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. 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 sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org/throughline (https://plus.npr.org/throughline)
What this show covers
American historyMiddle EastAIvoting rightsmusicHidden HistoriescapitalismChinaCivil RightsPop CultureSupreme Courtceasefirewar reportingAnas BabaGaza
What listeners will find here
Anas Baba reports on a year of Gaza’s ceasefire from inside the devastation
Gaza’s ceasefire is the focus here, through the lived experience of NPR reporter Anas Baba. A year in, with more than 1,400 people killed and nearly 5,000 injured in Israeli attacks, he describes what four seasons of survival and reporting have looked like on the ground.
What the dinosaurs’ extinction can teach us about surviving modern catastrophe
This episode looks at existential risk through the story of how scientists learned what killed the dinosaurs. It connects that discovery to today’s threats, including climate change, nuclear weapons, and AI, with perspectives from historians, scientists, and writers.
An engineer revisits the Challenger launch he warned against
The Challenger disaster is revisited through the perspective of engineer Brian Russell, who had warned that freezing temperatures could cause a critical seal failure. The episode centers on the launch decision meeting and the decades-long weight of a tragedy he tried to prevent.
Michael Harrington’s big question: did compromise build democratic socialism—or blunt it?
Democratic socialism is having a resurgence, and this episode looks back to Michael Harrington, a founding figure in the DSA. Through his journey from Catholic activist to socialist organizer to Democratic Party loyalist, it asks whether compromise helped the movement grow or held it back.
Arizona and Michigan as the playbook for today’s voting battles
This episode looks at how Arizona and Michigan became models for two very different political strategies in American elections. It connects today’s fight for congressional power to decades-old efforts around voter restriction, grassroots organizing, and battleground-state turnout.
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