This Day (An America 250 History Show)

Latest Episodes:

Lewis & Clark: What They Found (Part Two) Oct 22, 2026

Show notes

Our conversation about the Lewis & Clark expedition continues with a look at Sacagawea's role on the journey, the Native American encounters throughout the journey -- and Lewis's tragic life after returning from the frontier.

Join our America250 newsletter community! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying subscribers get access to early, ad-free versions of the show. Plus bonus features throughout the year. To support our work and get access to everything, subscribe now.

This Day 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. Follow us on social @thisdaypod

Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia.

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

Lewis & Clark: The Corps Sets Off (Part One) Oct 20, 2026

Show notes

For the thirty-ninth installment of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we go to the spring of 1804, when Meriwether Lewis and William Clark are tapped by Thomas Jefferson to lead an expedition into the northwest territories to map a route to the Pacific Ocean. We discuss why the Louisiana Purchase made mapping this territory a priority, how the two put together their group, and how hard the journey was, despite having a very cute canine companion.

This Day 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. Follow us on social @thisdaypod

Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia.

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

John Brown's Body [Some Sunday Context] Oct 18, 2026

Show notes

This past week we talked about the life of John Brown, and his attempted raid on Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Here's an episode from the archives about his death and martyrdom. We'll be back on Tuesday with a brand new episode in our "50 Weeks That Shaped America" series!

Join our America250 newsletter community! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying subscribers get access to early, ad-free versions of the show. Plus bonus features throughout the year. To support our work and get access to everything, subscribe now.

This Day 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. Follow us on social @thisdaypod

Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia.

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

John Brown: The Raid (Part Two) Oct 15, 2026

Show notes

Our conversation about John Brown continues with a look at how he raised the funds and put together the group that would mount a raid on Harpers Ferry -- and a look at why the raid went so wrong, so fast. Plus, how Brown's legend grew from the moment he was captured, and how his place within a larger abolitionist movement changes our understanding of him.

This Day 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. Follow us on social @thisdaypod

Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia.

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

John Brown: Radicalization (Part One) Oct 13, 2026

Show notes

For the thirty-eighth installment of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we go to October of 1859, and abolitionist John Brown's raid on the munitions depot in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. First, we trace Brown's upbringing and anti-slavery activism -- and try to place him in the larger context of the abolitionist movement throughout the country.

This Day 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. Follow us on social @thisdaypod

Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia.

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

Introducing "The Speaker: How Nancy Pelosi Changed the Face of Power" Oct 09, 2026

Show notes

Today we present a show we think you'll love: "The Speaker" from KQED Radio.

Before her historic Speakership, even before she got to the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi worked for years outside the spotlight as an official in the California Democratic party while she raised her family in San Francisco. That was until 1987, when tragic circumstances led her to do something she hadn’t considered before: run for Congress. Her first hurdle? A city in crisis and a motivated opponent from a community impacted by a deadly epidemic.

Be sure to check out The Speaker wherever you get your podcasts.

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

FDR And Polio: The Cover-Up (Part 2) Oct 08, 2026

Show notes

Our conversation about FDR and polio continues with a look at how his public image obscured the fact that he was in a wheelchair -- while the story of his battle with polio also him serve as a champion of the downtrodden. Plus: Will we ever see an "openly" disabled president in our lifetime?

This Day 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. Follow us on social @thisdaypod

Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia.

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

FDR And Polio: The Scourge (Part 1) Oct 06, 2026

Show notes

For the thirty-seventh installment of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we go to the 1920s and the moment Franklin Delano Roosevelt contracted polio. We look at how the disease terrified the American public, how FDR contracted it, and how it shaped his public and private life throughout his three terms as president.

This Day 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. Follow us on social @thisdaypod

Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia.

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

The Age Of Dark Money w/ Alex Lovit [Some Sunday Context] Oct 04, 2026

Show notes

Every Sunday during our month-long collaboration with the Charles F. Kettering Foundation, Jody Avirgan chats with Alex Lovit, host of the Kettering podcast "The Context."

The story of Citizens United continues with a look at the state of money in our current elections. Jody and Alex discuss the staggering amounts of dark money guiding our elections, and some of the efforts to reform. Plus, reflections on our month-long partnership as it draws to a close.

This Day 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. Follow us on social @thisdaypod

Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia.

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

Citizens United: Corporations Are People Too w/ Celina Stewart (Part Two) Oct 01, 2026

Show notes

All this month, we're partnering with the Charles F. Kettering Foundation for a series called "Democracy Under Construction." You can find out more about their work at kettering.org and listen to their podcast "The Context" at kettering.org/thecontext

The Citizens United story continues with the case itself — a 90-minute anti-Hillary documentary that became the pretext for one of the most sweeping rulings in Supreme Court history. Celina Stewart is back to dig into the corporate speech argument, the Stevens dissent, and what the majority got wrong about transparency and an informed public. Plus: with $14 billion flooding the 2024 election cycle, and more on the way this year, we discuss what American citizens, and organizations like the League of Women Voters can actually do to push back.

Be sure to check out the League of Women Voters at lwv.org and their voter information resource at vote411.org.

This Day 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. Follow us on social @thisdaypod

Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia.

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

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

This Day (An America 250 History Show)

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected