For the third installment of our month-long collaboration with the This Day podcast, we go to 1964 and a moment when the two major parties in this country, in a sense, switched. This Day hosts Jody Avirgan, Nicole Hemmer, and Kellie Carter Jackson are joined by Eric K. Ward, executive vice president of Race Forward, to trace the story from Jim Crow through the New Deal and into the Civil Rights Act—and to understand why the Democratic coalition that produced it was always too contradictory to survive. How did Black voters move from Lincoln’s party to LBJ’s? And what did White Southerners do when their party started to leave them behind?
Be sure to check out Eric’s documentary White with Fear on PBS.
If you enjoy this episode, go over to This Day’s feed for two more episodes on each of these historical topics. The Context’s host, Alex Lovit, will be the guest in the third episode each week. Listen to all episodes here.
Attention, Washington, DC-area listeners! Join us on Monday, October 19, 2026, for a live taping of This Day. The Context host, Alex Lovit, will join This Day hosts live on stage. The featured guest is Kettering Senior Fellow Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II.
They will be in conversation about the moment of democratic realignment we are living through right now. Are we witnessing a fundamental shift in who holds power, who gets left out, and how race and class are reshaping the coalitions that define American politics? And what can history teach us about moments like this one?
The event is open to the public, and tickets are available through the Howard Theatre.
Do you ever watch the news and wonder, “How did we get here?” Or think to yourself, “Things are bad . . . What can I do?”
The Context is here to help. Our show breaks down the ideas, history, and trends that are shaping democracy. And you don’t need to be an expert to follow along. Every other Tuesday, host Alex Lovit talks about timely topics with big-picture thinkers and hands-on practitioners, like activists, writers, historians, and community leaders.
The topics are heavy, but we try to have fun along the way. To build the future we want, we’ll need knowledge—but also camaraderie and joy.
We hope you’ll join us.