This Day in Miami History Podcast Spotlights Miami's Stranger-Than-Fiction Past

It's a hot, sticky day in Miami, the kind where sweat beads slide down your skin, and there's no escaping the heat. Matthew Bunch sits at a picnic bench at the Women's Park along West Flagler Avenue, deep in western Miami-Dade. He's seeking shade under the roof of the Roxcy O'Neal Bolton Women's History Gallery alongside a few Muscovy ducks who also have gotten the same idea.

Bunch, a teacher and podcaster, was recently awarded an Award of Excellence by the American Association for State and Local History for his podcast, This Day in Miami History.

"It was really quite an honor," he says, sitting up proudly.

Now in its third year, Bunch admits that This Day in Miami History was born out of pandemic boredom. In the spring of 2021, he found himself stuck at home with a newborn and not much else to do. A lover of history and a social studies teacher by day, he decided to delve into the past.

"I've always been interested in Miami's kind of wacky history and like how relevant it winds up being," says the 37-year-old Maryland native. "I think it's Billy Corbin who says, 'The Miami of today is the America of tomorrow.'"

Although Bunch was born and raised in Baltimore, he moved to Miami in 2005 to attend the University of Miami, where he studied journalism. He fell in love not only with the city but also with his future wife. He's called Florida home ever since.
Part of what inspired the This Day in Miami History podcast was his non-native knowledge of all things Miami. He'd drive up and down the city's busy streets with unfamiliar names and wonder who those people were and why they were deserving of a street.

"Roxcy Bolton was one of these names that I didn't know very much about," admits Bunch, motioning to the impressive gallery space to his left bearing Bolton's name. "I'd be doing research for other episodes, and her name would keep popping up."

He eventually decided to research the woman herself and found her incredibly inspiring. "She was remarkable. A daughter of the Confederacy but also incredibly involved in the women's rights movement in Miami and nationally." In March, Bunch released an episode dedicated to Bolton to commemorate Women's History Month.

As he started working on his initial idea for This Day in Miami History, Bunch found himself inspired by the Magic City's history. He did some research and found there was a space for another Miami-centered podcast. "My friend Casey Piket does the Miami History Podcast, but he's very academic, very thorough, and I was looking for something that's a little bit more bite-sized." Whereas Miami History episodes average 30 to 60 minutes, Bunch's are typically 15 to 30 minutes.
The first episode Bunch produced for the podcast in 2021 centered around our public transit system — or lack thereof. He was baffled by the fact that the Metrorail did not connect to Miami International Airport until 2012, 28 years after the system first opened. He wanted to find out why.

"I started digging, and I finally found a former county commissioner who was on the transportation committee, and I interviewed him," Bunch explains.

Each episode allows Bunch to flex his journalism muscle. He researches, interviews, and writes a story that will eventually be shared with a broad audience. Bunch primarily utilizes the well-kept archives of the Wolfsonian, HistoryMiami Museum, Miami Herald, and Miami News. "The show would not be possible without them," Bunch says, raising his hands as if praising the invisible journalism gods.

Out of his more than 40 episodes, he has a personal favorite. He's always been fascinated by Nixon and Watergate, and naturally, there's a Miami connection to that scandal.

The history teacher can pull dates from his brain like gum from a gumball machine. He raises his fingers to his temple and squeezes his eyes shut. You can also see him scanning the files in his mind palace for a date.
"March 30, 1972," he blurts out. "It's the Watergate Hotel break-in episode that is about the meeting at the winter White House, the Florida White House, where Nixon's advisors basically planned out Watergate. It's this whole wide-ranging crazy scheme that they were cooking up and eventually blew up in their faces."

Over the last three years, Bunch has compiled a lengthy spreadsheet with notable dates, names, and historic events. He combs through the sheet when searching for inspiration for his next episode. The one-man show aims to release at least one episode per month.

"I feel like the best episodes are ones where there are lessons for today."

The next episode, the Great Gleason Express, releases on August 3 and is all about Jackie Gleason coming into town. "I've been meaning to do this episode for three years," says Bunch excitedly.

This Day in Miami History is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.