Shows / Throughline
Throughline
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.
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Episodes
ThroughlineShadows, war, and finding Moomin joy
The Moomins have been a beloved children’s series around the world for decades. And now these bright, whimsical, and colorful Finnish characters are starting…
ThroughlineThe dramatic race to discover Insulin
Looksmaxxing, weight loss, and muscle building have fueled a massive craze for injectable peptides. Some natural and some synthetic. These injectables have…
ThroughlineCan the polygraph test really spot a lie?
From dating shows to police interrogation rooms, the polygraph test has long been marketed as a way to detect deception. But can it really? And who decided we…
ThroughlineIs the death penalty cruel and unusual?
The Eighth Amendment. What is cruel and unusual punishment? Who gets to define and decide the amendment's boundaries? And how did the Constitution's authors…
ThroughlineWhy does everything get a standing ovation now?
Call it standing ovation inflation: these days, it feels like it's mandatory to stand and clap for live performances. Has our please clap era gone too far?…
ThroughlineFour Seasons of Ceasefire in Gaza
NPR’s Anas Baba is one of the last remaining journalists in Gaza working full-time for an American news organization. A year into the ceasefire, more than 1400…
ThroughlineHow To Avoid The End of the World
We live in a moment with almost daily reminders of how fragile life on Earth is whether it be from climate change, nuclear weapons or AI. In this episode, we…
ThroughlineForty years of what if
On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff. All seven astronauts onboard died. Brian Russell, an engineer who worked…
ThroughlineDemocratic Socialism. Hope or Hopeless?
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is having a big moment. Its candidates and its membership are both surging. Before Zohran Mamdani and AOC, there was…
ThroughlineHow two swing states changed American voting
Today on the show, the balance of Congressional power is up for grabs in this midterm election. It could be determined by a small number of voters in a few…
ThroughlineHow baseball got its beat
Major League Baseball’s postseason is just a few weeks away, and here on Throughline we know the power of a good walk-up song. But how did baseball become such…
ThroughlineIs it time for a Luddite Renaissance?
Calling someone a "Luddite" is usually an insult – shorthand for someone who is behind the times. But the real Luddites weren't just afraid of change; they…
ThroughlineThe school report that changed public education
In 1966, the federal government commissioned a massive survey aimed at solving educational inequality. Instead, the explosive Coleman Report unleashed a…
ThroughlineThe SAT's 100-year grip on higher ed
For generations, the SAT has loomed large in the lives of teenagers. The quest for a perfect or near-perfect score has filled many test takers with dread. In…
ThroughlineThe pillage that fueled America's tech booms
Cobalt mining is one of the world's most dangerous jobs. And it's also one of the most essential: cobalt is what powers the batteries in your smartphone, your…
ThroughlineHow Korean culture went global
This year, K-pop Demon Hunters picked up a couple of Oscars, the pop group BTS made its triumphant return to sold out crowds, and K-pop took center stage at…
ThroughlineThe blatant betrayal that erased the Tupperware queen from history
Brownie Wise revolutionized how we store our food. She was one of the first female corporate executives in U.S. history. But she’s not a household name. This…
ThroughlineLies, theft, and cover-up: the history of Monopoly you've never heard
Monopoly is one of the best-selling board games of all time. It heralds free market economics and celebrates the American dream. That's a far cry from the…
ThroughlineThe song that fueled protests and a legacy of hope
In our final installment of AP250, how We Shall Overcome became the anthem of generations of protestors. Today on the show, we revisit an episode from the NPR…
ThroughlineThe lightbulb conspiracy is both real and everywhere
Over the next few episodes, we present Hidden Histories: stories that will make you rethink how the world works. First up, the conspiracy behind the…
ThroughlineThe license to be funny in America
One of the most fundamental aspects of American democracy has been the public’s ability to critique power, whether that’s through protest, legislation, or a…
ThroughlineThe architect of modern China
From impoverishment to global superpower, China’s supremacy happened at a breakneck speed thanks to the visionary strategy of the man who took power in 1978…
ThroughlineThe Chinafication of Walmart
We think of Walmart as ultra-American, but its business relationship with China has fundamentally changed how American retail operates. In this episode, how…
ThroughlineListen to "We Keep Us Safe" on NPR's Embedded podcast
In the summer of 2020, teenager Antonio Mays Jr. traveled a thousand miles to join a racial justice movement after the killing of George Floyd. Less than a…
ThroughlineRoute 66 and the quest to connect America
Route 66 turns 100 this year. It's considered America’s most nostalgic road trip. With wide open road, sunsets that fill the whole sky, dirt-kissed Chevy…
ThroughlineHow wheelchairs, a river, and a spaceship challenged the status quo
Stories of resistance from three places: Denver, Colorado where the Gang of 19 put their bodies on the line for the right to use public transportation…
ThroughlineThe ongoing battle over asylum in America
The U.S. has long professed to be a country where people can seek refuge. That's the promise etched into the base of the Statue of Liberty. But it's never been…
ThroughlineAmerican history through song
There are many ways to look at and understand American history. In this series, we’ve shared stories about how this country was founded and how it continues to…
ThroughlineThe story of July 4th is messier than you remember
Devastating compromises. Midnight rides. A nailbiter vote. Statue toppling riots… and the very real possibility of death. This July 4th, we're taking you…
ThroughlineThe genius and murkiness of the Constitution
