Logo for This Day in Esoteric Political History

This Day in Esoteric Political History

Jody Avirgan & Radiotopia

We’re living in unprecedented times. Maybe. In this show, Jody Avirgan (538, 30for30, TED) and historians Nicole Hemmer (Vanderbilt) and Kellie Carter Jackson (Wellesley) take one moment, big or small, from that day in U.S. political history and explore how it might inform our present –– all in about fifteen minutes.

New episodes release Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Sign up for the newsletter and more at ThisDayPod.com. We’re also posting about moments from the past @thisdaypod on Threads and Instagram. If you have a suggestion for a topic, get in touch.

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

We’re living in unprecedented times. Maybe. In this show, Jody Avirgan (538, 30for30, TED) and historians Nicole Hemmer (Vanderbilt) and Kellie Carter Jackson (Wellesley) take one moment, big or small, from that day in U.S. political history and explore how it might inform our present –– all in about fifteen minutes.

New episodes release Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Sign up for the newsletter and more at ThisDayPod.com. We’re also posting about moments from the past @thisdaypod on Threads and Instagram. If you have a suggestion for a topic, get in touch.

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

234hr 18min
Thumbnail for "REPOST -- The President Catches The Virus (1919)".
Re-posting our episode about a president getting sick
October 2, 20209min 37sec9.25 MB
Thumbnail for "Al Gore's Concession Speech (2000) w/ Leon Neyfakh".
December 12, 202430min 28sec29.26 MB
Thumbnail for "Clinton's National Conversation On Race (1997)".
December 10, 202426min 40sec25.61 MB
Thumbnail for "What "The Wizard Of Oz" Might Mean (1900-Present) w/ Ranjit Dighe".
December 8, 202431min 38sec30.38 MB
Thumbnail for "Till, Memory, History and Place w/ Wright Thompson".
December 5, 202415min 35sec14.97 MB
Thumbnail for "What Really Killed Emmett Till (1955) w/ Wright Thompson".
December 3, 202428min 44sec27.59 MB
Thumbnail for "Franksgiving: When FDR Moved Thanksgiving w/ Adam Conover [Archive Episode]".
November 28, 202422min 45sec21.85 MB
Thumbnail for "The Red Delicious Apple Crisis (2000)".
November 26, 202421min 32sec20.69 MB
Thumbnail for "A Treaty Divvies Up The Colorado River (1922) w/ Charly Edsitty".
November 24, 202421min 45sec20.88 MB
Thumbnail for "The National Women's Conference, and the Schlafly Backlash (1977)".
November 21, 202421min 46sec20.9 MB
Thumbnail for "Fluoride To The Rescue (1945) [Archive Episode]".
November 19, 202415min 53sec15.26 MB
Thumbnail for "Memory Palace Week: The Art Of Storytelling w/ Nate DiMeo".
November 17, 202423min 39sec22.71 MB
Thumbnail for "Memory Palace Week: How A Rock Became Plymouth Rock (1741)".
November 14, 202425min 14sec24.23 MB
Thumbnail for "Memory Palace Week: Hercules Posey and George Washington (1797) w/ Nate DiMeo".
November 12, 202425min 15sec24.25 MB
Thumbnail for "The USSR Almost Builds The Internet (1970) w/ Kevin Roose".
November 10, 202424min 13sec23.25 MB
Thumbnail for "2024 Election: Donald Trump Wins, Joins Grover Cleveland".
November 6, 202428min 24sec27.27 MB
Thumbnail for "Why Do We Vote On A Tuesday Anyway? (1845-Present)".
November 5, 202416min 35sec15.93 MB
Thumbnail for "2024 Election Sunday: Final Days, Polling, Lawn Sings, Balance".
November 3, 202434min 5sec32.73 MB
Thumbnail for "SNL's Political Impact (1974-Present)".
October 31, 202423min 12sec22.28 MB
Thumbnail for "The Harrison-Cleveland Rematch Takes A Pause (1892)".
October 29, 202416min 26sec15.79 MB
Thumbnail for "Hamilton's Diss Letter To Adams (1800) w/ Lindsay Chervinsky".
