Our conversation about the so-called "Monkey Trial" continues with a showdown between Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan. Jody, Niki, and Kellie then discuss how the verdict in the trial didn't capture the impact it would have, and how the story of the trial has resonated through other eras -- including through the play and film "Inherit The Wind."

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

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 a trial over the teaching of evolution in public schools. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why it took 50 years since the theory of evolution was first proposed for it to come to a head in a trial like this; the flamboyant lawyers at the heart of the case; and the circus that surrounded a trial that quickly became about much bigger issues than just what was taught in schools.

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

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. Today, for our Sunday Context episode, a conversation we had in 2020 that helps paint the picture of fear, threat and response in 1961, just as the space race got going.

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

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-conspiracy debunking of the popular "it was fake" myths; and a look at the role that space exploration plays in our modern politics.

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

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, Niki, and Kellie discuss John F Kennedy's speech setting the goal of reaching the moon; how the program continued after his death; and the questions about whether going to the moon was a wortwhile endeavor given all the problems here on Earth.

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

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 about the time First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt took an airplane ride in a small plane piloted by Charles “Chief” Anderson, a Black pilot and member of the Tuskegee airmen.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the photo caused a sensation, and controversy — and helped bolster the case for Black pilots to serve in WWII.

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This Day 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; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia.

Our conversation about military integration continues with a look at Harry Truman and the civil-rights battle within the Democratic party. After a contentious 1948 convention, Truman starts to embrace desegregation, starting witht the military. Then we discuss how the culture of the armed forces began to slowly change.

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This Day 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; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia.

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 to — finally, formally — desegregate the armed forces. We talk about the long history of Black Americans in the armed services, and how the “double V” campaign of WWII put pressure on segregation. We also discuss how the military has served as a vehicle for growth for many Black families, including Kellie’s.

Join our America250 newsletter community! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying subscribers get access to early, ad-free versions of the show. Plus bonus features throughout the year. To support our work and get access to everything, subscribe now.

This Day 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; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia.

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 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 discuss how the ceremony around the laying of the cornerstone was shot through with Masonic symbolism and pageantry --- and some of the many conspiracy theories that surround the cornerstone.

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This Day 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; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia.

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 March 14th. This day in 1783, George Washington gave an address to his troops camped in Newburgh, NY, that averted a possible coup attempt.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Washington’s troops were upset in the last year of the war, whether the “coup” plot was legit, and how much to believe the story that it was the sheer power of Washington’s words that averted catastrophe.

Join our America250 newsletter community! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying subscribers get access to early, ad-free versions of the show. Plus bonus features throughout the year. To support our work and get access to everything, subscribe now.

This Day 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; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia.