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How the US became America
14 april 2026 · 16 min
In the late 1890s, the United States fought wars and backed independence movements around the world. By the time the fighting was over, the US emerged as a new global power —and with it, a new identity. This week: how the U.S. became an empire, and why it started calling itself America. Lees meer
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Will AI destroy us... or save us?
9 april 2026 · 51 min
Like it or not, artificial intelligence is deeply rooted in our lives. Its invisible architecture stretches everywhere from dating apps to medical care. In this new world, what remains uniquely human? On today's episode, we explore the tension between our love of AI and our fear of it — and try to decode the humans behind the machines. This episode originally published in March of 2023. Lees meer
Guests:
George Zarkadakis, author of In Our Own Image: Will Artificial Intelligence Save or Destroy Us?
Francis Collins, physician-geneticist who led the Human Genome Project
Stephanie Dick, assistant professor in the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University
Meredith Broussard, data journalism professor at New York University, and author of More Than a Glitch: Confronting Race, Gender and Ability Bias in Tech
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Who gets to be an American citizen?
7 april 2026 · 15 min
The 14th Amendment guaranteed equal citizenship after the Civil War, but who exactly counted as a citizen? Today on the show, the story of Wong Kim Ark, a man born in San Francisco to Chinese parents, whose Supreme Court case defined birthright citizenship more than a century ago. Lees meer
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Al Capone and the transformation of the IRS
2 april 2026 · 52 min
Gangsters, banksters, and politicians. Today on the show, how the hunt for Al Capone helped turn the IRS into one of the U.S. government's most powerful tools — and most effective weapons. This episode originally published in May of 2025. Lees meer
Guests:
Joe Thorndike, historian for Tax Analysts and author of Their Fair Share: Taxing the Rich in the Age of FDR.Paul Camacho, retired special agent for the IRS Criminal Investigation Division and member of the board of directors at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas.
Jason Scott Smith, historian at The University of New Mexico and author of two books about FDR and the New Deal.
Lawrence Reed, president emeritus of The Foundation for Economic Education.
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What the banana tells us about US history
31 maart 2026 · 15 min
What do bananas have to do with American history? On this week’s episode, how the sweet fruit became an American staple because of one entrepreneur who took business off US shores, expanding the country’s economic reach and influence. Lees meer
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How Saudi Arabia shaped Silicon Valley
26 maart 2026 · 50 min
Elon Musk. Donald Trump. Bill Gates. Sam Altman. Larry Ellison. Alex Karp. Jared Kushner. Mr. Beast. Jeffrey Epstein… Those are just a few of the people who have been friendly with, and often done business with, Saudi Arabia over the last decade. Today on the show: how one of the world’s most authoritarian regimes became one of Silicon Valley’s biggest investors – and what that’s meant for the rest of us. Lees meer
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The Ojibwe Nation
24 maart 2026 · 17 min
In the face of United States westward expansion in the 19th century, Native people fought to preserve their land and way of life. Today on the show: the story of how one Ojibwe leader tried to keep his people and land together by building a nation within a nation. Lees meer
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Why is Cuba in crisis?
19 maart 2026 · 48 min
Cuba is on the brink of collapse – a scenario that 13 U.S. presidents have tried to engineer with no success. Today on the show, the making of the Cuban crisis and what might come next. Lees meer
Guests:
Eloy Viera, lawyer and journalist for El ToqueLillian Guerra, Cuban-American history professor at the University of Florida
Maria De Los Angeles Torres, professor of Latin American and Latino Studies at the University of Illinois in Chicago
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The confederates who left the USA
17 maart 2026 · 17 min
After the Civil War, while America was rebuilding itself, some Southerners made a different kind of move — they packed up and left. Today on the show: the Confederados, the American settlers who fled to Brazil chasing wealth, land, and a chance to keep slavery alive. Lees meer
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3 key moments that led to the U.S.-Iran war
12 maart 2026 · 48 min
Military confrontations, early-morning attacks, and digital warfare: the story of Iran and the U.S. from the 1979 Iranian revolution to the fraught moment we're in today. This episode originally ran in 2019 as Rules of Engagement. You can find more of Throughline's coverage into the origins of the conflict in the Middle East here. Lees meer
Guests:
Karim Sadjadpour, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International PeaceMichael Eisenstadt, director of the Washington Institute's military and security studies program
Kim Zetter, writer for WIRED magazine and author of Countdown to Zero Day: Stuxnet and the Launch of the World's First Digital Weapon
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Everyone should have a voice
10 maart 2026 · 22 min
The story of Frederick Douglass’s fight for universal suffrage from the Civil War to the rise of Jim Crow. Lees meer
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Iran and the Jewish people: An alliance before war
5 maart 2026 · 52 min
Israel and Iran have been in almost constant conflict for nearly 50 years. Media tends to frame the violence as endemic, and inevitable — but it’s not. Lees meer
Between the creation of Israel in 1948 and Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979, the countries cooperated, if cautiously. And the bridge between them was one of the largest and oldest Jewish populations in the Middle East: a thriving community of Iranian Jews.
Today on the show, the story of Iran and Israel, told through the life of Jewish Iranian Habib Elghanian.
Guests:
Roya Hakakian, author of Journey from the Land of No: A Girlhood Caught in Revolutionary IranShahrzad Elghanayan, author of Titan of Tehran: From Jewish Ghetto to Corporate Colossus to Firing Squad - My Grandfather's Life
Meir Javedanfar, Israeli-Iranian political scientist and teacher at Reichman University
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We the People, Redefined
3 maart 2026 · 19 min
When the 14th amendment was ratified after the Civil War, it redefined what it meant to be an American. Today on the show, we bring you the story of how the 14th amendment was created, and the intention behind equal protection for all. Lees meer
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Why Super PACs have more power than ever in elections
26 februari 2026 · 50 min
What’s one thing people across the U.S. can agree on? Hint – it’s about money. Voters from all political parties overwhelmingly see unlimited spending in elections as a threat to our democracy. So if most people don’t like all this money in politics, then who does? The answer, on this episode of Throughline. Lees meer
This episode has been updated to eliminate an audio glitch.
Guests:
Michael Kang, Class of 1940 Professor of Law at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.
Henrik Schatzinger, professor of political science at Ripon College and author of forthcoming book Super PACs in the City: How Outside Money is Reshaping Local Elections
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How the Civil War changed how we vote
24 februari 2026 · 16 min
When President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in the middle of the Civil War, he was not just changing the terms of peace, he was risking his own political future and forcing the nation to confront what its democracy really stood for. On this week’s episode, how the presidential election of 1864 changed the way we vote and who we are as a country. Lees meer
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Who profits from migrant detention?
19 februari 2026 · 50 min
The U.S. immigration detention system is spread out across federal facilities, private prisons, state prisons, and county jails. It’s grown under both Democratic and Republican presidents. And it’s been offered up as a source of revenue for over a century, beginning with the first contracts between the federal government and sheriffs along the Canadian border. This episode originally published in September 2025. Lees meer
Guest:
Brianna Nofil, assistant professor of history at The College of William and Mary author of The Migrant's Jail: An American History of Mass Incarceration
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The lasting legacy of the slave patrols
17 februari 2026 · 17 min
To this day, America continues to grapple with the legacy of slavery. On this week’s episode, we explore the creation of slave patrols, which were created to control the movement of enslaved Black people in the 1700s, and how those patrols shaped American society and modern policing. To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline. Lees meer
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How Bad Bunny took Puerto Rican independence mainstream
12 februari 2026 · 49 min
How Bad Bunny became the global voice of a generation in crisis — and what it means when resistance becomes profitable. Lees meer
Guests:
Carina Del Valle Schorske, writer, translator and wannabe backup dancer. She wrote a New York Times Magazine profile about Bad Bunny you can read here.
Vanessa Díaz, professor of Chicano/a and Latino/a Studies at Loyola Marymount University. She’s been teaching a Bad Bunny college course 2023 and is the co-creator of the Bad Bunny Syllabus Project. She is also the co-author of P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance.
