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.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 sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org/throughline
Episodes (437)
The World Cup was supposed to bring world peace
Jun 4, 2026
Bayard Rustin and the March on Washington
Jun 2, 2026
History's playbook for taming the beast of inflation
May 28, 2026
Yuri Kochiyamas’s lifetime of activism
May 26, 2026
Prediction markets are making a 150-year comeback
May 21, 2026
Frances Perkins Goes To Washington
May 19, 2026
War by remote control, how drones changed modern warfare
May 14, 2026
Four voices from the Great Depression
May 12, 2026
How our memory of war can shape the future
May 7, 2026
The origins of the Socialist Party of America
May 5, 2026
Gladiators, real housewives and the pull of reality TV
Apr 30, 2026
The fight that shook America
Apr 28, 2026
The billionaires' utopia blueprint
Apr 23, 2026
Why the wall was built
Apr 21, 2026
The original clickbait king
Apr 16, 2026
How the US became America
Apr 14, 2026
Will AI destroy us... or save us?
Apr 9, 2026
Who gets to be an American citizen?
Apr 7, 2026
Al Capone and the transformation of the IRS
Apr 2, 2026
What the banana tells us about US history
Mar 31, 2026
How Saudi Arabia shaped Silicon Valley
Mar 26, 2026
The Ojibwe Nation
Mar 24, 2026
Why is Cuba in crisis?
Mar 19, 2026
The confederates who left the USA
Mar 17, 2026
3 key moments that led to the U.S.-Iran war
Mar 12, 2026
Everyone should have a voice
Mar 10, 2026
Iran and the Jewish people: An alliance before war
Mar 5, 2026
We the People, Redefined
Mar 3, 2026
Why Super PACs have more power than ever in elections
Feb 26, 2026
How the Civil War changed how we vote
Feb 24, 2026
Who profits from migrant detention?
Feb 19, 2026
The lasting legacy of the slave patrols
Feb 17, 2026
How Bad Bunny took Puerto Rican independence mainstream
Feb 12, 2026
The right to free speech
Feb 10, 2026
The Man Who Took On The Klan
Feb 5, 2026
Becoming Supreme | America in Pursuit
Feb 3, 2026
James Baldwin's Fire
Jan 29, 2026
Signed, Sealed & Delivered | America in Pursuit
Jan 27, 2026
Iran Protests Explained
Jan 22, 2026
The Deadliest Ally | America in Pursuit
Jan 20, 2026
Ken Burns and the American Revolution
Jan 15, 2026
Your 15-Minute Guide to 250 Years | America in Pursuit
Jan 13, 2026
El Libertador (Venezuela update)
Jan 8, 2026
Winter Book Club: Octavia Butler’s Visionary Fiction
Jan 1, 2026
Winter Book Club: Why You'll Love 'Dune'
Dec 30, 2025
Winter Book Club: A Christmas Carol
Dec 25, 2025
Winter Book Club: The Story of Us?
Dec 18, 2025
Pride, Prejudice, and Peer Pressure
Dec 11, 2025
The Bitter History of Chocolate
Dec 4, 2025
The Mother of Thanksgiving
Nov 27, 2025