Abolishing Slavery: The 13th Amendment [Deep Dive] - January 31, 2026

[00:00] Adriana Costa: Hello and welcome to Deep Dive. I'm so glad you're joining us. [00:05] Cole Mercer: I am too, Adriana. You know, today is January 31st, 2026, a date that represents some of the most profound shifts in American policy, culture, and science. [00:19] Adriana Costa: Mm-hmm. We have to start with the monumental event from 1865. On this day, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the 13th Amendment. [00:32] Adriana Costa: Cole, this was the moment the legal framework of slavery in America finally began to crumble on a constitutional level. [00:41] Cole Mercer: Security coverage, Adriana. [00:44] Cole Mercer: passing it in the house was the final hurdle before it could be sent to the states for ratification it effectively abolished slavery and involuntary servitude except as punishment for a crime [01:00] Cole Mercer: It essentially rewrote the national contract. [01:04] Adriana Costa: It's hard to overstate the human impact. [01:08] Adriana Costa: This wasn't just a policy shift. [01:10] Adriana Costa: It was a formal declaration of humanity for millions. [01:15] Adriana Costa: Though the road to actual equality was long, this day in 1865 was the cornerstone of that entire journey. [01:23] Cole Mercer: Exactly. [01:25] Cole Mercer: From a national security perspective, it was also about stabilizing a fractured union. [01:32] Cole Mercer: The amendment was later ratified in December of 1865. [01:36] Cole Mercer: But the momentum started right here on January 31st. [01:42] Adriana Costa: Speaking of breaking barriers, today is the birthday of a man who continued that fight for equality on the baseball diamond. [01:50] Adriana Costa: Jackie Robinson was born on this day in 1919. [01:55] Adriana Costa: When he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, he didn't just play ball. [02:01] Adriana Costa: He challenged the soul of the country. [02:03] Cole Mercer: The discipline Robinson showed was incredible, Adriana. [02:09] Cole Mercer: He faced immense hostility, but maintained a level of professionalism that made it impossible for the league to maintain its color barrier. [02:18] Cole Mercer: He opened the door for generations of athletes. [02:22] Adriana Costa: He truly did. And while Robinson was changing society through sport, we also celebrate two [02:30] Adriana Costa: figures today who changed the world through sound. First, there's the Austrian composer [02:36] Adriana Costa: Franz Schubert, born in 1797. He's the master of the unfinished symphony and the Trout Quintet. [02:44] Cole Mercer: Security coverage with such a short life. [02:49] Cole Mercer: His leader, or art songs, really defined the Romantic era. [02:55] Cole Mercer: It's interesting to contrast his lush melodic style with our other birthday today, the minimalist pioneer, Philip Glass, born in 1937. [03:09] Adriana Costa: Glass is a fascinating figure, Cole. [03:12] Adriana Costa: His work on operas like Einstein on the Beach and film scores like Kojanas Katsy brought a completely new texture to modern music. [03:21] Adriana Costa: He uses repetition and subtle shifts in a way that feels almost hypnotic. [03:29] Cole Mercer: It's about precision and structural evolution. [03:32] Cole Mercer: That same drive for precision was evident in 1958 when the United States finally entered the space age. [03:41] Cole Mercer: On this day, Explorer 1 was launched from Cape Canaveral. [03:46] Adriana Costa: This was a huge response to the Soviet Union's Sputnik launch, wasn't it? [03:52] Adriana Costa: The pressure must have been immense for the American team to succeed after their earlier setbacks. [03:59] Cole Mercer: Security coverage, Adriana. [04:02] Cole Mercer: From a defense standpoint, it was about proving technical parity during the Cold War. [04:09] Cole Mercer: But the mission wasn't just symbolic. [04:12] Cole Mercer: It carried scientific instruments that discovered the Van Allen radiation belts. [04:18] Adriana Costa: The discovery of those charged particles trapped by Earth's magnetic field [04:23] Adriana Costa: really changed our understanding of the space environment. [04:27] Adriana Costa: It was a victory for both the military and the scientific community. [04:33] Cole Mercer: That's remarkable. [04:35] Cole Mercer: Whether it's the launch of a satellite or the passage of an amendment, [04:40] Cole Mercer: Today is a day defined by those who were determined to reach beyond the existing limits. [04:47] Adriana Costa: A perfect way to look at it. Thank you for joining us for this look at history, Cole. [04:53] Cole Mercer: It was a pleasure. Explore more at deepdive.neuralnewscast.com. [05:00] Cole Mercer: Deep dive is AI-assisted, human-reviewed. Explore history every day on Neural Newscast.