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 journalist Rund Abdelfatah. Support public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org. You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including sponsor-free listening for Throughline.
Episodes
October 22, 2026 • 37 mins
Looksmaxxing, weight loss, and muscle building have fueled a massive craze for injectable peptides. Some natural and some synthetic. These injectables have unleashed a multi-billion-dollar gray-market industry online and a high-stakes frontier for the pharmaceutical industry.Today, we reach back to the quest to manufacture the first peptide-based medicine: Insulin.
Guests:
Alison Li, historian of science and medicine,...
Guests:
Alison Li, historian of science and medicine,...
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October 20, 2026 • 19 mins
From dating shows to police interrogation rooms, the polygraph test has long been marketed as a way to detect deception. But can it really? And who decided we needed a truth machine in the first place? In this episode, a Throughline listener sends us on a quest to uncover the story of the lie detector.
Guests:
Ken Alder, professor of history at Northwestern University and author of The Lie Detectors: The History of an...
Guests:
Ken Alder, professor of history at Northwestern University and author of The Lie Detectors: The History of an...
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October 15, 2026 • 47 mins
The Eighth Amendment. What is cruel and unusual punishment? Who gets to define and decide the amendment's boundaries? And how did the Constitution's authors imagine it might change? In this hour, the shifting definition of cruel and unusual punishment.
This episode was originally published in January 2025.
Guests:
John Bessler, law professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law, and adjunct ...
This episode was originally published in January 2025.
Guests:
John Bessler, law professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law, and adjunct ...
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October 13, 2026 • 16 mins
Call it standing ovation inflation: these days, it feels like it's mandatory to stand and clap for live performances. Has our please clap era gone too far? That's what one Throughline listener wanted to know. So we traced the winding road from Shakespeare’s epilogues to Broadway divas to ridiculously long film festival ovations… and how they helped engineer the way we applaud.
Guests:
Roger Gilbert, profe...
Guests:
Roger Gilbert, profe...
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October 8, 2026 • 43 mins
NPR’s Anas Baba is one of the last remaining journalists in Gaza working full-time for an American news organization. A year into the ceasefire, more than 1400 people have been killed in Israeli attacks, nearly 5,000 injured. And those numbers rise nearly every day. What has the last year looked and felt like on the ground? In this episode, Baba takes us through four seasons of ceasefire—as both a resident trying to sur...
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October 1, 2026 • 52 mins
We live in a moment with almost daily reminders of how fragile life on Earth is whether it be from climate change, nuclear weapons or AI. In this episode, we bring you a story from the not-so-distant past when we learned what drove dinosaurs to extinction. And how it might have helped us avoid the same end. This episode was originally published in March 2025.
Guests:
David Sepkoski, Thomas M. Siebel Chair in History o...
Guests:
David Sepkoski, Thomas M. Siebel Chair in History o...
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September 29, 2026 • 21 mins
On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff. All seven astronauts onboard died. Brian Russell, an engineer who worked on the shuttle, had spent months warning NASA that freezing temperatures could cause a critical seal to fail. In this episode, Brian Russell takes us to the intense meeting where NASA had to decide whether to launch and the 40-year weight of a tragedy he tried to prevent.
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September 24, 2026 • 50 mins
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is having a big moment. Its candidates and its membership are both surging. Before Zohran Mamdani and AOC, there was its founder, Michael Harrington, a.k.a 'the man who discovered poverty.' In this episode, we dig into Harrington’s evolution from devout Catholic to revolutionary socialist to Democratic party loyalist, and ask: did his push to compromise delay the dream or pave ...
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September 17, 2026 • 50 mins
Today on the show, the balance of Congressional power is up for grabs in this midterm election. It could be determined by a small number of voters in a few battleground states. Blueprints from the past could be the guide for big wins. The GOP has embraced a block-the-vote strategy set in motion in Arizona in the 1960s. And the Democrats are embracing a grassroots power base set up in Michigan in the 1970s.
Guests:
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Guests:
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September 10, 2026 • 32 mins
Major League Baseball’s postseason is just a few weeks away, and here on Throughline we know the power of a good walk-up song. But how did baseball become such a musical sport? And where did the idea for walk up-music come from?
