Shows / This Day (An America 250 History Show)
This Day (An America 250 History Show)
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…
Episodes
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
After Watergate: Reforming Government (Part 1)
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 Day (An America 250 History Show)A Nation Of Readers: Isabel Wilkerson + Tara Westover
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…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Mariel Boatlift: The Anti-Immigrant Playbook (Part 1)
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…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Mariel Boatlift: Cuba In Crisis (Part 1)
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…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Reckoning With Racial Violence [Some Sunday Context]
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…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Tulsa Massacre: Erasure (Part 2)
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…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Tulsa Massacre: Life On Black Wall Street (Part 1)
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…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Memorial Day: Remembering Vietnam [Some Sunday Context]
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…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Golden Spike: What The Railroads Built and Destroyed (Part Two)
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…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Golden Spike: The Race West (Part One)
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…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Archie Bunker Gives Voice To The Silent Majortiy [Some Sunday Context]
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…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Silent Majority: Nixon and the Hardhat Riots (Part Two)
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…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Silent Majority: The Kent State Massacre (Part One)
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…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)The School Strike That Started To Dismantle "Separate but Equal" [Some Sunday Context]
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…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Separate But Equal: The Rise of Jim Crow (Part 2)
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…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Separate But Equal: The Plessy Case (Part 1)
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…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Golden Gate Bridge: We Can Do Big Things (Part 2)
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…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Golden Gate Bridge: Depression, Construction, And The Rise of California (Part 1)
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…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)The Highs And Lows Of Latin American Diplomacy [Some Sunday Context]
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…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Bay of Pigs: Lessons Not-Learned (Part Two)
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…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Bay of Pigs: A Well-Planned Fiasco (Part One)
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…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Writing The Confederate Constitution [Some Sunday Context]
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…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Civil War Arrives (Part Two)
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…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Fort Sumter And The Road To Civil War (Part One)
For the fifteenth installment of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we go to the end of 1860 and the first months of 1861. Lincoln's election made it inevitable…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)The 40 Year Battle For MLK Day [Some Sunday Context]
For our "Sunday Context" episode, we look at the 40-year battle for honoring Martin Luther King, Jr with a federal holiday. Many states and notable politicians…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)MLK's Legacy, Contested (Part 2)
Our conversation about MLK's assassination continues with a look at the day of King's death and the capture of James Earl Ray. Then, Niki, Kellie and Jody…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)MLK Is Assassinated (Part 1)
For the fourteenth episode of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we go (for the first time) to 1968 and the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. In the months…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
Ken Burns: How To 250 [Teaser]
We’re kicking off a series of chats that (until we find a better name) we’re calling “How to 250.” This is our chance to check in with some friends of the show…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Over There! The US At War (Part 2)
**We've got new merch! Check it out.** We continue our discussion about WWI with Wilson's speech to Congress making the case for entering the war. Soon, troops…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)America Debates WWI (Part 1)
**We've got new merch! Check it out.** For the thirteenth episode of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we go to 1917 and the growing pressure on Woodrow Wilson to…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)The Boston Molasses Disaster [Some Sunday Context]
For our "Sunday Context" episode, we look at another industrial disaster from the 1910s -- the time a river of molasses wiped out much of Boston's North End…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)How Triangle Ushered In An Era Of Reform [Part 2]
Our conversation about the Triangle Shirtwaist fire continues with how reformers responded to the tragedy, and how those who witnessed the fire personally made…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Shocks America [Part 1]
For the twelfth episode of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we go to 1911 and the massive fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in Greenwich Village…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Obama's Rocky 2008 + A 538 Doc Teaser [Some Sunday Context]
**One week only, get a 20% discount on the newsletter using this link! thisdaypod.substack.com/35c7aaa4** For our "Sunday Context" episode, we go back to an…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)How Obama Spoke To Us About Race [Part 2]
Our conversation about Barack Obama and Reverend Jeremiah Wright continues with a look at what he said about race in America during his "A More Perfect Union"…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Obama, Rev. Wright, and "A More Perfect Union" [Part 1]
For the eleventh episode of “50 Weeks That Shaped America,” we go to the spring of 2008. Barack Obama was largely on path to clinch the Democratic nomination…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
The Gingrich Revolution [Some Sunday Context]
For our "Sunday Context" episode, go back to the Clinton administration and look at how Republicans swept into power in 1994. It allowed them to present a new…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)How Clinton-Lewinsky Set The Template For Modern Politics [Part Two]
Our conversation about the Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky affair continues, with a look at the changing media environment, the rise of FOX News, and how this…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Clinton, Lewinsky, FOX & Drudge [Part 1]
This week on “50 Weeks That Shaped America” series, we go to fairly recent history — and the rise of the modern media-driven political scandal. During the…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)The Speech That First Made Lincoln [Some Sunday Context]
For our "Sunday Context" episode, we look at another speech by Abraham Lincoln, one he gave in 1860 at the Cooper Union in New York City. Before the speech, he…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)"With Malice Towards None" w/ Jamelle Bouie [Part Two]
We continue our conversation about Lincoln's second inaugural address with a close reading of how it was written and addressed. Jody, Niki, and Kellie are…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Lincoln's Second Inaugural w/ Jamelle Bouie (1865) [Part 1]
This week on "50 Weeks That Shaped America," we're headed to March 1865 to talk ab out Abraham Lincoln for the first time in our series. There are two speeches…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)How To 250: Live from On Air Fest!
This past week, we took part in On Air Fest in Brooklyn, soft-launching a series of bonus conversations about America 250 and the work of history in 2026. We…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)How Valley Forge Forged George Washington [Part Two]
Our conversation about the Continental Army's winter at Valley Forge, PA continues with a look at how the troops were trained, and what the winter of 1777-1778…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Valley Forge: From Militia To US Army (1778) [Part One]
This week on "50 Weeks That Shaped America," we're headed to the winter of 1777-1778 and the strategic retreat by the Continental Army to Valley Forge, PA…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)The Bomb And The Flag [Some Sunday Context]
For our "Sunday Context" series, we advance the story from Iwo Jima by a few months to August 1945, when the United States drops nuclear weapons on Japan in…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)The Iwo Jima Mystery And The Power Of War Images [Part Two]
It's part two of our look at Joe Rosenthal's iconic photo "Raising The Flag On Iwo Jima." Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the mystery over who is actually in…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)"Raising The Flag On Iwo Jima" (1945) [Part 1]
This week on "50 Weeks That Shaped America," we're headed to February 1945, when attention in WWII has shifted to the Pacific. American forces are "island…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Roots: The Book [Some Sunday Context]
For our "Sunday Context" series, we look at Alex Haley's book "Roots" -- how it became a sensation, accusations of plagiarism, and how it led to the TV series…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)What Roots Viewers Saw [Part 2]
It's part two of our "50 Weeks That Shaped America" look at the premiere of Alex Haley’s “Roots.”Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss some of the key scenes and…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Roots Takes Over The Airwaves (1977) [Part 1]
This week on "50 Weeks That Shaped America," we're headed to the winter of 1977, when everyone was tuned into a major TV phenomenon -- Alex Haley’s “Roots.” It…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)A Compromise To Avert Civil War [Some Sunday Context]
For our "Sunday Context" series, we discuss the political pressures that the arrival of California as a new state put on the country as a whole -- and the…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Gold Changes Everything (1849) [Part 2]
We continue our look at the effects of the gold rush with an examination of how various communities were affected, and found agency, in a rapidly transforming…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Gold Rush! (1848) [Part 1]
This week on "50 Weeks That Shaped America," we're headed to the winter of 1948 in San Francisco, where word starts to get around that "there's gold in them…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)A Guy Throws His Shoe At George W Bush [Some Sunday Context]
For our "Sunday Context" series, we offer a follow up to our conversation about "Axis of Evil" and the start of the War in Iraq by looking at an incident from…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)How We Got The "War On Terror" (2002) [Part 2]
Our look at the response to 9-11 continues with a discussion of the neo-conversative movement that influenced the Bush White House, and how the idea of an…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)The "Axis Of Evil" (2002) [Part 1]
This week on "50 Weeks That Shaped America," we're headed to January 2002 and the first State of the Union speech after the 9-11 attacks. In it, George W Bush…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)A New Orleans Slave Rebellion [Some Sunday Context]
For our "Sunday Context" series, we build on this past week's coversation about the Battle of New Orleans with a look at the largest slave rebellion in US…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Andrew Jackson Takes Control (1815) [Part 2]
If part two of our "50 Weeks" look at the Battle Of New Orleans. Jody, Niki, and Kellie look at the pirates, generals, and others who fought that day in…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)The Battle Of New Orleans and The New American Century (1815) [Part 1]
This week on "50 Weeks That Shaped America," we're headed to January 1815 and the Battle Of New Orleans -- which actually took place after the War of 1812 had…