Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now ! It features comedian Josh Gondelman -- so today we're rerunning and episode with Josh from 2020. 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 the show directly, you can do so on our website: ThisDayPod.com Get in touch if you have any ideas for future t...
Sep 10, 2024•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now ! It's September 8th. This day in 1969, a group called "New York Radical Women" holds a protest at the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In the wake of the protest, a very persistent story emerged, despite no evidence to support it: that women burned their bras in protest. Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Cristen Conger of "Unladylike" to talk about the protest, how the bra burn...
Sep 08, 2024•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now ! It's September 5th. This day in 1838, Frederick Douglass makes a two-day escape from Maryland to New York City. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how perilous Douglass's trip was, and how he was able to navigate the route from Baltimore to Delaware to Pennsylvania and finally New York. This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Your support helps foster independe...
Sep 05, 2024•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now ! It's September 3rd. This day in 1901, Vice President Teddy Roosevelt gives remarks in which he refers to his notion that one should "speak softly and carry a big stick." Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss where Roosevelt got that phrase, and how it came to really embody American-style imperialism in the first decades of the 20th century. They also touch on other famous presidential quotes. This Day In...
Sep 01, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now ! It's August 29th. This day in 1987, an arson burns down the house of the Ray brothers, three HIV-positive children who had contracted the virus through blood transfusions. Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Eric Marcus of "Making Gay History" project to discuss why there was so much fear and ignorance around AIDS in that era -- and how even children became targets of abuse. Be sure to check out ...
Aug 29, 2024•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now ! It's August 27th. This day (technically the 28th) in 1957, Senator Strom Thurmond embarks on what would be the longest filibuster in Senate history, arguing against civil rights legislation that would expand the vote for Black americans. Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why Thurmond decided to take his stand, how he filled the 24 hours and 18 minutes of talking, and answer the all-important question...
Aug 27, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now ! It's August 25th. This day in 1928, representatives from the major world powers sign on to a treaty that states that promised to not use war to "resolve disputes or conflicts of whatever nature... or of whatever origin." Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the Kellogg-Briand treaty, why there was such a thirst to outlaw war in the wake of WWI, and why the treaty ultimately failed. Plus: Why do we not h...
Aug 25, 2024•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast ** Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now !** Welcome to Conventions Week! From time to time this election year, we're going to do some special series that highlight the rhythm of an election cycle. This week, as the Democrats are meeting in Chicago, we are looking at conventions, which are very strange affairs! Today, an episode from the archives about a legendary DNC moment. /// It’s August 23rd. On this day in 1964, Mississippi activi...
Aug 22, 2024•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast ** Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now !** Welcome to Conventions Week! From time to time this election year, we're going to do some special series that highlight the rhythm of an election cycle. This week, as the Democrats are meeting in Chicago, we are looking at conventions, which are very strange affairs! Want to watch the video version of this episode? Visit our new YouTube channel at youtube.com/@ThisDayPod To mark conventions w...
Aug 20, 2024•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast ** Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now !** Welcome to Conventions Week! From time to time this election year, we're going to do some special series that highlight the rhythm of an election cycle. This week, as the Democrats are meeting in Chicago, we are looking at conventions, which are very strange affairs! Want to watch the video version of this episode? Visit our new YouTube channel at youtube.com/@ThisDayPod To mark conventions w...
Aug 18, 2024•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now ! It's August 15th. This day in 2017, President Donald Trump gave a press conference in which he offered remarks about the violence that took place in Charlottesville, VA a couple days before. Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the roots of the white supremacist rallies and violence in Charlottesville, as well as Trump's comments that there were "very fine people on both sides." Those comments have sinc...
Aug 15, 2024•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now ! It's August 13th. This day in 1846, Henry David Thoreau is thrown in jail -- for one night -- for refusing to pay his back taxes. Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why Thoreau objected to the poll tax, and how his political stances intersected with the more personal work that emerged from his two years living on Walden Pond. This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from ...
Aug 13, 2024•16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now ! It's August 11th. This day in 1965, six days of civil unrest erupts in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts. Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why the violence was sparked -- and how the reaction to it prefigured much of the conversation that would dominate the rest of the decade around protest, deprivation, backlash, and more. This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia f...
Aug 11, 2024•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now ! It's August 8th. This day in 1990, George HW Bush addressed the country about Iraq's recent invasion of Kuwait. In it, Bush evoked WWII and made a comparison between Sadaam Hussein and Adolph Hitler. Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why Bush framed the conflict that way and how it shifted a new era for global politics. Plus, Jody shares his personal family connection to this moment. This Day In Esot...
Aug 08, 2024•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Come to our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now ! It's August 5th. This day in 1841, a new statue is unveiled in the Capitol rotunda, to commemorate the 100th birthday of George Washington. One notable element: he's shirtless. Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why the statue of Washington arrived bare-chested and, let's be honest, kinda ripped. This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Your support helps foster...
Aug 06, 2024•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast Here in 2024, there is a lot of speculation about who Kamala Harris will select as her running mate. And the Veepstakes almost feel kind of...normal? So, today, Jody shares some thoughts about the nature of the VP pick, and we re-run our episode from "Veepstakes Week" about notable picks throughout history. Also -- we just announced our first ever live show! In Boston, on Friday, September 13th. Tickets are available now ! For other episodes in the Veepstakes series, check out our conversation a...
