This Day

It's July 17th. This day in 1902, a New York engineer by the name of Willis Haviland Carrier is trying to figure out a system for keeping printing machinery cool -- and ends up developing the technology that would lead to air conditioning.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how quickly Carrier's invention spread, and how air conditioning changed everything from urban development to political productivity.Help out with America 250 Watch! Subscribe to our newsletter for our ongoing coverage and commentary on how America 250 is playing out.https://thisdaypod.substack.com/Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis 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.comGet in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypodOur 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 14th. This day in 1972, Russian agricultural officials are in New York City cutting deals with American farmers for surplus U.S. wheat. Before the U.S. government could realize what was happening, the U.S.S.R. had snapped up almost a quarter of the American crop.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the Russians were so desperate for grain, why the U.S. was caught off guard -- and how the ripple effects of this purchase changed everything from price controls to satellite technology.Help out with America 250 Watch! Subscribe to our newsletter for our ongoing coverage and commentary on how America 250 is playing out.https://thisdaypod.substack.com/Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis 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.comGet in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypodOur 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

This episode is part of our "Some Sunday Context" series, new conversations and favorites from the archives that give some context for the biggest stories of the moment. Today: with a new Superman movie leading to a whole discourse about what he represents, we revisit a conversation with NPR's Glen Weldon about the comic book origins of the Man of Steel, and how he's always reflected the politics of this country throghout the last 85+ years.Be sure to check out Glen’s work on Pop Culture Happy Hour, and his book: “Superman: An Unauthorized Biography.”Help out with America 250 Watch! Subscribe to our newsletter for our ongoing coverage and commentary on how America 250 is playing out.https://thisdaypod.substack.com/Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis 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.comGet in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypodOur 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 1868, the federal government officially dismantled the Department of Education -- it would be more than a 100 years before it was re-established.Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why there was a federal push to promote education in the wake of the Civil War, and why the fight against it feels so resonant to the anti-DOE efforts today.Help out with America 250 Watch! Subscribe to our newsletter for our ongoing coverage and commentary on how America 250 is playing out.https://thisdaypod.substack.com/Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis 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.comGet in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypodOur 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 1850, a man by the name of James Strang has proclaimed himself the true inheritor of the Mormon church -- and set up a colony on Beaver Island in Michigan.Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss a time of religious awakening in America, how Strang convinced his followers that he was their leader, and how he ruled over his flock of 2500 acolytes. Also: buried treasure.Help out with America 250 Watch! Subscribe to our newsletter for our ongoing coverage and commentary on how America 250 is playing out.https://thisdaypod.substack.com/Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis 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.comGet in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypodOur 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

We continue our conversation about the America250 celebrations planned for 2026 -- which are kicking off in earnest this July 4th. We know a lot about who is tasked with putting this celebration together, and what that may indicate.The big news is that we are announcing the launch of America 250 Watch! Our newsletter will be the hub, along with the podcast of course, for our ongoing coverage and commentary on how America 250 is playing out. To get it all, and support our efforts, subscribe to the newsletter now at whatever level you can. https://thisdaypod.substack.com/Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis 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.comGet in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypodOur 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

Hello and happy 4th of July! (One day early) America's 250th birthday is next year, but the celebration is, in many ways, kicking off this week. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the 250th will be such a key moment for understanding US history, how the Trump administration is already framing the story -- and how we plan to cover it into 2026.The big news is that we are announcing the launch of America 250 Watch! Our newsletter will be the hub, along with the podcast of course, for our ongoing coverage and commentary on how America 250 is playing out. To get it all, and support our efforts, subscribe to the newsletter now at whatever level you can. https://thisdaypod.substack.com/We'll be back with part two of this conversation, including our reaction to President Trump's speech at the Iowa State Fair, on Sunday.Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis 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.comGet in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypodOur 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 1st. This day in 1962, six European countries are banding together to impose severe tariffs on imported American chicken.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why things got so heated in the poultry industry, and how the retaliatory tariff war it set off had major implications for, of all things, the American truck industry.Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis 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.comGet in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypodOur 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

This episode is part of our "Some Sunday Context" series where we are bringing you episodes from the archives and new conversations that try to give you a little historical perspective on current events. Today, an episode we recorded in 2021 about an anti-slavery protest in 1854, and how it brought up fundamental questions about our founding documents, freedom, and more.We'll be back with new episodes on Tuesday -- and don't forget to sign up for our newsletter for big new project coming soon! Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis 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.comGet in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypodOur 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 June 26th. This day in 1968, President Johnson signed what would be his last major act of domestic legislation -- an omnibus crime bill that drastically empowered and armed local police forces.Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the conversation about public safety and policing shifted from the mid-to-late sixties, and how this bill set a template for how police forces would be funded in the decades to come.Find out more at thisdaypod.comThis 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.comGet in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypodOur 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