October 24, 202421min 31sec20.66 MB
Thumbnail for "Reagan's Age and "Youth and Inexperience" Quip (1984)".
October 22, 202418min 49sec9.03 MB
Thumbnail for "2024 Election Sunday: Trump Is Addled, The New Dark Money".
October 20, 202433min 32sec32.2 MB
Thumbnail for "A Brief History Of Election TV Ads (Part 2)".
October 17, 202425min 40sec12.33 MB
Thumbnail for "A Brief History Of Election TV Ads (Part 1)".
October 15, 202419min 45sec9.49 MB
Thumbnail for "2024 Election Sunday: Obama Scolds, A Podcast Election?".
October 13, 202449min 20sec23.69 MB
Thumbnail for "FOX News's First Broadcast (1996) w/ Josh Levin".
October 10, 202433min 1sec15.85 MB
Thumbnail for "McCain Suspends Campaign To Deal With Financial Crisis (2008)".
October 8, 202417min 30sec8.4 MB
Thumbnail for "2024 Election Sunday: Cross-Party Endorsements, A Race In Stasis".
October 6, 202437min 19sec17.92 MB
Thumbnail for "October Surprise! LIVE w/ Josh Gondelman (Part 2)".
October 3, 202423min 4sec11.08 MB
Thumbnail for "October Surprise! LIVE w/ Josh Gondelman (Part 1)".
October 1, 202436min 56sec17.73 MB
Thumbnail for "George HW Bush's Pro-Cop Stunt (1988)".
September 26, 202422min 20sec10.73 MB
Thumbnail for "Chet Arthur Steps Up (1881)".
September 24, 202413min 22sec6.42 MB
Thumbnail for "Washington's Farewell (Non) Address (1796)".
September 22, 202417min 6sec8.21 MB
Thumbnail for "The New York City Pig Wars (1859)".
September 19, 202417min 35sec8.45 MB
Thumbnail for "Packwood Sent Packing (1995)".
September 17, 202418min 13sec8.74 MB
Thumbnail for "Georgia's Three Governors Problem (1947)".
September 12, 202417min 38sec8.47 MB
Thumbnail for "Witches (1693) w/ Josh Gondelman [[Archive Episode]]".
September 10, 202419min 39sec9.44 MB
Thumbnail for "The "Bra Burner" Myth Is Born (1969) w/ Cristen Conger".
September 8, 202427min 42sec13.3 MB
Thumbnail for "Frederick Douglass's Two-Day Escape North (1838)".
September 5, 202418min 6sec8.69 MB
Thumbnail for "Roosevelt's "Big Stick" (1901)".
September 1, 202416min 33sec7.95 MB
Thumbnail for "The HIV-Positive Ray Brothers House Is Burned Down (1987) w/ Eric Marcus".
August 29, 202424min 21sec11.69 MB
Thumbnail for "Strom Thurmond's Epic Filibuster -- And Bladder Control (1957)".
August 27, 202416min 53sec8.11 MB
Thumbnail for "A Global Anti-War (Or Is It Pro-Peace?) Pact (1928)".
August 25, 202425min 36sec12.29 MB
Thumbnail for "Conventions Week: Hamer vs. Johnson (1964) [Archive Episode]".
August 22, 202421min 11sec10.17 MB
Thumbnail for "Conventions Week: Seven Weird Conventions Moments (Part Two)".
August 20, 202415min 16sec7.33 MB
Thumbnail for "Conventions Week: Seven Weird Conventions Moments (Part One)".
August 18, 202423min 24sec11.24 MB
Thumbnail for "Trump's "Very Fine People" Comments (2017)".
August 15, 202427min 47sec13.34 MB
Thumbnail for "Thoreau Spends One Night In Jail (1846)".
August 13, 202415min 50sec7.6 MB
Thumbnail for "What The Watts Riots Meant (1965)".
August 11, 202417min 52sec8.58 MB
Thumbnail for "George HW Bush Compares Sadaam To Hitler (1990)".
August 8, 202417min 44sec8.51 MB
Thumbnail for "The Shirtless George Washington Statue Is Unveiled (1841)".
August 6, 202414min 14sec6.84 MB
Thumbnail for "Some 2024 Veepstakes Thoughts (Plus A Special Announcement)".
August 4, 202433min 17sec15.98 MB
Thumbnail for "Jim Traficant Heads To Jail, Toupee And All (2002)".
August 1, 202416min 55sec8.12 MB
Thumbnail for "The Mother Of Miami (1896)".
July 30, 202414min 8sec6.79 MB
Thumbnail for "Jesse Owens v Hitler, Behind The Scenes (1936)".
July 28, 202419min 50sec9.52 MB
Thumbnail for "A Record Election-Year Heat Wave (1936)".
July 25, 202418min 53sec9.07 MB
Thumbnail for ""Pretendians" And The Politics Of Native Identity (1934) w/ Angel Ellis and Robert Jago".
July 23, 202422min 42sec10.9 MB
Thumbnail for "The Thiokol Weapons Plant Explosion (1971) w/ Patrick Longstreth".
July 21, 202422min 40sec10.88 MB
Thumbnail for "Reagan says "MAGA" (1980)".
July 18, 202428min 23sec13.63 MB
Thumbnail for "'A Harvest Of Death' And The Power Of Photography (1863) w/ Robert Sullivan".
July 16, 202417min 44sec8.51 MB
Thumbnail for "The Real Free State of Jones (1863) [Archive Favorite]".
July 11, 202414min 7sec13.57 MB
Thumbnail for "A Bombing At LaGuardia Airport (1975) [Archive Favorite]".
July 9, 202417min 54sec17.19 MB
Thumbnail for "The Big Dig's Big Start w/ Ian Coss [Archive Favorite]".
July 7, 202428min 23sec27.26 MB
Thumbnail for "The Statues That Represent The United States (1864)".
July 2, 202413min 49sec6.63 MB
Thumbnail for "Reagan Re-Ups The Voting Rights Act (1982)".
June 30, 202413min 41sec6.57 MB
Thumbnail for "The Weird History Of U.S. Debates (Part 2)".
June 27, 202420min 48sec9.99 MB
Thumbnail for "The Weird History Of U.S. Debates (Part 1)".
June 25, 202421min 14sec10.2 MB
Thumbnail for "Third Parties Week: Ross Perot Crashes The Debate (1992)".
June 23, 202416min 51sec8.09 MB
Thumbnail for "Third Parties Week: John Anderson's Middle Path (1980)".
June 20, 202422min 35sec10.84 MB
Thumbnail for "Third Parties Week: Ralph Nader, Spoiler? (2000)".
June 18, 202415min 46sec7.58 MB
Thumbnail for "Third Party Week: Who Goes Third Party? w/ Dave Weigel".
June 16, 202431min 1sec14.89 MB
Thumbnail for "Lift Every Voice And Sing (1900) [Juneteenth Archive Episode]".
June 13, 202421min 31sec20.8 MB
Thumbnail for "Coretta Scott Weds Martin Luther King (1953)".
June 11, 202425min 29sec12.23 MB
Thumbnail for "The Sad Saga of the Late Lester Hunt (1953)".
June 9, 202421min 36sec10.37 MB
Thumbnail for "We Refuse Week: Joy In Refusal, From Black Panther to The Boat Brawl".
June 6, 202425min 41sec12.33 MB
Thumbnail for "We Refuse Week: Carrie Johnson Kills A Police Officer".
June 4, 202418min 18sec8.79 MB
Thumbnail for "We Refuse Week: Kellie's Family History of Resistance".
June 2, 202422min 28sec10.79 MB
Thumbnail for "How Many Presidents? (1787) w/ A.J. Jacobs".
May 30, 202419min 7sec9.18 MB
Thumbnail for "The Incident That Led Ida B. Wells To Flee Memphis (1892)".
May 28, 202420min 25sec9.8 MB
Thumbnail for "War Stories: A Confederate Day of Fasting and Prayer (1863)".
May 26, 202419min 28sec18.69 MB
Thumbnail for "War Stories: The Port Chicago Mutiny (1944)".
May 23, 202418min 16sec8.77 MB
Thumbnail for "War Stories: Camp Casey (2005)".
May 21, 202420min 13sec19.41 MB
Thumbnail for "War Stories: The Vietnam Draft Lottery Gets Exposed (1970)".
