logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2024
1h 11m

512. America in '68: The Chicago Riots (...

Goalhanger
About this episode

The Democratic National Convention is in Chicago, and the incumbent president, Lyndon B. Johnson, has pulled out of the race. Anti-war protestors are flooding the streets of the city, and Johnson continues to press on with the war in Vietnam. Bobby Kennedy’s assassination has turned the Democratic candidacy contest into a two-horse race between Hubert Humphrey and Eugene McCarthy. And while they’re battling inside the convention for delegates, the real fight is taking place on the streets. Dope-smoking youth activists known as the “Yippies” have called for a protest against the Vietnam War, and their threats made in the name of the ‘politics of play’ have been taken seriously by Chicago police, who react with brutal force. Flowers and poems meet truncheons and guns. As DNC votes are being counted, images of these confrontations are broadcasted on newsreels across the nation.


Join Tom and Dominic to discuss a Democratic National Convention that saw Chicago descend into violence and chaos. Listen as they explore what led to one of the most anarchic political conventions, and how it impacted a divided America.


_______


*The Rest Is History LIVE in the U.S.A.*

If you live in the States, we've got some great news: Tom and Dominic will be performing throughout America in November, with shows in San Francisco, L.A., Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Boston and New York.


Tickets on sale now at TheRestIsHistory.com

_______


Twitter:

@TheRestHistory

@holland_tom

@dcsandbrook

Producer: Theo Young-Smith

Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis

Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Up next
Aug 20
593. The Fight of the Century
Why did two men - John Heenan and and Tom Sayers - illegally meet in a field in Hampshire, in 1860, to brutally fight one another, captivating Britain in the process? What can the fight tell us about the nature of Britishness in the 19th century? Was this the birth of boxing? Who ... Show More
57m 19s
Aug 17
592. Mad Victorian Sport
How and when was football invented, and what are the origins of football clubs? What is the connection between public hangings, highwaymen, and early sporting events? Which is the most historically important sporting ground in the world? When was the first cricket test match play ... Show More
56m 35s
Aug 13
591. The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln: Manhunt for the Killer (Part 2)
How was President Abraham Lincoln murdered on Good Friday 1865, at Ford’s Theatre, just five days after Robert E. Lee’s surrender? Who was John Wilkes Booth, the racist actor with southern sympathies, who assassinated him? How did he escape before the shocked eyes of the packed t ... Show More
1h 7m
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2024
The Chicago DNC everyone wants to forget
When Chicago hosted the Democratic National Convention in 1968, it descended into riots in the street and chaos on the floor. Historian Rick Perlstein talks about whether 2024 risks a repeat.This episode was produced by Hady Mawajdeh, edited by Miranda Kennedy, fact-checked by La ... Show More
27m 14s
Aug 2024
178. The Vietnam War: Nixon, Vietnamisation, and the Fall of Saigon
With Richard Nixon now in the White House and not wanting to have his presidency consumed by Vietnam like his predecessor’s was, he begins to search for ways to disentangle America from the war. It begins with Vietnamisation and an attempt to reduce South Vietnamese reliance on t ... Show More
57m 13s
Aug 2024
177. The Vietnam War: Lyndon Johnson, Americanisation, and Operation Rolling Thunder
With the death of JFK, Lyndon B. Johnson took over the Presidency and immediately had to wrestle with America’s relationship with Vietnam after the killing of Diem. Right from the start he prophesised that it would be his downfall and so it was. He consistently resented it and th ... Show More
58m 57s
May 2024
Nixon Attacked In Caracas (1958)
It's May 14th. This day in 1958, Vice President Richard Nixon is on a goodwill tour of South America when his motorcade is attacked by a violent mob in Venezuela.Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the incident reflected the larger tensions between the United States and the region ... Show More
15m 36s
May 15
Miami Explodes Into Violence (1980)
It's May 14th. This day in 1980, Miami is seeing the biggest racial uprising of the 70s or 80s, as riots and violence erupt with the acquittal of police officers accused of killing a man by the name of Arthur McDuffie.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the violence broke out, how ... Show More
22m 44s
Sep 2024
America’s First Televised Presidential Debate
September 26, 1960. In Chicago, candidates Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy square off in the first-ever televised presidential debate. Support the show! Join Into History for ad-free listening and more. History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser.Go to HistoryDail ... Show More
16m 36s
Oct 2024
The Vietnam War
The battle for Vietnam waged between the communist-ruled North of the country, and the US-backed south, lasted almost 20 years, from 1955. It spilled over into neighbouring countries, and resulted in the deaths of an estimated 3.8 million people - half of them civilians. It was a ... Show More
1h 2m
Nov 2022
The Red Wave: How the Left fuelled New York City's violent crime wave
Introducing Steve Edington's latest podcast, the Red Wave.In this three part documentary series, Steven travels across America ahead of the midterm elections to explore why the Republicans are expected to win in a landslide. His journey will take him from the Mexican border and t ... Show More
37m 58s
Aug 5
Joe Kennedy on Rebuilding Democratic Values
The battle is on in Texas, where Republicans voted to issue civil arrest warrants for Democrats who fled the state to stop plans to redistrict the congressional map. Texas Democrats involved say they're “running into the fight to stand up for our democracy.” Former Democratic Con ... Show More
56m 3s
Aug 2024
176. The Vietnam War: The Rise of Ho Chi Minh
Vietnam, or Indochina as it was known, had been under French colonial rule since the nineteenth century. This was until the Vietnamese nationalist group, the Viet Minh, took on the French in 1946. Ho Chi Minh, son of a Confucian scholar, former chef in Boston, and lover of French ... Show More
1h 4m