This Day (An America 250 History Show)

Latest Episodes:

Nellie Taft's Stroke (1909) May 24, 2022

Show notes

It’s May 23rd. This day in 1909, Helen “Nellie” Taft, wife of President William Howard Taft, suffered a stroke that caused her to retreat from the White House to recover.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how Nellie was a highly influential figure, and how her absence may have significantly effected the course of the Taft presidency. Plus, Jody floats a theory…

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And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kellie, out now from Radiotopia.

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 topics, or just want to say hello. Our website is thisdaypod.com Follow us on social @thisdaypod

Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Julie Shapiro and Audrey Mardavich, Executive Producers at Radiotopia

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The Potato Beetle Wars (1950) May 22, 2022

Show notes

It’s May 22nd. This day in 1950, East German farmers begin to report that the Colorado Potato Beetle has invaded their crops, causing devastation and fueling rumors that the infestation is part of an American plot.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the Beetles came to Germany, why the presence of the pest was so easy to propagandize, and the history of entomological warfare.

Sign up for our newsletter! Find out more at thisdaypod.com

And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kellie, out now from Radiotopia.

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 topics, or just want to say hello. Our website is thisdaypod.com Follow us on social @thisdaypod

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Tennessee Finally Teaches Evolution (1967) May 19, 2022

Show notes

It’s May 19th. This day in 1967, the Tennessee state legislature finally repealed the Butler Act, the law that had been on the books since the 1920s banning the teaching of evolution in public schools.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the law was finally repealed, and how many of the myths about the law’s passing — and the famous “Scopes monkey trial” — continue to this day.

Sign up for our newsletter! Find out more at thisdaypod.com

And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kellie, out now from Radiotopia.

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 topics, or just want to say hello. Our website is thisdaypod.com Follow us on social @thisdaypod

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Tuskegee Study Apology (1997) May 17, 2022

Show notes

It’s May 16th. This day in 1997, President Clinton offered a formal apology for the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male, which took place in the 1930s-1970s.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the shameful study, the role of the Tuskegee Institute in the government study, and whether Clinton’s apology made a difference.

Sign up for our newsletter! Find out more at thisdaypod.com

And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kellie, out now from Radiotopia.

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 topics, or just want to say hello. Our website is thisdaypod.com Follow us on social @thisdaypod

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Family Jewels Pt 4: Meddling In The Press (1975) w/ Rick Perlstein May 15, 2022

Show notes

We wrap up our four-part series on the 1975/76 Church Committee hearings with a look at the contentious, cozy, and murky relationship between intelligence communities and the press. The CIA targeted individual journalists, but often with the tacit approval of media elites.

Our guest throughout this series has been Rick Perlstein. Be sure to check out his many brilliant books!

Sign up for our newsletter! Find out more at thisdaypod.com

And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kellie, out now from Radiotopia.

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 topics, or just want to say hello. Our website is thisdaypod.com Follow us on social @thisdaypod

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Family Jewels Pt 3: Meddling In Your Mind (1975) May 12, 2022

Show notes

Our miniseries on the 1975/76 Church Committee findings on CIA and FBI operations continues. This episode, we re-visit our conversation about the MKULTRA program, which conducted mind-control and psychedelic drug experiments on unwitting subjects during the 50s and 60s. The existence of the program came out during the Church Committee hearings.

Be sure to check out the whole “Family Jewels” series, where we’re looking at Meddling Abroad, Meddling at Home, Meddling with Your Mind, and Meddling in the Press.

Sign up for our newsletter! Find out more at thisdaypod.com

And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kellie, out now from Radiotopia.

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 topics, or just want to say hello. Our website is thisdaypod.com Follow us on social @thisdaypod

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Family Jewels Pt 2: Meddling At Home (1975) w/ Rick Perlstein May 10, 2022

Show notes

Our miniseries on the 1975/76 Church Committee findings on CIA and FBI operations continues. This episode, we look at what Americans learned with regards to COINTELPRO — domestic spying on people like MLK and John Lennon, as well as groups like the Black Panthers and KKK.

Be sure to check out the whole “Family Jewels” series, where we’re looking at Meddling Abroad, Meddling at Home, Meddling with Your Mind, and Meddling in the Press.

Our guest for this series is Rick Perlstein, author of Nixonland, Reaganland, The Invisible Bridge, and much more.

Sign up for our newsletter! Find out more at thisdaypod.com

And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kellie, out now from Radiotopia.

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 topics, or just want to say hello. Our website is thisdaypod.com Follow us on social @thisdaypod

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Family Jewels Pt 1: Meddling Abroad (1975) w/ Rick Perlstein May 08, 2022

Show notes

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 with Your Mind, and Meddling in the Press.

Our guest for this series is Rick Perlstein, author of Nixonland, Reaganland, The Invisible Bridge, and much more.

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Our Bodies, Ourselves (1969) May 05, 2022

Show notes

It’s May 5th, 1969. In Boston, a group of women are meeting to share information about women’s health, which would eventually lead to writing a 193-page pamphlet, which would eventually lead to the book “Our Bodies, Our Selves.”

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why women felt the need to share this basic information about their health, the book’s influence over the generations, and whether it’s still needed today.

Sign up for our newsletter! Find out more at thisdaypod.com

And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kellie, out now from Radiotopia.

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 topics, or just want to say hello. Our website is thisdaypod.com Follow us on social @thisdaypod

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Haymarket and the Roots of May Day (1886) May 03, 2022

Show notes

It’s May 4th. This day in 1886, a deadly riot between police and protesters broke out in Haymarket Square in Chicago.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the Haymarket Riot came on the heels of days of escalating protest over an 8-hour work day; and how the roots of May Day, as a labor holiday, have at times been forgotten.

Sign up for our newsletter! Find out more at thisdaypod.com

And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kellie, out now from Radiotopia.

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 topics, or just want to say hello. Our website is thisdaypod.com Follow us on social @thisdaypod

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

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