Throughline
326 episodes - English - Latest episode: 18 days ago - ★★★★★ - 14.4K ratingsThroughline is a time machine. Each episode, we travel beyond the headlines to answer the question, "How did we get here?" We use sound and stories to bring history to life and put you into the middle of it. From ancient civilizations to forgotten figures, we take you directly to the moments that shaped our world. Throughline is hosted by Peabody Award-winning journalists Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin Arablouei.
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Episodes
American Socialist (2021)
December 23, 2021 05:01 - 1 hour - 59.2 MBAmerican workers are reaching a breaking point. We're seeing a wave of resignations and labor strikes, and a supply chain that's cracking under the pressure. At the turn of the 20th century, one man faced a similar world and dreamt of something more – Eugene V. Debs. He was a bold and irreverent labor organizer, and the first socialist candidate for president. He believed in welfare programs, early childhood education, and the collective ownership of public resources. To him, there was nothi...
American Socialist (2020)
December 23, 2021 05:01 - 1 hour - 59.2 MBAmerican workers are reaching a breaking point. We're seeing a wave of resignations and labor strikes, and a supply chain that's cracking under the pressure. At the turn of the 20th century, one man faced a similar world and dreamt of something more – Eugene V. Debs. He was a bold and irreverent labor organizer, and the first socialist candidate for president. He believed in welfare programs, early childhood education, and the collective ownership of public resources. To him, there was nothi...
The Monster of We
December 16, 2021 05:01 - 1 hour - 55.5 MBAre most modern problems caused by selfishness or a lack of it? Ayn Rand, a Russian American philosopher and writer, would say it's the latter — that selfishness is not a vice but a virtue — and that capitalism is the ideal system. Everyone from Donald Trump to Alan Greenspan to Brad Pitt have sung Ayn Rand's praises. The Library of Congress named her novel, Atlas Shrugged, the second most influential book in the U.S. after the Bible. Ayn Rand wasn't politically correct, she was belligerent a...
History Is Over
December 09, 2021 05:01 - 53 minutes - 48.5 MBAs the end of the 20th century approached, Radiohead took to the recording studio to capture the sound of a society that felt like it was fraying at the edges. Many people had high hopes for the new millennium, but for others a low hum of anxiety lurked just beneath the surface as the world changed rapidly and fears of a Y2K meltdown loomed. Amidst all the unease, the famed British band began recording their highly anticipated follow ups to their career-changing album OK Computer. Those two ...
A Symphony of Resistance (2021)
December 02, 2021 05:01 - 57 minutes - 52.6 MBThe Arab Spring erupted eleven years ago when a wave of "pro-democracy" protests spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa. The effects of the uprisings reverberated around the world as regimes fell in some countries, and civil war began in others. This week, we remember the years leading up to the Arab Spring, and its lasting impact on three people who lived through it. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Fighting Fires and Family Secrets
November 25, 2021 05:01 - 40 minutes - 37.4 MBUncontrollable western wildfires and a hidden family history — two puzzles that can only be solved with knowledge buried in the past. Indigenous people in Montana fight fire with fire, drawing on the unique relationships their ancestors had to one of the West's greatest threats today. And a young woman grapples with the secret that binds her family together, but also tears them apart. This week, we bring you stories produced by two members of the Throughline team: Victor Yvellez and Anya Stei...
Nikole Hannah-Jones and the Country We Have
November 18, 2021 05:01 - 50 minutes - 46.2 MBIs history always political? Who gets to decide? What happens when you challenge common narratives? In this episode, Throughline's Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin Arablouei explore these questions with Nikole Hannah-Jones, an investigative journalist at the New York Times and the creator of the 1619 Project, which is set to be released as a book later this year. The U.S. is steeped in wars over history. Historical narratives fuel public policy and discourse. Today, the most dramatic battlegroun...
Nikole Hannah-Jones and the Country We Have
November 18, 2021 05:01 - 50 minutes - 46.2 MBIs history always political? Who gets to decide? What happens when you challenge common narratives? In this episode, Throughline's Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin Arablouei explore these questions with Nikole Hannah-Jones, an investigative journalist at the New York Times and the creator of the 1619 Project, which is set to be released as a book later this year. The U.S. is steeped in wars over history. Historical narratives fuel public policy and discourse. Today, the most dramatic battlegroun...
Aftermath (2020)
November 11, 2021 05:01 - 54 minutes - 50.6 MBIn 1927, the most destructive river flood in U.S. history inundated seven states, displaced more than half a million people for months, and caused about $1 billion dollars in property damages. And like many national emergencies it exposed a stark question that the country still struggles to answer - what is the political calculus used to decide who bears the ultimate responsibility in a crisis, especially when it comes to the most vulnerable? This week, the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and...
