

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

Jul 20, 2021 • 14min
Vanessa Williams Loses Her Crown (1984)
It’s July 20th. This day in 1984, the Miss America pageant issued an ultimatum to Vanessa Williams, the first Black Miss America, to relinquish her title, over the impending publication of nude photographs.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the moral panic over the photographs, how a photographer misled Williams, and the intersection of race, sexuality, and pornography.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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, Executive Producer at Radiotopia
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jul 18, 2021 • 17min
Detroit Goes Bankrupt (2013)
It’s July 18h. This day in 2013, the city of Detroit declared bankruptcy.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how a city that was once the country’s fourth-largest ran out of money, and the way the path to recovery pitted civic interests against each other.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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, Executive Producer at Radiotopia
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jul 15, 2021 • 15min
Mary Lincoln's Money (1870)
It’s July 14h. This day in 1870, Congress authorized a yearly pension of $3000 for Mary Todd Lincoln.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why it took years for the pension to be rewarded, and the many competing narratives about Mary Lincoln and money.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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, Executive Producer at Radiotopia
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jul 13, 2021 • 13min
A Native-Confederate Alliance (1861)
It’s July 13th. This day in 1861, a treaty is signed between the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes and the Confederate States of America.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why some Native American tribes aligned with the Confederacy, how this complicates the story of the Civil War, and more.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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, Executive Producer at Radiotopia
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jul 11, 2021 • 16min
FDR Wants More (1940)
It’s July 11th. This day in 1940, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt has a conversation with a supreme court justice to explore whether it would be legal for him to run for a third term.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the rationale for seeking another four years — and another four years after that — plus how the convention of two-term presidencies eventually became established law.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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, Executive Producer at Radiotopia
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jul 8, 2021 • 14min
The Roswell Crash (1947)
It’s July 8th. This day (July 7th actually) in 1947, two ranchers stumbled across a downed flying object in the middle of the Nevada desert.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the discovery of the “mysterious” object (it was a weather balloon) and why it tapped into a rising tide of conspiracies about UFOs and alien visits.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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, Executive Producer at Radiotopia
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jul 6, 2021 • 15min
The Death of Marsha P Johnson (1992)
It’s July 6th. This day in 1992, the body of Marsha P Johnson was found floating in the Hudson River off of New York City.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the death and life of Johnson, who for decades had been a central part of the drag scene in New York City and a key activist for gay rights, AIDS awareness, and more.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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, Executive Producer at Radiotopia
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jul 4, 2021 • 17min
Garrison's 4th of July Defiance (1854)
It’s July 4th. This day in 1854, abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison burned a copy of the constitution at a rally in Boston, calling it a “covenant with death and an agreement with Hell.”
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss Garrison’s act, and how it folded into a fierce debate about whether the constitution is a pro- or anti-slavery document, or somewhere in between.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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, Executive Producer at Radiotopia
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jul 1, 2021 • 19min
Old Enough To Fight, Old Enough To Vote (1971)
It’s July 1st. This day 1971, North Carolina voted to ratify the 26th amendment, which lowered the national voting age from 21 to 18.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the long fight to lower the voting age, and how it was often tied to an argument about the age at which Americans were sent to war. Plus: should the age be 17 or 16 or even lower?
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
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, Executive Producer at Radiotopia
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jun 29, 2021 • 20min
Moneybomb! (2008)
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It’s June 29th. This day (actually, June 30th) in 2008, Hillary Clinton raised over $6 million online in one day, part of a growing trend of fundraising events known as “moneybombs.”
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how internet giving changed political fundraising, even for candidates who weren’t thought of as particularly online.
Find a transcript of this episode at: https://tinyurl.com/esoterichistory
This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.
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, Executive Producer at Radiotopia
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices