It’s July 12th. This day in 1877, a railroad worker strike is starting in West Virginia and will soon spread throughout the midwest and eastern United States.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how the strike was aided by the way in which railroads connected different parts of the country, and how it planted the seeds for an era of massive strikes.

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And don’t forget about Oprahdemics, hosted by Kellie, out now from Radiotopia.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia