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)
The Bootletter Biplane Bombings [Some Sunday Context]
For our "Sunday Context" series, we build on this past week's coversation about Prohibition with perhaps the most colorful story of bootlegging and liquor…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)The Drinking Continues (1920) [Part 2]
Part two of our look at the rise of prohibition looks at the many ways in which Americans tried to evade the law, and how a burgeoning police state went after…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Prohibition Arrives (1920) [Part 1]
This week on "50 Weeks That Shaped America," we're headed to January 1920 and the first night of Prohibition. Hide your booze! Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
From Bicentennial to Semiquincentennial: History Under Trump
For our "Sunday Context" series, we build on this past week's coversation about the bicentennial to point out how this year's America 250 project is coming…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)The Bicentennial Boondoggles (1976) [Part 2]
In part two of our look at the bicentennial, Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the festivities played out, and how Philadelphia ended up becoming the center…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Bicentennial Fever! (1976) [Part 1]
It's Week 1 of "50 Weeks That Shaped America," and we're headed to 1976 to look at how America's last big birthday came together. In part one, Jody, Niki, and…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)2026 Predictions and Provocations
2026 is here! As is America250. On Tuesday, we're launching our 50 Weeks That Shaped America series, but today we get together to ring in the new year with a…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
"Give Me Liberty Or..." [2025 Favorite]
We're bringing you some of our favorite episodes of 2025 while we get a holiday break -- and prepare for our big America250 series. See you in 2026! It's March…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
Wikipedia Saves The Internet [2025 Favorite]
We're bringing you some of our favorite episodes of 2025 while we get a holiday break -- and prepare for our big America250 series. See you in 2026! It's June…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
Sanctuary Churches vs Immigration Enforcement [2025 Favorite]
We're bringing you some of our favorite episodes of 2025 while we get a holiday break -- and prepare for our big America250 series. See you in 2026! It's March…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
"I'm Just A Bill" [2025 Favorite]
We're bringing you some of our favorite episodes of 2025 while we get a holiday break -- and prepare for our big America250 series. See you in 2026! It's March…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
Starbucks Fixes Racism [2025 Favorite]
We're bringing you some of our favorite episodes of 2025 while we get a holiday break -- and prepare for our big America250 series. See you in 2026! It's April…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
The Anglo-American Film Spat (1947)
It's December 17th. This day in 1947, the US and UK film industries are in a trade war -- a couple years after the two countries fought together in an actual…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
Archie Bunker's America (1971) w/ Oscar Winberg
It's December 15th. This winter, 1971, the first season of "All In The Family" is coming to a close, and it's already the biggest show in America. It's a total…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
Meet America's Most Influential Black Congressman (1971) w/ Marion Orr
It's December 11th. This day in 1971, Representative Charles C Diggs of Michigan resigned from a UN delegation in order to protest the US stance towards South…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
The First Transgender Celebrity (1952)
It's December 8th. This day in 1952, the New York Daily News runs a feature on Christine Jorgensen headlined "Ex-GI Becomes Blond Beauty." Jody, Niki, and…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
A Big Vaccine Win (Some Sunday Context)
Welcome to Some Sunday Context, where we bring you new conversations and archival episodes to provide some context on the stories playing out in the news…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
The Vaccine Fights Go Mainstream (Part Two)
It's December 1st. This week, a two-part look at the roots of vaccine skepticism and anti-vaccine activism in the United States. First we look at the early…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
The First Vaccine Fights (Part One)
It's December 1st. This week, a two-part look at the roots of vaccine skepticism and anti-vaccine activism in the United States. First we look at the early…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
Hippo For Thanksgiving w/ Dan Pashman [Thanksgiving Week]
This Thanksgiving Week, some episodes favorite about community, what binds us -- and food! It’s April 2nd. This day in 1910, a Louisiana senator proposes…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
