This Day in 2022... we launched a newsletter
Highlights, reflections and recommendations from your pals at the This Day podcast.
A note from Jody Avirgan
Hey all, this is the first issue of our newsletter! Be kind. We’re excited to get this going, and this is a really good week to do it. We’re in the middle of what we’re calling “Family Jewels Week,” a multi-part look at the 1975/76 Church Committee findings about all sorts of nefarious intelligence agency activities.
We were originally going to do this as one episode, but there was so much there that we decided to blow it out and make it a four-parter. And invite the brilliant Rick Perlstein to join for the ride. It’s really nice to have the flexibility to make a creative call like that. (We can do that because we’re an independent listener-supported show, hint hint…)
And I think we’re going to try and do more “theme weeks” going forward, so be in touch if you have a story or theme or guest that you think is worth multiple episodes.
Anyway, this newsletter. We’ll be sending it out every couple weeks, sharing some of our favorite quotes and moments from recent episodes. We’ll also give you recommendations for things that we’re reading, watching, listening to… You’ll hear from me, Kellie, Niki, Jacob, Brittani, fellow listeners… who knows, it’s a family affair, we’ll have fun.
Now, you hear Khawla Nakua’s name in the credits of the show — she helps with our transcripts. And she’ll be taking the lead on much of this newsletter. So, Khawla, take it away!
Quotes of the Week
My name is Khawla Nakua. I transcribe episodes for the podcast, and I’ll also be contributing regularly to this newsletter. As I’m transcribing the show, I often find that Jody, Kellie, Niki or our guest say something that just stays with me throughout the week. So, in this section of the newsletter, I’ll showcase interesting or inspiring or quotes/statements that may stay with YOU throughout the week.
If the people believe there’s an imaginary river out there, you don’t tell them there’s no river there. You build an imaginary bridge over the imaginary river.
- Rick Perlstein quoting Nikita Khrushchev, former Premier of the Soviet Union said to President Richard Nixon. From our first “Family Jewels” episode.
It takes a long time to bring about the change that these organizers want. You would think that if tens of thousands of people protested and died, the result would change to get an eight hour workday. But it doesn’t. It takes almost 50 years later to get an eight hour workday.
- Kellie Carter Jackson, from our episode on Haymarket Riots and the roots of May Day, on the fight for a fairer workweek.
It’s not just about the shame and the disconnection that comes with not being able to talk about something. You’re cut off from necessary medical information, from the knowledge that this is something normal, that happens to many, many, many women.
- Nicole Hemmer, discussing “Our Bodies, Ourselves.”
This Day on This Day
We’re on our third trip around the calendar, so there’s a whole back catalog of stories to explore. Her are some we love.
Closing Esoterica
A thought or some links or something else to get you thinking…
Jody here again. This has gone on long enough. We have to pace ourselves. If you’re still reading, gold star. But, a final brain dump:
Are you aware that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the best blogger in America right now?
A great note/correction from a listener about our episode on “Our Bodies, Ourselves”
I am a blind, Braille-using translator and I was happy to hear the book was in Braille (I am also a woman). However, I was dismayed to hear you say the book was translated into many languages as well as Braille. Braille is not a language, it is a writing system like hieroglyphics or Morse code or the International Phonetic association’s list of symbols. The correct verb for Braille is transcribe. “The book was transcribed into Braille”. You can also say that the book was Brailled.
Oprahdemics! Wow I love this show. I know, I’m biased. But, check it out, especially since Niki is this week’s guest.
The thing I look forward to the most each day? Dracula Daily.
We mentioned this during our episode on Henrietta Wood, but if you’re looking for a fantastic historical read this spring/summer, check out Sweet Taste of Liberty.