This Day in Esoteric Political History

It?s March 12th. This day in 1961, President John F Kennedy is hosting 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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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

It?s March 10th. This day in 1951, the owners of Major League Baseball are looking for a new commissioner, and a surprising name appears on the list ? FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why Hoover was a candidate, and what these two institutions ? the FBI and MLB ? meant in the post-war era.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

It?s March 4th. This day in 2004, Pat Toomey is challenging Republican Senator Arlen Specter in the Pennsylvania senate race ? trying to outflank him from the right in the state?s primary.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie look back at the moment where ?to primary someone? became a political phenomenon, and talk to Nick Troiano of Unite America about why the primary system has been weaponized.

Nick?s new book is ?The Primary Solution? ? it?s out now!

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

It?s March 5th. This day in 1977, President Jimmy Carter and CBS?s Walter Cronkite took phone calls, unfiltered, from Americans all over the country who had dialed into 1-900-242-9611.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss what happened during the Dial-A-President experiment, the logistics of how it all came together, and how it serves as a perfect snapshot of the era.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

Throughout this election year, we?re going to be doing a few special series tied to the notable stretches in an election cycle, from primaries to conventions and October surprises and more. This is ?Hangers-On Week? our look at the point in the primary calendar where candidates are, for one reason or another, still hanging around.

For our final episode of Hangers On Week, Jody, Niki, and Kellie look at Al Smith, who ran for president in 1924 and 1928, at a time when the Democratic party was building a new religious, racial, and demographic coalition. He may not have won, but he set the stage for FDR.

Who else deserves to be on our list of hangers-ons? What other categories would you slot candidates into? Let us know!

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This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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Get in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. 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; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

Throughout this election year, we?re going to be doing a few special series tied to the notable stretches in an election cycle, from primaries to conventions and October surprises and more. This is ?Hangers-On Week? our look at the point in the primary calendar where candidates are, for one reason or another, still hanging around.

For the third episode of Hangers On Week, Jody, Niki, and Kellie look at Jesse Jackson, who ran in 1984 and 1988, evolving from civil rights activism to electoral politics, and trying to push his message towards larger economic justice issues.

Who else deserves to be on our list of hangers-ons? What other categories would you slot candidates into? Let us know!

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Find out more at thisdaypod.com

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. 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; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

Throughout this election year, we?re going to be doing a few special series tied to the notable stretches in an election cycle, from primaries to conventions and October surprises and more. This is ?Hangers-On Week? our look at the point in the primary calendar where candidates are, for one reason or another, still hanging around.

For the second episode of Hangers On Week, Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report to talk about a few failed candidates who layed the groundwork for Trump?s eventual win.

Who else deserves to be on our list of hangers-ons? What other categories would you slot candidates into? Let us know!

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Find out more at thisdaypod.com

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. 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; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

Throughout this election year, we?re going to be doing a few special series tied to the notable stretches in an election cycle, from primaries to conventions and October surprises and more. This is ?Hangers-On Week? our look at the point in the primary calendar where candidates are, for one reason or another, still hanging around.

For the first episode of Hangers-On Week, Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report to lay out the basic categories of the candidates who stick around a little too long: from those who want to shape policy, to those who become punchlines, and those with a different agenda in mind.

Who else deserves to be on our list of hangers-ons? What other categories would you slot candidates into? Let us know!

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Find out more at thisdaypod.com

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. 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; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

It?s February 22nd. This day (February 21st, in fact) in 1965, Malcolm X is assassinated as he?s giving a speech at a Harlem ballroom.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why X felt as if his killing was almost an inevitability, why the details of that day remain murky ? and how two of the accused were exonerated decades later.

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This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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Get in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. 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; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

It?s February 20th. This day in 2006, the news ? and the jokes ? are swirling about the incident that took place earlier in the month, when Vice President Dick Cheney shot his hunting partner Harry Whittington on a Texas ranch.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why it took so long for the news of the incident to come out, why Whittington apologized to Cheney at a press conference ? and why it took so long for this podcast to talk about this moment.

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This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

It?s February 18th. This day in 1804, the Northern state of New Jersey passed a law that included a call for a ?gradual emancipation of slaves.?

