It’s February 9th. In 1946, a recently-returned World War II vet by the name of Isaac Woodard is beaten by police, an incident that became a national civil rights rallying cry. Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by special guest Matthew Delmont of Dartmouth University to discuss how Black WWII vets were treated when they returned home, and how in many cases their service made them a target. Be sure to check out Matt’s book “ Half American .” Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll be sending out links ...
Feb 09, 2023•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s February 7th. This day in 1979, thousands of tractors descended on Washington, D.C. as part of a protest over agricultural policy. Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why farmers were upset with the Carter administration’s economic policy, how D.C. residents felt about the tractors — and what happened when a blizzard descended on the city. 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 P...
Feb 07, 2023•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s February 4th. This day in 1933, Louisiana Senator Huey Long invents a holiday out of whole cloth in order to close banks and prevent a bank run. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the bank needed to close, and how Long settled on commemorating the day in 1917 when the US cut off diplomatic relations with Germany. 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 ...
Feb 05, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s February 2nd. This day in 1929, Laddie Boy died and the country mourned. Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss Warren Harding’s dog, and why he was such a beloved celebrity. 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 PRX. Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories. If you want to support ...
Feb 02, 2023•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s January 31st. This day in 1976, Jimmy Carter is coming out of Iowa having rocketed to the top of the Democratic nomination field. This is in large part because he was the first to recognize the particular way in which the Iowa caucus system favored a certain kind of politics. Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why Carter was such a great fit for the Iowa style of campaign politics. Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll be sending out links to all the stuff we recommended later this week. Find out m...
Jan 31, 2023•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s January 29th. This day in 2000, the Cuban relatives of Elian Gonzalez are in the United States arguing that the six-year-old child should be returned to Cuba — while his relatives in Miami and many in the Cuban-American community are fighting for him to be kept in the U.S. Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Northwestern history professor Geraldo Cadava to discuss why the Gonzalez story became such a flashpoint, and how it played into the political moment. Be sure to subscribe to Gerry’s e...
Jan 29, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s January 26th. This day in 1969, free meals are being handed out to kids in Oakland, California as part of the Black Panther Party Free for Children Breakfast Program. Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Mary Phillips, history professor at Lehman College, to discuss why the panthers started the program, how it reflected the community work they were doing — and how it subverted gender roles within the organization. Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll be sending out links to all the stuff we re...
Jan 26, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s January 24th. This day in 1909, the administration of William Howard Taft has gone completely possum crazy — and is desperately trying to make “Billy Possum” a mascot along the lines of the Teddy Bear. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Taft was so infatuated with the possum, and the key differences between the origin stories of the Teddy Bear and Billy Possum marketing campaigns. Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll be sending out links to all the stuff we recommended later this week. Find ou...
Jan 24, 2023•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s January 22nd. This day in 1958, near Maxton, North Carolina, a KKK rally was broken up by a group of armed members of the Lumbee tribe. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss what came to be known as the “Battle of Hayes Pond,” the relationship between Black, White, and Native Americans in the region, and the role of armed resistance in the Civil Rights era. 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...
Jan 22, 2023•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s January 19h. This day in 1870, a political cartoon by Thomas Mast depicts a donkey to represent southern Democrats. Around this same time, Nast also starts to use the elephant for Republicans. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the very convoluted origins of the very strange mascots — and whether the donkey-elephant divide even works anymore. 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 Esoter...
Jan 19, 2023•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s January 16th. This day in 1903, film of the electrocution of an elephant, Topsy, is being viewed in kinetoscopes across the country. Topsy was executed on Coney Island a few weeks earlier. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the story of Topsy’s death lands at a moment when there are lots of changes in the way Americans thought about electricity, corporal punishment, animal rights — and how the death evokes the spectacle and bloodlust of the lynching era. Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll be...
Jan 17, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s January 15th. In the winter of 1898-99, at the end of the Spanish-American War, President McKinley is touring the south to drum up support from Southern lawmakers. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how as part of his appeal to Southerners, McKinley embraces a story of the Civil War as virtuous and noble — and makes key concessions about monuments and burial plots to Southern soldiers. In many ways, this starts to plant the seeds for the so-called “Lost Cause” narrative. Thanks to listener Davi...
Jan 15, 2023•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Here’s a recent favorite episode — the first part of a four-part series we did on the Church Committee hearings. We’ll be back real soon with new stories! We’ve got a new miniseries for you, looking back at the 1975 Church Committee hearings and report, which disclosed a wide array of shady behavior by the NSA, FBI, and CIA. For the next four episodes, we’ll look at the findings and what the revelations meant for US government and media. We’ll look at Meddling Abroad, Meddling at Home, Meddling ...
Jan 12, 2023•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Here’s a recent favorite episode — we’ll be back real soon with new stories! It’s June 2nd. This day in 1993, the very-fake nation known as “The Dominion Of Melchizedek” received official recognition from the Central African Republic. The Dominion was a nation set up to commit bank fraud, but now it was formally recognized as a sovereign state. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how Melchizedek was able to exploit a number of legal loopholes to establish itself — and how the scheme brought up all so...
Jan 10, 2023•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast This episode, we bring you a favorite conversation from our friends at On The Media. They have a whole new series on the rise and influence of talk radio, particularly on the political right. It’s hosted by Katie Thornton, and this is the first episode. Listen to the full series here: https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/divided-dial 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 Pol...
Jan 08, 2023•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast This episode, we bring you a favorite conversation from our friends at In The Bubble with host Andy Slavitt. Here he talks with filmmaker Ken Burns about Benjamin Franklin, public health, and the work of history. To hear more In the Bubble, head to https://link.chtbl.com/InTheBubble More about In The Bubble, from Lemonada: Every day, the world seems on the brink of crisis. Join Andy Slavitt and experts, policymakers, journalists and thought leaders Monday, Wednesday and Friday to stay informed, ...
