Throughline

By NPR

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 t... more

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FAQs about Throughline:

How many episodes does Throughline have?

The podcast currently has 402 episodes available.

Throughline episodes:

February 05, 2026 The Man Who Took On The Klan
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 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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49min
February 03, 2026 Becoming Supreme | America in Pursuit
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.

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14min
January 29, 2026 James Baldwin's Fire
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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43min
January 27, 2026 Signed, Sealed & Delivered | America in Pursuit
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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11min
January 22, 2026 Iran Protests Explained
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 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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48min
January 20, 2026 The 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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11min
January 15, 2026 Ken Burns and the American Revolution
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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51min
January 13, 2026 Your 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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16min
January 08, 2026 El 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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55min
January 01, 2026 Winter Book Club: Octavia Butler’s Visionary Fiction
Octavia Butler gave us a new kind of science fiction: not only as one of the first writers to use history to talk about the future, and not only as one of the first Black women to do it, but by sending, along with her warnings, a message of hope, survival, persistence, and repair.

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1h 4min

FAQs about Throughline:

How many episodes does Throughline have?

The podcast currently has 402 episodes available.

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