Podcast
This Day (An America 250 History Show)
Hosted by Jody Avirgan & Radiotopia · EN
To mark our 250th birthday, “This Day” presents "50 Weeks That Shaped America," a series of deep dives into the stories that brought us to this moment.
"This Day" takes you beyond the head-spinning headlines of today and into the unexpected historical moments that have shaped American politics and culture. 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.
25episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Mariel Boatlift: The Anti-Immigrant Playbook (Part 1)
3d ago00:32:05Tap to summarizeWe continue our look at the 1980 Cuban migrant crisis by discussing how it became a political nightmare for Jimmy Carter -- not to mention a young Bill Clinton -- and how it set the template for anti-immigrant rhetoric in the decades since.Join our America250 newsletter community! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying subscribers get access to early, ad-free versions of the show. Plus bonus features throughout the year. To support our work and get access to everything, subscribe now.This Day 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.comGet in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypodOur team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/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
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Mariel Boatlift: Cuba In Crisis (Part 1)
5d ago00:39:11Tap to summarizeFor the twenty-second installment of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we go to Miami, Florida in the spring and summer of 1980. With the Cuban economy in crisis and many Cubans trying to flee the country, Fidel Castro declared that anyone who wanted to escape was free to do so -- as long as they were picked up by a boat from Florida. The ensuing flood of refugees -- and the language that was used to describe them -- set the modern template for how we treat and talk about immigrants.Join our America250 newsletter community! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying subscribers get access to early, ad-free versions of the show. Plus bonus features throughout the year. To support our work and get access to everything, subscribe now.This Day 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.comGet in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypodOur team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/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
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Reckoning With Racial Violence (Some Sunay Context)
1w ago00:24:07Tap to summarizeThis past week, we talked about the Tulsa Massacre of 1921. For today's "Sunday Context" episode we jump a couple generations ahead to the summer of 1967, when president Johnson convened the “Kerner Commission” to look into the roots of violence and unrest in America, largely in Black and brown communities around the country. The report came out next year and offered a frank and damning assessment of the complicity of white Americans. But it's recommendations were largely ignored and suppresed.Featuring Jelani Cobb, author of an updated version, “The Essential Kerner Commission Report,” out now.Join our America250 newsletter community! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying subscribers get access to early, ad-free versions of the show. Plus bonus features throughout the year. To support our work and get access to everything, subscribe now.This Day 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.comGet in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypodOur team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/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
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Tulsa Massacre: Erasure (Part 2)
1w ago00:41:17Tap to summarizeWe continue our conversation about the 1921 race riot in Tulsa, Oklahoma with a depiction of the descruction over two days, and how just as quickly the story of Tulsa got covered up.Join our America250 newsletter community! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying subscribers get access to early, ad-free versions of the show. Plus bonus features throughout the year. To support our work and get access to everything, subscribe now.This Day 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.comGet in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypodOur team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/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
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Tulsa Massacre: Life On Black Wall Street (Part 1)
2w ago00:35:51Tap to summarizeFor the twenty-first installment of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we go to Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1921, and trace two days of violence and terror by the White residents of the city on the community living in "Black Wall Street." We discuss life in Tulsa, how the violence kicked off, and why the story of the Tulsa Massacre was supressed for so long.Join our America250 newsletter community! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying subscribers get access to early, ad-free versions of the show. Plus bonus features throughout the year. To support our work and get access to everything, subscribe now.This Day 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.comGet in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypodOur team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/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
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Memorial Day: Remembering Vietnam [Some Sunday Context]
2w ago00:17:34Tap to summarizeFor this week's "Sunday Context" episode we bring you an episode from the archives about the fight to create a Vietnam War memorial, and how we remember in the Forever War era. Originally aired in 2021.Join our America250 newsletter community! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying subscribers get access to early, ad-free versions of the show. Plus bonus features throughout the year. To support our work and get access to everything, subscribe now.This Day 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.comGet in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypodOur team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/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
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Golden Spike: What The Railroads Built and Destroyed (Part Two)
2w ago00:32:16Tap to summarizeWe continue our conversation about the transcontinental railroad with a look at the impact of a connected America -- and what it means to be promised a new technology that will reshape everything.Join our America250 newsletter community! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying subscribers get access to early, ad-free versions of the show. Plus bonus features throughout the year. To support our work and get access to everything, subscribe now.This Day 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.comGet in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypodOur team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/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
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Golden Spike: The Race West (Part One)
3w ago00:43:02Tap to summarizeFor the twentieth installment of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we look at the moment that East and West were connected by railroad. Throughout the 1850s and 60s, railroad barons and the U.S. government worked to take over land push rail infrastructure across the plains, through the mountains and more. Along the way, some made huge riches and others met tragedy. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how railroads started to transform the country.Join our America250 newsletter community! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying subscribers get access to early, ad-free versions of the show. Plus bonus features throughout the year. To support our work and get access to everything, subscribe now.This Day 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.comGet in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypodOur team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/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
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Archie Bunker Gives Voice To The Silent Majortiy [Some Sunday Context]
3w ago00:32:32Tap to summarizeThis past week we discussed the spring of 1970, when the massacre at Kent State and the Hardhat Riots in NYC showed how the "silent majority" was ascendent in Nixon's America. Today, a conversation about the cultural force that most represented that: Archie Bunker on All In The Family.Join our America250 newsletter community! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying subscribers get access to early, ad-free versions of the show. Plus bonus features throughout the year. To support our work and get access to everything, subscribe now.This Day 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.comGet in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypodOur team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/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
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Silent Majority: Nixon and the Hardhat Riots (Part Two)
3w ago00:34:33Tap to summarizeOur conversation about the "silent majority" continues with a look at the so-called Hard Hat Riots in New York City, and how the idea of a conservative backlash politics began to coalesce.Join our America250 newsletter community! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying subscribers get access to early, ad-free versions of the show. Plus bonus features throughout the year. To support our work and get access to everything, subscribe now.This Day 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.comGet in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. Follow us on social @thisdaypodOur team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/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
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