Throughline

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The past is never past. Every headline has a history. Join us every week as we go back in time to understand the present. These are stories you can feel and sounds you can see from the moments that shaped our world.

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    • Jun 5, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekly NEW EPISODES
    • 48m AVG DURATION
    • 351 EPISODES

    4.6 from 13,918 ratings Listeners of Throughline that love the show mention: throughline, happening today, kurds, sunni, iranian, things are the way, james baldwin, important historical, 1953, octavia butler, strange fruit, time in history, ramtin arablouei, thought we knew, coup, current world, talented hosts, context for current, four days, overproduced.


    Ivy Insights

    The Throughline podcast is an incredibly informative and engaging show that delves into the history behind various events, movements, and leaders. With a goal of connecting the past to the present, Throughline provides listeners with a deeper understanding of the world we live in today. The producers, narrators, and music work seamlessly together to create an immersive experience that educates and captivates listeners. This podcast is a must-listen for anyone interested in history, current events, or simply expanding their knowledge.

    One of the best aspects of The Throughline podcast is its ability to provide in-depth historical context to contemporary issues. Each episode takes a deep dive into a specific topic, exploring the historical factors that have led to the current state of affairs. The thorough research and storytelling techniques used by the hosts make even complex subjects accessible and engaging. Throughline excels at presenting nuanced perspectives and uncovering lesser-known stories that shed light on important aspects of our world.

    Another standout aspect of Throughline is its commitment to diversity in topics covered. From political movements to cultural phenomena, no subject is off-limits for this podcast. By highlighting a wide range of historical events and characters, Throughline offers listeners a well-rounded view of our collective past. It challenges assumptions and encourages listeners to think critically about how history shapes our present reality.

    While there are many positive aspects of The Throughline podcast, one potential downside is that some episodes may not appeal to all listeners. The show covers such diverse topics that individual preferences may vary greatly from episode to episode. However, this can also be seen as a strength, as it ensures there is something for everyone within the vast catalog of episodes.

    In conclusion, The Throughline podcast is an exceptional show that successfully connects the dots between history and current events. Its dedication to thorough research, engaging storytelling techniques, and diverse range of topics make it a standout educational podcast. Whether you're a history buff or just looking to expand your knowledge, Throughline is a must-listen. It provides invaluable insights into the world we live in and encourages listeners to question, learn, and grow.



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    Latest episodes from Throughline

    The Woman Behind The New Deal

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 5, 2025 48:48


    From Social Security and the minimum wage to exit signs and fire escapes, Frances Perkins transformed how people in the U.S. lived and worked. Today on the show: how a middle class do-gooder became one of the savviest and most powerful people in American politics — and built the social safety net we have today.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    We the People: Search and Seizure

    Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2025 48:06


    The Fourth Amendment is the part of the Bill of Rights that prohibits "unreasonable searches and seizures." But — what's unreasonable? That question has fueled a century's worth of court rulings that have dramatically expanded the power of individual police officers in the U.S. Today on the show, how an amendment that was supposed to limit government power has ended up enabling it. This episode originally published in 2024.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    War Crimes

    Play Episode Listen Later May 22, 2025 51:16


    On today's episode, we travel from the battlefields of the U.S. Civil War, through the rubble of two world wars, to the hallways of the Hague, to see how the modern world has tried to define — and prosecute — war crimes. This episode originally aired at "The Rules of War" in 2024. To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    The Tax Collector

    Play Episode Listen Later May 15, 2025 51:43


    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 — and most effective weapons.To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    California's 'Bum Blockade'

    Play Episode Listen Later May 8, 2025 51:48


    The story of the Los Angeles police chief who, faced with one of the largest internal migrations in American history, tried to close California's borders to stop it.To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    Motherhood

    Play Episode Listen Later May 1, 2025 51:33


    Baby bonuses, childless cat ladies: the rhetoric around motherhood is politically charged right now. And the fantasy of an ideal mother remains powerful, even as real-life parents struggle to reconcile its demands. Today on the show, three myths of motherhood, and the people who have fought to break them down. This episode originally ran in 2023 as The Labor of Love.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    The Deadly Story of the U.S. Civil Service