An Aid Ship To Ireland (1847) [Thanksgiving Week]
This Thanksgiving Week, some episodes favorite about community, what binds us -- and food! It’s May 2nd. In 1847, a US military ship, the USS Jamestown, was…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
"Death By Lightning" and Chester Arthur's Rise (Some Sunday Context)
The new Netflix series "Death By Lightning" focuses on the unexpected rise of James Garfield in the 1880 election, and his assassination by Charles Guiteau. It…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
Evacuation Day: NYC's Forgotten Holiday (1783)
It's the last week in November -- on November 25th, 1783, British troops finally left New York City, which had suffered a brutal two years since the formal end…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
The Myth of The Myth of Lewis & Clark (1805)
It's November 18th. This day in 1805, explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark have returned back east to report on their trip to President Jefferson. It…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
The Penny Is Dead [Some Sunday Context]
Welcome to our Sunday Context series, where we try and bring you new conversations and episodes from the archives to give a little context for the news of the…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
Sesame Street Premieres (1969)
We continue with part two of our look at the birth of Sesame Street. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the show's premier, how it was received -- and what the…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)The Birth of Sesame Street (1969)
It's November 11th. This day in 1969, a new show for children is on the airwaves -- Sesame Street. Jody, Niki, and Kellie dive into a two-part look at the…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Utah's Revolutionary Senator (1868)
It's November 6th. This day in 1868, Martha Hughes Cannon becomes the first female state senator in US history, when she beats her husband in a Utah election…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)The Sewer Socialist Mayor (1916)
It's Election Day in many parts of the country, including in New York City, which may elect a Democratic Socialist mayor. 100 years ago, many cities in the US…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Japanese Cars, Made In America (1982)
It's October 30th. This day (technically November 2nd) in 1982, a Honda Accord rolls off the assembly line at a new plant in Marysville, Ohio -- the first…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Dizzy Gillespie For President (1964)
It's October 28th. This day in 1964, the presidential election is in the home stretch, with candidates like Lyndon B Johnson, Barry Goldwater -- and Dizzy…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
The Memory Palace: This Weekend's Teach-In
This Sunday, we are convening a teach-in in Washington DC with our friend Nate DiMeo of The Memory Palace. Here is Nate's latest episode, where he discusses…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)The (Actual) Tree Of Liberty
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…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)A Toxic Town Fights Back (1982)
It's October 21st. This day in 1982, residents of Warren County, NC are fighting back against plans to dump tons of PCB-laden dirt in their local landfill…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Teddy Roosevelt's "Race Suicide" Fears (1903) w/ Andrew Porwancher
It's 1903. This day, Teddy Roosevelt is visiting Ellis Island amid a fierce conversation about American immigration policy. Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)The Obamacare Website Crashes On Day One (2013)
It's October 13th. This day in 2013, the healthcare.gov website is a total fiasco. It had launched a couple weeks earlier and was immediately unusable, with…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Teach-Ins (Plus A Special Announcement!) w/ Nate DiMeo
It's October 9th. Today, we look back at the first "teach-ins" at the University of Michigan in 1965, and discuss the power of gathering together to learn and…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
The First Modern Shutdown w/ Steve Kornacki (2013) [Archive Episode]
Today, we look back an episode we did about October 2013, when the United States government shut down after the Congress was unable to agree to a new budget…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
The First Time Democrats Shut Down The Government (1879) [Some Sunday Context]
On Sundays, we try to bring you new conversations and episodes from the archives that provide a little context for the news of 2025. Today: a look back at the…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
"We Didn't Start The Fire's" Crash Course In History (1989)
It's October 2nd. This day in 1989, Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start The Fire," which name-checks a ton of events that took place from the 50s through the 80s, is…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
The Elaine Massacre (1919)
It's September 30th. This day in 1919, a bloody racial conflict is breaking out in the Arkansas Delta. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how a push to organize…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
Post-911 Patriotic Mania (2001) [Chilled Speech Week Pt 2]
This week, we're bringing you two episodes that highlight periods in American history where political speech was being policied, repressed, and persecuted --…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
The Red Channels Whisper Network (1950) [Chilled Speech Week Pt 1]
It's September 22nd. This week, we're bringing you two episodes that highlight periods in American history where political speech was being policied…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
Campus Loyalty Oaths [Some Sunday Context]
It's Sunday, and on Sundays we like to bring you new conversations and conversations from the archives that help provide a little context for the stories…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Washington's Masonic Cornerstone (1793)
It's September 17th. This day in 1793, President Washington visits a site where construction is beginning on what would be the Capitol. Jody, NIki, and Kellie…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)The Great Crush Train Crash (1896)
It's September 16th. This day in 1896, a railroad executive named William Crush (really) has a brilliant idea: take two trains and hurtle them towards each…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
Ollie North, Still In The News [Some Sunday Context]
On Sundays, we try to bring you fresh conversations and stories from the archives that give you a little context on the news playing out in front of us. Today…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)The Irish-Americans Fighting For Mexico (1847)
It's 1847. This day, a battalion of Irish immigrants are hung by the U.S. Army for deserting to the Mexican side in the Mexican-American War. Jody, Niki, and…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)The Hummer Takes Over (2001)
It's September 9th. This day in 2001, a nationwide advertising campaign is underway for The Hummer truck, which has recently been taken over by GM and is…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Fred Tuttle Goes From Mockumentary to Senate Candidate (1998)
It's September 4th. This day in 1998, an elderly Vermont farmer by the name of Fred Tuttle has all of a sudden found himself as the Republican Senate…
This Day (An America 250 History Show)Alaska vs. Ohio: Mt McKinley To Denali And Back Again (2015)
We're back with new episodes! Today, it's September 2nd, 2015. The Obama administration has just signed paperwork to re-name North America's tallest mountain…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
The Subway Vigilante Shooting (1984) w/ Leon Neyfakh [Archive Favorite]
It’s August 1st. This day in 1996, a judge ruled that Bernie Goetz still owed his victims millions of dollars in damages as a result of the “Subway Vigilante”…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
The U.S. Gets A New Capitol - For One Day (1814) [Archive Favorite]
It’s August 26th. This day in 1814, the small town of Brookeville, MD becomes the Capitol of the United States — for one night. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
Emergency Podcast: Smithsonian Showdown, Relitigating Slavery, More (2025)
This is audio of a video chat we recorded earlier this week in reaction to the recent attacks on the Smithsonian by the Trump administration, the conversation…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
The First Battle Over The Smithsonian (1846) [Archive Favorite]
The Trump administration has ramped up its attacks on museums and The Smithsonian. We're recoding a special reaction episode that will appear in our newsletter…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
The Dumbest, Most Perfect, Political Question Ever (2012) [Archive Favorite]
It’s July 31st, 2012. This day, on the campaign trail, a reporter shouts a question at Mitt Romney: “What about your gaffes?!” Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
Jefferson Gets An Anti-Slavery Appeal (1791) [Archive Favorite]
It’s August 19th. This day in 1791, Benjamin Banneker sent an advance copy of his almanac to Thomas Jefferson. Along with the almanac, he included a letter…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
Moral Panics, D&D, Steam Tunnels and More (1979) [Archive Favorite]
It’s August 17th. This day in 1979, a young college student by the name of James Dallas Egber III disappeared into a steam tunnel below his university…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
Trump On Charlottesville: "Very Fine People" (2017) [Archive Favorite]
It's August 15th. This day in 2017, President Donald Trump gave a press conference in which he offered remarks about the violence that took place in…
- This Day (An America 250 History Show)
The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail (1846) [Archive Favorite]
It's August 13th. This day in 1846, Henry David Thoreau is thrown in jail -- for one night -- for refusing to pay his back taxes. Jody, NIki, and Kellie…