Jorell Meléndez-Badillo, professor of Puerto Rican, Caribbean and Latin American History at University of Wisconsin, Madison. He’s the author of Puerto Rico: A National History. He is also the author of the history visualizers for Bad Bunny’s DTMF album.
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The right to free speech
10 februari 2026 · 21 min
Freedom of the press. The right to assembly. And the right to free speech. The first amendment includes some of the most fundamental and most debated rights. In this episode, we explore how the meaning of free speech has changed throughout history and continues to evolve today. Lees meer
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The Man Who Took On The Klan
5 februari 2026 · 49 min
In 1871, Ku Klux Klan violence in South Carolina got so bad that the governor sent a telegram to President Ulysses S. Grant warning that he was facing a state of war. Grant sent him Amos Akerman: a former Confederate soldier and slaveholder who became the U.S. government’s most zealous warrior against the KKK. Lees meer
Guests:
Bernard Powers, director of the Center for the Study of Slavery in Charleston at the College of Charleston in South Carolina
Guy Gugliotta, author of Grant's Enforcer, Taking Down the Klan
Kidada Williams, professor of history at Wayne State University and author of I Saw Death Coming, A History of Terror and Survival in the War Against Reconstruction
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Becoming Supreme | America in Pursuit
3 februari 2026 · 14 min
Political rebellions, family feuds, and power grabs – the founding of the Supreme Court has about as much drama as a Hollywood movie. In this week’s episode, the story of how the Supreme Court went from the weakest branch in the government to the powerful arbiter it is today. Lees meer
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James Baldwin's Fire
29 januari 2026 · 43 min
James Baldwin believed that America has been lying to itself since its founding. A sharp, funny, and insightful commentator on Black identity and American democracy, he never hesitated to bear witness, regardless of what it cost him. We speak with writer and professor Eddie S. Glaude Jr. about how James Baldwin's words can help us navigate our current moment. This episode originally ran in 2020. Lees meer
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Signed, Sealed & Delivered | America in Pursuit
27 januari 2026 · 11 min
The key to good communication is in the delivery – literally. This week on America in Pursuit, how the creation of the U.S. postal service transformed our political culture and helped start a revolution, one letter at a time. Lees meer
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Iran Protests Explained
22 januari 2026 · 47 min
Editor's note: The United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran early Saturday, Feb. 28. For current coverage click here. For background context, the story below was published on Jan. 22, 2026. Lees meer
Iran has been here before. For decades the country has gone through cycles of protest and repression at the hands of the Islamic Republic. What makes this cycle different?
In this episode of Throughline from NPR, we speak to two Iranian experts about their view of the past, present, and future of Iran’s protest movement.
Guests:
Ali Alfoneh, senior fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington DC
Holly Dagres, senior fellow at the Washington Institute and curator of the Iranist on Substack.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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The Deadliest Ally | America in Pursuit
20 januari 2026 · 10 min
Forget guns and generals — the real victor of the Revolution had wings. This week on America in Pursuit the story of how a deadly swarm of mosquitoes shaped the American Revolution and changed the course of history. Lees meer
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Ken Burns and the American Revolution
15 januari 2026 · 50 min
Ramtin talks with filmmaker Ken Burns about the revolution that made the U.S., and the surprising lessons he thinks it holds for us today. Lees meer
Guests:
Ken Burns, documentary filmmaker.
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Your 15-Minute Guide to 250 Years | America in Pursuit
13 januari 2026 · 15 min
The anniversary of the Declaration of Independence is just around the corner. Wanna get up to speed on the past 250 years? Check out our new miniseries, "America in Pursuit." Every Tuesday from now until July 4th, we'll feature a special moment from the last two centuries of U.S. history, from the American Revolution to the AI Revolution. First up, what does U.S. history really mean?To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline. Lees meer
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El Libertador (Venezuela update)
8 januari 2026 · 54 min
On January 3rd, the U.S. military apprehended Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and brought him to the U.S. for trial to face federal drug trafficking and weapons charges. Today, we’re bringing you an episode from our archive: the story of two leaders in Venezuela, separated by nearly two centuries, who shaped the country into what it is today. This episode originally ran in 2019 and has been updated. Lees meer
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Winter Book Club: Octavia Butler’s Visionary Fiction
1 januari 2026 · 1 uur 3 min
Octavia Butler gave us a new kind of science fiction: not only as one of the first writers to use history to talk about the future, and not only as one of the first Black women to do it, but by sending, along with her warnings, a message of hope, survival, persistence, and repair. Lees meer
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Winter Book Club: Why You'll Love 'Dune'
30 december 2025 · 31 min
As a kid, Ramtin fell in love with Frank Herbert's 1965 epic sci-fi novel, Dune. Today, he joins NPR's Books We’ve Loved crew, Andrew Limbong and B.A. Parker, to make the case for why he thinks you'll love it too. Lees meer
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Winter Book Club: A Christmas Carol
25 december 2025 · 49 min
Christmas wasn't always a national shopping spree — or even a day off work. But when Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol in 19th-century London, the holiday went viral. Lees meer
Guests:
Leon Litvack, professor of Victorian Studies at Queen's University in Belfast and editor of the Charles Dickens Letters project.
Lucinda Dickens Hawksley, author and historian of Victorian England.
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Winter Book Club: The Story of Us?
18 december 2025 · 45 min
What if the real story of human history is a story itself? To kick off our winter book club, we talk with bestselling author Tamim Ansary about his book, "The Invention of Yesterday: A 50,000-Year History Of Human Culture, Conflict And Connection," about why the future of our species might depend on our ability to arrive at a story we all share. This episode originally ran in 2022. Lees meer
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Pride, Prejudice, and Peer Pressure
11 december 2025 · 53 min
Rund takes Ramtin on a tour of the enduring world of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice... and our two hosts make a bet. Lees meer
Guests:
John Mullan, professor of English Literature at University College London and author of What Matters in Jane Austen
Devoney Looser, professor of English at Arizona State University and author of Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive and Untamed Jane
Lizzie Dunford, director of Jane Austen's House
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The Bitter History of Chocolate
4 december 2025 · 52 min
What's better than holiday hot chocolate? If just thinking about it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, well – that’s by design. Chocolate's big history sweeps across the globe, and today we’re going on that journey: from the pre–Columbus Americas, to an early 20th century reporter’s hunch about what cocoa production really takes, to a 21st century medical student’s story about his childhood on a farm that produces those holiday treats. Lees meer
Guests:
Carla Martin, lecturer in African and African American Studies at Harvard University and President of the Board of the Institute for Cacao and Chocolate Research
Catherine Higgs, professor of history at the University of British Columbia in Canada
Shadrack Frimpong, founder of Cocoa360
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The Mother of Thanksgiving
27 november 2025 · 50 min
On today's show, a Thanksgiving story you might never have heard -- not about Pilgrims or Native people, but instead about a woman who, as civil war loomed, pushed for a shared national holiday she thought would keep the United States together. This episode originally ran in 2024. Lees meer
We’ve got a favor to ask: We know there are a lot of great NPR shows out there.. but we all know who's the best. NPR is celebrating the best podcasts of the year, and YOU get to crown the winner of the People’s Choice Award. Vote for Throughline at npr.org/peopleschoice. May the best pod win!
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What Happened to Vladimir Alexandrov?
25 november 2025 · 15 min
Rund Abdelfatah and Cristina Kim try to unravel the mystery of a Soviet scientist who was helping to spread the word about nuclear winter theory—until he disappeared. Lees meer
This is a peek at the kind of exclusive bonus content Throughline+ supporters get every month. Want more like this? Sign up via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline. And thank you!
