This Day

It’s August 22nd. This day in 1831, Nathaniel “Nat” Turner is leading a rebellion in Southampton, Virginia — what would become perhaps the most famous slave revolt in the Antebellum South. But there’s a hidden story. Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Vanessa Holden of the University of Kentucky to discuss how it was the larger community in Southampton, particularly women, who made the rebellion possible. Vanessa is the author of Surviving Southampton: African American Women and Resistance in Nat Turner's Community — find it wherever you get your books! 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

It’s August 19th. This day in 1791, Benjamin Banneker sent an advance copy of his almanac to Thomas Jefferson. Along with the almanac, he included a letter pleading with Jefferson to recognize slavery as a moral wrong. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss Banneker’s enlightenment-era appeal, Jefferson’s reaction, and how the correspondence between the two helped galvanize the abolitionist movement. 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

It’s August 17th. This day in 1915, a Jewish man by the name of Leo Frank was kidnapped from jail and hanged by a mob in Marietta, Georgia. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the incident helped galvanize a resurgent Ku Klux Klan, and how much anti-Semitism should be part of the story of lynchings and mob violence in the early part of the 20th century. 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

It’s August 15th. This episode, we discuss three notable events from this day in 1977: a young woman’s protest over the pledge of allegiance; a scramble for photos of Elvis’s dead body; and possible alien contact. Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Slate’s Josh Levin, host of the new series “One Year.” He has an episode devoted to these three events, and the series as a whole takes a look at why 1977 was such a consequential and interesting year. You can listen to “One Year” from Slate right now, wherever you get your podcasts. And make sure to catch the episode on Alex Haley’s “Roots,” which features our own Kellie Carter Jackson! 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

It’s August 12th. This day in 1892, Lizzie Borden is arrested for the murder of her father and step-mother, accused of hacking them to death with an axe in a gruesome murder that caused a media sensation. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the story of Lizzie Borden has continued to fascinate Americans, from articles to movies and podcasts, right up through the present — and what that says about our obsession with true crime. 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

It’s August 10th. This day in 2006, Virginia Senator George Allen is caught on tape referring to S.R. Sidarth, a young man filming his event, as “macaca.” This video became an early viral moment and helped lead to Allen’s defeat later that fall — showing how viral video could transform politics. Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Peter Hamby of Snapchat and Puck News to discuss the incident, how the internet was changing politics in the mid-2000s, and whether Allen’s comments would have been so controversial today. 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

It’s August 8th. This day in 1998, two massive truck bombs detonated outside American embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. They were the work of Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Karen Greenberg of the Fordham Law School Center on National Security to discuss why the embassies were targeted, the massive intelligence response, and what clues were missed about the rise of Al-Qaeda. Karen is the host of the “Vital Interests” podcast and her new book is “Subtle Tools: The Dismantling of American Democracy from the War on Terror to Donald Trump.” 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

It’s August 5th. This day in 1981, President Ronald Reagan fired more than 11,000 air traffic controllers, who had gone on strike over failed negotiations for a new contract. In addition to firing them, he banned the workers from ever holding federal jobs again. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how this moment reflected and shifted a moment when American unions were in decline and employers — both at the federal and private level — were being emboldened in their negotiations with workers. 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

It’s August 3rd. This day in 1920, the Universal Negro Improvement Association is holding a massive convention and rally in New York City, pushing a pan-African vision of economic empowerment for Black people. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the UNIA’s leader, Marcus Garvey, and how he fits into the long history of abolitionist and militant efforts in America and beyond. 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

It’s August 1st. This day in 1916 (July 30th, in fact) a massive explosion rocked New York Harbor, shattering windows in Times Square and causing tremors as far away as Philadelphia. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the explosion on “Black Tom Island,” and what we came to learn about the German spy network that caused it. This explosion also led to the rise of the FBI and national intelligence efforts to more proactively anticipate crimes. 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