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 24, 2025 49:34


    When James Garfield won the Presidency in 1880, Charles Guiteau got ready to accept his new government job. No one had actually offered him a job – but he'd campaigned for Garfield, so he assumed he'd be rewarded. That was the spoils system, and it was how the government worked.But President Garfield didn't hire him. Guiteau was furious. And on July 2, 1881, he followed Garfield to a Washington D.C. train station and shot him.Today on the show: how an assassination meant to restore the spoils system instead led to its end, and birthed the modern federal workforce.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    The Alien Enemies Act

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 17, 2025 49:02


    In March 2025, President Trump issued an executive order invoking a centuries-old law: the Alien Enemies Act. The Act allows a president to detain or deport citizens of foreign adversaries to the United States, but only in the case of a "declared war" or "invasion." Now, the Trump administration and the courts are locked in a battle over whether the president's use of the Act, under which people have already been deported, is legal. Today on the show: where the Alien Enemies Act came from, how presidents have used it before, and what that tells us about what's to come.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    When Things Fall Apart

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 10, 2025 49:01


    Climate disaster, political unrest, random violence: Western society can often feel like what the filmmaker Werner Herzog calls "a thin layer of ice on top of an ocean of chaos and darkness." But is that actually true — or the way it has to be? Today on the show, what really happens when things fall apart. This episode originally published in 2023.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    Get Rich Quick: The American Lottery

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 3, 2025 49:41


    Want to get rich quick? You're not alone. Right now, Americans spend over $100 billion, yes billion, every year on lottery tickets. Today on the show, in collaboration with Scratch and Win from WGBH, how the mafia, Sputnik, medical equipment, and the electoral college led to American's obsession with playing the numbers.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    We the People: The Right to Remain Silent

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 27, 2025 48:36


    The Fifth Amendment. You have the right to remain silent when you're being questioned in police custody, thanks to the Fifth's protection against self-incrimination. But most people end up talking to police anyway. Why? Today on Throughline's We the People: the Fifth Amendment, the right to remain silent, and how hard it can be to use it.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    Sesame Street

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 20, 2025 48:47


    Big Bird, politics, and the ABCs: how a television show made to represent New York City neighborhoods like Harlem and the Bronx became beloved by families around a divided country. This episode originally ran in 2022 as "Getting to Sesame Street."To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    Winter is Coming

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 13, 2025 51:01


    Dinosaurs, Carl Sagan, and nuclear war. There was a moment in the not-so-distant past when we learned what drove the dinosaurs extinct — and that discovery, made during the Cold War, may have helped save humans from the same fate. In this episode, we'll take a journey from prehistoric times to the nuclear age and explore how humans contend with fears of the end.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    We the People: Succession of Power

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 6, 2025 47:45


    The 25th amendment. A few years before JFK was shot, an idealistic young lawyer set out on a mission to convince people something essential was missing from the Constitution: clear instructions for what should happen if a U.S. president was no longer able to serve. On this episode of our ongoing series We the People, the story behind one of the last amendments to the Constitution, and the man who got it done.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    Health Insurance in America

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2025 52:58


    Millions 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 expensive, yet leaves so many people vulnerable? On this episode, how a temporary solution created an everlasting problem. This episode originally ran in 2020 as The Everlasting Problem.To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    The Evolution of Presidential Power

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 20, 2025 51:40


    What can and can't the president do — and how do we know? The framers of the U.S. Constitution left the powers of the executive branch powers deliberately vague, and in doing so opened the door for every president to decide how much power they could claim. Over time, that's become quite a lot. This episode originally ran in 2020 and has been updated with new material.To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    The Anti-Vaccine Movement

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 13, 2025 48:48


    The alleged link between vaccines and autism was first published in 1998, in a since-retracted study in medical journal The Lancet. The claim has been repeatedly disproven: there is no evidence that vaccines and autism are related. But by the mid-2000s, the myth was out there, and its power was growing, fueled by distrust of government, misinformation, and high-profile boosters like Jim Carrey and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. In this episode: the roots of the modern anti-vaccine movement, and of the fears that still fuel it – from a botched polio vaccine, to the discredited autism study, to today.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    Birthright Citizenship