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Democracy Dies in a Day
20 november 2025 · 52 min
How quickly can a government fall? Chile was once one of Latin America's oldest democracies, but that all changed in a matter of hours after a military coup on September 11, 1973. Some supported the coup; many did not. But for the next 17 years, all Chileans lived in the grip of brutal authoritarian rule. Today on the show, the story of a democracy’s collapse and rebirth, told through the eyes of four people who lived through it. Lees meer
We’ve got a favor to ask: We know there are a lot of great NPR shows out there.. but we all know who's the best. NPR is celebrating the best podcasts of the year, and YOU get to crown the winner of the People’s Choice Award. Vote for Throughline at npr.org/peopleschoice. May the best pod win!
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The Creeping Coup
13 november 2025 · 51 min
On the surface, the story of Sudan’s war is about two generals vying for power. But it’s also about a vast web of international interests involving the U.S., China, Russia, and the UAE. Today on the show, the story of how things in Sudan got to this point, and the effects of the conflict around the world. This episode originally ran in 2024 and has been updated. Lees meer
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Winter is Coming
6 november 2025 · 52 min
Late last month, President Trump announced that the United States would be restarting nuclear weapons tests after a break of over 30 years. We’ve since learned that they won’t be the explosive kind of tests, but this sent us down a rabbit hole — where we found a story about dinosaurs, Carl Sagan, and nuclear war. Because there was a moment in the not-so-distant past when we learned what drove the dinosaurs extinct... and that discovery, made during the Cold War, may have helped save humans from the same fate. This episode originally published in March 2025. Lees meer
Guests:
David Sepkoski, Thomas M. Siebel Chair in History of Science at the University of Illinois and author of Catastrophic Thinking: Extinction and the Value of Diversity.
Owen Brian Toon, professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Alec Nevala-Lee, novelist, critic, and biographer and author of the forthcoming book Collisions: A Physicist's Journey from Hiroshima to the Death of the Dinosaurs.
Ann Druyan, co-writer and co-creator of the television series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage.
Andrew Revkin, science and environmental journalist.
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Prosecuting Genocide
30 oktober 2025 · 51 min
The word "genocide" can seem like it’s everywhere right now: So it can be easy to forget that, fundamentally, it's a legal term that dates to World War II — and wasn’t used in court for half a century afterwards. Today on the show, the story of what happened during the Bosnian War in the 1990s and the work that went into building the legal case to prove genocide.
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Throughline Dances
29 oktober 2025 · 30 min
Stuck in traffic? Glued to your desk chair? Folding yet another pile of your kids’ laundry? We GOT you!! Take a break, turn up the volume, and shake it out with this special episode of Throughline, a tribute to dance music, all songs composed by our very own Ramtin Arablouei. Lees meer
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The Internet Under the Sea
23 oktober 2025 · 51 min
What powers the global internet? The answer might surprise you: not satellites, but hundreds of thin cables that run along the ocean floor. They’re an absolutely essential technology that’s also incredibly fragile — so fragile that in the beginning, most people thought they couldn't possibly work. Today on the show: the story of a man who did think they could work… and the lengths he went to to try and connect the world. Lees meer
Guests:
Bill Burns, former BBC broadcast engineer and founder of atlantic-cable.com
Cyrus Field IV, great-great-grandson of Cyrus Field
Allison Marsh, professor at the University of South Carolina and historian of technology
Ben Roberts, strategic advisor on Subsea Cable Economics for Connectivity at UNICEF who has been building cable network in Africa for the past two decades
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The Rise of the Right Wing in Israel
16 oktober 2025 · 52 min
Israel and Hamas have agreed to a plan to end fighting in Gaza, just over two years after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7th, 2023 and Israel’s subsequent bombardment and invasion of Gaza. As we wait to see what happens next, we’re revisiting our episodes looking at the history of major players on both sides of the conflict. Last week, we looked at the history of Hamas; if you missed that, go back and check it out. This week, we’re bringing you the story of the rise of right wing politics in Israel and President Benjamin Netanyahu’s political career. This episode first ran in 2024. Lees meer
Guests:
Amjad Iraqi, senior analyst for Israel/Palestine at the International Crisis Group and former senior editor at +972 Magazine.
Natasha Roth-Rowland, historian and director of research and analysis at Diaspora Alliance, an international organization that combats antisemitism.
