This Day (An America 250 History Show)

Latest Episodes:

The Weather Underground Bombs the Capitol (1971) Mar 02, 2021

Show notes

It’s March 2nd. This day, in 1971, the leftist group The Weather Underground carries out a bombing at the US Capitol.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the bombing, and the rise of more violent direct action coming out of the late 1960s protest movements.

Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory

This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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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Sickles, American Weirdo (1859) w/ Wright Thompson Feb 28, 2021

Show notes

It’s February 28th. This day in 1859 (February 27th, actually) a New York representative named Daniel Sickles shot and killed Phillip Barton Key, the son of Francis Scott Key, in a dispute over an affair that Key was reportedly having with Sickles’s wife.

Jody, Niki, Kellie and special guest Wright Thompson discuss the shooting in broad daylight, and the many twists and turns of Daniel Sickles’s life.

Wright’s latest book is “Pappyland,” his TV show is TrueSouth, and his podcast series is called “Bloodlines.” Check out all his work!

Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory

This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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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The Canuck Letter and Muskie's Tears (1972) Feb 25, 2021

Show notes

It’s February 25th. This day in 1972, Democratic frontrunner Edmund Muskie of Maine was embroiled in a “scandal” that would ultimately sink his candidacy.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the various twists and turns of the scandal, from a fake letter to possibly fake tears.

Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory

This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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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The Polio Vaccine Arrives! (1954) Feb 23, 2021

Show notes

It’s February 23rd. This day in 1954, children in Pittsburgh began to receive vaccines as part of the first clinical trials for Dr Jonas Salk’s polio eradication efforts.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the arrival of the vaccine, the initial distrust, and the inequities in development and distribution of the vaccine to various communities.

Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory

This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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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Betty Friedan's Critique (1963) w/ Nichole Perkins Feb 21, 2021

Show notes

It’s February 21st. This day in 1963 (actually, it was the 19th), Betty Friedan published her enormously influential book “The Feminine Mystique.”

Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Nichole Perkins to discuss the publishing of the surprisingly-academic book, the kind of women it addressed, and the women who were left out of the conversation around second wave feminism

Check out Nichole’s new podcast “This Is Good For You.” Her forthcoming memoir is called Sometimes I Trip on How Happy We Could Be.

Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory

This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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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The Chippendale's Conundrum (1984) Feb 18, 2021

Show notes

It’s February 18th. On this day in 1984, a New York State liquor board is holding hearings on the all-male strip club Chippendale’s.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the way in which Chippendale’s subverted and reinforced ideas about men, women, sex, and empowerment. Niki is a producer on the new podcast series “Welcome to Your Fantasy,” all about the wild history of Chippendale’s. Check it out now!

Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory

This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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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US vs Pirates (1804) Feb 16, 2021

Show notes

It’s February 16th. On this day in 1804, US Marines carried out a mission to destroy a ship that had been captured by enemy forces off the coast of Tripoli.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the first Barbary War, why the US (and Sweden!) were involved in a Mediterranean battle, and tensions between naval warfare and westward expansion.

Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory

This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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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A Fascist Coup Plot (1935) Feb 14, 2021

Show notes

It’s February 14th. On this day in 1935, a Congressional committee released a report acknowledging what came to be known as “The Business Plot,” a scheme by Wall St financiers to stage a violent coup and replace Roosevelt with a military dictator.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the coup scheme, how it was not taken seriously at the time, and how seriously to take talk of fascist schemes today.

Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory

This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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

Ike's Vietnam (1954) Feb 11, 2021

Show notes

It’s February 11th. On this day in 1954, President Eisenhower expressed deep skepticism about US involvement in Vietnam. That would, of course, come to change.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how Eisenhower tried to avoid involvement, but also established the “Domino Theory” approach to viewing Vietnam that may have set up an inevitable US intervention.

Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory

This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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

Martial Law in Seattle (1886) Feb 09, 2021

Show notes

It’s February 9th. On this day in 1886, a mob descended on Seattle’s Chinatown, amid growing tensions between white and Chinese workers.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the events of the day, and the role of Chinese immigrant and Chinese-American workers in building the West — and how labor unions were often used to drive wedges between different ethnic groups.

Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory

This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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