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 6, 2025 57:44


    Wong Kim Ark was born in the U.S. and lived his whole life here. But when he returned from a trip to China in August of 1895, officials wouldn't let him leave his ship. Citing the Chinese Exclusion Act, which denied citizenship to Chinese immigrants, they told him he was not, in fact, a citizen of the United States.Today, the story of Wong Kim Ark, whose epic fight to be recognized as a citizen in his own country led to a Supreme Court decision affirming birthright citizenship for all. This episode originally ran as By Accident of Birth.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    The Kingdom Behind Glass

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 30, 2025 48:24


    Who owns stolen art? Today on the show, the bloody journey of a Benin Bronze from West Africa to the halls of one of England's most elite universities — a tale of imperialism, betrayal, and the making of the modern world.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    We The People: Cruel and Unusual Punishment

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 23, 2025 47:58


    The Eighth Amendment. What is cruel and unusual punishment? Who gets to define and decide its boundaries? And how did the Constitution's authors imagine it might change? Today on Throughline's We the People: the Eighth Amendment, the death penalty, and what cruel and unusual really means.To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    Ralph Nader, Consumer Crusader (Throwback)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 16, 2025 46:39


    Whether it's pesticides in your cereal or the door plug flying off your airplane, consumers today have plenty of reasons to feel like corporations might not have their best interests at heart. At a moment when the number of product recalls is high and trust in the government is low, we're going to revisit a time when a generation of people felt empowered to demand accountability from both companies and elected leaders — and got results. Today on the show, the story of the U.S. consumer movement and its controversial leader: the once famous, now infamous Ralph Nader.To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    History of the Self: Dreams

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 9, 2025 49:40


    Our dreams can haunt us. But what are we to make of them? From omens and art to modern science, we tell the story of dreams and the surprising role they may play in our lives. (Originally ran as The Way We Dream)To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    History of the Self: Aging

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 2, 2025 49:39


    Defeating old age? In 1899, Elie Metchnikoff woke up in Paris to learn he had done just that. At least, that's what the newspaper headlines said. Before long he was inundated with mail from people begging him to help them live forever. The only problem? He didn't know how to do it. At the time, Metchnikoff was one of the world's most famous scientists. And he believed aging was a disease he could cure. He dedicated his life to that quest, spending his days interviewing centenarians, pulling gray hair out of colleagues and old dogs, and boiling strawberries — all in the pursuit of eternal youth. If you've ever had yogurt for breakfast, you likely have Metchnikoff to thank. (This episode first ran as The Man Who Cured Aging)Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    History of the Self: Love

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 26, 2024 53:07


    How did love – this thing that's supposed to be beautiful, magical, transformative – turn into a neverending slog? We went searching for answers, and we found them in surprising places. On today's show: a time-hopping, philosophical journey into the origins of modern love. (This episode first ran as Love, Throughline)To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    Embedded: The Black Gate

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 24, 2024 27:38


    In the Xinjiang region of western China, the government has rounded up and detained hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic groups. Many haven't been heard from in years, and more still are desperately searching for their families. Western governments have called this crackdown a cultural genocide and a possible crime against humanity.In this episode, the first of a three-part series from Embedded, NPR correspondent Emily Feng tells the story of one of those people. For years, a Uyghur man named Abdullatif Kucar had no idea what has happened to his wife and young children after they were detained by Chinese authorities. Emilly follows Kucar as he desperately searches for his family.But this story is bigger than one family. In this series, Emily also travels across Asia and dives into decades of history to uncover the massive Chinese surveillance of Uyghurs, getting exclusive interviews with the people suffering from that surveillance and the people upholding it – who sometimes are one and the same.This episode was originally published in 2022. To hear the whole series, head to https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510311/embedded.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    History of the Self: Smell and Memory