Bonus: The Deep History of Dune
November 09, 2021 05:01 - 44 minutes - 40.5 MBRund and Ramtin speak to sci-fi writer and Princeton historian, Haris Durrani, about why the lore of Dune still proves so relevant and the ways in which the 2021 film succeeds and fails to convey its messages. "Dreams are messages from the deep." Those are the first words that appear on the screen in Denis Villeneuve's 2021 film, Dune, a cinematic adaptation of the iconic 1965 sci-fi book by Frank Herbert. The book contains dreams within dreams. Dreams of a future humanity in all of its fla...
Drone Wars
November 04, 2021 04:01 - 1 hour - 56.4 MBUnseen, they stalk their targets from thousands of feet in the air. Operators are piloting them from military bases halfway across the world. At any moment, they could launch a strike that comes without warning. The attack drone was supposed to be a symbol of the era of precision warfare — a way to wage wars with fewer casualties on both sides. It's a technology that's been honed since it was first dreamed up during World War 1. But are drones actually precise enough? Do drones desensitize us...
The Dance of the Dead
October 28, 2021 04:01 - 50 minutes - 46.8 MBHalloween — the night of ghost stories and trick-or-treating — has religious origins that span over two thousand years and over time, the Catholic Church, pagan groups, and even the brewing company Coors have played a role in shape-shifting the holiday. How did Halloween turn from a spiritual celebration to a multi-billion dollar industry? From the Great Famine of Ireland to the Simpsons, we present the many evolutions of Halloween. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.co...
The Stars (2020)
October 21, 2021 04:01 - 57 minutes - 53.2 MBAstrology has existed for thousands of years and has roots that span the globe. But is it a science or a religion or just a kind of personality test? And why is it more popular than ever? This week, the story of how finding our fates in the stars moved from the fringes to the mainstream and became a multi-billion dollar industry. [This episode originally aired on February 20, 2020] Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
The Stars (2020)
October 21, 2021 04:01 - 58 minutes - 53.2 MBAstrology has existed for thousands of years and has roots that span the globe. But is it a science or a religion or just a kind of personality test? And why is it more popular than ever? This week, the story of how finding our fates in the stars moved from the fringes to the mainstream and became a multi-billion dollar industry. [This episode originally aired on February 20, 2020]
The Nostalgia Bone
October 14, 2021 04:01 - 57 minutes - 53.2 MBThe global pandemic has spawned a different type of epidemic, one of an entirely different nature: a nostalgia outbreak. Longing for 'simpler times' and 'better days', many of us have been turning to 90s dance playlists, TV sitcoms, and sports highlights. We're looking for comfort and safety in the permanence of the past, or at least, what we think the past was. But, when it first appeared, nostalgia itself wasn't considered a feeling; it was a deadly disease. This episode traces the history ...
Tenochtitlan: A Retelling of The Conquest
October 07, 2021 04:01 - 52 minutes - 48.7 MBIn a sense, 1521 is Mexico's 1619. A foundational moment that has for a long time been shaped by just one perspective, a European one. The story of how Hernán Cortés and his small army of conquistadors conquered the mighty Aztec Empire, in the heart of what's now modern Mexico City, has become a foundational myth of European dominance in the Americas. This is the story that for centuries was largely accepted as the truth. But in recent decades researchers have pieced together a more nuanced, ...
Tenochtitlan: A Retelling of The Conquest
October 07, 2021 04:01 - 53 minutes - 48.7 MBIn a sense, 1521 is Mexico's 1619. A foundational moment that has for a long time been shaped by just one perspective, a European one. The story of how Hernán Cortés and his small army of conquistadors conquered the mighty Aztec Empire, in the heart of what's now modern Mexico City, has become a foundational myth of European dominance in the Americas. This is the story that for centuries was largely accepted as the truth. But in recent decades researchers have pieced together a more nuanced, ...
Bonus: Soul Train
October 05, 2021 04:01 - 34 minutes - 32.4 MBWhen Soul Train was first nationally syndicated in October 1971, there was nothing else like it on TV. It was the iconic Black music and dance show, a party every weekend that anyone could join from their living room. Our friends at It's Been A Minute with Sam Sanders break down the lasting influence of Soul Train on the culture and ask why there's never been a show like it since. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
The Shadows of the Constitution (2020)
September 30, 2021 04:01 - 43 minutes - 39.9 MBThe Constitution is like America's secular bible, our sacred founding document. In her play, What the Constitution Means to Me, Heidi Schreck goes through a process of discovering what the document is really about – who wrote it, who it was for, who it protected and who it didn't. Through Heidi's personal story, we learn how the Constitution and how it has been interpreted have affected not just her family but generations of Americans. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices...
