Throughline

Throughline

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

Episodes

The confederates who left the USA

March 17, 2026 • 17 mins
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.

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

March 12, 2026 • 48 mins
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.

Guests:
Karim Sadjadpour, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace<...
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Everyone should have a voice

March 10, 2026 • 22 mins
The story of Frederick Douglass’s fight for universal suffrage from the Civil War to the rise of Jim Crow.

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Iran and the Jewish people: An alliance before war

March 5, 2026 • 51 mins
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. 

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...
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We the People, Redefined

March 3, 2026 • 18 mins
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.


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Why Super PACs have more power than ever in elections

February 26, 2026 • 50 mins
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.

This episode has been updated to eliminate an audio glitch.

Guests:

Michael Kang, Class of 1940 Pr...
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How the Civil War changed how we vote

February 24, 2026 • 16 mins
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.


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Who profits from migrant detention?

February 19, 2026 • 50 mins
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. 

Guest: 
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The lasting legacy of the slave patrols

February 17, 2026 • 16 mins
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.

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How Bad Bunny took Puerto Rican independence mainstream

February 12, 2026 • 48 mins
How Bad Bunny became the global voice of a generation in crisis — and what it means when resistance becomes profitable.

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 Bunn...
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The right to free speech

February 10, 2026 • 21 mins
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.

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 Man Who Took On The Klan

February 5, 2026 • 48 mins
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.

Guests:

Bernard Powers, director of the Center for the Study of Slavery in Charleston at the College of Cha...
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Becoming Supreme | America in Pursuit

February 3, 2026 • 13 mins
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.
To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.

To...
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James Baldwin's Fire

January 29, 2026 • 42 mins
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.

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Signed, Sealed & Delivered | America in Pursuit

January 27, 2026 • 10 mins
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. 


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Iran Protests Explained

January 22, 2026 • 47 mins
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.

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 s...
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The Deadliest Ally | America in Pursuit

January 20, 2026 • 10 mins

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.

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Ken Burns and the American Revolution

January 15, 2026 • 50 mins
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.

Guests:

Ken Burns, documentary filmmaker.

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

January 13, 2026 • 15 mins

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 ...

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El Libertador (Venezuela update)

January 8, 2026 • 54 mins
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.

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