This Day
“This Day” takes you beyond the head-spinning headlines of today and into the unexpected historical moments that have shaped American politics. Hosted by Jody Avirgan (538), and historians Nicole Hemmer (Vanderbilt), and Kellie Carter Jackson (Wellesley), each episode explores a moment from that day in U.S. political history to uncover its lasting impact. On Sunday episodes, Jody, Niki and Kellie react to current news with their usual mix of humor, analysis, and historical perspective. New episodes released Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Lots more on our Instagram page, YouTube, and newsletter. Find it all at thisdaypod.com. This Day is a proud member of the Radiotopia podcast network from PRX.
Episodes
It's the last week in November -- on November 25th, 1783, British troops finally left New York City, which had suffered a brutal two years since the formal end of the Revolutionary War.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss what life was like in the period when British troops were occupying the city, what Evacuation Day was actually like -- and why the commemoration of that day was eventually overshadowed by Thanksgiving.
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It's November 18th. This day in 1805, explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark have returned back east to report on their trip to President Jefferson. It hasn't been very successful.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how their names faded into relative obscurity in the years after they returned, and how the myth of Lewis and Clark has been revived -- often to fit the myths of the era -- in the decades and centuries since.
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Welcome to our Sunday Context series, where we try and bring you new conversations and episodes from the archives to give a little context for the news of the day. Today, a look at the very first one-cent coins, as the US minted the very last new penny.
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It’s April 20th. This day in 1787, Congress authorized the production of the country’s first coin.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the “Fugio cent,” designed — some say o...
We continue with part two of our look at the birth of Sesame Street. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the show's premier, how it was received -- and what the program has meant to them over the years.
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This Day In Esoteric Political History is a p...
It's November 11th. This day in 1969, a new show for children is on the airwaves -- Sesame Street.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie dive into a two-part look at the birth of this new show, from the big ideas about television and children's psychology, to the set design and use of puppets.
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It's November 6th. This day in 1868, Martha Hughes Cannon becomes the first female state senator in US history, when she beats her husband in a Utah election.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss Cannon's career as a doctor, her move into women's rights and then politics -- and how the question of polygamy hovered over the entire political landscape of Utah in that era.
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It's Election Day in many parts of the country, including in New York City, which may elect a Democratic Socialist mayor. 100 years ago, many cities in the US had socialist mayors, who came to be known as "sewer socialists" for their relentless focus on city services.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss Milwaukee's history of electing socialist mayors, how they found a foothold in day-to-day issues -- and what Zohran Mamdani's r...
It's October 30th. This day (technically November 2nd) in 1982, a Honda Accord rolls off the assembly line at a new plant in Marysville, Ohio -- the first Japanese car made by American workers.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the rise of Japanese auto manufacturing throuhgout the 1970s, the arguments over protectionism and American manufacturing that arose as a result -- and the compomise during the Reagan era to have the au...
It's October 28th. This day in 1964, the presidential election is in the home stretch, with candidates like Lyndon B Johnson, Barry Goldwater -- and Dizzy Gillespie?
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the only-half-joking candidacy of the legendary jazz trumpeter, and the intersection of entertainment and politics in that era. Plus: the power of great merch.
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This Sunday, we are convening a teach-in in Washington DC with our friend Nate DiMeo of The Memory Palace. Here is Nate's latest episode, where he discusses the path to this event and the need to defend the work of history and museums.
Find out more information about the teach in here.
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It's October 22nd. This day in 1999, in Annapolis, MD, the last of the so-called "Liberty Trees" was cut down.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the original liberty trees that served as gathering spots for political ideas to be shared -- and political violence to play out -- during the American revolution. And they make the case for bringing back gatherings-under-trees as a political act.
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It's October 21st. This day in 1982, residents of Warren County, NC are fighting back against plans to dump tons of PCB-laden dirt in their local landfill.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how Warren County came to be a target of this environmental disaster, how residents banded together, and the legacy of "environmental racism."
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It's 1903. This day, Teddy Roosevelt is visiting Ellis Island amid a fierce conversation about American immigration policy.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Andrew Porwancher of Arizona State to discuss how Roosevelt's views on immigration were always shifting, from a humanitarian instinct to electoral concerns to scientific ideas about racial superiority. They also discuss the blunt language used around race and immigr...
It's October 13th. This day in 2013, the healthcare.gov website is a total fiasco. It had launched a couple weeks earlier and was immediately unusable, with only six people being able to enroll in the Obamacare exchanges on the first day.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the website was so broken, the blame game that ensued, and the lessons about implementation found in the website's sordid tale. You can create great poli...
It's October 9th. Today, we look back at the first "teach-ins" at the University of Michigan in 1965, and discuss the power of gathering together to learn and teach. Plus, we announce our very own teach-in, taking place in Washington DC on October 26th!
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Nate DiMeo, host of our fellow Radiotopia show "The Memory Palace," who is co-organizing the upcoming teach-in. Find more information ab...
Today, we look back an episode we did about October 2013, when the United States government shut down after the Congress was unable to agree to a new budget proposal, that had been saddled with provisions that would have defunded Obamacare.
Jody and Niki are joined by NBC/MSNBC correspondent Steve Kornacki to discuss the shutdown, how Ted Cruz used it to increase his profile, and why we may be suffering from shutdown fatigu...
On Sundays, we try to bring you new conversations and episodes from the archives that provide a little context for the news of 2025. Today: a look back at the very first government shutdown, and how shutdowns have wrapped up budget fights and larger ideological battles before.
Sign up for our America250 Watch newsletter, where you'll also get links and lots more historical tidbits.
It's October 2nd. This day in 1989, Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start The Fire," which name-checks a ton of events that took place from the 50s through the 80s, is rocketing up the charts.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Joel felt compelled to write the song, some of the more obscure references in the song -- and whether they are buying Joel's historical argument presented in the song.
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It's September 30th. This day in 1919, a bloody racial conflict is breaking out in the Arkansas Delta.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how a push to organize sharecroppers, combined with rumors and a frenzied media led to possibly hundreds of Black residents being killed by white mobs.
Sign up for our America250 Watch newsletter, where you'll also get links and lots more historical tidbits.
This week, we're bringing you two episodes that highlight periods in American history where political speech was being policied, repressed, and persecuted -- much like it is today.
Today: A look back at the way speech was policed in the wake of the 9-11 attacks. Bill Maher lost his job, professors were fired, Clear Channel removed songs that mentioned airplane crashes... and the Bush White House told people to "watch what t...
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