Accessibility links
Anya Steinberg Anya Steinberg is a Producer for Throughline. She joined the show in 2021 as an intern. Since then, she’s reported and produced dozens of episodes. Some of her favorites to work on have been: the 400 year history of sugar, a profile of Nelson Mandela, and the story of the water wars between Los Angeles and the Owens Valley.
Stories By

Anya Steinberg

Thursday

The Freedom of Speech

Volunteers help roll up a giant banner printed with the Preamble to the United States Constitution during a demonstration against the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling at the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall October 20, 2010 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Throughline

The Freedom of Speech

Book bans, disinformation, the wild world of the internet. Free speech debates are all around us. What were the Founding Fathers thinking when they created the First Amendment, and how have the words they wrote in the 18th century been stretched and shaped to fit a world they never could have imagined? It's a story that travels through world wars and culture wars. Through the highest courts and the Ku Klux Klan. What exactly is free speech, and how has the answer to that question changed in the history of the U.S.?

The Freedom of Speech

Listen · 49:07
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1177936377/1200556167" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

History Is Over (2021)

Thom Yorke, the singer of the British band Radiohead performs on the stage of the "Rock en Seine" music festival in 2006. STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP via Getty Images

Throughline

History Is Over (2021)

As the end of the 20th century approached, Radiohead took to the recording studio to capture the sound of a society that felt like it was fraying at the edges. Many people had high hopes for the new millennium, but for others a low hum of anxiety lurked just beneath the surface as the world changed rapidly and fears of a Y2K meltdown loomed.

History Is Over (2021)

Listen · 50:40
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1174771452/1200556186" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Thursday

Mythos and Melodrama in the Philippines
Ezra Acayan/Getty Images

Throughline

Mythos and Melodrama in the Philippines

Corruption. Wealth. Authoritarianism. Torture. These are the words many people associate with Ferdinand Marcos, the former dictator of the Philippines, and his wife, Imelda. But in 1965, on the day of his presidential inauguration, clad in bright white traditional Filipino clothing, Ferdinand and Imelda were the picture of hope and progress: the Camelot of the Philippines. They styled themselves as mythical figures with a divine right to rule, even as their democratic ascent reached a dictatorial peak.

Mythos and Melodrama in the Philippines

Listen · 52:10
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1175026593/1200556190" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

What's Your Worth?
zhuweiyi49/Getty Creative Images

Throughline

What's Your Worth?

The credit score: even if you don't think much about it, that three-digit number can change your life. A high score can mean the keys to a new apartment or a new car, while a low score can keep you locked out of the American Dream. Around 40% of people in the U.S. have a low credit score or no credit score at all. So what happened? Today on the show, we talk with media historian Josh Lauer about credit's origins as a moral judgment, and how a tool intended to level the playing field has instead created haves and have-nots.

What's Your Worth?

Listen · 49:16
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1173142340/1200556194" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

Cinco de Mayo and the Rise of Modern Mexico (2022)

Brothers Ricardo Flores Magón and Enrique Flores Magón at Los Angeles Federal Court after being arrested on federal charges for their political activities. UCLA Charles E. Young Research Library Department of Special Collections hide caption

toggle caption
UCLA Charles E. Young Research Library Department of Special Collections

Throughline

Cinco de Mayo and the Rise of Modern Mexico (2022)

Does history have a border? That is the question at the heart of Cinco de Mayo, May 5th, a holiday that symbolizes Mexico's fight for autonomy, even as it's come to be associated with sales and cervezas and margaritas in the U.S. Cinco de Mayo is part of a much deeper story of two nations — Mexico and the U.S. — trying to define themselves at a time when old empires were crumbling and borders were in flux. A story that culminated in a revolution in Mexico that was at the forefront of a worldwide movement against predatory capitalism and foreign domination. So in this episode, we're going back to the first Cinco de Mayo and exploring how it helped shape the future on both sides of the border.

Cinco de Mayo and the Rise of Modern Mexico (2022)

Listen · 50:30
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1171642332/1200556198" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Thursday

The Way Back
Planet Flem

Throughline

The Way Back

Our society is saturated in apologies. They're scripted, they're public, and they often feel less than sincere. Political, corporate, celebrity apologies – they can all feel performed. It's not even always clear who they're for. So what purpose do these apologies serve? Because real apologies are not just PR stunts. Not just a way to move on. At their best, they're about acknowledgement and accountability, healing and repair. So how did apology go from a process to a product – and how can we make them work again?

The Way Back

Listen · 52:35
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1170705584/1200556202" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

Student Loans: The Fund-Eating Dragon (2022)

From 2011, at an Occupy DC protest in Washington. A man holds a sign and a ball and chain, representing his college loan debt. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Jacquelyn Martin/ASSOCIATED PRESS hide caption

toggle caption
Jacquelyn Martin/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Throughline

Student Loans: The Fund-Eating Dragon (2022)

At the start of the 20th century, only the most privileged could afford to go to college. Today, millions of students pursue higher ed — and owe $1.7 trillion in debt.

