Deep Dive: August 15, 1947: Independence, Activism, and a Postal Strike That Stopped New York - August 15, 2025

In this Deep Dive episode, our hosts discuss India's birth as a dominion in 1947, the tactics of 19th-century suffragist Susan B. Anthony, and a surprising labor flashpoint in 1971.

• 📜 August 15, 1947: We trace the constitutional and legal machinery of the Indian Independence Act, the compressed timetable for transfer of power, the administrative and citizenship challenges of partition, and the emotional scene—Nehru's "tryst with destiny" and the human consequences that followed.
• 🎂 Birthday roundup: We mark the birthdays of Susan B. Anthony (1820), Nikola Tesla (1856), and Aretha Franklin (1942), with a focus on Anthony's legal-savvy suffrage tactics — from her 1872 voting attempt and courtroom theater to state-level organizing and meticulous record-keeping.
• 💡 Fact of the day: The 1971 illegal wildcat strike by postal workers that halted New York City's mail — how a local pay dispute snowballed, the immediate civic disruption, and the federal legal tools (injunctions, contempt, criminal exposure) intended to stop such strikes.

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