logo
episode-header-image
Aug 19
18m 19s

The Dumbest, Most Perfect, Political Que...

JODY AVIRGAN & RADIOTOPIA
About this episode

It’s July 31st, 2012. This day, on the campaign trail, a reporter shouts a question at Mitt Romney: “What about your gaffes?!”

Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss how the question came to be asked and why it perfectly encapsulates everything wrong with modern political journalism. Plus, why the other questions asked that day weren’t that much better.

Don't forget to sign up for our America250 Watch newsletter, where you'll also get links and lots more historical tidbits.

https://thisdaypod.substack.com/

Find out more about the show 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

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Up next
Aug 21
The First Battle Over The Smithsonian (1846) [Archive Favorite]
The Trump administration has ramped up its attacks on museums and The Smithsonian. We're recoding a special reaction episode that will appear in our newsletter - sign up now to get it. In the meantime, here's an episode from the archives on the founding of the institution.It’s Au ... Show More
21m 56s
Aug 17
Jefferson Gets An Anti-Slavery Appeal (1791) [Archive Favorite]
It’s August 19th. This day in 1791, Benjamin Banneker sent an advance copy of his almanac to Thomas Jefferson. Along with the almanac, he included a letter pleading with Jefferson to recognize slavery as a moral wrong.Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss Banneker’s enlightenment-era ap ... Show More
19m 40s
Aug 14
Moral Panics, D&D, Steam Tunnels and More (1979) [Archive Favorite]
It’s August 17th. This day in 1979, a young college student by the name of James Dallas Egber III disappeared into a steam tunnel below his university, intending to commit suicide. But the story of his disappearance became a media - and moral - panic because of his affinity for t ... Show More
20m 35s
Recommended Episodes
May 2023
Reece Jones, "White Borders: The History of Race and Immigration in the United States from Chinese Exclusion to the Border Wall" (Beacon Press, 2021)
Recent racist anti-immigration policies, from the border wall to the Muslim ban, have left many Americans wondering: How did we get here? In White Borders: The History of Race and Immigration in the United States from Chinese Exclusion to the Border Wall (Beacon Press, 2021), Dr. ... Show More
1h 1m
Mar 2021
A History of Hate
In light of the targeted violence against the Asian community last week in Georgia, Maria and Julio unpack the root causes that led to this tragedy, including a history of racism toward AAPI communities and racialized misogyny against Asian women. They speak with Sung Yeon Choimo ... Show More
44m 51s
Jan 2025
13. How China Spies: Trump, TikTok, and Taiwan
Is the Chinese state using TikTok to spy on you? Why did President Biden move to shut TikTok down in the US the day before Trump's inauguration? And where does TikTok fit into China's cognitive warfare strategy? On Sunday 19 January, TikTok users in the United States opened their ... Show More
43m 32s
Jun 30
Frenemies: China & the USA, a History
The People's Republic of China has only existed since 1949, but in just 75 years its relationship with the United States is in a strong position to be the most tumultuous of all.Don is joined by Rana Mitter for this episode of Frenemies. Rana is S. T. Lee Professor of U.S.-Asia R ... Show More
49m 44s
Feb 2025
Making sense of Trump's tariffs. With Dani Rodrik
Tariffs have historically been an important tool of industrial policy. They were used in the last century by east Asian nations to promote infant industries, and are being used today by the EU to help spur the energy transition. But do Donald Trump’s threats to impose a 25% acros ... Show More
36m 17s
Sep 2023
Ian Patel, "We're Here Because You Were There: Immigration and the End of Empire" (Verso, 2021)
What are the origins of the hostile environment against immigrants in the UK? In We’re Here Because You Were There: Immigration and the End of Empire (Verso, 2021), Patel retells Britain's recent history in an often shocking account of state racism that still resonates today.In a ... Show More
1h 1m
Oct 2023
Chrissy Yee Lau, "New Women of Empire: Gendered Politics and Racial Uplift in Interwar Japanese America" (U Washington Press, 2022)
This episode, which is co-hosted with Mika Thornburg, features a conversation with Dr. Chrissy Yee Lau, the author of the newly published New Women of Empire: Gendered Politics and Racial Uplift in Interwar Japanese America (U Washington Press, 2022). The book centers the compell ... Show More
56m 21s
Aug 2023
Michael R. Jin, "Citizens, Immigrants, and the Stateless: A Japanese American Diaspora in the Pacific" (Stanford UP, 2021)
This episode features a conversation with Dr. Michael R. Jin regarding his recently published book Citizens, Immigrants, and the Stateless: The Japanese American Diaspora in the Pacific. Published in November 2021 by Stanford University Press, the book weaves together Jin’s speci ... Show More
1h 7m
May 26
What does China want from the US? With Jay Shambaugh
The tit-for-tat tariff escalations between the US and China are on pause, at least temporarily. But if the world’s two biggest economies don’t make progress by July, they could return with a vengeance. How can the two parties make progress? And what does China actually want from ... Show More
30m 28s
Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami