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.
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Throughline presents an episode centered on Gaza's experience during a year-long ceasefire that began in October 2025. The episode features NPR's Anas Baba, one of the few remaining full-time American journalists reporting from Gaza, who serves as both a resident and correspondent documenting conditions on the ground.…
Worth it if you want sustained, experiential reporting on Gaza's ceasefire period from someone with rare on-the-ground access and are willing to accept a personal narrative approach over comprehensive analysis.
Throughline examines existential threats to humanity—climate change, nuclear weapons, and AI—by drawing parallels to the dinosaur extinction event. The episode features five expert guests: David Sepkoski (historian of science and author on extinction and diversity), Owen Brian Toon (atmospheric scientist), Alec…
Worth it if you're interested in existential risk, deep history, or how scientific understanding of past catastrophes informs present-day thinking about climate and technology.
This Throughline episode examines the Challenger disaster of January 28, 1986, through the perspective of Brian Russell, an engineer who worked on the shuttle program. Russell had spent months before the launch warning NASA that freezing temperatures could compromise a critical O-ring seal in the shuttle's design. The…
Worth it if you're interested in the human cost of the Challenger disaster, engineering ethics, or how individuals process responsibility for preventable tragedies.
Throughline examines the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) through the lens of its intellectual founder Michael Harrington, a pivotal but controversial figure in American socialist history. The episode traces Harrington's ideological journey from devout Catholicism through revolutionary socialism to eventual…
Worth it if you're interested in American socialist history, the DSA's intellectual foundations, or the strategic debates about how the left should engage with electoral politics.
Throughline examines how two swing states—Arizona and Michigan—have shaped American voting patterns and electoral strategy, with lessons for the current midterm election. The episode traces the GOP's voter suppression playbook back to Arizona in the 1960s, featuring John A. Jenkins (biographer of Chief Justice William…
Worth it if you're interested in how historical voting patterns and state-level organizing strategies shape contemporary swing-state politics, or want context on voter suppression and grassroots mobilization.
Throughline explores the cultural and historical roots of baseball's relationship with music, specifically focusing on walk-up songs and stadium music traditions. The episode features two expert guests: John Thorn, MLB's Official Baseball Historian and accomplished author, and Nancy Faust, the legendary organist who…
Worth it if you're a baseball fan curious about stadium traditions, enjoy music history, or want a quick, authoritative primer on how walk-up songs became part of the sport.
Throughline explores the historical Luddite movement of the 19th century and draws parallels to contemporary anxieties about technological displacement, particularly in the context of AI. The episode challenges the common misconception that Luddites were simply anti-technology reactionaries, revealing instead that…
Worth it if you're curious about the real history behind the Luddite label, skeptical of tech-solutionism, or looking for historical perspective on labor and automation anxiety.
Throughline examines the Coleman Report, a landmark 1966 federal survey commissioned to address educational inequality in America. The episode traces how this massive research initiative came together and explores its seismic impact on American education policy over the subsequent six decades. The report's…
Worth it if you're interested in the history of American education policy, the origins of school desegregation debates, or how research shapes public policy.