May 19, 202427min 34sec26.48 MB
Thumbnail for "The "Louie Louie" Freakout (1964)".
May 16, 202415min 17sec7.34 MB
Thumbnail for "Nixon Attacked In Caracas (1958)".
May 14, 202415min 36sec7.49 MB
Thumbnail for "The Jefferson Davis Trial That Wasn't (1867)".
May 12, 202419min 31sec9.37 MB
Thumbnail for "What Do We Call The President? w/ A.J. Jacobs".
May 9, 202419min 1sec9.13 MB
Thumbnail for "The Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)".
May 7, 202417min 9sec8.24 MB
Thumbnail for "A Deep Dive Into The Cultural Cold War (1960) w/ Benjamen Walker".
May 5, 202424min 15sec23.29 MB
Thumbnail for "Pepsi Trades Soda For Soviet Warships (1989)".
May 2, 202416min 14sec7.8 MB
Thumbnail for "The Columbia Protests (1968)".
April 30, 202427min 17sec13.1 MB
Thumbnail for "Veepstakes Week: JFK Picks LBJ (1960)".
April 25, 202417min 2sec8.18 MB
Thumbnail for "Veepstakes Week: The Legend Of The Sarah Palin Cruise Ship (2007)".
April 23, 202425min 4sec12.04 MB
Thumbnail for "Veepstakes Week: Does A VP Pick Matter?".
April 21, 202428min 27sec13.66 MB
Thumbnail for "The Great San Francisco Earthquake (1906)".
April 18, 202417min 2sec8.18 MB
Thumbnail for "Walter Cronkite's America (1962)".
April 16, 202422min 5sec10.61 MB
Thumbnail for "George W. Bush Meets With Gay Voters (2000) w/ Neil J. Young".
April 14, 202427min 4sec12.99 MB
Thumbnail for "Democrats Seize Power In South Carolina (1877)".
April 11, 202419min 31sec9.37 MB
Thumbnail for "Marian Anderson Sings On The Steps Of The Lincoln Memorial (1939)".
April 9, 202419min 9sec9.19 MB
Thumbnail for "Wisconsin Tries To Recall Scott Walker (2012)".
April 7, 202423min 8sec11.11 MB
Thumbnail for "Why William Henry Harrison Really Died (1841)".
April 4, 202416min 10sec7.76 MB
Thumbnail for "The Richmond Bread Riots (1863)".
April 2, 202416min 58sec8.15 MB
Thumbnail for "Truman Says He Won't Seek Re-Election (1952)".
A sitting Democratic president bows out in the spring before an election
March 31, 202423min 2sec22.25 MB
Thumbnail for "The Slaveowner Executed for Killing His Slave (1839)".
A very rare case of accountability
March 28, 202417min 13sec16.66 MB
Thumbnail for "DC Plants The Cherry Blossoms (1912)".
A lobbying campaign blossoms
March 26, 202417min 34sec17.01 MB
Thumbnail for "Lincoln's Avenger And The Aftermath Of Assassination (1894) [[Archive Episode]]".
Lincoln's ultimate avenger
March 24, 202417min 59sec17.4 MB
Thumbnail for "Montana Enshrines a Right To Privacy (1972)".
A constitutional convention locks in some key provisions
March 21, 202422min 56sec22.16 MB
Thumbnail for "The First Government Shutdown Fight (1879)".
Government funding gets held hostage
March 19, 202420min 27sec19.77 MB
Thumbnail for "The Shamrock Summit (1985)".
US-Canada relations are helped out by Irish bonds
March 17, 202415min 12sec14.73 MB
Thumbnail for "FDR Says Bottoms Up (1933)".
A new president prioritizes low ABV
March 14, 202414min 4sec13.65 MB
Thumbnail for "Kennedy's Latin American Marshall Plan (1964)".
An ambitious plan to rebuild a critical region falls flat
March 12, 202415min 38sec15.14 MB
Thumbnail for "Hoover Almost Takes Over Baseball (1951)".
The top G-Man almost takes over the top sport
March 10, 202419min 43sec19.07 MB
Thumbnail for "When "Primary" Became A Verb (2004)".
