logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2025
18m 26s

50 Years Of JAWS Terrifying Everyone (19...

JODY AVIRGAN & RADIOTOPIA
About this episode
It's June 17th. This day in 1975, Steven Spielberg's JAWS is in theaters -- it is the first proper summer blockbuster, and also has a massive political and cultural effect. Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the movie ruined the reputation of sharks, and also served as a parable for late-1970s American malaise. 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
Yesterday
An Aid Ship To Ireland (1847) [Thanksgiving Week]
<p><em>This Thanksgiving Week, some episodes favorite about community, what binds us -- and food!</em></p><p>It’s May 2nd. In 1847, a US military ship, the USS Jamestown, was loaded up with food and other relief to sail to Ireland and help with the famine in that country.</p><p>J ... Show More
13m 41s
Nov 23
"Death By Lightning" and Chester Arthur's Rise (Some Sunday Context)
<p>The new Netflix series "Death By Lightning" focuses on the unexpected rise of James Garfield in the 1880 election, and his assassination by Charles Guiteau. It also features Nick Offerman as Chester Arthur, a product of machine politics who ends up as Garfield's VP and then as ... Show More
15m 36s
Nov 20
Evacuation Day: NYC's Forgotten Holiday (1783)
<p>It's the last week in November -- on November 25th, 1783, British troops finally left New York City, which had suffered a brutal two years since the formal end of the Revolutionary War.</p><p>Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss what life was like in the period when British troops w ... Show More
23m 7s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 7
Italians in America
From Columbus onwards, Italians have been a part of American culture. Don explores this rich history with Professor Anthony Tamburri, Dean of the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute in New York.Produced by Sophie Gee and Freddy Chick. Edited by Tim Arstall. Senior Produce ... Show More
48m 21s
Jul 2021
Alyssa Goldstein Sepinwall, "Slave Revolt on Screen: The Haitian Revolution in Film and Video Games" (UP of Mississippi, 2021)
Michel-Rolph Trouillot wrote that “the silencing of the Haitian Revolution is only a chapter within a narrative of global domination. It is part of the history of the West and it is likely to persist, even in attenuated form, as long as the history of the West is not retold in wa ... Show More
1h 10m
Jun 2024
How to make a Anthony Hopkins starring historical indie feature with producer Meg Thomson & Director Matt Brown
On today's show, host Giles Alderson welcomes not one but two amazing guests: producer Meg Thomson and director Matt Brown. They're here to talk all about their latest indie feature film Freud's Last Session, starring Anthony Hopkins, Matthew Goode, and many other great actors. G ... Show More
1h 9m
Oct 2
Who Was the Worst President Ever?
What makes a bad President? Who was the worst of all time? Don is joined by Professor Jeremi Suri, author of The Impossible Presidency and co-host of This Is Democracy.Next week we'll be looking at who is the best President ever!Edited by Tim Arstall. Produced by Freddy Chick. Se ... Show More
32m 28s
Oct 12
608. Nelson: Slaughter in Naples (Part 1)
What happened when the heroic Horatio Nelson, victor of the Battle of the Nile, sailed into the seething city of Naples? Why would his meeting with the glamorous celebrity, Lady Emma Hamilton, shape the rest of his life? And, why would his decision to lend his support to the fool ... Show More
1h 22m
Feb 2025
Bonus Episode: The Madness of Moviemaking
This week, Jake talks about his experience trying to get a movie made and reflects on the obsessive drive that is required for filmmakers like Martin Scorsese to take a film from concept to the screen. On Friday, we're celebrating Oscar week by bringing you our two part episode o ... Show More
38m 49s
Sep 2
History's Worst F*ckboys: Charles II
Our mini-series exploring the worst f*ckboys in history is back!In today's episode, Kate is joined by Dr. David Taylor of Oxford University to get to know the so-called Merry Monarch and the many women in his life.Was it better to be married or be a mistress to Charles II? How ma ... Show More
44m 49s
Feb 2025
Candyman
<p>On October 16, 1992, one of the greatest horror films of the 1990s -- CANDYMAN -- opened across the country. But it’s the reality that the film is inspired by – racial terror, poverty, drugs, police indifference, and the disturbing murder of a Chicago woman – that is even more ... Show More
1h 21m
Mar 2020
Kristen Hoerl, "Bad Sixties: Hollywood Memories of the Counterculture, Antiwar, and Black Power Movements" (UP of Mississippi, 2018)
On this episode of the New Books Network, Dr. Lee Pierce (she/they)--Asst. Prof. of Rhetoric and Communication at the State University of New York at Geneseo--interviews Kristen Hoerl (she/hers) on her impressive new book The Bad Sixties: Hollywood Memories of the Counterculture, ... Show More
57m 20s