Bonus: We're Not Broken
September 28, 2021 04:01 - 23 minutes - 21.8 MBThis week we're featuring an episode from Life Kit that focuses on myths surrounding autism, how to talk about it and how to help your autistic loved one live their most fulfilling life. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
The Supreme Court (2020)
September 23, 2021 04:01 - 58 minutes - 54.1 MBWhen, why, and how did the Supreme Court get the final say in the law of the land? The question of the Court's role, and whether its decisions should reign above all the other branches of government, has been hotly debated for centuries. And that's resulted in a Supreme Court more powerful than anything the Founding Fathers could have imagined possible. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Afghanistan: The Rise of the Taliban
September 16, 2021 04:01 - 53 minutes - 50.4 MBHow did a small group of Islamic students go from local vigilantes to one of the most infamous and enigmatic forces in the world? The Taliban is a name that has haunted the American imagination since 2001. The scenes of the group's brutality repeatedly played in the Western media, while true, perhaps obscure our ability to see the complex origins of the Taliban and how they impact the lives of Afghans. It's a shadow that reaches across the vast ancient Afghan homeland, the reputation of the m...
Afghanistan: The Center of the World
September 09, 2021 04:01 - 54 minutes - 51 MBAfghanistan has, for centuries, been at the center of the world. Long before the U.S. invasion - before the U.S. was even a nation - countless civilizations intersected there, weaving together a colorful tapestry of foods, languages, ethnicities and visions of what Afghanistan was and could be. The story of Afghanistan is too often told from the perspective of outsiders who tried to invade it (and always failed) earning it the nickname "Graveyard of Empires." In this episode, we're shifting t...
The Aftermath of Collapse: Bronze Age Edition (2021)
September 02, 2021 04:01 - 55 minutes - 51.6 MBWhat happens after everything falls apart? The end of the Bronze Age was a moment when an entire network of ancient civilizations collapsed, leaving behind only clues to what happened. Today, scholars have pieced together a story where everything from climate change to mass migration to natural disasters played a role. What the end of the Bronze Age can teach us about avoiding catastrophe and what comes after collapse. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices N...
Octavia Butler: Visionary Fiction (2021)
August 26, 2021 04:01 - 1 hour - 62 MBOctavia Butler's alternate realities and 'speculative fiction' reveal striking, and often devastating parallels to the world we live in today. She was a deep observer of the human condition, perplexed and inspired by our propensity towards self-destruction. Butler was also fascinated by the cyclical nature of history, and often looked to the past when writing about the future. Along with her warning is her message of hope - a hope conjured by centuries of survival and persistence. For every s...
El Libertador and Venezuela's Rise and Fall (2019)
August 19, 2021 04:01 - 54 minutes - 51.6 MBVenezuela is facing an economic and humanitarian crisis as extreme poverty and violence have forced many to flee the country in recent years. How did a country once wealthy with oil resources fall into such turmoil? Through the lives of two revolutionaries turned authoritarian leaders separated by two centuries, we look back at the rise and fall of Venezuela. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Lives of the Great Depression (2020)
August 12, 2021 04:01 - 47 minutes - 44.8 MBThe Great Depression was a revolutionary spark for all kinds of things — health insurance, social safety nets, big government — all of which were in response to a national crisis. Through the personal accounts of four people who lived during the Great Depression, we look back at what life was like back then and what those stories can teach us about the last time the U.S. went through a national economic cataclysm. This is the second episode of our summer series "Movies for Your Mind." Summer ...
Stories of How We Cope With Chaos (2021)
August 05, 2021 04:01 - 1 hour - 59.8 MBYou've been looking at screens for what feels like forever. Now it's time to sit back, close your eyes, and come with us to worlds you've never seen, and histories you've never imagined. This is the first episode of our summer series "Movies for Your Mind." What happens when teenagers are shipwrecked on a deserted island? Can you find the fingerprint of God in warzones? Why was the concept of zero so revolutionary for humanity? More than a year into a pandemic that has completely upended th...
