This Day

It’s August 30th. This day in 1894, a man by the name of Thomas H “Boston” Corbett is presumed dead in a fire in Minnesota. Boston Corbett led a troubled life, particularly over the previous thirty years, during which he was best known as the man who killed John Wilkes Booth — the man who killed Abraham Lincoln. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the circumstances under which Corbett killed Booth, the way in which he was treated as a hero, and the spiral Corbett’s life took as he embraced the role of “Lincoln’s Avenger.” 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 Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, 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

It’s August 27th. This day in 1987, rumors are building that Joe Biden had plagiarized remarks from British politician Neil Kinnock. Soon, reporters would find evidence that Biden used lines directly from Kinnock’s remarks, without attribution, in a debate — and other instances of plagiarism would emerge in the coming weeks. Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how Biden’s plagiarism was uncovered, how it sank his 1988 presidential bid, and how his reputation for borrowing phrases has persisted. 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 Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, 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

It’s August 25th. In 1944, a group of sailors at Port Chicago in California are facing mutiny charges, after refusing to work under dangerous conditions. Just under a month earlier, there had been a massive explosion at the same location, killing hundreds. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the sailors refused to work, the impact of the Port Chicago explosion, and the way in which the mostly-Black sailors were mistreated by the Navy and the U.S. government. 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 Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, 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

It’s August 22nd. Throughout the late summer of 1926, legendary journalist Ida Tarbell is publishing a series of flattering profiles of Benito Mussolini. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the muck-raking journalist is falling under the spell of the rising dictator, and why so many other Progressive voices seem to be doing the same. 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 Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, 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

It’s August 19th. This day in 1922, a massive food relief program is underway, with tons of American supplies headed for Russia. Jody, Kellie, and Niki discuss why the United States was committed to aiding the Russian famine, and how Herbert Hoover built his reputation as a food administrator in the wake of WWI. 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 Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, 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

It’s August 18th. This day in 1976, Alex Haley’s sprawling epic Roots hits the bookshelves. It quickly caused a sensation — and controversy. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how Haley’s work came together, the enormous impact it had, and the mix of fact and fiction that somewhat clouded the work. Check out Reconsidering Roots, the book Kellie edited about Haley and the Roots television miniseries. 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 Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, 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

It’s August 16th. This day in 1975, a woman by the name of Joan Little was acquitted of murder — the first case in which a woman is acquitted of a murder committed in self-defense against sexual assault. Jody, Niki and Kellie discuss how Little became an unlikely public figure, how the civil rights movement of the time rallied around her case, and the legacy of her acquittal. 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 Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, 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

It’s August 14th. In 2012, on August 16th, a State Department memo was sent regarding the security of the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. Less than a month later, the compound was attacked, and four Americans died, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Leon Neyfakh, host of FIASCO, to discuss the roots of the deep Benghazi attack — and how the politicization of the incident has completely muddied the waters of understanding why the tragedy occured. Leon reported and hosted the fourth season of FIASCO on the Benghazi incident. Find it on Apple Podcasts or the Luminary app. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

It’s August 11th. This day in 1973, a group of Irish-Americans known as “The Fort Worth Five” are caught up in the court system, accused of running guns to Ireland to aid the independence movement. Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Nate Lavey to discuss how regular Irish-Americans got involved in the freedom fight, and the long political and financial nexus between groups like NORAID in the United States and the IRA in Ireland. Nate is the host of the excellent new podcast “Foreign Agent,” which traces the roots of NORAID and Irish-American activism. 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 Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, 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

Big news! Niki Hemmer is moving to Vanderbilt University to teach and found a center on the presidency. To help her get up to speed, she’s hosting “Tennessee Week” on the show with a few conversations around some key and fascinating moments in TN history. Today, Niki and Kellie are joined by Jane Carr, editor at CNN and Memphis native, to discuss the strange ties between Richard Nixon and two musical icons — Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. They break down Nixon’s understanding of the role of pop culture, and the details behind Elvis’s notorious visit to the White House. 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 Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, 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