Throughline

By: NPR
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  • Summary

  • 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/throughline
    Copyright 2019-2021 NPR - For Personal Use Only
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Episodes
  • The Mother of Thanksgiving

    The Mother of Thanksgiving
    Nov 21 2024
    The Thanksgiving story most of us hear is about friendship and unity. And that's what Sarah Josepha Hale had on her mind when she sat down to write a letter to President Lincoln in 1863, deep into the Civil War. Hale had already spent years campaigning for a national day of thanksgiving, using her platform as editor of one the country's most widely-read magazines and writing elected officials to argue that Americans urgently needed a national story. But she'd gotten nowhere – until now.

    Five days after reading her letter, Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday. At the time, no one was talking about Pilgrims and Native Americans. But that too would change.

    Today on the show: a Thanksgiving story you may not have heard, how it happened, and what it leaves out.

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    50 mins
  • Behind the Scenes of Throughline

    Behind the Scenes of Throughline
    Nov 14 2024
    Today on the show, we're taking you behind the scenes. We'll tell you how Throughline was born, some of what goes into making our episodes, and a little bit about how we make our special sauce — the Throughline rizz, as the kids say.

    If you want more of these behind-the-scenes conversations become a Throughline+ subscriber. You can find out more at plus.npr.org/throughline.

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    51 mins
  • The Electoral College (Throwback)

    The Electoral College (Throwback)
    Nov 7 2024
    What is it, why do we have it, and why hasn't it changed? Born from a rushed, fraught, imperfect process, the origins and evolution of the Electoral College might surprise you and make you think differently about not only this upcoming presidential election, but our democracy as a whole.

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    47 mins

What listeners say about Throughline

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Powerful Podcast

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.

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Excellent history lesson

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

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

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.

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Unexpectedly Interesting

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.

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Not good for misophonia/sensory issues

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.

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My favorite!

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

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In depth reporting and connecting history to current events

Give this a listen.


It's worth your time.


See title for reasoning.


A thoughtful podcast.

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