

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

Feb 14, 2023 • 14min
Gandhi Meets the US Civil Rights Movement (1936)
It’s February 14th. This day in 1936, a delegation of US civil rights activists is touring India, where they would meet with Mahatma Gandhi to discuss non-violent resistance.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the visit and what the two resistance movement had to learn from each other.
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Find out more at thisdaypod.com
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
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Feb 12, 2023 • 13min
Utah Grants And Un-Grants Women The Right To Vote (1870)
It’s February 12th. This day in 1870, women in Utah become the first in the country to cast ballots in elections. But after granting women the right to vote, Utah then took it back a generation later.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why Utah’s move towards women’s suffrage was tied up in questions of polygamy, and how rights can be taken back just as easily as they are enshrined.
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.com
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

Feb 9, 2023 • 26min
The Beating of Isaac Woodard (1946) w/ Matthew Delmont
It’s February 9th. In 1946, a recently-returned World War II vet by the name of Isaac Woodard is beaten by police, an incident that became a national civil rights rallying cry.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by special guest Matthew Delmont of Dartmouth University to discuss how Black WWII vets were treated when they returned home, and how in many cases their service made them a target.
Be sure to check out Matt’s book “Half American.”
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.com
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

Feb 7, 2023 • 14min
Tractorcade! (1979)
It’s February 7th. This day in 1979, thousands of tractors descended on Washington, D.C. as part of a protest over agricultural policy.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why farmers were upset with the Carter administration’s economic policy, how D.C. residents felt about the tractors — and what happened when a blizzard descended on the city.
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.com
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

Feb 5, 2023 • 22min
Huey Long Invents a Bank Holiday (1933)
It’s February 4th. This day in 1933, Louisiana Senator Huey Long invents a holiday out of whole cloth in order to close banks and prevent a bank run.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the bank needed to close, and how Long settled on commemorating the day in 1917 when the US cut off diplomatic relations with Germany.
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.com
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

Feb 2, 2023 • 12min
Laddie Boy! First Celebrity Presidential Pet (1929)
It’s February 2nd. This day in 1929, Laddie Boy died and the country mourned.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss Warren Harding’s dog, and why he was such a beloved celebrity.
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.com
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

Jan 31, 2023 • 17min
Carter Hacks Iowa (1976)
It’s January 31st. This day in 1976, Jimmy Carter is coming out of Iowa having rocketed to the top of the Democratic nomination field. This is in large part because he was the first to recognize the particular way in which the Iowa caucus system favored a certain kind of politics.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why Carter was such a great fit for the Iowa style of campaign politics.
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.com
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

Jan 29, 2023 • 27min
Elian Gonzalez, Stuck in the US (2000) w/ Geraldo Cadava
It’s January 29th. This day in 2000, the Cuban relatives of Elian Gonzalez are in the United States arguing that the six-year-old child should be returned to Cuba — while his relatives in Miami and many in the Cuban-American community are fighting for him to be kept in the U.S.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Northwestern history professor Geraldo Cadava to discuss why the Gonzalez story became such a flashpoint, and how it played into the political moment.
Be sure to subscribe to Gerry’s excellent newsletter Latinos in Depth!
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.com
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

Jan 26, 2023 • 25min
The Black Panther Breakfast Program (1969) w/ Mary Phillips
It’s January 26th. This day in 1969, free meals are being handed out to kids in Oakland, California as part of the Black Panther Party Free for Children Breakfast Program.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Mary Phillips, history professor at Lehman College, to discuss why the panthers started the program, how it reflected the community work they were doing — and how it subverted gender roles within the organization.
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.com
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

Jan 24, 2023 • 16min
The Billy Possum Craze (1909)
It’s January 24th. This day in 1909, the administration of William Howard Taft has gone completely possum crazy — and is desperately trying to make “Billy Possum” a mascot along the lines of the Teddy Bear.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Taft was so infatuated with the possum, and the key differences between the origin stories of the Teddy Bear and Billy Possum marketing campaigns.
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.com
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