This Day

It's July 15th. This day in 1863, photographer Timothy O'Sullivan has taken a photo of dead soldiers at Gettysburg called "A Harvest of Death." It would become one of the most famous photos in American history -- and O'Sullivan would soon be contracted to travel west and photograph the American frontier.Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by writer Robert Sullivan to talk about "A Harvest Of Death" and why Sullivan is so drawn to the work of Timoth O'Sullivan.Robert Sullivan's new book is available now -- it's called "Double Exposure: Resurveying the West with Timothy O'Sullivan, America's Most Mysterious War Photographer"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.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 the heart of the summer, which means that our crew is taking some breaks here and there. In the meantime, we'll bring you some favorite episodes from the vaults -- and we'll be back with new episodes very soon!]]It’s October 12th. This day in 1863, fighting is breaking out in Jones County, Mississippi, as a group of southern farmers starts to rebel against the Confederacy.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why this group felt compelled to rebel, what their fight was really about — and what the 2016 movie starring Matthew McConoughey got right and wrong about the incident.Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll be sending out links to all the stuff we recommended later this week.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. Our website is thisdaypod.com 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 the heart of the summer, which means that our crew is taking some breaks here and there. In the meantime, we'll bring you some favorite episodes from the vaults -- and we'll be back with new episodes very soon!]]It’s December 29th. This day in 1975, a bomb, planted in a luggage locker, exploded at NYC’s LaGuardia Airport, killing 11 and injuring 74. If it had gone off just minutes earlier, it would have killed hundreds more.Jody and Niki discuss who was responsible for the bombing, the prevalence of scattered violence in the 1970s, and why New York City was often the place in which conflicts from around the world would play out.Here’s our holiday book gift guide!Sign up for our newsletter! Get your hands on This Day merch!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 RadiotopiaThis Day In Esoteric Political History is produced by Jody Avirgan’s Roulette Productions. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

[[It's the heart of the summer, which means that our crew is taking some breaks here and there. In the meantime, we'll bring you some favorite episodes from the vaults -- and we'll be back with new episodes very soon!]]It’s September 26th. This day in 1983, Massachusetts Senator Michael Dukakis held a press conference to announce an enormous and ambitious infrastructure project to take a roadway that cut through the center of Boston and move it underground.Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by reporter Ian Coss to discuss the initial plans for what would come to be known as “The Big Dig,” and why the project ended up taking decades, and billions of dollars, more than expected — and what it says about ambitious infrastructure projects in America.Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll be sending out links to all the stuff we recommended later this week.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. Our website is thisdaypod.com 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 2nd. This day in 1864, President Lincoln signed a law declaring the chamber previously used as the House of Representatives to be a statuary hall, featuring two statues submitted by each state.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the kinds of statues that got submitted, what kind of story of American history it told, and how that has started to shift in recent years.Want to test your knowledge of who is in the statuary hall? Check out the quiz put together by researcher Jacob Feldman! It's in our newsletter, which you can sign up for 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 @thisdaypod and check out our YouTube page!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 June 30th. This day in 1982, Ronald Reagan signed a bill re-authorizing the Voting Rights Act, among a lot of pressure to pass the civil rights legislation -- but also a growing legal strategy to undermine the enforcement of the provisions.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Reagan ultimately supported the act, and how legal advisors - including future Supreme Court Justice John Roberts - planted the seeds for taking the teeth out of the act.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.comGet in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypod and check out our YouTube page!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

Ahead of this week's very weird debate, we take a look at the weird history of how political debates have been structured in the U.S. -- from format, to audience, to the role of the moderators.If you want to watch this episode, the full video is up on our YouTube page!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

Ahead of this week's very weird debate, we take a look at the weird history of how political debates have been structured in the U.S. -- from format, to audience, to the role of the moderators.If you want to watch this episode, the full video is up on our YouTube page!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

Welcome to Third Party Week! From time to time this election year, we're going to do some special series that highlight the rhythm of an election cycle. This week, we are looking at third parties: who runs for a third party bid, who votes for a third party, and how much do third party candidates really matter?Today, we bring you an episode we did in the fall of 2021 about Ross Perot. His presence looms large over the story of the 1992 election, but he'd actually dropped out for much of that race. In this episode, Jody, Niki, and Kellie look at the moment he worked his way back onto the stage - literally, at a memorable three-way debate.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

Welcome to Third Party Week! From time to time this election year, we're going to do some special series that highlight the rhythm of an election cycle. This week, we are looking at third parties: who runs for a third party bid, who votes for a third party, and how much do third party candidates really matter?Today: The 1980 election is remembered for Jimmy Carter's "malaise" and the fresh face of Ronald Reagan reviving the Republican party. But there was a third party candidate, John Anderson, trying to provide a sensible, middle-path, alternative to what he saw as Carter and Reagan's extremism.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