Jan 05, 2023•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Happy New Year! To kick off 2023, we’re answering a bunch of your questions about things big and small. Thanks for all your great questions and comments this year, and we’re looking forward to many great conversations in the year to come. 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 PRX. Your support helps foster independent, artis...
Jan 03, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Happy New Year! To kick of 2023, we’re answering a bunch of your questions about things big and small. Thanks for all your great questions and comments this year, and we’re looking forward to many great conversations in the year to come. 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 PRX. Your support helps foster independent, artist...
Jan 01, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast *** The Radiotopia fundraiser is happening right now! Support this show by becoming a member today: https://on.prx.org/3Ehr3B6 *** As 2022 comes to a close, we’re doing a few special episodes talking about favorite work from the year — and ideas that we’ll carry with us into 2023. Today, we talk about more “pop history” work that we loved. 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 P...
Dec 29, 2022•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast *** The Radiotopia fundraiser is happening right now! Support this show by becoming a member today: https://on.prx.org/3Ehr3B6 *** As 2022 comes to a close, we’re doing a few special episodes talking about favorite work from the year — and ideas that we’ll carry with us into 2023. Today, we talk about more academic work and the current state of historical research and discourse. Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll be sending out links to all the stuff we recommended later this week. Find out more ...
Dec 27, 2022•32 min•Transcript available on Metacast *** The Radiotopia fundraiser is happening right now! Support this show by becoming a member today: https://on.prx.org/3Ehr3B6 *** It’s December 25th. Merry Christmas! In 1988, rumors began to swirl about Nancy Reagan using astrology to make decisions within the White House. The Reagans downplayed the story, but soon reporters began to dig into their longstanding use of star charts and numbers, dating back to their time in Hollywood. Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by podcast host Mangesh Hatt...
Dec 25, 2022•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast *** The Radiotopia fundraiser is happening right now! Support this show by becoming a member today: https://on.prx.org/3Ehr3B6 *** It’s December 22nd. In 2008, Dan Connell, a technology consultant, died in a small plane crash in Ohio. Connell had been a longtime consultant for GOP campaigns, and his death set off all sorts of rumors and conspiracies reaching back to questions about the 2004 presidential election in Ohio. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the ecosystem of left-wing conspiracies, wra...
Dec 22, 2022•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast *** The Radiotopia fundraiser is happening right now! Support this show by becoming a member today: https://on.prx.org/3Ehr3B6 *** It’s December 20th. In 1983, ex-President Gerald Ford appeared on the hit soap opera “Dynasty,” playing himself and delivering a six-word line — which most TV critics still went out of their way to pan. Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the appearance and the history of presidential cameos. Sign up for our newsletter! Find out more at thisdaypod.com This Day In Esoteric...
Dec 20, 2022•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast *** The Radiotopia fundraiser is happening right now! Support this show by becoming a member today: https://on.prx.org/3Ehr3B6 *** 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 ...
Dec 15, 2022•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast *** The Radiotopia fundraiser is happening right now! Support this show by becoming a member today: https://on.prx.org/3Ehr3B6 *** It’s December 13th. In 2008, FBI agents knock on the door of financier Bernie Madoff and arrest him for running a decades-long Ponzi scheme. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how Madoff was able to get away with it for so long, why it all collapsed — and the man people who were hurt as a result of his fraud. Sign up for our newsletter! Find out more at thisdaypod.com Th...
Dec 13, 2022•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast *** The Radiotopia fundraiser is happening right now! Support this show by becoming a member today: https://on.prx.org/3Ehr3B6 *** On December 14th, 2012, the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School killed 28 people. Almost immediately conspiracy theories about the tragedy began to spread, promulgated in large part by people like Alex Jones. On the 10th anniversary of the event, Jody, Niki, and Kellie look back at how the right-wing media ecosystem spread and embraced these conspiracies. Sign u...
Dec 11, 2022•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast *** The Radiotopia fundraiser is happening right now! Support this show by becoming a member today: https://on.prx.org/3Ehr3B6 *** It’s December 8th. In 1993, Senator Joe Lieberman announces hearings to air concerns about violence in video games. Jody, Niki and Kellie discuss how the moral panic about video game violence came to be, and how there will always be something for parents to freak out about. Sign up for our newsletter! Find out more at thisdaypod.com And don’t forget about Oprahdemics...
Dec 08, 2022•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast *** The Radiotopia fundraiser is happening right now! Support this show by becoming a member today: https://on.prx.org/3Ehr3B6 *** It’s December 6th. In 1832, South Carolina threatens to ignore a number of US tariff laws, and begins to threaten succession. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the “nullification crisis” and whether the country could have erupted into Civil War 30 years earlier than it eventually did. Sign up for our newsletter! Find out more at thisdaypod.com And don’t forget about Opr...
Dec 06, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast *** The Radiotopia fundraiser is happening right now! Support this show by becoming a member today: https://on.prx.org/3Ehr3B6 *** 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 Oprahdemi...
Dec 04, 2022•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast *** The Radiotopia fundraiser is happening right now! Support this show by becoming a member today: https://on.prx.org/3Ehr3B6 *** It’s December 1st. In late 1971, a man by the name of Ray Tomlinson sends what is generally considered to be the first email message. He has virtually zero memory of what it actually was. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the history of this innovation is so murky, and how their relationship with email has changed over the years. Sign up for our newsletter! Find out...
Dec 01, 2022•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