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the laws around abolition and the reality on the ground often differed considerably ? but how in cases like this, you also had the law codifying the slow transition away from slavery.

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This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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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. 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; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

It?s February 15th. This day in 1933, in Miami, Giuseppe Zangara pulled out a pistol and, while yelling ?too many people are starving!? fired at President-elect Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why Zangara was trying to kill FDR, the others who were hurt in the incident ? and the true ?what if? in American history had Zangara succeeded.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

It?s February 13th. This day ? actually, February 11th ? in 1990, South African leader Nelson Mandela emerges from prison after 27 years.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how attempts to keep Mandela out of the limelight backfired during his imprisonment, and how he once again picked up the freedom cause.

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This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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Get in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. 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; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

It?s February 11th. This day in 1924, the State of Nevada executed a man named Gee Jon, using the gas chamber for the first time as capital punishment.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the adoption of gas reflected the Progressive Era, and how the way we kill people often tells us a lot about the time we?re living in.

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This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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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. 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; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

It?s February 8th. This day in 1976, officials for defense and airline manufacturer Lockheed Martin admit to spending millions of dollars to bribe Japanese government officials.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the Lockheed bribes were exposed, and how they were part of a larger era of multinational corporate meddling and corruption ? as companies began to get more and more entangled in U.S. foreign interests.

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This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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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. 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; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

It?s February 6th. This day in 1937, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt announces a plan to reforming the judiciary, most notably forcing older members of the Supreme Court to retire, and expand the number of justices.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why FDR felt that he had a mandate after the previous fall?s election, and why he felt that expanding the court was a key step to passing many of his reforms. Ultimately, the plan backfired and helped close the window for FDR?s reform efforts.

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This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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Get in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. 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; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

It?s February 4th. This day in 1877, a hastily assembled commission is meeting to try and sort out the very messy aftermath of the previous fall?s election between Samuel Tilden and Rutherford B. Hayes. Hayes won the popular vote, but in the end, they would hand the election to Hayes after a bargain with southerners that effectively ended reconstruction.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the 1876 election was so close, how a few rogue states were able to hold the process hostage ? and what the bargain meant for the promise of reconstruction in the South.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

It?s February 1st. This day in 1877, the first Groundhog Day ceremony is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania ? in which a small rodent?s shadow determines long-term meteorological forces.

Jody, Niki and Kellie discuss how this ceremony came to be, and some of the very weird elements, from elixirs of everlasting life to secret societies pulling the strings.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

It?s January 30th. This day in 1798, representatives Roger Lyon and Matthew Griswold get into a fight on the house floor ? with spitting, wrestling, and even a caning.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Yale history professor Joanne Freeman to talk about why Lyon and Griswold came to blows and what the incident says about the moments of extreme partisanship and violence in American politics.

Be sure to check out Joanne?s Friday morning series ?History Matters and So Does Coffee.?

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This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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Get in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. 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; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

It?s January 28th. This day in 1967, the U.S., U.K., and Russia sign a treaty that, among other things, says that outer space should be off-limits for the testing and deployment of weapons of mass destruction.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why there was a need for the Outer Space Treaty, and how ? despite its important language about nuclear weapons ? it left a lot of grey area and confusion about how different countries would take on space exploration.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

It?s January 25th. This day in 1845, Congress passed a law designating that Americans would henceforth vote on ?the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November.?

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why that day was designated, and the many pitfalls that now exist around the fact that Election Day is only one day, and on a Tuesday.

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This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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Get in touch if you have any ideas for future topics, or just want to say hello. 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; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

It?s January 23rd, happy Ed Roberts Day! This day in 2010, the State of California proclaimed this day to commemorate the life and work of the pioneering disability rights activist.