Aug 04, 2024•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's August 1st. This day in 2002, Congressman James Traficant of Ohio has been expelled from Congress for bribery and corruption, only the second member ever kicked out of the institution. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss Traficant's bombastic reputation, corrupt dealings -- and how his shifting politics represented the way political fault lines were moving in places like Youngstown, Ohio. This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Your support helps foster i...
Aug 01, 2024•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's July 28th. This day in 1896, residents vote to incorporate the city of Miami, Florida. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the birth of Miami was in large part due to a woman named Julia Tuttle and the arrival of the railroad to the Florida "frontier." 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 the show directly, you can do so on our website: Th...
Jul 30, 2024•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's July 27th. Today we mark the start of the Olympics by looking at one of the most famous -- and perhaps apocryphal -- moments in Olympics history, when American Jesse Owens won four gold medals in front of Adolf Hitler. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the legend is a little more complicated than we may know, from the controversy over whether to boycott the games to Owens's remarks about his treatment on U.S. soil. This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from...
Jul 28, 2024•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's the middle of July. In 1936, much of the country -- especially the Midwest -- is experiencing record heat. Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why the heat was so deadly, how it created economic and social ripple effects, and why FDR was able to rally the country to talk about government solutions to some of the problems the heat exacerbated. This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-win...
Jul 25, 2024•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's July 22nd. This day in 1934, FDR has signed the "Indian Reorganization Act," which provided economic relief to many tribes, but also came with provisions to reorganize the way in which Native Americans self-governed, and self-identified. This opened up a vacuum for fundamental questions of identity and community which reverberate today. Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Angel Ellis and Robert Jago, the hosts of a new series called "Pretendians," which looks at the history of non-native p...
Jul 23, 2024•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 1971, a massive explosion at the Thiokol plant in Woodbine, Georgia shook the small town and killed 29 workers, injuring dozens of others. Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by director Patrick Longstreth to talk about how the plant provided good jobs for the rural community, but lax safety standards ultimately led to one of the worst industrial disasters in U.S. history. Patrick's new short film is called "The Day That Shook Georgia," you can watch it online now ! This Day In Esoteric Politic...
Jul 21, 2024•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's July 18th. This day in 1980, Ronald Reagan accepted the Republican nomination for president. His speech included the phrase "let's make American great again." Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the long history of that phrase, why it is so appealing, the power of nostalgia in American politics -- and of course how Trump made MAGA into a movement. This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and awar...
Jul 18, 2024•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's July 15th. This day in 1863, photographer Timothy O'Sullivan has taken a photo of dead soldiers at Gettysburg called "A Harvest of Death." It would become one of the most famous photos in American history -- and O'Sullivan would soon be contracted to travel west and photograph the American frontier. Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by writer Robert Sullivan to talk about "A Harvest Of Death" and why Sullivan is so drawn to the work of Timoth O'Sullivan. Robert Sullivan's new book is availa...
Jul 16, 2024•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast [[It's the heart of the summer, which means that our crew is taking some breaks here and there. In the meantime, we'll bring you some favorite episodes from the vaults -- and we'll be back with new episodes very soon!]] It’s October 12th. This day in 1863, fighting is breaking out in Jones County, Mississippi, as a group of southern farmers starts to rebel against the Confederacy. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why this group felt compelled to rebel, what their fight was really about — and what ...
Jul 11, 2024•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast [[It's the heart of the summer, which means that our crew is taking some breaks here and there. In the meantime, we'll bring you some favorite episodes from the vaults -- and we'll be back with new episodes very soon!]] It’s December 29th. This day in 1975, a bomb, planted in a luggage locker, exploded at NYC’s LaGuardia Airport, killing 11 and injuring 74. If it had gone off just minutes earlier, it would have killed hundreds more. Jody and Niki discuss who was responsible for the bombing, the ...
Jul 09, 2024•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast [[It's the heart of the summer, which means that our crew is taking some breaks here and there. In the meantime, we'll bring you some favorite episodes from the vaults -- and we'll be back with new episodes very soon!]] It’s September 26th. This day in 1983, Massachusetts Senator Michael Dukakis held a press conference to announce an enormous and ambitious infrastructure project to take a roadway that cut through the center of Boston and move it underground. Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by ...
Jul 07, 2024•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's July 2nd. This day in 1864, President Lincoln signed a law declaring the chamber previously used as the House of Representatives to be a statuary hall, featuring two statues submitted by each state. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the kinds of statues that got submitted, what kind of story of American history it told, and how that has started to shift in recent years. Want to test your knowledge of who is in the statuary hall? Check out the quiz put together by researcher Jacob Feldman! It's...
Jul 02, 2024•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's June 30th. This day in 1982, Ronald Reagan signed a bill re-authorizing the Voting Rights Act, among a lot of pressure to pass the civil rights legislation -- but also a growing legal strategy to undermine the enforcement of the provisions. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Reagan ultimately supported the act, and how legal advisors - including future Supreme Court Justice John Roberts - planted the seeds for taking the teeth out of the act. This Day In Esoteric Political History is a prou...
Jun 30, 2024•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ahead of this week's very weird debate, we take a look at the weird history of how political debates have been structured in the U.S. -- from format, to audience, to the role of the moderators. If you want to watch this episode, the full video is up on our YouTube page ! 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 the ...
Jun 27, 2024•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