Grenada: Nobody's Backyard
July 29, 2021 04:01 - 58 minutes - 54.9 MBA Marxist revolution, a Cold War proxy battle, and a dream of a Black utopia. In 1983, Ronald Reagan ordered the U.S. military to invade the island of Grenada. Almost four decades later, many Americans don't remember why — or that it even happened. This week, Martine Powers, from Post Reports, brings us a story of revolution, invasion, and the aftermath of unresolved history. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Olympics: Behind The Five Rings
July 22, 2021 04:01 - 41 minutes - 40 MBThe Olympics originated in Ancient Greece, and were resurrected in the 1890's after a 1,500 year ban. Since then, the International Olympic Committee has been behind every Olympic Games. In this episode, we explore the story of how the IOC turned the Olympics into a huge commercial success and whether the cities that host the games end up winning or losing. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Home/Front: Marla's War
July 20, 2021 04:01 - 35 minutes - 33.1 MBWhat do we owe innocent civilians who are killed or injured in war? This is one of the thorniest ethical questions that any military faces, but it was not abstract for anti-war activist Marla Ruzicka. From Rough Translation's new series Home/Front. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
The Most Sacred Right (2020)
July 15, 2021 04:01 - 1 hour - 59.3 MBFrederick Douglass dreamed of a country where all people could vote and he did everything in his power to make that dream a reality. In the face of slavery, the Civil War and the violence of Jim Crow, he fought his entire life for what he believed was a sacred, natural right that should be available to all people - voting. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Bonus: Do The Golden Arches Bend Toward Justice?
July 12, 2021 04:01 - 28 minutes - 27.1 MBThis week we're featuring an episode from Code Switch, Do The Golden Arches Bend Toward Justice?. Calls for racial justice are met with a lot of different proposals, but one of the loudest and most enduring is to invest in Black businesses. But can "buying Black" actually do anything to mitigate racism? To find out, they taking a look at the surprising link between Black capitalism and McDonald's. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Capitalism: God Wants You To Be Rich
July 08, 2021 04:01 - 50 minutes - 47.9 MBIn the New Testament, Jesus says it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. In the United States today, many Christians believe in something radically different. In what's known as the prosperity gospel, wealth is a sign of virtue and God's favor. The effects of this belief can be seen throughout American life from business to politics to social policy. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices N...
Capitalism: What Makes Us Free?
July 01, 2021 04:01 - 52 minutes - 49.5 MBWhat's the role of government in society? What do we mean when we talk about individual responsibility? What makes us free? 'Neoliberalism' might feel like a squishy term that's hard to define and understand. But this ideology, founded by a group of men in the Swiss Alps, is a political project that has dominated our economic system for decades. In the name of free market fundamentals, the forces behind neoliberalism act like an invisible hand, shaping almost every aspect of our lives. Lear...
Bonus: The Vanishing of Harry Pace
June 29, 2021 04:01 - 1 hour - 67.9 MBThis week we're featuring an episode from Radiolab's latest new series, The Vanishing of Harry Pace. Harry Pace founded the first major Black-owned record label in the U.S., ushering in a new wave of American music. But it's also a mystery story, because one day, Harry Pace just disappeared. The Vanishing of Harry Pace is a series about the phenomenal but forgotten man who changed the music scene in the United States. It's a story about betrayal, family, hidden identities, and a time like no ...
Capitalism: What Is It?
June 24, 2021 04:01 - 56 minutes - 53.5 MBWhat do we mean when we talk about capitalism? Our economic system might seem inevitable, but it's a construction project hundreds of years in the making and no part of it is natural or left to chance. This week, we kick off our series on the past, present and future of capitalism with Kristen Ghodsee, Vivek Chibber, and Bryan Caplan, who debate how an economic system became an all-encompassing force that rules our lives and our minds. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices...
Before Stonewall (2019)
June 17, 2021 04:01 - 40 minutes - 39.2 MBIn 1969, a gay bar in New York City called The Stonewall Inn was raided by police. It was a common form of harassment in those days but what followed, days of rebellion as patrons fought back, was anything but ordinary. Today, that event is seen as the start of the gay civil rights movement, but gay activists and organizations were standing up to harassment and discrimination years before. On this episode from our archives, the fight for gay rights before Stonewall. Learn more about sponsor ...
Who is NPR (For)?
June 10, 2021 04:01 - 36 minutes - 35.1 MBWho is the media meant to serve? And why does it matter today, arguably, more than ever? 50 years ago, National Public Radio began as a small, scrappy news organization with big ideals and a very small footprint. Over the subsequent years of coverage and programming, NPR has grown and evolved into a mainstream media outlet, with a mission of serving audiences that reflect America. This week, Michel Martin, host of Weekend All Things Considered, talks to us about her time at NPR and the import...
