logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2023
26m 47s

The Hiroshima Maidens (1955) w/ Josh Lev...

JODY AVIRGAN & RADIOTOPIA
About this episode

It’s October 3rd. This day in 1956, a group of 25 Japanese women are heading back to Japan after spending a year in the United States receiving medical and cosmetic surgery.

Jody, Niki, and Kellie are joined by Slate’s Josh Levin to talk about the “Hiroshima Maidens,” who came to this country and showed Americans the horrific consequences of nuclear attack.

Josh tells the story of the maidens in a new episode of his series “One Year: 1955.” Check it out now wherever you get your podcasts.

Sign up for our newsletter! We’ll be sending out links to all the stuff we recommended later this week.

Find out more at thisdaypod.com

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; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia

Up next
Jul 8
The Mormon King Of Beaver Island (1850)
It's July 7th. This day in 1850, a man by the name of James Strang has proclaimed himself the true inheritor of the Mormon church -- and set up a colony on Beaver Island in Michigan.Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss a time of religious awakening in America, how Strang convinced his ... Show More
20m 9s
Jul 6
How America250 Is Coming Together (Part 2)
We continue our conversation about the America250 celebrations planned for 2026 -- which are kicking off in earnest this July 4th. We know a lot about who is tasked with putting this celebration together, and what that may indicate.The big news is that we are announcing the launc ... Show More
24 m
Jul 3
America250 Is Here, Are You Ready?
Hello and happy 4th of July! (One day early) America's 250th birthday is next year, but the celebration is, in many ways, kicking off this week. Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the 250th will be such a key moment for understanding US history, how the Trump administration is al ... Show More
41m 37s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2023
27 Years in the Jungle
Japanese ‘holdout’ Shoichi Yokoi had been hiding out in the jungles of Guam since the Second World War when he was discovered by hunters on 24th January, 1972, dressed in clothes woven from tree fibre. The 57 year-old soldier had endured 27 years living in an underground shelter ... Show More
11m 57s
Jan 2024
Japan's Tokugawa Shogunate
The Warring States period brought Japan to its knees. It was a time of turbulence and treachery, with rival warlords fighting bitterly for control of the land. But by the dawn of the 17th century, one of Japan's 'Great Unifiers' had emerged victorious - Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first ... Show More
29m 30s
Apr 2024
Hollywood Spy: The British WW1 Hero Who Helped Japan Attack Pearl Harbour
Frederick Rutland was one of Britain's finest naval pilots and a celebrated hero of the First World War. And yet in the interwar period, he would become a turncoat, feeding information to Japanese intelligence whilst living undercover in the glitz and glamour of 1930s Hollywood. ... Show More
25m 28s
Jun 2024
History Daily: The Discovery of China’s Terracotta Army & The Execution of King Louis XVI
I'm on vacation, and I hope you'll get some time away soon, too! Our featured podcast today is one that you'll 100% want to listen to on your summer travels: History Daily. Each weekday on History Daily, host Lindsay Graham (not the senator) takes you back in time to explore a mo ... Show More
36m 7s
Jul 2023
Long Reads: Japan's Socialist Tradition w/ Kenji Hasegawa
Japan may be a powerhouse of global capitalism. But it also developed a powerful socialist movement in the twentieth century. During the Cold War, the Socialist Party led the opposition to the ruling Liberal Democrats. Japan today still has a Communist Party with a mass membershi ... Show More
1h 4m
May 2024
[TEASER] International Workers' Day w/ John from Working Class History
You can listen to the full episode "International Workers' Day" by subscribing to our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/upstreampodcast As a Patreon subscriber you will get access to at least one bonus episode a month (usually two or three), our entire back catalog of Patreon ... Show More
14m 19s
Apr 2024
The Original Kamikaze: The Mongol Invasions of Japan
At the height of the Mongol Empire, Kublai Khan set his sights on the island of Japan. He launched two enormous invasions of that nation in 1274 and 1281 - but both of them were defeated, aided by sudden and disastrous storms that tore his fleets apart. The story of these kamikaz ... Show More
29m 44s
May 2021
The ‘Big Bang’ in Jazz History
Jazz pianist Jason Moran brings us an exploration into the life and work of James Reese Europe and how the infamous 369th Infantry Regiment - also known as the Harlem Hellfighters - crossed racial lines and brought jazz to Europe. Joe Young of New York Public Radio talks about ho ... Show More
59m 40s
Mar 2019
028 - How do you know that it is old
Iszi talks to Nick Ashton about recent fieldwork on the coast of East Anglia and finds out how dating works in archaeology. The British Museum Membercast is a monthly podcast made available to ‘all studious and curious persons’. Comedian, podcaster and super-fan Iszi Lawrence (Th ... Show More
37m 6s
Sep 2023
Escapar o morir, la gesta de tres españoles en el infierno de Mauthausen -Ep.7(Españoles en campos de concentración nazi
Contaba Agustín Santos que, cuando llegó a Mauthausen el 27 de agosto de 1941, entró en contacto «con unos hombres de silueta esquelética». Se refería a algunos de los aproximada- mente 7200 españoles que pasaron C por aquel siniestro campo de concentración entre 1939 y 1945. Y a ... Show More
17m 13s