Throughline
NPR
<em>Throughline</em> 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. <em>Throughline</em> is hosted by Peabody Award-winning journalists Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin Arablouei.<br><br><em>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</em>
- 48 minutes 50 secondsHow Bad Bunny took Puerto Rican independence mainstreamHow 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 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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NPR Privacy Policy12 February 2026, 8:05 am - 21 minutes 19 secondsThe right to free speechFreedom 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.
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NPR Privacy Policy10 February 2026, 8:05 am - 48 minutes 40 secondsThe Man Who Took On The KlanIn 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 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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NPR Privacy Policy5 February 2026, 8:05 am - 13 minutes 56 secondsBecoming Supreme | America in PursuitPolitical 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.
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NPR Privacy Policy3 February 2026, 8:05 am - 42 minutes 32 secondsJames Baldwin's FireJames 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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NPR Privacy Policy29 January 2026, 10:28 am - 10 minutes 44 secondsSigned, Sealed & Delivered | America in PursuitThe 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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NPR Privacy Policy27 January 2026, 8:05 am - 47 minutes 20 secondsIran Protests ExplainedIran 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.
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NPR Privacy Policy22 January 2026, 5:05 am - 10 minutes 24 secondsThe Deadliest Ally | America in Pursuit
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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NPR Privacy Policy20 January 2026, 8:05 am - 50 minutes 19 secondsKen Burns and the American RevolutionRamtin 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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NPR Privacy Policy15 January 2026, 8:05 am - 15 minutes 2 secondsYour 15-Minute Guide to 250 Years | America in Pursuit
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.
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NPR Privacy Policy13 January 2026, 8:05 am - 54 minutes 16 secondsEl Libertador (Venezuela update)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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