

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

Jun 9, 2022 • 56min
Paired: Nuclear Mishaps (w/ Radio Diaries)
For the next few episodes, we’re re-posting some of our favorite recent conversations — alongside episodes from fellow Radiotopia shows that cover the same topic or theme.
Today, our episode about the time the Air Force almost detonated nuclear weapons in Goldsboro, NC — paired with the Radio Diaries episode about a near-calamitous nuclear missile accident in Arkansas.
Be sure to check out Radio Diaries wherever you get your podcasts!
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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

Jun 7, 2022 • 37min
The Oprah-Oz Conundrum (from Oprahdemics)
Dr. Mehmet Oz has secured the GOP nomination for Senate in Pennsylvania. On our sister show Oprahdemics, Kellie Carter Jackson and Leah Wright Rigueur discuss his very dubious medical track record, how much Oprah Winfrey is responsible for promoting his brand, and whether she has any obligation to speak out about his political life.
Check out Oprahdemics wherever you get your podcasts — and join us for an Oprahdemics live show on June 15th in New York City as part of the Tribeca Film Festival!
/////
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

Jun 5, 2022 • 18min
Rosey Grier's Needlepoint for Men (1968)
It’s June 6th. This day in 1968, Robert Kennedy is assassinated, and the gunman is first tackled by former NFL player Rosey Grier.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Grier was on the scene, and Grier’s improbable and varied path through different parts of politics, media and society — including his turn as an advocate for needlepoint.
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

Jun 2, 2022 • 14min
The Dominion of Melchizedek (1993)
It’s June 2nd. This day in 1993, the very-fake nation known as “The Dominion Of Melchizedek” received official recognition from the Central African Republic. The Dominion was a nation set up to commit bank fraud, but now it was formally recognized as a sovereign state.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how Melchizedek was able to exploit a number of legal loopholes to establish itself — and how the scheme brought up all sorts of deeper questions about politics, religion, and more.
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

May 31, 2022 • 18min
The Night Of The Johnstown Flood (1889)
It’s May 31st. This day in 1889, a wall of water rushing down the Conemaugh River wiped out the mountain town of Johnstown, PA. It was one of the worst “natural” disasters in American history, and due in large part to negligence by wealthy developers.
Jody, Niki and Kellie discuss the details of the flood, the class dynamics, and how the incident changed liability law. Plus: what to make of David McCullough, who wrote his first book about the flood.
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

May 29, 2022 • 15min
The Randolph Freedpeople (1846)
It’s May 29th. This day in 1846, 13 years after being granted their freedom, a group of formerly-enslaved Virginians arrive in Ohio to settle on land that they’d secured in a long court battle.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the plight of the “Randolph Freedpeople,” why their former owner John Randolph willed them their freedom, and the legacy of this group in Ohio today.
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

May 26, 2022 • 16min
Obama Apologizes, Sort Of, For Hiroshima (2016)
It’s May 26th. This day in 2016, President Obama offered remarks at a memorial ceremony in Hiroshima, Japan.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss Obama’s speech, whether it constituted a proper acknowledgment of the US’s use of nuclear weapons, and how Obama grappled with the political dimensions of his “apology tour.”
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

May 24, 2022 • 15min
Nellie Taft's Stroke (1909)
It’s May 23rd. This day in 1909, Helen “Nellie” Taft, wife of President William Howard Taft, suffered a stroke that caused her to retreat from the White House to recover.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how Nellie was a highly influential figure, and how her absence may have significantly effected the course of the Taft presidency. Plus, Jody floats a theory…
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

May 22, 2022 • 13min
The Potato Beetle Wars (1950)
It’s May 22nd. This day in 1950, East German farmers begin to report that the Colorado Potato Beetle has invaded their crops, causing devastation and fueling rumors that the infestation is part of an American plot.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the Beetles came to Germany, why the presence of the pest was so easy to propagandize, and the history of entomological warfare.
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

May 19, 2022 • 15min
Tennessee Finally Teaches Evolution (1967)
It’s May 19th. This day in 1967, the Tennessee state legislature finally repealed the Butler Act, the law that had been on the books since the 1920s banning the teaching of evolution in public schools.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the law was finally repealed, and how many of the myths about the law’s passing — and the famous “Scopes monkey trial” — continue to this day.
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