

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 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)
Want to see the “Big List of Ideas” document we use to plan the show? Become a Radiotopia member today, let us know, and we’ll give you a glimpse behind the scenes.
Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.
Donate today at https://on.prx.org/3wl9pWn
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

Jun 27, 2021 • 21min
Joseph Smith's Assassination (1844) w/ Spencer W McBride
Want to see the “Big List of Ideas” document we use to plan the show? Become a Radiotopia member today, let us know, and we’ll give you a glimpse behind the scenes.
Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.
Donate today at https://on.prx.org/3wl9pWn
It’s June 27th. This day in 1844, Mormon leader Joseph Smith was killed by a mob that stormed a jail in Carthage, Illinois. Earlier that spring, Smith had announced his candidacy for president.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Spencer W McBride to talk about Smith’s political ambitions, his surprisingly progressive platform, and his assassination.
Spencer W. McBride’s latest book is “Joseph Smith for President.” You can find his work at spencerwmcbride.com
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

Jun 24, 2021 • 17min
Sanford Hikes the Appalachian Trail (2009)
Want to see the “Big List of Ideas” document we use to plan the show? Become a Radiotopia member today, let us know, and we’ll give you a glimpse behind the scenes.
Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.
Donate today at https://on.prx.org/3wl9pWn
It’s June 24th. This day in 2009, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford is exposed for having an affair with a woman in Argentina.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the scandal unfolded, and how Sanford’s team tried to use the feeble excuse that he was “hiking the Appalachian trail” when he was in fact in Buenos Aires.
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

Jun 22, 2021 • 16min
Mandela in Boston (1990)
Want to see the “Big List of Ideas” document we use to plan the show? Become a Radiotopia member today, let us know, and we’ll give you a glimpse behind the scenes.
Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.
Donate today at https://on.prx.org/3wl9pWn
It’s June 22nd. This day in 1990, South African leader Nelson Mandela visited Boston, Massachusetts, as part of a worldwide “thank you” tour after being released from prison.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the anti-apartheid movement in the United States, how it tapped into domestic civil rights battles, and why Massachusetts in particular help a special place for Mandela.
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

Jun 20, 2021 • 20min
The Len Bias Law (1986) w/ Adam McKay
Want to see the “Big List of Ideas” document we use to plan the show? Become a Radiotopia member today, let us know, and we’ll give you a glimpse behind the scenes.
Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.
Donate today at https://on.prx.org/3wl9pWn
It’s June 20th. This day in 1986, news of the death of basketball star Len Bias is starting to spread around the country. Bias died of a cocaine overdose just days after being drafted by the Boston Celtics.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by director and producer Adam McKay (The Big Short, Anchorman) to talk about how Bias’s death fueled a narrative about the dangers of cocaine and crack. Later that summer, politicians would rush through punitive drug laws that created mandatory minimum sentences and huge disparities between how crack and powder cocaine were treated.
Adam recently hosted a podcast series “Death at the Wing” which features an episode on Len Bias. Jody served as executive producer. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts! https://www.threeuncannyfour.com/show/death-at-the-wing/
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

Jun 17, 2021 • 17min
A Rumor, An Exhumation (1991)
Want to see the “Big List of Ideas” document we use to plan the show? Become a Radiotopia member today, let us know, and we’ll give you a glimpse behind the scenes.
Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.
Donate today at https://on.prx.org/3wl9pWn
It’s June 17th. This day in 1991, authorities in Louisville, KY dug up the body of former president Zachary Taylor, who had died in 1850. They were trying to put to rest a rumor that Taylor had been poisoned.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why one woman’s theory that Taylor was killed was able to convince everyone to go forward with the exhumation, the gruesome details of Taylor’s death, and what the body revealed when it was dug up 140 years later.
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

Jun 15, 2021 • 26min
Borat Before Borat (1970) w/ Jill Lepore
Want to see the “Big List of Ideas” document we use to plan the show? Become a Radiotopia member today, let us know, and we’ll give you a glimpse behind the scenes.
Your support helps foster independent, artist-owned podcasts and award-winning stories.
Donate today at https://on.prx.org/3wl9pWn
It’s June 15th. This day in 1970, Russian television reporter Valentin Zorin aired an episode of his series “Masters Without Masks.” For decades, Zorin was the primary source by which Russians understood what life in America was like.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by historian Jill Lepore to discuss Zorin’s influence and his mix of truth-telling and propaganda — and whether there are any voices like his today.
Zorin’s story is the subject of an episode in the latest season of Jill Lepore’s excellent podcast “The Last Archive.” Check it out here: http://podcasts.pushkin.fm/thisday
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


