Podcast · 106 episodes
Throughline, page 2
by NPR · English
Throughline 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 journalist Rund Abdelfatah. Support public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org. You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including sponsor-free listening for Throughline.
All episodes, page 2
Prosperity gospel and the American dreamHow the prosperity gospel and “American Dream” mindset link positive-thinking/self-help, neoliberal capitalism, and religious TV/mail-order fundraising—promising God wants believers to be happy and…23 Jun 2026 · 15 min · 5 chapters
How the Supreme Court claimed supreme powerHow the U.S. Supreme Court grew from a weak, politically entangled body into the final “umpire” with judicial supremacy over constitutional meaning, shaping civil rights, federal power, and…18 Jun 2026 · 54 min · 30 chapters
Captain America and the nation's conscienceHow Captain America’s changing role in comics after WWII reflects shifting American values and debates over patriotism, justice, and government power.16 Jun 2026 · 13 min · 3 chapters
The shifting line between free speech and a criminal threatThe episode explores how U.S. law draws the line between protected speech and criminal “true threats,” and how that line shifts with political tension and new communication technologies.11 Jun 2026 · 36 min · 13 chapters
The uncensored warHow the Vietnam War changed America’s relationship with war and how journalists reported it, earning the label “the uncensored war.”9 Jun 2026 · 18 min · 7 chapters
The World Cup was supposed to bring world peaceThe episode traces how the World Cup began as a peace-promoting idea and evolved into a politicized, high-stakes global spectacle.4 Jun 2026 · 52 min · 20 chapters
Bayard Rustin and the March on WashingtonCivil rights activist Bayard Rustin and how he helped plan and organize the 1963 March on Washington, emphasizing nonviolence and economic justice (“jobs and freedom”).2 Jun 2026 · 23 min · 9 chapters
History's playbook for taming the beast of inflationThe episode explains how the U.S. has tried to “tame the beast” of inflation across different eras, and contrasts those approaches with the Federal Reserve’s modern interest-rate playbook.28 May 2026 · 47 min · 21 chapters
Yuri Kochiyamas’s lifetime of activismYuri Kochiyama’s life of activism, shaped by Japanese American internment, and her role in civil rights and broader liberation movements.26 May 2026 · 21 min · 6 chapters
Prediction markets are making a 150-year comebackThe episode explains how prediction markets have surged again, why they work, and the moral and regulatory controversies around betting on real-world events—especially war, assassinations, and…21 May 2026 · 52 min · 19 chapters
Frances Perkins Goes To WashingtonFrances Perkins’ path from witnessing the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire to reshaping U.S. labor policy and building the New Deal social safety net, including Social Security.19 May 2026 · 16 min · 7 chapters
War by remote control, how drones changed modern warfareDrone warfare and “war by remote control,” tracing how precision bombing and early pilotless aircraft evolved into modern armed drones, and arguing that distance changes public attitudes and can…14 May 2026 · 51 min · 16 chapters
Four voices from the Great DepressionFour reenacted oral-history accounts of Great Depression life (1929–1930s), focusing on hunger, unemployment, homelessness, and how different communities coped and organized.12 May 2026 · 19 min · 7 chapters
How our memory of war can shape the futureHow memories of war—personal, national, and cultural—are curated, contested, and can shape future politics, conflicts, and refugee experiences; argues for “happy forgetting” through justice and…7 May 2026 · 49 min · 22 chapters
The origins of the Socialist Party of AmericaThe episode traces how Eugene V. Debs and the Socialist Party of America emerged from 19th-century industrial labor conflict, focusing on railroad worker abuses and the 1894 Pullman Strike, then…5 May 2026 · 17 min · 7 chapters
Gladiators, real housewives and the pull of reality TVHow reality TV (from The Truman Show to Gladiator, Survivor, The Real Housewives, FBoy Island, The Bachelor, and The Apprentice) shapes modern ideas of what’s “real,” and channels emotions like…30 Apr 2026 · 52 min · 20 chapters
The fight that shook AmericaThe 1908 heavyweight title fight in Sydney—Tommy Burns vs. Jack Johnson—and how Johnson’s rise, media backlash, and government prosecution reshaped race power in America.28 Apr 2026 · 15 min · 3 chapters
The billionaires' utopia blueprint“The billionaires’ utopia blueprint” examines whether wealthy tech libertarians can “opt out” of existing rules by creating new jurisdictions—starting with historical “blank slate” experiments…23 Apr 2026 · 49 min · 22 chapters
Why the wall was builtThe episode traces how the first U.S. border wall emerged from Ambos Nogales, a town split between Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Mexico. Guests: Rachel St.21 Apr 2026 · 13 min · 5 chapters
The original clickbait kingHow William Randolph Hearst’s “journalism that acts” helped popularize sensational, sometimes fact-blurring “yellow journalism,” culminating in the 1897 jailbreak of Cuban prisoner Evangelina…16 Apr 2026 · 48 min · 16 chapters
How the US became AmericaHow the U.S. became an empire after 1898, fought the Philippine-American War, and then shifted its national identity and shorthand name from “the United States” to “America,” which mattered for how…14 Apr 2026 · 16 min · 8 chapters
Will AI destroy us... or save us?The episode explores whether AI will destroy or save humanity by tracing AI’s roots in human imagination, control, and fear, then examining how modern AI (including machine learning) is already…9 Apr 2026 · 51 min · 18 chapters
Who gets to be an American citizen?The episode examines who is eligible for U.S. citizenship, focusing on birthright citizenship and the Supreme Court case United States v.7 Apr 2026 · 15 min · 6 chapters
Al Capone and the transformation of the IRSHow the IRS evolved from a tax-collection agency into a major law-enforcement force, using the hunt for Al Capone and later tax battles during the Great Depression and World War II.2 Apr 2026 · 52 min · 22 chapters