The story of July 4th is messier than you remember
Devastating compromises. Midnight rides. A nailbiter vote. Statue toppling riots… and the very real possibility of death. This July 4th, we'...
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Throughline
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 momen...
Throughline Podcast Guide
Listen to Throughline, a Society & Culture podcast by NPR. Stream 444 episodes in English, follow new audio stories, and play episodes online on Radio and Podcast.
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The genius and murkiness of the Constitution
What does the Constitution mean to me? That’s a question writer and actor Heidi Schreck asked herself years ago, when she started working on...
From Hormuz to Suez: the chokepoints of global power
Oil may dominate the headlines about the Middle East, but the real power often flows through water. Three narrow passages - the Suez Canal,...
Prosperity gospel and the American dream
A 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 fro...
How the Supreme Court claimed supreme power
The Supreme Court's 2025-26 term has been punctuated with some high-stakes cases: birthright citizenship, voting rights, presidential powers...
Captain America and the nation's conscience
What does it mean to be American? For one superhero, it means donning yourself in the colors of the American flag, sticking up for the littl...
The shifting line between free speech and a criminal threat
Threats against public officials have become much, much more common. This includes everyone from the president of the United States to membe...
The uncensored war
As 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 mil...
The World Cup was supposed to bring world peace
World 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 foun...
Bayard Rustin and the March on Washington
When people remember the March on Washington they often recall the giant crowds or Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech. Less kn...
History's playbook for taming the beast of inflation
Gas. Meat. Flights. Houses. The cost of living is up. Inflation is rearing its head again. And as it rises higher, inflation risks devastati...
Yuri Kochiyamas’s lifetime of activism
Civil rights activist Yuri Kochiyama lived a life dedicated to social justice for people of all backgrounds. Not only a pillar of the Asian-...
Prediction markets are making a 150-year comeback
Prediction 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 mar...
Frances Perkins Goes To Washington
This week, we explore the life of the first woman Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins, and how in the midst of the Great Depression she help...
War by remote control, how drones changed modern warfare
Drones are swarming battlefields in Ukraine, Iran, and beyond. Drone warfare is cheap, efficient, autonomous — and changing warfare forever....
Four voices from the Great Depression
A glimpse into life during the Great Depression from the people that lived it. To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-fr...
How our memory of war can shape the future
All wars are fought twice: first on the battlefield, the second time in memory," writes Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen. Thi...
The origins of the Socialist Party of America
Rapid industrialization reshaped American life in the mid-19th century. But as corporations grew larger and more powerful, working condition...
Gladiators, real housewives and the pull of reality TV
People used to say "believe your eyes." But these days that's not so easy to do. What we scroll through every day blurs the line between ent...
The fight that shook America
Jack Johnson was the first world Black heavyweight champion, but winning the title was only part of the battle. Every time Johnson stepped i...