The First Issue Of National Geographic (1888)
This Day in Esoteric Political History
Jody Avirgan & Radiotopia
4.6 • 982 Ratings
🗓️ 28 January 2025
⏱️ 19 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
It's January 28th. This day in 1888, a new society is formed in Washington D.C. to support the exploration of the entire globe -- and soon thereafter the magazine bearing its name would hit the shelves.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss why the National Geographic Society was founded, how it fit into the late 19th century American vision of the world, and how the magazine took off in the years since.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to this day in esoteric political history from Radiotopia. My name is Jody Avergan. |
| 0:10.2 | This day, January 27, 1888, the National Geographic Society is incorporated in Washington, D.C. for the, |
| 0:18.6 | quote, increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge. |
| 0:22.4 | The following Monday, dads around the country got their first copy of National Geographic |
| 0:26.1 | magazine in the mail. They sat down in their armchair and thumbed through it while muttering |
| 0:30.4 | under their breath. Huh, I never knew that about glaciers. |
| 0:34.0 | Now, that wasn't exactly how quickly it happened, though, you know what? The magazine was out there like nine months or so after the founding of the society. |
| 0:42.0 | But the founding of the society, the magazine, it does have some political elements, |
| 0:46.3 | and it can tell us a good amount about the age of science and expanding American Empire and more in the late 1800s. |
| 0:54.2 | So here to discuss National Geographic. |
| 0:56.9 | As always, Nicole Hammer of Vanderbilt and Kelly Carter Jackson of Wellesley. |
| 1:00.6 | Hello there. |
| 1:01.0 | Hello, Jody. |
| 1:02.2 | Hey there. |
| 1:03.0 | Were your household subscribers? |
| 1:05.0 | I believe we were. |
| 1:07.0 | Yeah, I think so, too. |
| 1:08.1 | My grandparents were. |
| 1:09.2 | Maybe not my parents, but definitely my grandparents. |
| 1:11.5 | Yeah. |
| 1:12.1 | But do you have memories of the like piling up of the yellow spines? |
| 1:16.7 | Yeah, the pile of magazines with that yellow border. |
... |
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