How modern primaries exacerbate the divide
March 7, 202418min 27sec17.85 MB
Thumbnail for "The Ask President Carter 1-900 Number (1977)".
Direct access to the President - via 900 number
March 5, 202416min 53sec16.35 MB
Thumbnail for "Hangers On Week: Al Smith and Remakes The Democratic Party".
A party remakes itself
March 3, 202423min 18sec22.51 MB
Thumbnail for "Hangers On Week: Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition".
A rainbow coalition emerges
February 29, 202421min 40sec20.95 MB
Thumbnail for "Hangers On Week: Sowing The Seeds of Trump".
Our look at some early failed candidates who nevertheless set the template for Trump
February 27, 202417min 3sec16.5 MB
Thumbnail for "Hangers On Week: Why Candidates Stick Around w/ Amy Walter".
The policy warriors, punchlines, media hounds and more who just stick around...
February 25, 202430min 11sec29.12 MB
Thumbnail for "Malcolm X Is Assassinated (1965)".
A seemingly inevitable event unfolds in Harlem
February 22, 202419min 22sec18.73 MB
Thumbnail for "Dick Cheney Shoots His Friend In The Face (2006)".
A hunting accident turns into a punchline and scandal
February 20, 202419min 12sec18.57 MB
Thumbnail for "NJ Law Calls For "Gradual Emancipation Of Slaves" (1804)".
The law codifies the harsh reality on the ground
February 18, 202418min 21sec17.76 MB
Thumbnail for "The FDR Assassination Attempt (1933)".
A true sliding doors moment
February 15, 202417min 11sec16.64 MB
Thumbnail for "Mandela Released From Prison (1990)".
A South African leader emerges
February 13, 202423min 20sec22.53 MB
Thumbnail for "The First Execution By Gas Chamber (1924)".
A new supposedly more humane method of killing
February 11, 202418min 59sec18.37 MB
Thumbnail for "Lockheed Caught Bribing The Japanese Government (1976)".
A bribery scandal during an era of corporate malfeasance
February 8, 202419min 23sec18.75 MB
Thumbnail for "FDR's Court-Packing Plan Backfires (1937)".
An emboldened president tries to get rid of a major obstacle
February 6, 202422min 3sec21.3 MB
Thumbnail for "The Sketchy Deal That Makes Hayes President (1877)".
The real corrupt bargain ends reconstruction.
February 4, 202422min 46sec22 MB
Thumbnail for "Groundhog Day's Very Weird Origins (1877)".
The elixir of life - but only for Phil
February 1, 202416min15.5 MB
Thumbnail for "A Brawl In Congress (1798) w/ Joanne Freeman".
An early incident of political violence
January 30, 202422min 26sec21.68 MB
Thumbnail for "No Nukes In Space (1967)".
The Cold War superpowers lower the temperature in space
January 28, 202417min 34sec17 MB
Thumbnail for "Why Do We Vote On Tuesday? (1845)".
How we got our voting day
January 25, 202417min 37sec17.06 MB
Thumbnail for "Ed Roberts, Father Of Independent Living (2010)".
A day to commemorate a disability rights pioneer
January 23, 202418min 41sec18.08 MB
Thumbnail for "Marion Barry Caught Smoking Crack (1990)".
DC's Beloved Mayor gets stung
January 21, 202421min 35sec20.86 MB
Thumbnail for "The Pentagon, The Building (1943)".
The military industrial complex gets a new home
January 18, 202415min 11sec14.71 MB
Thumbnail for "America's Biggest Slave Rebellion (1811)".
Charles Deslondes leads a revolt in Orleans
January 16, 202415min 19sec14.85 MB
Thumbnail for "America Drags Its Feet on MLK Day (1986)".
Why it took almost 20 years to get a federal holiday
January 14, 202423min 2sec22.26 MB
Thumbnail for "The Children's Blizzard (1888)".
A deadly storm changes weather forecasting forever
January 11, 202420min 25sec19.74 MB
Thumbnail for "Jefferson's Wall Between Church and State (1802)".
A phrase appears in a fateful letter
January 9, 202427min 45sec26.78 MB
Thumbnail for "Vietnam Draft Lottery Is Exposed (1970) w/ Walt Hickey".
