This Day

It’s July 14th. This day in 1844, a formerly enslaved man by the name of Nelson Hackett is being sent back to the United States after having escaped to Canada. It would be the first — and last — time that the Canadian government would collaborate with the U.S. to return an escapee. Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss Hackett’s journey north, the ad-hoc network of safe-houses and sympathetic institutions that carried people north, and why Canada sent Hackett back to Detroit. Here’s the KUAF podcast we mentioned on the show. 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 July 12th. This day in 1877, a railroad worker strike is starting in West Virginia and will soon spread throughout the midwest and eastern United States. Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the strike was aided by the way in which railroads connected different parts of the country, and how it planted the seeds for an era of massive strikes. 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 July 10th. This day in 1844, riots and violence are breaking out in Philadelphia as nativist groups coalesce around anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant sentiment. Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the riots wrapped up fears about schooling, economic competition, religion — and marked a moment in which Nativism started to wield political power. 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 July 7th. This day in 1853, Harriet Jacobs, a formerly enslaved woman, writes her first letter to the editor, and begins to work on her memoirs. Her story, published almost ten years later under a pseudonym as “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,” would paint a picture of slavery and sexual violence that was often not represented. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss Jacobs’s story, the impact of her work, and why it was lost to history for many years until fairly recently. 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; Julie Shapiro and Audrey Mardavich, Executive Producers at Radiotopia Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

It’s July 5th. This day in 1845, the Texas legislature votes to ratify a decision to join the United States of America. This marked the end, at least for a bit, of an era in which Texas changed hands, switched allegiances, went independent, and more. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the long and twisty road to this moment in Texas (and U.S.) history, and why questions of Texas going it alone are back in the air. 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; Julie Shapiro and Audrey Mardavich, Executive Producers at Radiotopia Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

It’s July 3rd. This day in 1956, President Eisenhower signed the National Highway Act, the largest infrastructure project in American history. Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Eddie Alterman, longtime editor of Car & Driver magazine, to discuss how the highway network reshaped the country and changed car culture. Be sure to check out Eddie’s podcast Car Show! from our friends at Pushkin Industries. 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; Julie Shapiro and Audrey Mardavich, Executive Producers at Radiotopia Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

It’s June 30th. This day in 1909, the Wright Brothers are at Fort Meyer, Virginia, to demonstrate their latest airplane technology. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the Wrights went from independent inventors to striking a deal with the military — and their decades-long hope that aviation would actually help put an end to wars. 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; Julie Shapiro and Audrey Mardavich, Executive Producers at Radiotopia Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

It’s June 27th. This day in 2006, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee released a report about the breadth and depth of corruption on the part of lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his associates. Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Philip Bump of the Washington Post to discuss how Abramoff cheated his clients out of millions — and the political price many Republicans paid as a result. Be sure to subscribe to Phillip’s newsletter “How To Read This Chart!” //// 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; Julie Shapiro and Audrey Mardavich, Executive Producers at Radiotopia Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

It’s June 26th. In 1929, Congress passed the “Permanent Reapportionment Act,” which capped the number of representatives in the house. Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Philip Bump of the Washington Post to discuss why the overall number of representatives had shifted a fair amount up to that point, but has now been stuck for almost a century. They also discuss the efforts at reform — and the unintended consequences of adding more seats. Be sure to subscribe to Philip’s newsletter “How To Read This Chart!” //// 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; Julie Shapiro and Audrey Mardavich, Executive Producers at Radiotopia Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

It’s June 20th. This day in 1979, Jimmy Carter held a ceremony to celebrate the new solar panels that had been installed on the White House roof. The panels were symbolic support for new energy initiatives, but also looked to reduce the building’s energy bill at a time of soaring gas prices. Jody, Niki and Kellie discuss the panels, the green energy efforts, and why Ronald Reagan tore them down. 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; Julie Shapiro and Audrey Mardavich, Executive Producers at Radiotopia Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices