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Throughline

Throughline

By: NPR
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 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/throughlineCopyright 2019-2021 NPR - For Personal Use Only Social Sciences World
Episodes
  • The First Department of Education

    The First Department of Education
    Jun 12 2025
    Whose job is it to educate Americans? Congress created the first Department of Education just after the Civil War as a way to help reunify a broken country. A year later, it was basically shut down. But the story of that first department's birth – and death – set the stage for everything that's come since.

    To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.

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    48 mins
  • The Woman Behind The New Deal

    The Woman Behind The New Deal
    Jun 5 2025
    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.

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    49 mins
  • We the People: Search and Seizure

    We the People: Search and Seizure
    May 29 2025
    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.

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    48 mins
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Intro to a new author and her contribution to Afro Futurism. This has been an eye opening experience. I am an fan from now on.

Powerful Podcast

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Excellent history lesson behind current state of Palestine and Israel. emotionally charged at times, but full of facts and history.

Excellent history lesson

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almost brought me to tears, distilling Jimmy's Legacy. I have read at least eight of James's works, from the first book I read, I wondered why this was not required reading as the greatest American author. James Baldwin is America's greatest writer. this podcast Play It's like a trailer for why this is true.

don't know Jimmy? here is why you should care!

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Never heard about any of this history regarding Chinese immigrants to the USA. Fascinating and so sad, esp. given the state of our country on immigration nowadays. We seem to be going backwards. Both narrator and granddaughter were wonderful.

Unexpectedly Interesting

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The content of this podcast is really interesting and thought-provoking, and it's very well produced. However, as someone with misophonia I was not able to listen to more than a few minutes before I had to shut the episode off because of the sound effects. I was attempting to listen to the episode about dreams, and it was filled with all these little whispering noises and sounds shifting from one side to the other. I imagine many people would consider this ASMR and enjoy it but for me they make my skin crawl. It's involuntary, I can't prevent it or stop it. Unfortunately, of all the sounds I've heard in my headphones, the ones in this episode provoked the strongest physiological response from my body and I was not able to make it more than a few minutes in. Too bad, because I was really interested! I'll try another episode sometime but right now I need something more sensory friendly.

Not good for misophonia/sensory issues

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This has been my favorite episode! I can’t stop thinking about it. I felt horror and disgust, i laughed and then I cried. Highly recommend!I

My favorite!

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Give this a listen.


It's worth your time.


See title for reasoning.


A thoughtful podcast.

In depth reporting and connecting history to current events

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