The show, episode by episode

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.…

461 episodes tracked Similar shows

Throughline

How two swing states changed American voting

How baseball got its beat

Is it time for a Luddite Renaissance?

The school report that changed public education

Why American public schools are still broken

The SAT's 100-year grip on higher ed

The pillage that fueled America's tech booms

How Korean culture went global

The blatant betrayal that erased the Tupperware queen from history

Lies, theft, and cover-up: the history of Monopoly you've never heard

The song that fueled protests and a legacy of hope

The lightbulb conspiracy is both real and everywhere

The license to be funny in America

The architect of modern China

The Chinafication of Walmart

Listen to "We Keep Us Safe" on NPR's Embedded podcast

Route 66 and the quest to connect America

How wheelchairs, a river, and a spaceship challenged the status quo

The ongoing battle over asylum in America

American history through song

The story of July 4th is messier than you remember

The genius and murkiness of the Constitution

From Hormuz to Suez: the chokepoints of global power

Prosperity gospel and the American dream

How the Supreme Court claimed supreme power

Captain America and the nation's conscience

The shifting line between free speech and a criminal threat

The uncensored war

The World Cup was supposed to bring world peace

Bayard Rustin and the March on Washington

History's playbook for taming the beast of inflation

Yuri Kochiyamas’s lifetime of activism

Prediction markets are making a 150-year comeback

Frances Perkins Goes To Washington

War by remote control, how drones changed modern warfare

Four voices from the Great Depression

How our memory of war can shape the future

The origins of the Socialist Party of America

Gladiators, real housewives and the pull of reality TV

The fight that shook America

The billionaires' utopia blueprint

Why the wall was built

The original clickbait king

How the US became America

Will AI destroy us... or save us?

Who gets to be an American citizen?

Al Capone and the transformation of the IRS

What the banana tells us about US history

How Saudi Arabia shaped Silicon Valley

The Ojibwe Nation

Why is Cuba in crisis?

The confederates who left the USA

3 key moments that led to the U.S.-Iran war

Everyone should have a voice

Iran and the Jewish people: An alliance before war

We the People, Redefined

Why Super PACs have more power than ever in elections

How the Civil War changed how we vote

Who profits from migrant detention?

The lasting legacy of the slave patrols

How Bad Bunny took Puerto Rican independence mainstream

The right to free speech

The Man Who Took On The Klan

Becoming Supreme | America in Pursuit

James Baldwin's Fire

Signed, Sealed & Delivered | America in Pursuit

Iran Protests Explained

The Deadliest Ally | America in Pursuit

Ken Burns and the American Revolution

Your 15-Minute Guide to 250 Years | America in Pursuit

El Libertador (Venezuela update)

Winter Book Club: Octavia Butler’s Visionary Fiction

Winter Book Club: Why You'll Love 'Dune'

Winter Book Club: A Christmas Carol

Winter Book Club: The Story of Us?

Pride, Prejudice, and Peer Pressure

The Bitter History of Chocolate

The Mother of Thanksgiving

What Happened to Vladimir Alexandrov?