Statistical analysis uncovers a problem with huge consequences
January 7, 202426min 58sec26.03 MB
Thumbnail for "Ike vs. Squirrels (1955) [Archive Episode]".
Ike's very twisted war on squirrels
January 3, 202415min 30sec15.02 MB
Thumbnail for "The Great Idaho Beaver Parachute Drop (1948) w/ Ian Chillag".
The only possible solution to the beaver re-location problem
December 31, 202323min 12sec22.42 MB
Thumbnail for "A Bombing At LaGuardia Airport (1975)".
11 killed and 74 injured when a bomb goes off in the baggage claim
December 28, 202319min 38sec18.98 MB
Thumbnail for "The Assassination of Harry and Harriette Moore (1951)".
Two early civil rights activists are killed on Christmas Day
December 26, 202321min 16sec20.56 MB
Thumbnail for "How Puzzles Explain WWII w/ A.J. Jacobs".
The NYT finally enters the crossword craze
December 24, 202320min 4sec19.4 MB
Thumbnail for "The First Crossword (1913) w/ A.J. Jacobs".
A puzzle craze takes off
December 21, 202321min 43sec20.99 MB
Thumbnail for "Poor Richard's Almanack (1732)".
A book of aphorisms that (largely) stand the test of time
December 19, 202318min 36sec18 MB
Thumbnail for "When Flying Got Miserable (1978) w/ Ganesh Sitaraman".
How deregulation undermined the glamour of travel
December 17, 202326min 43sec25.79 MB
Thumbnail for "Alaskan Natives Embrace Capitalism (1971)".
Alaskan tribes have to embrace, and contend, with American-style economics
December 14, 202318min 36sec18 MB
Thumbnail for "The Garment Strikes Before Triangle Shirtwaist (1909)".
New context for the strikes and tragedies of garment fire
December 12, 202319min 33sec18.9 MB
Thumbnail for "Louis Riel Needs Grant's Help (1875)".
A Canadian fighter seeks the U.S. President's assistance
December 10, 202325min 5sec24.21 MB
Thumbnail for "Lā Kū'oko'a aka Hawaiian Independence Day (1843)".
What does independence mean, exactly, for the Hawaiian islands?
December 7, 202315min 30sec15.02 MB
Thumbnail for "Du Bois Joins The Communist Party (1961)".
A leading thinker makes a late-in-life proclamation
December 5, 202314min 36sec14.16 MB
Thumbnail for "The First Phone In The White House (1878)".
President Hayes embraces a new technology
December 3, 202317min 5sec16.53 MB
Thumbnail for "The Alcatraz Occupation (1969) w/ Julian Brave Noisecat [[Archive Episode]]".
A 19-month occupation of Alcatraz Island begins
November 30, 202319min 55sec19.26 MB
Thumbnail for "The Hopis On Alcatraz (1894)".
A group of men is detained
November 28, 202316min 27sec15.93 MB
Thumbnail for "A Thanksgiving Potluck!".
Our favorite food, drink and dessert stories
November 22, 202342min 3sec40.5 MB
Thumbnail for "JFK Almost Assassinated (1960) [Revisited]".
An attempt on the President-elect's life
November 21, 202314min 52sec14.42 MB
Thumbnail for "Joe Hill's Last Will (1915)".
Jody finally gets to talk about his undergraduate thesis!
November 19, 202325min 31sec24.64 MB
Thumbnail for "Pence Gets Booed At "Hamilton" (2016)".
A theater becomes a moment of political confrontation
November 16, 202321min 50sec21.1 MB
Thumbnail for "Henry Ford Contests An Election (1918)".
A businessman tries politics
November 14, 202320min 42sec20 MB
Thumbnail for "The Exploding Whale (1970)".
A town decides on the worst way to get rid of a beached whale
November 12, 202320min 6sec19.44 MB
Thumbnail for ""The Demon of Andersonville" Executed for War Crimes (1865)".
General Wirz, the only Confederate commander executed for war crimes
November 9, 202317min 15sec16.71 MB
Thumbnail for "An Explosion Rocks The Capitol (1983)".
