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 moments that shaped our world.
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....
ListenHow the Supreme Court claimed supreme power
The Supreme Court's 2025-26 term has been punctuated with some high-stakes cases: birthright citizenship,...
ListenCaptain 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...
ListenThe shifting line between free speech and a criminal threat
Threats against public officials have become much, much more common. This includes everyone from the...
ListenThe uncensored war
As the U.S. escalated its intervention in Vietnam in the 1960s, the media's coverage ramped up too....
ListenThe 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...
ListenBayard Rustin and the March on Washington
When people remember the March on Washington they often recall the giant crowds or Dr. Martin Luther...
ListenHistory'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...
ListenYuri Kochiyamas’s lifetime of activism
Civil rights activist Yuri Kochiyama lived a life dedicated to social justice for people of all backgrounds....
ListenPrediction 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...
ListenFrances Perkins Goes To Washington
This week, we explore the life of the first woman Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins, and how in the...
ListenWar by remote control, how drones changed modern warfare
Drones are swarming battlefields in Ukraine, Iran, and beyond. Drone warfare is cheap, efficient, autonomous...
ListenFour voices from the Great Depression
A glimpse into life during the Great Depression from the people that lived it.To access bonus episodes...
ListenHow 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...
ListenThe origins of the Socialist Party of America
Rapid industrialization reshaped American life in the mid-19th century. But as corporations grew larger...
ListenGladiators, 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...
ListenThe fight that shook America
Jack Johnson was the first world Black heavyweight champion, but winning the title was only part of...
ListenThe billionaires' utopia blueprint
Starbase. Prospera. California Forever. Mars. From private cities to interstellar colonies, tech billionaires...
ListenWhy the wall was built
As the United States expanded into a global superpower, it simultaneously strengthened its national borders...
ListenThe original clickbait king
When we call something "clickbait," we don't mean it as a compliment. But let's be real: we also click....
ListenHow the US became America
In the late 1890s, the United States fought wars and backed independence movements around the world....
ListenWill AI destroy us... or save us?
Like it or not, artificial intelligence is deeply rooted in our lives. Its invisible architecture stretches...
ListenWho gets to be an American citizen?
The 14th Amendment guaranteed equal citizenship after the Civil War, but who exactly counted as a citizen?...
ListenAl Capone and the transformation of the IRS
Gangsters, banksters, and politicians. Today on the show, how the hunt for Al Capone helped turn the...
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