Guests:
John Thorn, author and Official Baseball Historian for Major League Baseball
Nancy Faust, former organist for the Chicago White Sox
Support public media with ...
Guests:
John Thorn, author and Official Baseball Historian for Major League Baseball
Nancy Faust, former organist for the Chicago White Sox
Support public media with ...
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September 8, 2026 • 16 mins
Calling someone a "Luddite" is usually an insult – shorthand for someone who is behind the times. But the real Luddites weren't just afraid of change; they were a labor movement fighting to save their jobs from being replaced by machines. Today, with the rise of AI, many feel the same kind of existential threat and some are even pushing for a Luddite Renaissance. In this episode, Throughline takes on a listener's question to ...
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September 3, 2026 • 36 mins
In 1966, the federal government commissioned a massive survey aimed at solving educational inequality. Instead, the explosive Coleman Report unleashed a 60-year debate over race, resources, and what education in America is actually for. This is the story of how the report came together… and the policy whirlwind that followed.
Guests:
Victoria Cain, Associate Professor of History, Northeastern University
Guests:
Victoria Cain, Associate Professor of History, Northeastern University
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September 1, 2026 • 18 mins
For generations, the SAT has loomed large in the lives of teenagers. The quest for a perfect or near-perfect score has filled many test takers with dread. In this episode, a listener's question makes us wonder... who decided the SAT was the best and brightest way to filter students? And how did it become the pathway to higher education in America?
Guests:
Nicholas Lemann, author of The Big Test and Higher Admissions
Guests:
Nicholas Lemann, author of The Big Test and Higher Admissions
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August 27, 2026 • 52 mins
Cobalt mining is one of the world's most dangerous jobs. And it's also one of the most essential: cobalt is what powers the batteries in your smartphone, your laptop, the electric car you felt good about buying. More than three-quarters of the world's cobalt supply lies in the Democratic Republic of Congo, whose abundant resources have drawn greed and grifters for centuries. This week on our series Hidden Histories, we reveal the f...
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August 20, 2026 • 48 mins
This year, K-pop Demon Hunters picked up a couple of Oscars, the pop group BTS made its triumphant return to sold out crowds, and K-pop took center stage at the World Cup final. It’s all part of Korea’s 50-year game plan to achieve global cultural dominance. This week on our Hidden Histories series, we dig into the government policy that leveraged sports, screens, and sex to transform Korea’s economy and influence...
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August 13, 2026 • 49 mins
Brownie Wise revolutionized how we store our food. She was one of the first female corporate executives in U.S. history. But she’s not a household name. This week on our series Hidden Histories,the rise and fall of the queen of plastics—and one of corporate America's most dramatic betrayals. (This episode originally aired in 2025)
Guests:
Alison Clarke, author of Tupperware, the Promise of Plastic in 1950s...
Guests:
Alison Clarke, author of Tupperware, the Promise of Plastic in 1950s...
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August 6, 2026 • 49 mins
Monopoly is one of the best-selling board games of all time. It heralds free market economics and celebrates the American dream. That's a far cry from the original intent. This week on our series Hidden Histories,we go back in time to reveal the swindling and cover ups that robbed Monopoly's inventor of her fair share and turned her scathing critique of capitalism into her worst nightmare. (This episode originally aired in 2022)
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August 4, 2026 • 19 mins
In our final installment of AP250, how We Shall Overcome became the anthem of generations of protestors. Today on the show, we revisit an episode from the NPR archives about the legacy of hope found in the lyrics of this timeless song.
Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.
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Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.
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July 30, 2026 • 31 mins
Over the next few episodes, we present Hidden Histories: stories that will make you rethink how the world works. First up, the conspiracy behind the lightbulb—and how it came to shape the entire consumer economy. If you ever wondered why your tech outdates so quickly or just plain fails, you can thank the lightbulb. (This episode originally aired in 2019.)
Guests:
Sally Helm, former NPR Planet Money corres...
Guests:
Sally Helm, former NPR Planet Money corres...
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July 28, 2026 • 20 mins
One of the most fundamental aspects of American democracy has been the public’s ability to critique power, whether that’s through protest, legislation, or a really funny joke. Today, we take a romp into the history of American comedy, showing no matter how crude, rude, or distasteful the humor may be, Americans have a constitutional right to stand up.
To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, s...
To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, s...
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