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
ThroughlineMarcus Garvey: Pan-Africanist (2021)
Black people deserve nothing less than everything: This was Marcus Garvey's simple, uncompromising message. His speeches on Pan-Africanism — the vision of a…
ThroughlinePirates of the Senate
The fight over the filibuster brings up some deeper questions that we as a country are facing. How do we make space for disagreement without ending up at a…
ThroughlineA Story Of Us?
We've been seeing a lot of debate recently about how history should be taught. For example, some believe that the Civil War was about state rights while some…
ThroughlineRussia's Longest Leader: Vladimir Putin (2019)
As tensions between Ukraine and Russia escalate, we decided to take a look at the man who has been running Russia for two decades: Vladimir Putin. How did a…
ThroughlineThroughline Sleeps
Life can be tough. Every day brings new challenges. And in order to get through the waking hours we need rest. Good quality sleep. In this bonus episode, a…
ThroughlineThe Way We Dream
Our dreams can haunt us: literally. Recurring dreams about failing tests or running late are a common occurrence, but what are we to make of them? And are…
ThroughlineBayard Rustin: The Man Behind the March on Washington (2021)
Bayard Rustin, the man behind the March on Washington, was one of the most consequential architects of the civil rights movement you may never have heard of…
ThroughlineThe Anatomy of Autocracy: Timothy Snyder (2021)
When a mob of pro-Trump supporters violently stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 they also incited a defining moment in United States history. Now…
ThroughlineThe Electrical Grid (2020)
Today, electricity in the U.S. is a utility we notice only when it's suddenly unavailable. But over a hundred years ago, electricity in the homes of every…
ThroughlineBonus: On Our Watch
What happens to police officers who use excessive force, tamper with evidence or sexually harass someone? In California, internal affairs investigations were…
ThroughlineAmerican Socialist (2020)
American 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…
ThroughlineThe Monster of We
Are 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…
ThroughlineHistory Is Over
As 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…
ThroughlineA Symphony of Resistance (2021)
The 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…
ThroughlineFighting Fires and Family Secrets
Uncontrollable western wildfires and a hidden family history — two puzzles that can only be solved with knowledge buried in the past. Indigenous people in…
ThroughlineNikole Hannah-Jones and the Country We Have
Is history always political? Who gets to decide? What happens when you challenge common narratives? In this episode, Throughline's Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin…
ThroughlineAftermath (2020)
In 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…
ThroughlineBonus: The Deep History of Dune
Rund 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…
ThroughlineDrone Wars
Unseen, 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…
ThroughlineThe Dance of the Dead
Halloween — the night of ghost stories and trick-or-treating — has religious origins that span over two thousand years and over time, the Catholic Church…
ThroughlineThe Stars (2020)
Astrology 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…
ThroughlineThe Nostalgia Bone
The global pandemic has spawned a different type of epidemic, one of an entirely different nature: a nostalgia outbreak. Longing for 'simpler times' and…
ThroughlineTenochtitlan: A Retelling of The Conquest
In 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…
ThroughlineBonus: Soul Train
When 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…
ThroughlineThe Shadows of the Constitution (2020)
The 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…
ThroughlineBonus: We're Not Broken
This 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…
ThroughlineThe Supreme Court (2020)
When, 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…
ThroughlineAfghanistan: The Rise of the Taliban
How 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…
ThroughlineAfghanistan: The Center of the World
Afghanistan 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…
ThroughlineThe Aftermath of Collapse: Bronze Age Edition (2021)
What happens after everything falls apart? The end of the Bronze Age was a moment when an entire network of ancient civilizations collapsed, leaving behind…
ThroughlineOctavia Butler: Visionary Fiction (2021)
Octavia Butler's alternate realities and 'speculative fiction' reveal striking, and often devastating parallels to the world we live in today. She was a deep…
ThroughlineEl Libertador and Venezuela's Rise and Fall (2019)
Venezuela 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…
ThroughlineLives of the Great Depression (2020)
The Great Depression was a revolutionary spark for all kinds of things — health insurance, social safety nets, big government — all of which were in response…
ThroughlineStories of How We Cope With Chaos (2021)
You'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…
ThroughlineGrenada: Nobody's Backyard
A 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…
ThroughlineOlympics: Behind The Five Rings
The 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…
ThroughlineHome/Front: Marla's War
What 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…
ThroughlineThe Most Sacred Right (2020)
Frederick 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…
ThroughlineBonus: Do The Golden Arches Bend Toward Justice?
This 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…
ThroughlineCapitalism: God Wants You To Be Rich
In 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…
ThroughlineCapitalism: What Makes Us Free?
What'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…
ThroughlineBonus: The Vanishing of Harry Pace
This 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…
ThroughlineCapitalism: What Is It?
What 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…
ThroughlineBefore Stonewall (2019)
In 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…
ThroughlineWho is NPR (For)?
Who 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…
ThroughlineThe Supreme Court
When, 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…
ThroughlinePalestine
The recent violence that engulfed Gaza and Jerusalem began with an issue that's plagued the region for a century now: settlements. In East Jerusalem…
ThroughlineA Symphony of Resistance
The 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…
ThroughlineFive Fingers Crush The Land
Over one million Uyghur people have been detained in camps in China, according to estimates, subjected to torture, forced labor, religious restrictions, and…
ThroughlineOperation Nemesis
An 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…
ThroughlineJames Baldwin's Shadow
James Baldwin believed that America has been lying to itself since its founding. He wrote, spoke, and thought incessantly about the societal issues that still…
ThroughlineForce of Nature
Rivers 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…
ThroughlineThe Real Black Panthers
The 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…
ThroughlinePolicing in America
Black 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…
ThroughlineOur Own People
"Build bridges, not walls." Solidarity was at the heart of Yuri Kochiyama's work. A Japanese-American activist whose early political awakenings came while…
ThroughlineThe Land of the Fee
Tipping 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…
ThroughlineChaos
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…
ThroughlineN95
The N95 respirator has become one of the most coveted items in the world during the pandemic, especially by medical professionals. But how did this seemingly…
ThroughlineLevittown: Where the Good Life Begins
In this episode from WNYC's La Brega, Alana Casanova-Burgess traces back the story of the boom and bust of the Puerto Rican Levittown. For many Americans…
ThroughlineBayard Rustin: The Man Behind the March on Washington
Bayard Rustin, the man behind the March on Washington, was one of the most consequential architects of the civil rights movement you may never have heard of…