

This Day
Jody Avirgan & Radiotopia
“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
Mentioned books

Oct 24, 2024 • 22min
Hamilton's Diss Letter To Adams (1800) w/ Lindsay Chervinsky
It's October 23rd. This day in 1800, Alexander Hamilton penned a letter titled "The Public Conduct and Character of John Adams."Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Lindsay Chervinsky to talk about why Hamilton wrote the scathing letter, and how it played into the politics of the time, just weeks before that year's election.Lindsay's new book is "Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic"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.comYou can also find our newsletter, merch store, transcripts, and lot more on our site.Get 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
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Oct 22, 2024 • 19min
Reagan's Age and "Youth and Inexperience" Quip (1984)
It's October 22nd. This day in 1984, Ronald Reagan served up one of the most memorable lines in political history when he said that he would not "exploit, for political purposes, my opponents youth and inexperience."Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why the line was so effective, and how deep the concerns over Reagan's mental fitness really were in the 1984 election.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.comYou can also find our newsletter, merch store, transcripts, and lot more on our site.Get 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
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Oct 20, 2024 • 34min
2024 Election Sunday: Trump Is Addled, The New Dark Money
On Sundays between now and the election, we're going to dip into the 2024 race to talk about the latest events -- plus offer some historical perspective.And these will all be video episodes! So if you'd like to watch the conversation, visit our YouTube page.www.youtube.com/@ThisDayPodToday, Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the increasingly addled nature of Trump's rallies; how Howard U is treating the Kamala run; and a very unfortunate reference to Arnold Palmer's penis size.Then they're joined by Dave O'Brien of RepresentUS to talk about the new money flowing into this year's election.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.comYou can also find our newsletter, merch store, transcripts, and lot more on our site.Get 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
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Oct 17, 2024 • 26min
A Brief History Of Election TV Ads (Part 2)
We continue our look at the history of television ads in American elections. This episode, how ads got so negative, and who watches TV ads anymore anyway?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.comYou can also find our newsletter, merch store, transcripts, and lot more on our site.Get 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
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Oct 15, 2024 • 20min
A Brief History Of Election TV Ads (Part 1)
As we wrap up our very informal "media ecosystem week" we take a look at the history of television ads in American elections. This episode, how Madison Avenue execs crafted the first ads for Eisenhower, and how the Johnson "Daisy" ad changed the game in 1964.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.comYou can also find our newsletter, merch store, transcripts, and lot more on our site.Get 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
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Oct 13, 2024 • 49min
2024 Election Sunday: Obama Scolds, A Podcast Election?
On Sundays between now and the election, we're going to dip into the 2024 race to talk about the latest events -- plus offer some historical perspective.And these will all be video episodes! So if you'd like to watch the conversation, visit our YouTube page.www.youtube.com/@ThisDayPodToday, Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the coin-flip nature of the race, Barack Obama's scolding message to Black men, and more.Then they're joined by Nayeema Raza, co-host of Semafor's Mixed Signals podcast.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.comYou can also find our newsletter, merch store, transcripts, and lot more on our site.Get 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
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Oct 10, 2024 • 33min
FOX News's First Broadcast (1996) w/ Josh Levin
We're kicking off a series of episodes about the media environment during the election season. Today, a look at the birth of FOX News Channel.Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Slate's Josh Levin to talk about the launch of FOX News in October 1996. They discuss how the tensions between journalism and partisanship were present in the channel from the very beginning -- but got supercharged with the 2000 election and the post-9/11 Bush presidency.Josh's new season of Slow Burn is called "The Rise Of Fox News" 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.comYou can also find our newsletter, merch store, transcripts, and lot more on our site.Get 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
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Oct 8, 2024 • 18min
McCain Suspends Campaign To Deal With Financial Crisis (2008)
It's October 8th. This week in 2008, John McCain announced that he was suspending his campaign in order to focus on dealing with the fallout of the financial crisis.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why McCain felt it was necessary to stop running for president -- and how the move ultimately backfired on him.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.comYou can also find our newsletter, merch store, transcripts, and lot more on our site.Get 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
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Oct 6, 2024 • 37min
2024 Election Sunday: Cross-Party Endorsements, A Race In Stasis
On Sundays between now and the election, we're going to dip into the 2024 race to talk about the latest events -- plus offer some historical perspective.And these will all be video episodes! So if you'd like to watch the conversation, visit our YouTube page.www.youtube.com/@ThisDayPodToday, Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss Liz Cheney's endorsement of Kamala Harris, whether notable endorsements change the election, and why this race feels like it's in a bit of a state of stasis.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.comYou can also find our newsletter, merch store, transcripts, and lot more on our site.Get 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
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Oct 3, 2024 • 23min
October Surprise! LIVE w/ Josh Gondelman (Part 2)
It's the October before a presidential election, which means that some final twists and turns are surely on the way.Jody, NIki, and Kellie were recently joined by comedian Josh Gondelman at This Day's first ever live show, at WBUR's CitySpace in Boston. They talked about the history of October Surprises, from gaffes to unforseen world events, to pure shenanigans.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.comYou can also find our newsletter, merch store, transcripts, and lot more on our site.Get 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
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