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 19, 2024 51:13


    "History" can seem big and imposing. But it's always intensely personal – it's all of our individual experiences that add up to historical events. Over the next few episodes, we're exploring the personal and how it's changed history: from the story of romantic love, to the man who tried to cure aging, to the contents of our dreams...First up, memory and our sense of smell. What if we told you that the key to time travel has been right in front of our eyes this whole time? Well, it has: it's in our noses. Today on the show, the science — and politics — of smell, and how it links our past and our present. (Originally ran as The Scent of History)To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    Going to the Source of L.A.'s Water

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 16, 2024 26:39


    Throughline associate producer Anya Steinberg talks to supervising senior editor Julie Caine about her reporting trip to Owens Valley in northeastern California for the episode, "Water in the West," about the creation of—and controversy over—the Los Angeles aqueduct.This normally would be a bonus episode just for Throughline+ listeners. With this being the season of giving, we're sharing this one with everyone! To access all of Throughline's bonus episodes, listen to every episode sponsor-free, and support public radio, sign up for Throughline+ at plus.npr.org/throughlineLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    When Christmas Went Viral

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 12, 2024 49:55


    Christmas wasn't always a national shopping spree — or even a day off work. But in 19th-century London, it went viral. When Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol, the book's tale of miserly Scrooge and the ghosts that transformed him transformed the holiday too, especially in the U.S.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    Seeking Asylum in the U.S.

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 5, 2024 52:40


    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 that clear-cut.Today on the show, the story of how the U.S. asylum system was forged in response to moments of crisis, and where it left gaps: from Jewish refugees fleeing the Holocaust, to Cuban and Haitian asylum seekers during the Cold War, to the precarious system of today.To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    The Lord Of Misrule (Throwback)

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 28, 2024 49:24


    By the time his book went to press in London, on November 18, 1633, Thomas Morton had been exiled from the Puritan colonies in Massachusetts. His crimes: drinking, carousing, and — crucially — building social and economic ties with Native people. His book outlined a vision for what America could become. A very different vision than that of the Puritans.But the book wouldn't be published that day. It wouldn't be published for years. Because agents for the Puritan colonists stormed the press and destroyed every copy.Today on the show, the story of what's widely considered America's first banned book, the radical vision it conjured, and the man who outlined that vision: Thomas Morton, the Lord of Misrule.To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    The Mother of Thanksgiving

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 21, 2024 50:26


    The Thanksgiving story most of us hear is about friendship and unity. And that's what Sarah Josepha Hale had on her mind when she sat down to write a letter to President Lincoln in 1863, deep into the Civil War. Hale had already spent years campaigning for a national day of thanksgiving, using her platform as editor of one the country's most widely-read magazines and writing elected officials to argue that Americans urgently needed a national story. But she'd gotten nowhere – until now.Five days after reading her letter, Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday. At the time, no one was talking about Pilgrims and Native Americans. But that too would change.Today on the show: a Thanksgiving story you may not have heard, how it happened, and what it leaves out.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    Behind the Scenes of Throughline

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 14, 2024 51:26


    Today on the show, we're taking you behind the scenes. We'll tell you how Throughline was born, some of what goes into making our episodes, and a little bit about how we make our special sauce — the Throughline rizz, as the kids say.If you want more of these behind-the-scenes conversations become a Throughline+ subscriber. You can find out more at plus.npr.org/throughline.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    The Electoral College (Throwback)

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 7, 2024 47:05


    What is it, why do we have it, and why hasn't it changed? Born from a rushed, fraught, imperfect process, the origins and evolution of the Electoral College might surprise you and make you think differently about not only this upcoming presidential election, but our democracy as a whole.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    A History of Settlements

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 31, 2024 54:06


    The question of settlements has loomed over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for decades, and has only intensified in the past year. According to a UN report, since October 7, 2023, there has been a record surge in settlement activities and increased settler violence against Palestinians. Today on the show: how the settlement movement grew from a small religious mission to one of the central tenets of the current Israeli government. It's a story that intersects with other topics we've covered in our series relating to this conflict – the history of Hamas, the rise of the Israeli right wing, Hezbollah, and Zionism.To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    The Swing State Power Brokers

