Today, an episode from the archives that may provide some context for the news playing out today. We'll be doing more Sunday episodes -- from the archives and fresh conversations -- during the first year of the second Trump administration.

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! It’s March 16th. This day in 1985, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney met for what came to be known as “The Shamrock Summit,” which started to repair frayed relations between the two countries.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why a shared Irish heritage became the focal point for the meeting, and how a little singing and drinking probably helped as well.

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This Day In Esoteric Political History 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; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

It's March 6th. This day in 1811, Henri Christophe is proclaiming himself as the first King of Haiti -- he would also be the nation's last.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Marlene Daut of Yale to discuss how Haiti ended up with a king after its revolution, the remarkable life of Christophe, and how the instability of the time still lingers today.

Marlene's new book is called "The First And Last King Of Haiti" and is available now!

Sign up for our newsletter! Find out more at thisdaypod.com

And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kellie, coming soon from Radiotopia.

This Day In Esoteric Political History 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. Our website is thisdaypod.com Follow us on social @thisdaypod

Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Julie Shapiro and Audrey Mardavich, Executive Producers at Radiotopia

This day, it's 1913. Mexico City is in the midst of what would come to be known as "la decena tragica" -- the ten tragic days.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the Mexican revolution finally arrived in Mexico City, and how the internal strife was exacerbatted by U.S. meddling, from a checked-out president to an ambassador gone rogue.

Sign up for our newsletter! Find out more at thisdaypod.com

And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kellie, coming soon from Radiotopia.

This Day In Esoteric Political History 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. Our website is thisdaypod.com Follow us on social @thisdaypod

Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Julie Shapiro and Audrey Mardavich, Executive Producers at Radiotopia

There's an anti-DEI push taking place under the Trump administration -- is it just another in the long cycle of backlashes going all the way to reconstruction?

Welcome to our latest "Some Sunday Context" conversation. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the PC wars of the 90s, anti-affirmative action efforts of the 70s and 80s, and more. Plus, quick reactions to the latest news, from anti-trans efforts to the showdown between Trump, Vance and Zelenskyy.

Sign up for our newsletter! Find out more at thisdaypod.com

And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kellie, coming soon from Radiotopia.

This Day In Esoteric Political History 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. Our website is thisdaypod.com Follow us on social @thisdaypod

Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Julie Shapiro and Audrey Mardavich, Executive Producers at Radiotopia

It's February 27th. This day in 1973, the City of Chicago is converting all of its pay toilets to free toilets.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the grassroots movement and years-long fight over pay toilets -- and why public restrooms have always been such contested spaces.

Sign up for our newsletter! Find out more at thisdaypod.com

And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kellie, coming soon from Radiotopia.

This Day In Esoteric Political History 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. Our website is thisdaypod.com Follow us on social @thisdaypod

Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Julie Shapiro and Audrey Mardavich, Executive Producers at Radiotopia

It's February 24th. This day in 1928, a major report is issued highlighting conditions inside the so-called Indian Boarding Schools, which were set up by the US Government in the middle of the 19th century to "Americanize" Native American children.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by reporter Dana Hedgpeth to discuss what the report found, and how little reform took place inside these schools despite generation after generation of abuse and secrecy.

Dana is one of the author's behind a massive new investigation in The Washington Post that uncovered new records and tried to paint a picture of the true level of deaths and suffering inside Indian boarding schools.

Sign up for our newsletter! Find out more at thisdaypod.com

And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kellie, coming soon from Radiotopia.

This Day In Esoteric Political History 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. Our website is thisdaypod.com Follow us on social @thisdaypod

Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Julie Shapiro and Audrey Mardavich, Executive Producers at Radiotopia

Today, an episode from the archives that may provide some context for the news playing out today. We'll be doing more Sunday episodes -- from the archives and fresh conversations -- throghout the first year of the second Trump administration.

///

Today, February 13th — the roots of the celebration in 1924, when historian Carter G Woodson started Negro History Week.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why Woodson started the commemoration and how Black History Month has evolved in the century since.

Sign up for our newsletter! Find out more at thisdaypod.com

And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kellie, coming soon from Radiotopia.

This Day In Esoteric Political History 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. Our website is thisdaypod.com Follow us on social @thisdaypod

Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Julie Shapiro and Audrey Mardavich, Executive Producers at Radiotopia

It's February 19th. This day in 1967, the NCAA has decided to ban dunking in the college game -- a move largely seen as a response to Lew Alcindor (soon known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and other Black players using the move.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Mike Sielski of The Philadelphia Inquirer to talk about the larger political and racial context of the dunk ban, and what the dunk has meant to the game of basketball over the years.

Mike's new book is "Magic In The Air: The Myth, the Mystery and the Soul of the Slam Dunk"

This Day In Esoteric Political History 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

You can also find our newsletter, merch store, transcripts, and lot more on our site.

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

It's February 18th. This day in 1897, 2000 educators, parents and legislators are gathered to kick off a new organization that would come to be known as the Parent Teachers Association.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie dicsuss how the PTA has advocated for important issues over the years, and what kinds of activities the PTA works on in today's education environment. They also discuss how much parents should be involved in their kids' schools...

This Day In Esoteric Political History 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

You can also find our newsletter, merch store, transcripts, and lot more on our site.

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

Donald Trump has issued a flurry of executive orders, and Elon Musk is slashing and burning state capacity. But the courts, Congress, and public opinion may also have something to say about it.

Welcome to "Some Sunday Context" series for Febraury 16th, 2025. Every Sunday, we try and bring you an episode that offers a little historical perspective on what we're seeing in Donald Trump's second term.

Today: Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how Trump and Musk are testing -- and sometimes defying -- the limits of executive power. We also look to Andrew Jackson and Richard Nixon, two presidents who had showdowns with the court system, for context.

This is also a video episode! Be sure to subscribe on YouTube to watch the full thing. https://www.youtube.com/@ThisDayPod

This Day In Esoteric Political History 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

You can also find our newsletter, merch store, transcripts, and lot more on our site.

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