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Throughline

By: NPR
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  • Summary

  • The past is never past. Every headline has a history. Join us every week as we go back in time to understand the present. These are stories you can feel and sounds you can see from the moments that shaped our world.

    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
    Copyright 2019-2021 NPR - For Personal Use Only
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Episodes
  • The Labor Of Love (Throwback)

    The Labor Of Love (Throwback)
    May 9 2024
    There's a powerful fantasy in American society: the fantasy of the ideal mother. This mother is devoted to her family above all else. She raises the kids, volunteers at the school, cleans the house, plans the birthday parties, cares for her own parents. She's a natural nurturer. And she's happy to do it all for free.Problem is? She's imaginary. And yet the idea of her permeates our culture, our economy, and our social policy – and it distorts them. The U.S. doesn't have universal health insurance or universal childcare. We don't have federally mandated paid family leave or a meaningful social safety net for when times get rough. Instead, we have this imaginary mother. We've structured our society as though she exists — but she doesn't. And we all pay the real-life price.Today on the show, we look at three myths that sustain the fantasy: the maternal instinct, the doting housewife, and the welfare queen. And we tell the stories of real-life people – some mothers, some not – who have fought for a much more generous vision of family, labor, and care.

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    52 mins
  • The 4th Amendment: Search and Seizure

    The 4th Amendment: Search and Seizure
    May 2 2024
    The Fourth Amendment is the part of the Bill of Rights that prohibits "unreasonable searches and seizures." But — what's unreasonable? That question has fueled a century's worth of court rulings that have dramatically expanded the power of individual police officers in the U.S. Today on the show, how an amendment that was supposed to limit government power has ended up enabling it.

    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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    49 mins
  • The Ghost in Your Phone (Throwback)

    The Ghost in Your Phone (Throwback)
    Apr 25 2024
    It's hot. A mother works outside, a baby strapped to her back. The two of them breathe in toxic dust, day after day. And they're just two of thousands, cramped so close together it's hard to move, all facing down the mountain of cobalt stone.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. Today on the show: the fight for control of those resources, and for the dignity of the people who produce them.

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    52 mins
World Social Sciences
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Powerful Podcast

Intro to a new author and her contribution to Afro Futurism. This has been an eye opening experience. I am an fan from now on.

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Excellent history lesson

Excellent history lesson behind current state of Palestine and Israel. emotionally charged at times, but full of facts and history.

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don't know Jimmy? here is why you should care!

almost brought me to tears, distilling Jimmy's Legacy. I have read at least eight of James's works, from the first book I read, I wondered why this was not required reading as the greatest American author. James Baldwin is America's greatest writer. this podcast Play It's like a trailer for why this is true.

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Unexpectedly Interesting

Never heard about any of this history regarding Chinese immigrants to the USA. Fascinating and so sad, esp. given the state of our country on immigration nowadays. We seem to be going backwards. Both narrator and granddaughter were wonderful.

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  • 04-27-22

Not good for misophonia/sensory issues

The content of this podcast is really interesting and thought-provoking, and it's very well produced. However, as someone with misophonia I was not able to listen to more than a few minutes before I had to shut the episode off because of the sound effects. I was attempting to listen to the episode about dreams, and it was filled with all these little whispering noises and sounds shifting from one side to the other. I imagine many people would consider this ASMR and enjoy it but for me they make my skin crawl. It's involuntary, I can't prevent it or stop it. Unfortunately, of all the sounds I've heard in my headphones, the ones in this episode provoked the strongest physiological response from my body and I was not able to make it more than a few minutes in. Too bad, because I was really interested! I'll try another episode sometime but right now I need something more sensory friendly.

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My favorite!

This has been my favorite episode! I can’t stop thinking about it. I felt horror and disgust, i laughed and then I cried. Highly recommend!I

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In depth reporting and connecting history to current events

Give this a listen.


It's worth your time.


See title for reasoning.


A thoughtful podcast.

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