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 24, 2024 50:44


    Today on the show, two stories of building power in swing states: from the top down, and the bottom up.First, how a future Supreme Court justice helped launch a program to challenge voters at the Arizona polls in the early 1960s, in a county that's become a hotbed for election conspiracies in the decades since. Then, how a 1973 labor strike led by Arab Americans in a Michigan factory town sparked a political movement that could play a major role in the 2024 election.This story is part of "We, The Voters," NPR's election series reported from the seven swing states that will most likely decide the 2024 election.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    How We Vote (Throwback)

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 17, 2024 54:45


    Drunken brawls, coercion, and lace curtains: believe it or not, how regular people vote was not something the Founding Fathers thought much about. Americans went from casting votes at wild parties in the town square to doing so in private booths, behind a drawn curtain. In this episode, the process of voting: how it was designed, who it was meant for, and the moments when we reimagined it altogether.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    A History of Christian Nationalism

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 10, 2024 51:26


    References to God and Christianity are sprinkled throughout American life. Our money has "In God We Trust" printed on it. Most presidents have chosen to swear their oath of office on the Bible.Christian nationalists want more.Christian nationalist beliefs are rooted in the idea that the United States was founded as a Christian nation, and that its laws should reflect certain Christian values. And versions of these beliefs are widely held by Americans of different ages, races, and backgrounds. In 2022, a Pew Research poll reported that 45 percent of Americans believe the country should be a Christian nation. More than half of those people said the Bible should influence U.S. laws. Today on the show: the complex relationship between Christianity and the U.S.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    The Battle For Jerusalem

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 3, 2024 50:11


    Today, the city of Jerusalem is seen as so important that people are willing to kill and die to control it. And that struggle goes back centuries. Nearly a thousand years ago, European Christians embarked on what became known as the First Crusade: an unprecedented, massive military campaign to take Jerusalem from Muslims and claim the holy city for themselves. They won a shocking victory – but it didn't last. A Muslim leader named Saladin raised an army to take the city back. What happened next was one of the most consequential battles of the Middle Ages: A battle that would forever change the course of relations between the Islamic and Christian worlds, Europe and The Middle East.In this episode, we travel back to the front lines of that battle to explore a simple question: What is Jerusalem worth?Love Throughline? Please help us out by taking this quick survey! npr.org/throughlinesurveyTo access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    A History of Hezbollah (Throwback)

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 26, 2024 49:26


    Hezbollah is a Lebanese paramilitary organization and political party that's directly supported by the Islamic Republic of Iran. In the wake of the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, and Israel's invasion of Gaza, there have been escalating attacks between Hezbollah and Israel across the border they share.Today on the show: a history of Hezbollah.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    When Things Fall Apart (Throwback)

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 19, 2024 49:33


    Climate change, political unrest, random violence - Western society can often feel like what the filmmaker Werner Herzog calls, "a thin layer of ice on top of an ocean of chaos and darkness." In the United States, polls indicate that many people believe that law and order is the only thing protecting us from the savagery of our neighbors, that the fundamental nature of humanity is competition and struggle. This idea is often called "veneer theory." But is this idea rooted in historical reality? Is this actually what happens when societies face disasters? Are we always on the cusp of brutality?To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    The Conspiracy Files

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 12, 2024 55:04


    9/11 was an inside job. Aliens have already made contact. COVID-19 was created in a lab.Maybe you rolled your eyes at some point while reading that list. Or maybe you paused on one and thought... well... it could be true.Since the first Americans started chatting online, conspiracy theories have become mainstream — and profitable. It's gotten harder to separate fact and fiction. But if we don't know who we can trust, how does a democracy survive?On today's episode, we travel the internet from UFOs, through 9/11, to COVID, to trace how we ended up in a world that can't be believed.To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

    How U.S. Unions Took Flight (Throwback)

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 5, 2024 46:19


    Airline workers — pilots, flight attendants, mechanics, baggage handlers, and more — represent a huge cross-section of the country. And for decades, they've used their unions to fight not just for better working conditions, but for civil rights, charting a course that leads right up to today. In this episode, we turn an eye to the sky to see how American unions took flight.To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

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