The Supreme Court
June 03, 2021 04:01 - 58 minutes - 55.1 MBWhen, why, and how did the Supreme Court get the final say in the law of the land? The question of the Court's role, and whether its decisions should reign above all the other branches of government, has been hotly debated for centuries. And that's resulted in a Supreme Court more powerful than anything the Founding Fathers could have imagined possible. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Palestine
May 28, 2021 04:01 - 54 minutes - 51.2 MBThe recent violence that engulfed Gaza and Jerusalem began with an issue that's plagued the region for a century now: settlements. In East Jerusalem, Palestinian residents are facing forced removal by Israeli settler organizations. It's a pattern that has repeated over the history of this conflict. Historian Rashid Khalidi guides us through the history of settlements and displacement going back to the age of European colonialism. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/a...
A Symphony of Resistance
May 20, 2021 04:01 - 56 minutes - 53.6 MBThe Arab Spring erupted ten years ago when a wave of "pro-democracy" protests spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa. The effects of the uprisings reverberated around the world as regimes fell in some countries, and civil war began in others. This week, we remember the years leading up to the Arab Spring, and its lasting impact on three people who lived through it. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
Five Fingers Crush The Land
May 13, 2021 04:01 - 56 minutes - 53 MBOver one million Uyghur people have been detained in camps in China, according to estimates, subjected to torture, forced labor, religious restrictions, and even forced sterilization. The vast majority of this minority ethnic group is Muslim, living for centuries at a crossroads of culture and empire along what was once the Silk Road. This week, we explore who the Uyghur people are, their land, their customs, their music and why they've become the target of what many are calling a genocide. ...
Operation Nemesis
May 06, 2021 04:01 - 51 minutes - 48.9 MBAn estimated 1.5 million Armenian Christians were killed by the Ottoman government during World War I, in what came to be known as the Armenian Genocide. The perpetrators escaped Constantinople in the middle of the night and began new lives undercover in Europe. So, a small group of Armenian survivors decided to take justice into their own hands. In this episode from Kerning Cultures, the secretive operation to avenge the Armenian Genocide, and how it changed the idea of justice in the modern...
James Baldwin's Shadow
April 29, 2021 04:01 - 44 minutes - 42.3 MBJames Baldwin believed that America has been lying to itself since its founding. He wrote, spoke, and thought incessantly about the societal issues that still exist today. As the United States continues to reckon with its history of systemic racism and police brutality, Eddie S. Glaude Jr. guides us through the meaning and purpose of James Baldwin's work and how his words can help us navigate the current moment. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Priv...
Force of Nature
April 22, 2021 04:01 - 50 minutes - 47.4 MBRivers on fire, acid rain falling from the sky, species going extinct, oil spills, polluted air, and undrinkable water. For so long, we didn't think of our planet as a place to preserve. And then in the 1960's and 70's that changed. Democrats and Republicans, with overwhelming public support, came together to pass a sweeping legislative agenda around environmental protection. In today's episode, what led to Earth Day, and what Earth Day led to. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podca...
The Real Black Panthers
April 15, 2021 04:01 - 56 minutes - 52.9 MBThe Black Panther Party's battles for social justice and economic equality are the centerpiece of the Oscar-nominated film 'Judas and The Black Messiah.' In 1968, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover said the Black Panther Party "without question, represents the greatest threat to internal security of the country." And with that declaration he used United States federal law enforcement to wage war on the group, But why did Hoover's FBI target the Black Panther Party more severely than any other Black...
Policing in America
April 08, 2021 04:01 - 1 hour - 62.1 MBBlack Americans being victimized and killed by the police is an epidemic. As the trial of Derek Chauvin plays out, it's a truth and a trauma many people in the US and around the world are again witnessing first hand. But this tension between African American communities and the police has existed for centuries. This week, the origins of policing in the United States and how those origins put violent control of Black Americans at the heart of the system. Learn more about sponsor message choic...
Our Own People
April 01, 2021 04:31 - 52 minutes - 49.3 MB"Build bridges, not walls." Solidarity was at the heart of Yuri Kochiyama's work. A Japanese-American activist whose early political awakenings came while incarcerated in the concentration camps of World War II America, Kochiyama dedicated her life to social justice and liberation movements. As hate crimes against AAPI people surge in this country, we reflect on Yuri Kochiyama's ideas around the Asian American struggle, and what solidarity and intersectionality can mean for all struggles. Le...
The Land of the Fee
March 25, 2021 04:01 - 49 minutes - 46.6 MBTipping is a norm in the U.S. But it hasn't always been this way. A legacy of slavery and racism, tipping took off in the post-Civil War era. The case against tipping had momentum in the early 1900's, yet what began as a movement to end an exploitative practice just ended up continuing it. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy