About this podcast
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
The newest 50 of 476 episodes
- Origins of the Affordable Care Act · 29 minToday on the show, we have a story about healthcare from our friends over at GBH News. Mitt and Ted, hosted by Ian Coss, tells the story of how Mitt Romney and Ted Kennedy began…
- How college football's deadliest year built the NCAA · 19 minA listener emailed the Throughline team with a stunning factoid: Teddy Roosevelt helped create the NCAA to make college football safer. But is it true? What we find is weirder…
- Health Insurance in America · 53 minMillions of Americans depend on their jobs for health insurance. But that's not the case in many other wealthy countries. How did the U.S. end up with a system that's so…
- Remembering Noah Adams · 24 minToday on the show, we honor the late Noah Adams, longtime NPR All Things Considered host. We bring you three of his stories about the complicated and messy parts of being human…
- Shadows, war, and finding Moomin joy · 52 minThe Moomins have been a beloved children’s series around the world for decades. And now these bright, whimsical, and colorful Finnish characters are starting to gain steam in…
- The dramatic race to discover Insulin · 37 minLooksmaxxing, weight loss, and muscle building have fueled a massive craze for injectable peptides. Some natural and some synthetic. These injectables have unleashed a…
- Can the polygraph test really spot a lie? · 20 minFrom 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 needed a truth…
- Is the death penalty cruel and unusual? · 48 minThe 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 imagine it might…
- Why does everything get a standing ovation now? · 16 minCall 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? That's what one…
- Four Seasons of Ceasefire in Gaza · 43 minNPR’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 people have been…
- How To Avoid The End of the World · 52 minWe 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 bring you a story…
- Forty years of what if · 21 minOn January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff. All seven astronauts onboard died. Brian Russell, an engineer who worked on the shuttle, had…
- Democratic Socialism. Hope or Hopeless? · 50 minThe 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 its founder…
- How two swing states changed American voting · 50 minToday 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 battleground states…
- How baseball got its beat · 32 minMajor 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 a musical sport?…
- Is it time for a Luddite Renaissance? · 17 minCalling 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 were a labor movement…
- The school report that changed public education · 37 minIn 1966, the federal government commissioned a massive survey aimed at solving educational inequality. Instead, the explosive Coleman Report unleashed a 60-year debate over race…
- The SAT's 100-year grip on higher ed · 19 minFor 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 this episode, a…
- The pillage that fueled America's tech booms · 52 minCobalt 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 laptop, the…
- How Korean culture went global · 48 minThis 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 the World Cup final…
- The blatant betrayal that erased the Tupperware queen from history · 49 minBrownie 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 week on our series…
- Lies, theft, and cover-up: the history of Monopoly you've never heard · 50 minMonopoly 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 original intent. This…
- The song that fueled protests and a legacy of hope · 19 minIn 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 archives about the…
- The lightbulb conspiracy is both real and everywhere · 32 minOver the next few episodes, we present Hidden Histories: stories that will make you rethink how the world works. First up, the conspiracy behind the lightbulb—and how it came to…
- The license to be funny in America · 20 minOne 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 really funny joke…
- The architect of modern China · 38 minFrom 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. Over the next…
- The Chinafication of Walmart · 17 minWe think of Walmart as ultra-American, but its business relationship with China has fundamentally changed how American retail operates. In this episode, how one retailer helped…
- Listen to "We Keep Us Safe" on NPR's Embedded podcast · 3 minIn 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 week after he arrived…
- Route 66 and the quest to connect America · 50 minRoute 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 trucks, and revving…
- How wheelchairs, a river, and a spaceship challenged the status quo · 20 minStories 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. Montgomery, Alabama, where…
- The ongoing battle over asylum in America · 54 minThe 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 that clear-cut…
- American history through song · 22 minThere 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 evolve over time…
- The story of July 4th is messier than you remember · 34 minDevastating compromises. Midnight rides. A nailbiter vote. Statue toppling riots… and the very real possibility of death. This July 4th, we're taking you inside the making of the…
- The genius and murkiness of the Constitution · 21 minWhat 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 about the…
- From Hormuz to Suez: the chokepoints of global power · 51 minOil 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 Hormuz, and Bab…
- Prosperity gospel and the American dream · 15 minA 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 have to do with…
- How the Supreme Court claimed supreme power · 54 minThe Supreme Court's 2025-26 term has been punctuated with some high-stakes cases: birthright citizenship, voting rights, presidential powers and consequential civil rights cases…
- Captain America and the nation's conscience · 13 minWhat 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 sure you stick to…
- The shifting line between free speech and a criminal threat · 36 minThreats against public officials have become much, much more common. This includes everyone from the president of the United States to members of Congress, to state and local…
- The uncensored war · 18 minAs 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 — by television…
- The World Cup was supposed to bring world peace · 52 minWorld 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 bridge class divides?…
- Bayard Rustin and the March on Washington · 23 minWhen 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 who made the event…
- History's playbook for taming the beast of inflation · 47 minGas. 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 draining savings…
- Yuri Kochiyamas’s lifetime of activism · 21 minCivil 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, she also fought for…
- Prediction markets are making a 150-year comeback · 52 minPrediction 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 what can that…
- Frances Perkins Goes To Washington · 16 minThis 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 nation by fighting for…
- War by remote control, how drones changed modern warfare · 51 minDrones are swarming battlefields in Ukraine, Iran, and beyond. Drone warfare is cheap, efficient, autonomous — and changing warfare forever. Today on the show, the past, present…
- Four voices from the Great Depression · 19 minA 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 Throughline+ via…
- How our memory of war can shape the future · 49 minAll wars are fought twice: first on the battlefield, the second time in memory," writes Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen. This week on Throughline, we revisit our…
- The origins of the Socialist Party of America · 17 minRapid industrialization reshaped American life in the mid-19th century. But as corporations grew larger and more powerful, working conditions for many everyday Americans worsened…
