Throughline
NPR
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 journalists Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin Arablouei.Subscribe to Throughline+. You'll be supporting the history-reframing, perspective-shifting, time-warping stories you can't get enough of - and you'll unlock access bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org/throughline
Episodes
Mentioned books
Aug 20, 2020 • 31min
Reframing History: The Commentator
Today the foundations of philosophy are seen as a straight line from Western antiquity, built on thinkers such as Plato and Aristotle. But, between the 8th century and 14th century, the West was greatly overshadowed by the Islamic world and philosophy was in very different hands. This week, how one Medieval Islamic philosopher put his pen to paper and shaped the modern world.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Aug 13, 2020 • 33min
Reframing History: The Litter Myth
There is more waste in the world today than at any time in history, and the responsibility for keeping the environment clean too often falls on individuals instead of manufacturers. But, why us? And why this feeling of responsibility? This week, how one organization changed the American public's relationship with waste and who is ultimately responsible for it.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Aug 6, 2020 • 40min
America's Caste System
"Race" is often used as a fundamental way to understand American history. But what if "caste" is the more appropriate lens? In conversation with Pulitzer Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson, we examine the hidden system that has shaped our country.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Jul 30, 2020 • 1h 2min
A.D.A. Now!
This month marks the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which is considered the most important civil rights law since the 1960s. Through first-person stories, we look back at the making of this movement, the history of how disability came to be seen as a civil rights issue, and what the disability community is still fighting for 30 years later.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Jul 23, 2020 • 46min
Lives Of The Great Depression
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 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.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Jul 16, 2020 • 1h 6min
Borinquén
Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory in 1898 and for much of the next fifty years Puerto Ricans fought fiercely about this status. Should they struggle for independence, or to be a U.S. state, or something in between? In this episode, we look at Puerto Rico's relationship with the mainland U.S. and the key figures who shaped the island's fate.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Jul 9, 2020 • 42min
The Long Hot Summer
Starting in 1965, summer after summer, America's cities burned. There was civil unrest in more than 150 cities across the country. So in 1967, Lyndon Johnson appointed a commission to diagnose the root causes of the problem and to suggest solutions. What the so called "Kerner Commission" returned with was hotly anticipated and shocking to many Americans. This week, how that report and the reaction to it continues to shape American life.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Jul 2, 2020 • 43min
Mecca Under Siege
Hajj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, is effectively canceled this year, due to concerns around the spread of the coronavirus. But, for two weeks in 1979, visits to the holy site were also upended when a group of Islamic militants seized Mecca, taking thousands of visitors hostage.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Jun 25, 2020 • 41min
There's Something About Mary
When a cook who carried typhoid fever refused to stop working, despite showing no symptoms, the authorities forcibly quarantined her for nearly three decades. Perfect villain or just a woman scapegoated because of her background? What the story of Typhoid Mary tells us about journalism, the powers of the state, and the tension between personal responsibility and personal liberty.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Jun 18, 2020 • 27min
Why 2020 Isn't Quite 1968
Protests, racial divisions, political polarization, and a law-and-order president – it's easy to draw comparisons between 2020 and 1968. But, Adam Serwer, who covers politics at The Atlantic, says that a much better point of comparison actually starts a century earlier – 1868. This week, we share an episode we loved from It's Been A Minute with Sam Sanders that explores a moment when white Republicans fought for years for the rights of Black Americans, before abandoning them to pursue white voters.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
