The Smithsonian, Great Idea (1846)
This Day in Esoteric Political History
Jody Avirgan & Radiotopia
4.6 • 982 Ratings
🗓️ 15 August 2023
⏱️ 23 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
It’s August 15th. This day (actually Aug 10th) in 1846, President Polk signed into law a bill establishing the Smithsonian Institution, after almost a decade of squabbling about how the United States would use the money donated to it by Englishman James Smithson.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss the various ways in which the Smithsonian money could have been spent, why it was used the way it was — and whether the currrent institution honors Smithson’s original vision.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to this day in esoteric political history from Radiotopia. |
| 0:07.0 | My name is Jody Avergan. |
| 0:10.0 | This day, it was August 10,, 1846 President James K Polk signed the Smithsonian Institution |
| 0:18.0 | bill into law. |
| 0:19.8 | This would establish the Smithsonian Institution as a series of museums and research institutions. |
| 0:24.8 | Today, more than 175 years later, as you most likely know, it is the world's largest |
| 0:30.9 | such institution, 21 museums, the National Zoo, nine research |
| 0:34.5 | facilities all around Washington DC, kind of the, I would say, one of the defining |
| 0:38.8 | features of that city. But in that initial moment, way back in 18 1846 it was just an idea and it had a little bit of funding and a lot of controversy |
| 0:48.6 | It took about eight years of congressional squabbling about what would be done with the money that a man named |
| 0:54.3 | James Smithson had given to the United States for the quote increase and diffusion of knowledge |
| 1:00.4 | among men. |
| 1:01.4 | So let's talk about the various things that the Smithsonian |
| 1:04.3 | Institution could have been and how it ended up the way it is and whether it is still |
| 1:09.1 | fulfilling that initial vision as put forward by James Smithson. So here as always |
| 1:14.0 | Smithsonian Institution Ephician |
| 1:16.0 | Officinados I would say I'm an adventure |
| 1:18.0 | Nikola Hammer of Vanderbilt and Kelly Carter Jackson of Wesley. |
| 1:21.0 | Hello there. |
| 1:22.0 | Hello Jody. Hey there. If you've ever wanted to talk |
| 1:24.8 | shit about the Smithsonian Institution now is your moment but I have a feeling. |
| 1:29.4 | Get it all out. What's your relationship with the Smithsonian? I want to hear that before we get into the history. |
... |
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