Sara Yael Hirschhorn, historian,visiting professor at the University of Haifa and fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute.
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A History of Hamas
9 oktober 2025 · 50 min
With peace talks once again underway between Israel and Hamas, and hopes again growing for a permanent ceasefire, we’re bringing you our episode on the origins of Hamas: where it came from, how its influence grew, and what it represents. Next week, our episode on Benjamin Netanyahu and the rise of Israel’s right wing. This episode first ran in November 2023. Lees meer
We've done episodes on Hamas, Israel, Lebanon, Iran, and more. Find them all in our series, "The Cycle".
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From the Frontlines
2 oktober 2025 · 52 min
Journalism is under unprecedented threat worldwide. At least 220 journalists have been killed in Gaza alone since the October 7th, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel; the Committee to Protect Journalists says it’s the deadliest conflict for journalists the group has ever documented. In conflicts around the world, it’s war reporters who write the first draft of history. But getting to the front lines, finding the truth, and reporting it is easier said than done. Today on the show: war reporters, and what’s at stake if they can’t do their jobs. Lees meer
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Throughline Sleeps
30 september 2025 · 30 min
Life can be tough. Every day brings new challenges. And in order to get through the waking hours we need rest. Good quality sleep. In this bonus episode, a companion to our episode "The Way We Dream," we offer you a 30-minute audio journey into the deep. A smooth trip into the place where our minds are free from the confines of our self awareness, our dreams. This episode originally published in January 2022. Lees meer
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The Anti-Vaccine Movement
25 september 2025 · 49 min
The alleged link between vaccines and autism is back in the news this week, being regularly speculated on by both President Trump and Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The claim has been repeatedly disproven: there is no evidence that vaccines and autism are related. But the myth is powerful. In this episode: the roots of the modern anti-vaccine movement, and of the fears that still fuel it – from a botched polio vaccine, to the discredited autism study, to today. This episode originally published in February 2025. Lees meer
Guests:
Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and a professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Elena Conis, historian of medicine and public health and a professor in journalism and history at the University of California, Berkeley
Arthur Allen, senior correspondent for nonprofit KFF Health News and author of Vaccine: The Controversial Story of Medicine's Greatest Lifesaver
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The Business of Migrant Detention
18 september 2025 · 50 min
The U.S. immigration detention system is spread out across federal facilities, private prisons, state prisons, and county jails. It’s grown under both Democratic and Republican presidents. And it’s been offered up as a source of revenue for over a century, beginning with the first contracts between the federal government and sheriffs along the Canadian border. Lees meer
Guests:
Brianna Nofil, assistant professor of history at The College of William and Mary author of The Migrant's Jail: An American History of Mass Incarceration
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If you want to learn more about the history of Cuban migration to the U.S. and the Mariel Boatlift, check out season 2 of White Lies.
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Line. Fence. Wall.
11 september 2025 · 49 min
The U.S. - Mexico border, according to a video on the official White House website, is very quiet: nothing but tires crunching on gravel and the wind whistling around a high, solid-looking wall. But that's not the whole story. Today on the show, how that border went from a line in the sand, to a fence, to a wall. Lees meer
Guests:
Rachel St. John, associate professor of history at U.C. Davis, and author of Line in the Sand: A History of the Western US Mexico Border
Miguel Levario, associate professor of history at Texas Tech University and author of Militarizing the Border: When Mexicans Became the Enemy
Silvestre Reyes, former Congressman (D-TX), and former Border Patrol Sector Chief
Eduardo Contreras, realtor in Brownsville, Texas
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ICE
4 september 2025 · 49 min
What is ICE? What was it created to do? And what’s changed in 2025? Today on the show, the history of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and how it tracks the story of immigration, and politics, in the U.S. Lees meer
Guests:
Peter Markowitz, professor at Cardozo School of Law in New York City and founder of the Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Clinic.
Rodger Werner is co-author of “The History and Evolution of Homeland Security in the United States” and currently employed by the Department of Homeland Security. The views he expresses in this episode are his own and do not represent the views of DHS or the U.S. government.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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