What does the Constitution mean to me? That’s a question writer and actor Heidi Schreck asked herself years ago, when she started working on her one-woman play…
ThroughlineFrom Hormuz to Suez: the chokepoints of global power
Oil may dominate the headlines about the Middle East, but the real power often flows through water. Three narrow passages - the Suez Canal, the Strait of…
ThroughlineProsperity gospel and the American dream
A lot of our everyday lives are shaped by the idea that if we really believe in something, it will happen. But where does that idea come from? And what does it…
ThroughlineHow the Supreme Court claimed supreme power
The Supreme Court's 2025-26 term has been punctuated with some high-stakes cases: birthright citizenship, voting rights, presidential powers and consequential…
ThroughlineCaptain America and the nation's conscience
What does it mean to be American? For one superhero, it means donning yourself in the colors of the American flag, sticking up for the little guy, and making…
ThroughlineThe shifting line between free speech and a criminal threat
Threats against public officials have become much, much more common. This includes everyone from the president of the United States to members of Congress, to…
ThroughlineThe uncensored war
As the U.S. escalated its intervention in Vietnam in the 1960s, the media's coverage ramped up too. Soon, the war permeated the homes of millions of Americans…
ThroughlineThe World Cup was supposed to bring world peace
World Cup tickets are going for as high as $45,000. Not in most of our budgets. How did things get so out of hand when the tournament's founder intended to…
ThroughlineBayard Rustin and the March on Washington
When people remember the March on Washington they often recall the giant crowds or Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech. Less known is the person…
ThroughlineHistory's playbook for taming the beast of inflation
Gas. Meat. Flights. Houses. The cost of living is up. Inflation is rearing its head again. And as it rises higher, inflation risks devastating economies and…
ThroughlineYuri Kochiyamas’s lifetime of activism
Civil rights activist Yuri Kochiyama lived a life dedicated to social justice for people of all backgrounds. Not only a pillar of the Asian-American movement…
ThroughlinePrediction markets are making a 150-year comeback
Prediction market sites allow users to put money on everything from the war in Iran to the winner of the Super Bowl. But where did these markets come from? And…
ThroughlineFrances Perkins Goes To Washington
This week, we explore the life of the first woman Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins, and how in the midst of the Great Depression she helped reshape the…
ThroughlineWar by remote control, how drones changed modern warfare
Drones are swarming battlefields in Ukraine, Iran, and beyond. Drone warfare is cheap, efficient, autonomous — and changing warfare forever. Today on the show…
ThroughlineFour voices from the Great Depression
A glimpse into life during the Great Depression from the people that lived it. To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to…
ThroughlineHow our memory of war can shape the future
All wars are fought twice: first on the battlefield, the second time in memory," writes Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen. This week on…
ThroughlineThe origins of the Socialist Party of America
Rapid industrialization reshaped American life in the mid-19th century. But as corporations grew larger and more powerful, working conditions for many everyday…
ThroughlineGladiators, real housewives and the pull of reality TV
People used to say "believe your eyes." But these days that's not so easy to do. What we scroll through every day blurs the line between entertainment and…
ThroughlineThe fight that shook America
Jack Johnson was the first world Black heavyweight champion, but winning the title was only part of the battle. Every time Johnson stepped into a boxing ring…
ThroughlineThe billionaires' utopia blueprint
Starbase. Prospera. California Forever. Mars. From private cities to interstellar colonies, tech billionaires like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel have backed…
ThroughlineWhy the wall was built
As the United States expanded into a global superpower, it simultaneously strengthened its national borders and began to limit who could come in and out of the…
ThroughlineThe original clickbait king
When we call something "clickbait," we don't mean it as a compliment. But let's be real: we also click. It's hard to resist a spicy story, and 19th-century…
ThroughlineHow the US became America
In the late 1890s, the United States fought wars and backed independence movements around the world. By the time the fighting was over, the US emerged as a new…
ThroughlineWill AI destroy us... or save us?
Like it or not, artificial intelligence is deeply rooted in our lives. Its invisible architecture stretches everywhere from dating apps to medical care. In…
ThroughlineWho gets to be an American citizen?
The 14th Amendment guaranteed equal citizenship after the Civil War, but who exactly counted as a citizen? Today on the show, the story of Wong Kim Ark, a man…
ThroughlineAl Capone and the transformation of the IRS
Gangsters, banksters, and politicians. Today on the show, how the hunt for Al Capone helped turn the IRS into one of the U.S. government's most powerful tools…
ThroughlineWhat the banana tells us about US history
What do bananas have to do with American history? On this week’s episode, how the sweet fruit became an American staple because of one entrepreneur who took…
ThroughlineHow Saudi Arabia shaped Silicon Valley
Elon Musk. Donald Trump. Bill Gates. Sam Altman. Larry Ellison. Alex Karp. Jared Kushner. Mr. Beast. Jeffrey Epstein… Those are just a few of the people who…
ThroughlineThe Ojibwe Nation
In the face of United States westward expansion in the 19th century, Native people fought to preserve their land and way of life. Today on the show: the story…
ThroughlineWhy is Cuba in crisis?
Cuba is on the brink of collapse – a scenario that 13 U.S. presidents have tried to engineer with no success. Today on the show, the making of the Cuban crisis…
ThroughlineThe confederates who left the USA
After the Civil War, while America was rebuilding itself, some Southerners made a different kind of move — they packed up and left. Today on the show: the…