Niki, Jody, and Kellie discuss how Roberts got his start in activism when he was denied entry to the University of California in the early 60s, and how his worked continued all the way through the passage of the ADA and beyond.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

This day, January 19th, 1990, at the end of a joint sting operation by FBI agents and District of Columbia Police, DC Mayor Marion Barry is arrested and charged with drug possession for the use of crack cocaine.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the video of the incident went viral, led to an onslaught of scandal and punchlines about Barry ? but never fully eroded DC resident?s support for their beloved mayor.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

It?s January 17th. This day in 1943, the U.S. military has a shiny - and massive - new home.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the design of the building came into place, and how construction went into overdrive with U.S. involvement in World War II.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

It?s January 16th. This day in 1811, the aftermath of what came to be known as the ?German Coast? uprising in the Orleans territory.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how Charles Deslondes led a slave revolt that became the biggest in US history, and how it was inspired by the Hatian revolution, French ideas of freedom, and more.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

It?s January 14th. This day in 1986, Ronald Reagan issued a proclamation that January 15th would be a federal holiday recognizing the contributions of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why it took 20 years since King?s assassination for there to be a federal holiday, and how there was active resistance and subversion among many states even after the federal mandate.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

It?s January 11th. In 1888, a massive and quick-moving storm swept across the American Midwest, trapping hundreds of school-children in their schoolhouses.

Jody and Niki discuss why the storm was so severe, and deadly ? and how the poor preparation for the storm led to a change in weather forecasting.

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This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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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. 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; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

This Day In Esoteric Political History is produced by Jody Avirgan?s Roulette Productions.

It?s January 9th. In 1802, Thomas Jefferson penned a letter in which he referred to a ?wall of separation between church and state.

Jody and Niki discuss how this phrase became wedded to the first amendment and a foundational political and legal idea for centuries ? and how Jefferson?s intent has been contested at various points over the years.

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This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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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. 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; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

This Day In Esoteric Political History is produced by Jody Avirgan?s Roulette Productions.

It?s January 7th. In 1970, the New York Times published an article with the headline ?Statisticians Charge Draft Lottery Was Not Random.?

Jody and Niki are joined by data reporter Walt Hickey to talk about how statistical analysis exposed that people born in December were more likely to be selected for the Vietnam War draft than those born in January, and what that tells us about randomness, trust, and more.

Walt?s most recent book is ?You Are What You Watch? ? check it out now!

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

This Day In Esoteric Political History is produced by Jody Avirgan?s Roulette Productions.

**We?ll be back on Sunday with our first new epsiode of 2024. In the meantime, here?s a treat from the archives!**

It?s March 13th. This day in 1955, news breaks that the White House is engaged in a full-on battle against the squirrels that have invaded the grounds.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why President Eisenhower is so determined to get rid of the squirrels, and how he tried everything from relocating them to shooting them to ? really ? deploying psychological torture to solve the problem.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

** It?s the final day of the Radiotopia fundraiser! Support the show using this link and you?ll get a 20% discount to our new merch store! https://on.prx.org/46XCf1R **

It?s December 31st. Today we wrap up the year by talking about ? what else ? the time that the Idaho Department of Fish and Game relocated 76 beavers by parachuting them out of airplanes.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by our Radiotopia pal Ian Chillag to discuss the story. Ian recently encountered it while doing an episode of his ?Animals? series on beavers. You can listen to that here.

Happy New Year everyone!

Here?s our holiday book gift guide!

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

This Day In Esoteric Political History is produced by Jody Avirgan?s Roulette Productions.

** It?s the Radiotopia fundraiser! Support the show using this link and you?ll get a 20% discount to our new merch store! https://on.prx.org/46XCf1R **

It?s December 29th. This day in 1975, a bomb, planted in a luggage locker, exploded at NYC?s LaGuardia Airport, killing 11 and injuring 74. If it had gone off just minutes earlier, it would have killed hundreds more.

Jody and Niki discuss who was responsible for the bombing, the prevalence of scattered violence in the 1970s, and why New York City was often the place in which conflicts from around the world would play out.

Here?s our holiday book gift guide!

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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. 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; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

This Day In Esoteric Political History is produced by Jody Avirgan?s Roulette Productions.

** It?s the Radiotopia fundraiser! Support the show using this link and you?ll get a 20% discount to our new merch store! https://on.prx.org/46XCf1R **

It?s December 26th. This day in 1951 ? actually on Christmas Day ? Florida activists Harry and Harriette Moore are killed by a bomb planted under their home.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie look at the life and activism of the Moore?s, why they became targets for assassination and Florida?s place in the early civil rights movement.

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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; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

** It?s the Radiotopia fundraiser! Support the show using this link and you?ll get a 20% discount to our new merch store! https://on.prx.org/46XCf1R **

It?s December 24th. Today, we look at a number of puzzle-related stories from the WWII era. This is when the New York Times finally got in the crossword game, codebreakers used puzzles to recruit great minds, and more.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by author and podcast host A.J. Jacobs to discuss what that first crossword looked like, why it was such a hit, and how puzzling can help explain the world.

A.J. is the author of ?The Puzzler? and also host of the new daily puzzle podcast of the same name ? which is produced by our own Jody Avirgan and Brittani Brown! Learn more at thepuzzler.com

Here?s our holiday book gift guide!

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Find out more at thisdaypod.com

This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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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; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

** It?s the Radiotopia fundraiser! Support the show using this link and you?ll get a 20% discount to our new merch store! https://on.prx.org/46XCf1R **

It?s December 21st. This day in 1913, the New York World published the very first crossword puzzle ? originally called a ?word cross.? Soon, a bona fide puzzle craze was sweeping the country.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by author and podcast host A.J. Jacobs to discuss what that first crossword looked like, why it was such a hit, and how puzzling can help explain the world.

A.J. is the author of ?The Puzzler? and also host of the new daily puzzle podcast of the same name ? which is produced by Jody and Brittani Brown! Learn more at thepuzzler.com

Here?s our holiday book gift guide!

Sign up for our newsletter! Get your hands on This Day merch!

Find out more at thisdaypod.com

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; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

** It?s the Radiotopia fundraiser! Support the show using this link and you?ll get a 20% discount to our new merch store! https://on.prx.org/46XCf1R **

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.

Here?s our holiday book gift guide! https://thisdaypod.substack.com/p/a-this-day-books-and-merch-gift-guide

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This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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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; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

** It?s the Radiotopia fundraiser! Support the show using this link and you?ll get a 20% discount to our new merch store! https://on.prx.org/46XCf1R **

It?s December 17th. This day in 1978, holiday travelers are flying around the country under a regulatory system that was about to come to an end. The next year, the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 would kick in.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by Ganesh Sitaraman of Vanderbilt to discuss how the act changed the competitive structure for airlines ? and in turn led to a degradation of service, reliability, and the glamour of flying.

Ganesh?s new book is ?Why Flying is Miserable? And How To Fix It.?

Here?s our holiday book gift guide! https://thisdaypod.substack.com/p/a-this-day-books-and-merch-gift-guide

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This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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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; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

** It?s the Radiotopia fundraiser! Support the show using this link and you?ll get a 20% discount to our new merch store! https://on.prx.org/46XCf1R **

It?s December 16th. This day in 1971, Richard Nixon signed the Alaska Natives Settlement Act, which established a new set of treaties and financial structures for Alaskan tribes ? unlike any other arrangement in the so-called ?lower 48.?

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the structure of the act meant that tribes would now be embracing, and contending with, American-style capitalism.

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This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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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; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

** It?s the Radiotopia fundraiser! Support the show using this link and you?ll get a 20% discount to our new merch store! https://on.prx.org/46XCf1R **

It?s December 12th. This day in 1909, garment industry workers in New York and Philadelphia are on a massive strike, protesting working conditions and beginning to unionize in favor of better working conditions. This was a couple years before the more infamous fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how these earlier protests and victories re-cast our understanding of Shirtwaist, and the labor activism of the time.

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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; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

** It?s the Radiotopia fundraiser! Support the show using this link and you?ll get a 20% discount to our new merch store! https://on.prx.org/46XCf1R **

It?s December 10th. This day in 1875, the Canadian Metis leader Louis Riel is in Washington, DC to ask US President Grant for assistance in his battle against the Canadian government.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the Metis fight, violence along the western parts of the US-Canadian border, and Riel?s subsequent religious ?epiphany.?

