Reckoning With Racial Violence [Some Sunday Context]

Reckoning With Racial Violence [Some Sunday Context]

Author: Jody Avirgan & Radiotopia May 31, 2026 Duration: 24:07
This past week, we talked about the Tulsa Massacre of 1921. For today's "Sunday Context" episode we jump a couple generations ahead to the summer of 1967, when president Johnson convened the “Kerner Commission” to look into the roots of violence and unrest in America, largely in Black and brown communities around the country. The report came out next year and offered a frank and damning assessment of the complicity of white Americans. But it's recommendations were largely ignored and suppresed. Featuring Jelani Cobb, author of an updated version, “The Essential Kerner Commission Report,” out now. Join our America250 newsletter community! Subscribe for free to get the latest news and analysis of how America250 is playing out. Paying subscribers get access to early, ad-free versions of the show. Plus bonus features throughout the year. To support our work and get access to everything, subscribe now. This Day 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; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia.

Hosted by Jody Avirgan alongside historians Nicole Hemmer and Kellie Carter Jackson, This Day is a historical podcast from Radiotopia that steps back from the relentless news cycle to find context in the past. The series "50 Weeks That Shaped America" serves as its core, offering a rich, narrative-driven examination of pivotal moments that have fundamentally influenced the nation's political landscape and cultural identity. This isn't a dry recitation of dates but a deep, engaging exploration of the stories and decisions that collectively brought us to the present. Each episode functions as a carefully researched journey, unpacking the complexities and unintended consequences of historical events you might think you know, revealing the surprising threads that connect them to contemporary life. By focusing on these formative weeks, the podcast provides a unique and clarifying lens, arguing that to understand today's headlines, you often need to listen to the echoes of yesterday. The conversations between Avirgan, Hemmer, and Jackson are insightful and accessible, blending scholarly depth with compelling storytelling. Tuning into this podcast feels like gaining a new set of tools for thinking about America, its ongoing struggles, and its evolving character, all through the meticulous and thoughtful work of its hosts.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

This Day (An America 250 History Show)
Podcast Episodes
Mid-Year Mailbag w/ Jody, Niki, and Kellie [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:33
Coming off the 4th of July weekend, we check in on how the big America 250 celebrations went, how we marked the day, and answer some listener questions about this year, and this show. Thanks to everyone who checked in, w…
The Declaration of Independence (Live from Boston) w/ A.J. Jacobs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:24
For this 4th of July weekend, our "50 Weeks That Shaped America" series lands in, no surprise, 1776 and the signing of the Declaration of Independence. 250 years ago, a group writing assignment fell in Thomas Jefferson's…
Books We'd Save From A Fire (Part 2) w/ Jon Meacham [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:44
We continue our 250-year look at the most significant works of history by looking at the rise of popular presidential biography, and the correctives to history offered over the last 15 years. Plus, books that have aged w…
The Books That Shaped America w/ Jon Meacham (Part 1) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:47
This week, as we head to the 4th of July weekend, we are bringing you a special two-part episode that provides a capstone for our month-long collaboration with Random House about the books that have shaped American histo…
A Nation Of Readers: Poetry, Essay, Hanif and Javier [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:30
Hanif Abdurraqib and Javier Zamora both float between poetry, memoir, essay, spoken word and more -- finding the right form to explore their personal experience within American history. They join Jody Avirgan to discuss…
Stonewall: Does It Matter Who Threw The First Brick? (Part 2) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:21
Our conversation about the 1969 riots at the Stonewall Inn continues with an account of how the tension ratcheted up that night -- and how the story of that night has been shared and contested over the decades since. Joi…
Stonewall: The Breaking Point (Part 1) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:10
For the twenty-fifth installment of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we go to June 1969, and New York City’s Greenwich Village. Police raids on the Stonewall Inn, one of the main gay bar’s in NYC, were fairly common. But f…
A Nation Of Readers: The Gaps In History [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:33
A conversation about finding historical inspiration in all sorts of unique places, with Tiya Miles, author of "All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake" and Kathleen DuVal, author of "N…
Little Bighorn: Custer's Last Stand and Custer's Legend (Part 2) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:47
In part two of our look at the Battle Of Little Bighorn, we discuss what actually went down in Custer's Last Stand, how it was more chaotic than the reports, and how the legend of General Custer has shifted over the year…
Little Bighorn: The U.S. Conquers The West (Part 1) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:31
For the twenty-fourth installment of “50 Weeks That Shaped America” we go to the Montana Territory in the spring of 1876. General George Custer (and his cinnamon-scented hair) have been sent to the area to defeat the Pla…