For the thirty-second installment of "50 Weeks That Shaped America," we go pehaps the most iconic cultural event in US history -- the Woodstock "Aquarian Exposition" concert in Bethel, New York. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the larger context of culture and politics in Summer 1969, how the idea for the concert came together, and who ended up on the bill.

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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 2008 financial crisis. In it, we discussed how This American Life's "Giant Pool of Money" episode helped explain the economic collapse to a lot of listerners, our crew included. Today, a bonus conversation between Jody and Alex Blumberg, who co-reported the piece with Adam Davidson -- the two of them went on to start Planet Money. Jody and Alex discuss what it was like to report on the collapse, try to translate it into narrative audio, the piece's impact on the world of audio and podcast, and Alex's thoughts on the current frothy economy. 

Alex's new project is "Daisy Chain Ventures"

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This Day is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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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.

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 McCain campaigns, and how the seeds for our era of economic populism got planted.

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This Day is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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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 thirty-first installment of "50 Weeks That Shaped America," we go to fairly recent history -- the spring and summer of 2008, when the US banking industry began to collapse on the back of instability in the housing market. Jody, Niki, and Kellie revisit the world of Credit Default Swaps, Subprime mortgages, and a steady collapse of financial institutions. All while the Bush administration was flailing and Obama and McCain are mounting their campaign.

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This Day is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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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 Scopes "monkey trial" in 1925 -- today we bring you an episode from the archives about the repeal of the Butler Act in 1967, and the way that evolution worked its way into curriculums across the country.

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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.

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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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.

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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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.

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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This Day is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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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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This Day is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX.

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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.

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.