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

** It?s the Radiotopia fundraiser! Support the show using this link and you?ll get a 20% discount to our new merch store! https://on.prx.org/46XCf1R **

Today we?re looking at Hawaiian Independence Day, marked on November 28th.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss what exactly ?independence? meant for the islands, which were shifting from colonial rule to monarchical rule and, eventually, American annexation.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

** It?s the Radiotopia fundraiser! Support the show using this link and you?ll get a 20% discount to our new merch store! https://on.prx.org/46XCf1R **

It?s December 5th. In 196, W.E.B. Du Bois announces that he?s joining the Communist Party ? at the age of 93.

Jody, Niki and Kellie discuss why Du Bois found an ideological home in the Party, his lifelong ideological seeking, and what it meant to join the Communist Party in this particular moment.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

** It?s the Radiotopia fundraiser! Support the show using this link and you?ll get a 20% discount to our new merch store! https://on.prx.org/46XCf1R **

It?s December 3rd. In 1878, the White House got a phone line for the first time.

Jody, Niki and Kellie discuss why President Rutherford B Hayes was so embracing of new technology ? and how the phone got other presidents into hot water over the years.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

** It?s the Radiotopia fundraiser! Support the show using this link and you?ll get a 20% discount to our new merch store! https://on.prx.org/46XCf1R **

[[This episode is from the This Day archives]]

It?s November 24th. On this day in 1969, Native American activists have staged an occupation of Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay.

Jody and Niki are joined by Julian Brave Noisecat to discuss the 19-month occupation, often considered the birth of the modern Indigenous rights movement ? and how exactly the protesters managed to pull off the occupation of the island.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

** It?s the Radiotopia fundraiser! Support the show using this link and you?ll get a 20% discount to our new merch store! https://on.prx.org/46XCf1R **

It?s November 27th. In 1894, a group of 19 Hopi men are arrested in Arizona and brought to Alcatraz Island in California, imprisoned for their resistance to the US government?s re-education efforts.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the group of Hopi?s were arrested, what Hopi resistance looked like in this era, and what happened to the men after their imprisonment.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

** It?s the Radiotopia fundraiser! Support the show using this link and you?ll get a 20% discount to our new merch store! https://on.prx.org/46XCf1R **

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! For today, a special historical potluck. Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss some of their favorite historical stories related to food, drink, and dessert.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

** It?s the Radiotopia fundraiser! Support the show using this link and you?ll get a 20% discount to our new merch store! https://on.prx.org/46XCf1R **

It?s November 21st. Tomorrow is the 60th anniversary of the JFK assassination, so we?re bringing you an episode from last year about the time someone made an attempt on the newly-elected president?s life, 3 years before the events in Dallas. We?ll be back with a new episode on Thursday for Thanksgiving!

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This Day In Esoteric Political History is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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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; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

** It?s the Radiotopia fundraiser! Support the show using this link and you?ll get a 20% discount to our new merch store! https://on.prx.org/46XCf1R **

It?s November 19th. This day in 1915, IWW activist and songwriter Joe Hill is executed by the state of Utah.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Hill?s songs were so powerful, how they posed a threat to big business at the time ? and Jody finally gets to talk about his undergraduate thesis!

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

** It?s the Radiotopia fundraiser! Support the show using this link and you?ll get a 20% discount to our new merch store! https://on.prx.org/46XCf1R **

It?s November 16th. This day in 2016, Vice President-elect Mike Pence attends a performance of the hit Broadway show ?Hamilton,? where he is booed by the audience before the show; and after the show the cast reads him a statement of protest.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how this story played out in 2016, what we make of it now ? and why Pence was at ?Hamilton? to begin with.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

** It?s the Radiotopia fundraiser! Support the show using this link and you?ll get a 20% discount to our new merch store! https://on.prx.org/46XCf1R **

It?s November 14th. This day in 1918, famed industrialist Henry Ford starts to raise questions about the result of the Michigan Senate election, in which he lost by a narrow margin.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why Ford is contesting the vote, how it ties into his growing conspiratorial and anti-Semitic mindset ? and how the worlds of business and politics began to meld in this era.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia