This Day (An America 250 History Show)

As we take a mid-summer-post-4th-of-July break, we are bringing you some of our favorite episodes from the archives about the Revolutionary era. We'll be back with new "50 Weeks That Shaped America" episodes soon!

It’s October 4th. In 1776, Benjamin Franklin is headed to France as the Continental Congress’s first diplomat, looking to secure support for the American independence movement.

Jody and Kellie are joined by Mike Duncan, history podcaster behind series such as “Revolutions” and “The Fall of Rome.” They discuss Franklin’s diplomatic goal, his taste for the Parisian nightlife — and why the values of th...

As we take a mid-summer-post-4th-of-July break, we are bringing you some of our favorite episodes from the archives about the Revolutionary era. We'll be back with new "50 Weeks That Shaped America" episodes soon!

It's April 1775. This day in 1775, the Revolutionary War is sparked when British troops enter the towns of Lexington and Concord. But later that same day there's a third battle in a third town that is often forgotten.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss what happened in the town of Menotomy, how the fighting there was much more brutal than in Lexington and...

As we take a mid-summer-post-4th-of-July break, we are bringing you some of our favorite episodes from the archives about the Revolutionary era. We'll be back with new "50 Weeks That Shaped America" episodes soon!

It's October 22nd. This day in 1999, in Annapolis, MD, the last of the so-called "Liberty Trees" was cut down.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the original liberty trees that served as gathering spots for political ideas to be shared -- and political violence to play out -- during the American revolution. And they make the case for bringing back gatherings-under-trees as...

As we take a mid-summer-post-4th-of-July break, we are bringing you some of our favorite episodes from the archives about the Revolutionary era. We'll be back with new "50 Weeks That Shaped America" episodes soon!

It’s December 19th. This day in 1732, Benjamin Franklin first published “Poor Richard’s Almanack” — his book of weather forecast, practical advice, and all sorts of aphorisms about living your best life.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why the Almanack became such a sensation in Colonial America, and why his advice still feels like it could find an audience today.

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We're so excited to present an episode of one of our favorite shows: The Rest Is History. In this episode, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook explore the life and legacy of George Washington.

Be sure to subscribe to TRIH -- and join their club for all sorts of great extras -- at TheRestIsHistory.com

We'll be back with more new episodes soon!

Coming off the 4th of July weekend, we check in on how the big America 250 celebrations went, how we marked the day, and answer some listener questions about this year, and this show. Thanks to everyone who checked in, we've got a few special things lined up over the next couple weeks -- and of course "50 Weeks That Shaped America" continues through the summer and into the second half of the year!

For this 4th of July weekend, our "50 Weeks That Shaped America" series lands in, no surprise, 1776 and the signing of the Declaration of Independence. 250 years ago, a group writing assignment fell in Thomas Jefferson's lap, and he drafted a document that spurred a revolution.

Jody, Niki and Kellie travelled up to Boston to WBUR's Cityspace and were joined by A.J. Jacobs, author of "The Year of Living Constitutionally" to talk about how the document came together, some of the key changes that were made to it -- and how it has served as a guiding light...

We continue our 250-year look at the most significant works of history by looking at the rise of popular presidential biography, and the correctives to history offered over the last 15 years. Plus, books that have aged well, aged poorly, and the ones we'd save from the flames...

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This week, as we head to the 4th of July weekend, we are bringing you a special two-part episode that provides a capstone for our month-long collaboration with Random House about the books that have shaped American history.

Over almost two hours, we took a 250-year-tour of the books that shaped this country’s history. Niki, Kellie and Jody were joined by Pulitzer-prize winning presidential historian Jon Meacham, who is also Niki’s fellow Vanderbilt professor.

We tried to touch on a lot of books, and also group them into basic schools of thought that we c...

Hanif Abdurraqib and Javier Zamora both float between poetry, memoir, essay, spoken word and more -- finding the right form to explore their personal experience within American history. They join Jody Avirgan to discuss their work and its impact.

For the past 250 years of America’s existence, books have been fundamental instruments through which we preserve, interpret, and engage in history as an ongoing practice of free expression.  

At “This Day”, we’re partnering with Random House, the legendary book publisher, to bring you a special, month-long series called “A Nation of Readers.” In this series, we’ll...

Our conversation about the 1969 riots at the Stonewall Inn continues with an account of how the tension ratcheted up that night -- and how the story of that night has been shared and contested over the decades since.

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For the twenty-fifth installment of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we go to June 1969, and New York City’s Greenwich Village. Police raids on the Stonewall Inn, one of the main gay bar’s in NYC, were fairly common. But for a number of reasons, on the night of June 28th, patrons had finally had enough. They pushed back on the police, a crowd formed, someone (maybe?) threw a brick, and a key moment in the gay rights movement was sparked. We talk about the larger context of activism that set the stage for Stonewall, what went down that night — and how th...

A conversation about finding historical inspiration in all sorts of unique places, with Tiya Miles, author of "All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake" and Kathleen DuVal, author of "Native Nations: A Millennium in North America"

For the past 250 years of America’s existence, books have been fundamental instruments through which we preserve, interpret, and engage in history as an ongoing practice of free expression.  

At “This Day”, we’re partnering with Random House, the legendary book publisher, to bring you a special, month-long series called “A Nation of Readers.”...

In part two of our look at the Battle Of Little Bighorn, we discuss what actually went down in Custer's Last Stand, how it was more chaotic than the reports, and how the legend of General Custer has shifted over the years.

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For the twenty-fourth installment of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we go to the Montana Territory in the spring of 1876. General George Custer (and his cinnamon-scented hair) have been sent to the area to defeat the Plains Indians. But at the Battle Of Little Bighorn (aka Custer’s Last Stand) things would go awry. Over two episodes, we discuss the post-Civil-War Westward expansion; how Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse mounted an Indian defense; and how a bloody defeat was spun into a military legend. Plus: How America was celebrating the centennial that year.

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Nate DiMeo, host of "The Memory Palace" podcast and author of "The Memory Palace" book, on the small details that shape the work of history.

For the past 250 years of America’s existence, books have been fundamental instruments through which we preserve, interpret, and engage in history as an ongoing practice of free expression.  

At “This Day”, we’re partnering with Random House, the legendary book publisher, to bring you a special, month-long series called “A Nation of Readers.” In this series, we’ll be talking to an all-star cast of authors -- all published by Random House...

In part two of our conversation about the long shadow of Watergate, we discuss the ways in which Nixon tried to rehabilitate his image -- and how many of the reforms of the Watergate era were tested and exploited in the decades since.

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For the twenty-third installment of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we go to 1974. Of course we had to do an episode on Watergate as part of this series, but in this week’s two-parter we try to paint a picture of what came immediately after the scandal that brought down Nixon. We trace an era of genuine government reform, the decades-long debate over presidential power… and how many of those reforms are being weaponized and outright perverted today. We’re all living in Nixon’s long shadow.

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Isabel Wilkerson, author of "Caste" and "The Warmth of Other Suns" and Tara Westover, author of "Educated," on the power of books and history to expand our horizons.

For the past 250 years of America’s existence, books have been fundamental instruments through which we preserve, interpret, and engage in history as an ongoing practice of free expression.  

At “This Day”, we’re partnering with Random House, the legendary book publisher, to bring you a special, month-long series called “A Nation of Readers.” In this series, we’ll be talking to an all-star cast of authors -- all publishe...

We 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.

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For 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.

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This 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.

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We 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.

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For 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.

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For 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.

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We 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.

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For 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.

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This 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.

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Our 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.

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For the nineteenth installment of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we talk about a fateful week in the spring of 1970, when the anti-Vietnam movement was confronted by a conservative backlash. We discuss the tragedy at Kent State University in Ohio, when four students were killed by National Guard. In the wake of the tragedy, many were shocked but lots of Americans felt that anti-War protesters had gone too far. Richard Nixon would dub this coalition the "silent majortity," and days later in New York City they would be on the streets themselves.

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This past week we discussed the Plessy v Ferguson case, which helped open the door to the Jim Crow era in the American South. Today, a story from 1951 about the efforts to dismantle it -- starting with a group of students walking out of their school over unfair conditions.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how this effort mirrored some of the elements of The Marshall Plan in Europe — and why US attempts to support Latin America generally fell short.

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Our conversation about Plessy vs Ferguson continues with a look at the world that the ruling helped usher in: Jim Crow laws, poll taxes, grandfather clauses, the rise of the KKK and more.

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For the eighteenth installment of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we talk about a landmark Supreme Court case, Plessy v Ferguson, which in 1896 codified the idea of “separate but equal” accomodations for Black and White Americans. We trace the brief moment during Reconstruction when Black citizens in the South gained real rights, and how legislatures and White power structures began to push back. Then we discuss the case itself and the impact of the ruling, including the lone dissent.

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Out conversation about the Golden Gate Bridge continues with the opening of the bridge, and a bunch of people who didn't get enough credit. Plus, what the story says about how we need big ideas even in moments when things feel especially dire.

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For the seventeeth installment of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we travel to California in the 1930s, where San Francisco planners have a big idea — build a massive suspension bridge across the Golden Gate strait. We discuss how the project came together despite the Great Depression, the big egos involved, what the story says about how audacious projects can pull a country out of malaise… and why the bridge is the color it is.

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This past week we discussed the Bay of Pigs fiasco in Cuba, 1961. Today, another episode about JFK' in the very same time period -- when he hosted a couple hundred Latin American diplomats to lay out his vision for the “Alliance for Progress,” an ambitious plan to support democracy and economic development throughout the region.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how this effort mirrored some of the elements of The Marshall Plan in Europe — and why US attempts to support Latin America generally fell short.

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We continue our conversation about the Bay of Pigs invasion with a look at how it all went wrong on the two days of combat in Cuba. Plus, the long-term lessons for JFK, the CIA, and US foreign policy.

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For the sixteenth installment of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we go, for the first time to the Cold War. It’s April 1961, and the US is concerned about Cuba’s new leftist leader, Fidel Castro. The US has a new leader of its own, JFK, who adopts - and adapts - a plan from Eisenhower’s CIA to send a group of renegade Cuban dissidents into the Bay of Pigs to spark a revolution. It does not go well! We get into the botched plans, the rogue CIA, and why you can’t drive a boat over a coral reef.

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For our "Sunday Context" episode, we look at how the Confederacy scrambled to draft a constitution as Civil War broke out in 1861. Plus, a quick follow up and correction about the founder of baseball.

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We continue our conversation about the start of the Civil War with why Fort Sumter was the site of the first battle, and how the fallout from Fort Sumter galvinized both North and South.

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