wars.” Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Dr Christine Keiner of RIT to discuss why there was so much tension and violence along the Chesapeake Bay, going all the way back in the mid-1800s. Be sure to check out Christine’s book The Oyster Question: Scientists, Watermen, and the Maryland Chesape...
Mar 30, 2023•20 min
It’s March 27th. This day in 2009, the US is responding to the outbreak of the H1N1 flu, which would soon be a global pandemic. Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Dr James Hamblin of the Yale School of Public Health to discuss the fairly strategic and effective response to that pandemic — and the lessons we failed to learn heading into future outbreaks. 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 D...
Mar 28, 2023•25 min
It’s March 27th. This day in 1863, Jefferson Davis declared a “day of fasting and prayer” to support the Confederate cause in the Civil War. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the role of days like this — the fasting was as much about food shortages as anything — and how religion and the cause of the war mixed for both north and south. 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...
Mar 26, 2023•19 min
It’s March 23rd. This is, in some ways, the birthday of Uncle Sam — it was the first time that the character appeared in a political cartoon. Niki, Jody and Kellie discuss how Uncle Sam had its origins in a real-life figure, and how the character truly burst into the public imagination with those iconic “I Want You” posters. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Mar 23, 2023•16 min
It’s March 20th. This day in 1852, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” is the best-selling book in the country, capturing a growing anti-slavery sentiment, as well as tremendous backlash. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel took off so quickly — and how even at the time it was viewed as well-intentioned but potentially misguided in its portrayal of the slave narrative. Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll be sending out links to all the stuff we recommended later this week. Find out mo...
Mar 21, 2023•14 min
It’s March 19th. In 2008 (on March 17th) New York Governor Eliot Spitzer resigned after a week of reports about his patronizing a prostitution ring. Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by long-time NY political reporter Azi Paybarah to discuss how quickly the salacious details broke, the media environment that fueled it — and why there was a particular hypocrisy at the heart of it all. Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll be sending out links to all the stuff we recommended later this week. Find out ...
Mar 19, 2023•33 min
It’s March 16th. Today we mark Evacuation Day (technically the 17th), a day in which Boston marks the retreat of troops during the Revolutionary War. Over the years, the holiday has been combined and conflated with St. Patrick’s Day, making it the most Boston of holidays. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the holiday gained traction in the first part of the 20th century — and why in the last decade or so it’s receded a bit. Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll be sending out links to all the stuff...
Mar 16, 2023•16 min
It’s March 13th. This day in 1955, news breaks that the White House is engaged in a full-on battle against the squirrels that have invaded the grounds. Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why President Eisenhower is so determined to get rid of the squirrels, and how he tried everything from relocating them to shooting them to — really — deploying psychological torture to solve the problem. Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll be sending out links to all the stuff we recommended later this week. Find out...
Mar 14, 2023•15 min
It’s March 12th. This day in 1961, an Atlanta woman by the name of Ruby Doris Smith Robinson joins the civil rights organization SNCC — and quickly starts to advocate for the role of women within the organization. Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss Robinson’s life and work, and the gender and class dynamics among civil rights workers. 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 ...
Mar 12, 2023•17 min
It’s March 9th. In 1972, President Richard Nixon made a surprise visit to China, meeting with leaders and sending images back home that shocked Americans. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the trip came together, why the biggest criticism Nixon got was from his own party — and how the trip really did shift global diplomacy. 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 Histor...
Mar 09, 2023•14 min
It’s March 7th. IN 1869, President Andrew Johnson pardoned a man by the name of Samuel Arnold — who had been imprisoned for five years for plotting to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Johnson is choosing to pardon many Confederate sympathizers, as well as the many ways in which people tried to kill Lincoln before he was finally assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll be sending out links to all the stuff we recommended later this week. ...
Mar 07, 2023•18 min
It’s March 5th. In 1938, the two original creators of Superman sold the character to what would become DC Comics for $130. Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by NPR’s Glen Weldon to discuss the early days of Superman, the IP cautionary tale — and how the hero has reflected political and social changes throughout the decades. Be sure to check out Glen’s work on Pop Culture Happy Hour, and his book: “Superman: An Unauthorized Biography.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...
Mar 05, 2023•28 min
It’s March 2nd. In 1981, in late February, UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher travelled to the United States to meet with new US President Ronald Reagan. Jody and Niki are joined by Dan Snow to discuss why the two felt such a kinship — even though they disagreed on foreign policy in surprising ways. Be sure to check out Dan’s Snow’s “History Hit” podcast and the many other great shows as part of the History Hit network! Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll be sending out links to all the stuff we ...
Mar 02, 2023•26 min
It’s February 27th. This day in 1995, President Bill Clinton is in Canada, where he offers seemingly-bland remarks about the country, but ones that are largely seen to reveal his opinion about the looming Quebec independence vote. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how Clinton’s remarks were received, and the larger context for why he was visiting Canada at this very tense moment to begin with. Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll be sending out links to all the stuff we recommended later this week. Fi...
Feb 28, 2023•18 min