Student Loans: The Fund-Eating Dragon (2022)

Listen · 50:41
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1167195874/1200556210" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Thursday

The Mystery of Inflation (2022)
Francesco Carta fotografo/Getty Images

Throughline

The Mystery of Inflation (2022)

Rising interest rates. Layoffs. A shrinking dollar. Over the past year, the US economy has been squeezed: The same amount of money gets you less stuff. It's inflation: a concept that's easy to feel but hard to understand. Its causes are complex, but it isn't some kind of naturally-occurring phenomenon — and neither are the ways in which governments try to fight it.

The Mystery of Inflation (2022)

Listen · 49:58
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1165958037/1200556218" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Thursday

Everyone Everywhere All At Once
imaginima/Getty Images

Throughline

Everyone Everywhere All At Once

This year's Oscars were one of the most diverse in history, in all kinds of ways. Everything Everywhere All At Once swept some of the biggest categories, notching incredible victories for Asian and Asian American actors, directors, and writers. At the same time, huge gaps persist – to take just one example, only seven women have ever been nominated for Best Director, and only three have won.

Everyone Everywhere All At Once

Listen · 49:00
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1164983078/1200556222" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

A More Perfect Human
Yuichiro Chino/Getty Images

Throughline

A More Perfect Human

The dream of AI — artificial intelligence — has been around for centuries: the idea of an intelligent machine without free will popped up in ancient Taoist scrolls, Buddhist fables, and the tales of medieval European courts. But it wasn't until the 20th century that science caught up to our imaginations.

A More Perfect Human

Listen · 52:06
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1161883646/1200556269" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

Dance Yourself Free
John M Lund Photography Inc/Getty Images

Throughline

Dance Yourself Free

Ever since Beyonce's Renaissance dropped last summer, house music has found its way back to mainstream audiences, prompting some to ask "Is house back?" But the truth is, it never went away. Born out of the ashes of disco in the underground clubs of Chicago by Black queer youth in the late 1970s and 80s, house music has been the continued soundtrack of parties around the world, and laid the groundwork for one of the most popular musical genres in history – electronic dance music. And yet, the deeper you dig into the origins of house music, the more clear it becomes that the history of house, like the history of rock and roll, is a complicated tale of Black cultural resistance.

Dance Yourself Free

Listen · 50:18
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1160259231/1200556273" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

Of Rats and Men (2022)
New York Public Library Digital Collection

Throughline

Of Rats and Men (2022)

Rats. Love 'em or hate 'em, (though you probably hate 'em), they're part of our world. And they've been out in full force: In New York City, health data show rat sightings doubled in the past year. It turns out they're a lot like us: They've colonized the whole planet; they're incredibly adaptable; they go wherever the resources are. And, they share one-fourth of our genome—meaning that when you look in the mirror, you're kinda seeing a rat staring back at you. So for this episode, we dove into the history of our rodent doppelgängers. What we found was a story that spans thousands of years and nearly every continent on Earth, from the fields of ancient Mongolia to the palaces of Victorian England to the laboratories of 20th century Maryland... and probably to a burrow near you.

Of Rats and Men (2022)

Listen · 51:26
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1158719975/1200556277" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Thursday

The Whiteness Myth
belterz/Getty Images

Throughline

The Whiteness Myth

In 1923, an Indian American man named Bhagat Singh Thind argued before the U.S. Supreme Court that he was a white man and was therefore eligible to become a naturalized citizen. He based his claim on the fact that he was a member of India's highest caste and identified as an Aryan and therefore white. His claims were supported by the so-called Indo-European language theory, a controversial idea at the time that says nearly half the world's population speak a language that originated in one place. Theories about who lived in that place inspired a racist ideology that contended that the original speakers of the language were a white supreme race that colonized Europe and Asia thousands of years ago. This was used by many to define whiteness and eventually led to one of the most horrific events in history. On this episode of Throughline, we unpack the myths around this powerful idea and explore the politics and promise of the mother tongue.

The Whiteness Myth

Listen · 50:00
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1155489235/1200556285" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

When Things Fall Apart
KenCanning/Getty Images

Throughline

When Things Fall Apart

Climate change, political unrest, random violence - Western society can often feel like what the filmmaker Werner Herzog calls, "a thin layer of ice on top of an ocean of chaos and darkness." In the United States, polls indicate that many people believe that law and order is the only thing protecting us from the savagery of our neighbors, that the fundamental nature of humanity is competition and struggle. This idea is often called "veneer theory." But is this idea rooted in historical reality? Is this actually what happens when societies face disasters? Are we always on the cusp of brutality?

When Things Fall Apart

Listen · 50:48
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1151023362/1200556293" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday