Seneca Falls: The Burnt-Over District w/ Deva Woodly (Part One)
All this month, we're partnering with the Charles F. Kettering Foundation for a series called "Democracy Under Construction." You can find o...
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Society & Culture
This Day in Esoteric Political History
We’re living in unprecedented times. Maybe. In this show, Jody Avirgan, Nicole Hemmer and Kellie Carter Jackson (and guests) take one moment, big or small, from that day in U.S. political hi...
Episodes
20 of 968 episodesAre We Locked In To Two Parties? w/ Alex Lovit [Some Sunday Context]
Every Sunday during our month-long collaboration with the Charles F. Kettering Foundation, Jody Avirgan chats with Alex Lovit, host of the K...
Bill Of Rights: Factions w/ Dahliah Lithwick (Part Two)
All this month, we’re partnering with the Charles F. Kettering Foundation for a series called “Democracy Under Construction.” You can find o...
Bill Of Rights: We Forgot Freedom w/ Dahliah Lithwick (Part One)
All this month, we’re partnering with the Charles F. Kettering Foundation for a series called “Democracy Under Construction.” You can find o...
Inside A Music Festival w/ Craig Finn [Some Sunday Context]
This past week we talked about Woodstock and the mix of culture, politics, and nostalgia wrapped up in the most famous music festival in U.S...
Woodstock: Generation Gap (Part 2)
Our conversation about Woodstock continues with a look at the instant nostalgia for the event, how it captures the mix of culture and politi...
Woodstock: Before The Mud (Part 1)
For the thirty-second installment of "50 Weeks That Shaped America," we go pehaps the most iconic cultural event in US history -- the Woodst...
"The Giant Pool of Money" Revisited w/ Alex Blumberg [Some Sunday Context]
This past week, we did a two-parter on the 2008 financial crisis. In it, we discussed how This American Life's " Giant Pool of Money " episo...
2008 Crash: The Bailout (Part 2)
Our conversation about the 2008 financial crisis continues with a look at the decision to bail out the banks, the response by the Obama and...
2008 Crash: The Collapse (Part One)
For the thirty-first installment of "50 Weeks That Shaped America," we go to fairly recent history -- the spring and summer of 2008, when th...
Teaching Evolution [Some Sunday Context]
This past week we did a two-parter on the Scopes "monkey trial" in 1925 -- today we bring you an episode from the archives about the repeal...
Scopes Monkey Trial: Darrow v Bryan (Part 2)
Our conversation about the so-called "Monkey Trial" continues with a showdown between Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan. Jody, Niki...
Scopes Monkey Trial: Evolution in Schools (Part 1)
For the thirtieth installment of "50 Weeks That Shaped America," we go to 1925 and a small courthouse in the town of Dayton, Tennessee, and...
JFK's Fallout Shelters [Some Sunday Context]
This past week we did a two-parter on the race to the moon, whichs started under JFK, and started as part of a growing arms race with Russia...
Moon Landing: It Was Not Faked (Part 2)
We continue our conversation about the moon landing with a play-by-play of how Apollo 11 made its way to the surface; a conspiracy-by-conspi...
Moon Landing: One Giant Leap (Part 1)
For the twenty-ninth installment of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we go to 1969 and the United States victory in the race to the moon. Jody...
Eleanor Roosevelt'sTuskegee Plane Ride [Some Sunday Context]
This past week we did a two-parter on the desegregation of the military. For today's "Sunday Context" episode, we revisit an episode we dd a...
Military Integration: Pressure On Truman (Part Two)
Our conversation about military integration continues with a look at Harry Truman and the civil-rights battle within the Democratic party. A...
Military Integration: Double V (Part One)
For the twenty-eighth installment of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we go to 1948 and the moment that Harry Truman issued an executive order...
The Capitol Cornerstone Conspiracy (Revolutionary Rerun)
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...