logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2024
17m 11s

The FDR Assassination Attempt (1933)

JODY AVIRGAN & RADIOTOPIA
About this episode

It’s February 15th. This day in 1933, in Miami, Giuseppe Zangara pulled out a pistol and, while yelling “too many people are starving!” fired at President-elect Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why Zangara was trying to kill FDR, the others who were hurt in the incident — and the true “what if” in American history had Zangara succeeded.

Sign up for our newsletter! Get your hands on This Day merch!

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. 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
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
May 2023
WW2: Last Letters of Resistance Fighters
It's 1943, you're part of the French resistance, and you've been sentenced to death. You're allowed to write one last letter before you're shot by the Nazis. Who do you write to? Friends? Family? Fellow comrades? How do you know if they'll even get it?Of the 10,000 or so executio ... Show More
1h 8m
Aug 2022
Welcome to American History Hit
Join Don Wildman twice a week for your hit of American history, as he explores the past to help us understand the United States of today. We’ll hear how codebreakers uncovered secret Japanese plans for the Battle of Midway, visit Chief Powhatan as he prepares for war with the Bri ... Show More
3m 12s
Aug 2023
President George Washington
He was the victorious Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. As presiding officer of the Constitutional Convention, he oversaw the birth of the government of the United States. But George Washington is remembered by most as the first Pre ... Show More
40m 34s
Aug 2023
Repudiados por Franco y odiados por el Reich - Ep.1 (Españoles en campo de concentración nazis)
El retrato político de los reos que arribaron a Francia a partir de 1938 nos muestra a antiguos combatientes del Ejército Popular y a miles de sindicalistas. El doctor en Historia Gaspar Celaya, experto en el exilio, confirma que hubo anarcosindicalistas de la CNT, trotskistas de ... Show More
16m 11s
Feb 2024
Atatürk: Fall of the Ottoman Empire
On the 19th of May, 1919, an Ottoman general stepped ashore at the Black Sea port city of Samsun. This marked the beginning of the Turkish War of Independence, and ultimately the end of the Ottoman Empire. The man's name was Mustafa Kemal, the soldier, statesman and reformer who ... Show More
33m 56s
Jan 2023
Introducing: History Daily
On History Daily, we do history, daily. Every weekday, host Lindsay Graham (American Scandal, American History Tellers) takes you back in time to explore a momentous event that happened ‘on this day’ in history. Whether it’s to remember the tragedy of December 7th, 1941, the day ... Show More
4m 13s
Dec 2023
The Assassination of Julius Caesar
March 15th 44BC is perhaps the most notorious date in all of ancient history. On that fateful day, the Ides of March, 55-year-old Roman dictator Gaius Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of disaffected senators. In this episode, Tristan (with a little help from Dr Emma Sout ... Show More
50m 23s
Jan 2023
Introducing: History Daily
On History Daily, we do history, daily. Every weekday, host Lindsay Graham (American Scandal, American History Tellers) takes you back in time to explore a momentous event that happened ‘on this day’ in history. Whether it’s to remember the tragedy of December 7th, 1941, the day ... Show More
4m 23s