A little-known resistance group plants a bomb
November 7, 202316min 33sec16.03 MB
Thumbnail for "Elected While In A Coma (1980)".
Gladys Spellman wins re-election while in a life-ending coma
November 5, 202312min 33sec12.19 MB
Thumbnail for "The Unmarked Grave (2019) w/ Joe Richman ".
NYC's mass burial site is opening up
November 2, 202321min 41sec20.95 MB
Thumbnail for "The Americans Fighting In Spain (1938) w/ Adam Hochschild".
The Lincoln Brigade joins the fight
October 31, 202327min 21sec26.39 MB
Thumbnail for "The Donora Killer Smog (1948)".
A factory town suffers the consequences
October 29, 202314min 48sec14.34 MB
Thumbnail for "NOW is Next (1966)".
A new women's right's org takes a stand
October 26, 202316min 54sec16.36 MB
Thumbnail for "Colin + Obama (2008) w/ Leah Wright Rigueur".
Why Colin Powell rebuked his own party
October 24, 202324min 1sec23.19 MB
Thumbnail for ""The Jazz Singer" and Hollywood Empire (1927) w/ Walt Hickey".
America's movie industry becomes a political force
October 22, 202327min 26sec26.47 MB
Thumbnail for "Trump Shows Up In New Hampshire (1987) w/ Robert Fleegler".
An early tease at a political career
October 19, 202323min 49sec23.01 MB
Thumbnail for "Carter Restores Jefferson Davis's Citizenship (1978)".
Did Jefferson Davis even want this?!
October 17, 202317min 18sec16.74 MB
Thumbnail for ""Operation Clark County" Totally Backfires (2004)".
A British letter-writing campaign steps into US politics
October 15, 202318min 56sec18.32 MB
Thumbnail for "The Real Free State of Jones (1863)".
A Mississippi county rebels against the confederacy
October 12, 202313min 48sec13.38 MB
Thumbnail for "The Scrub Bull Trials (1919)".
Inferior stock goes on trial
October 10, 202319min 54sec19.24 MB
Thumbnail for "The Poisoned Tylenol Panic (1982)".
Poisoned medicine and a crisis for J&J
October 8, 202320min19.34 MB
Thumbnail for "Italy Invades Ethiopia, World Freaks Out (1935) w/ Isaac-Davy Aronson".
Fault lines emerge as Mussolini makes a move against Ethiopia
October 5, 202324min 35sec23.74 MB
Thumbnail for "The Hiroshima Maidens (1955) w/ Josh Levin".
A group of women injured in the Hiroshima bombing come to the U.S.
October 3, 202326min 47sec25.86 MB
Thumbnail for "Yeltsin Refuses To Leave The Plane (1994)".
The Russian PM is... indisposed
October 1, 202314min 24sec13.96 MB
Thumbnail for ""Actually, You Forgot Poland" (2004)".
A clever comeback goes wrong
September 28, 202317min 8sec16.59 MB
Thumbnail for "Big Dig Energy (1983) w/ Ian Coss".
A major infrastructure project goes oh so wrong
September 26, 202328min 3sec27.07 MB
Thumbnail for "Stanislav Petrov Prevents Armageddon (1983)".
Mutually assured destruction almost happens
September 24, 202320min 13sec19.54 MB
Thumbnail for "'The West Wing' Premieres (1999) w/ Hrishikesh Hirway".
A show sets a political and cultural template
September 21, 202323min 16sec22.48 MB
Thumbnail for "The First Anti-Amalgamation Law (1664)".
Trying to codify interracial relationship
September 19, 202317min 38sec17.06 MB
Thumbnail for "What YOU Learned On Your Summer Travels".
Lots of great stories of history from our listeners
September 17, 202324min 44sec23.89 MB
Thumbnail for "The Case For Capitalism (1970) w/ Noel King".
Milton Friedman pens the shareholder theory
September 14, 202325min 32sec24.64 MB
Thumbnail for "The Reagan's Prime-Time Drug Address (1986) w/ Donovan X Ramsey".
A prime-time address to push Just Say No
September 12, 202322min 51sec22.08 MB
Thumbnail for "The First Food Nutrition Labels (1971) w/ Xaq Frohlich".
An activist tries to make labels more helpful