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Rund Abdelfatah Rund Abdelfatah is the co-host and producer of Throughline.
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Rund Abdelfatah

Thursday

The Invention of Race

Portrait of Dr. Franz Boas. Corbis via Getty Images hide caption

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Corbis via Getty Images

Throughline

The Invention of Race

The idea that race is a social construct comes from the pioneering work of anthropologist Franz Boas. During a time when race-based science and the eugenics movement were becoming mainstream, anthropologist Franz Boas actively sought to prove that race was a social construct, not a biological fact.

The Invention of Race

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Thursday

The Shadows of the Constitution

The preamble to the US Constitution. Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty hide caption

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Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty

Throughline

The Shadows of the Constitution

The Constitution is like America's secular bible, our sacred founding document. In her play, What the Constitution Means to Me, Heidi Schreck goes through a process of discovering what the document is really about – who wrote it, who it was for, who it protected and who it didn't. Through Heidi's personal story, we learn how the Constitution and how it has been interpreted have affected not just her family but generations of Americans.

The Shadows of the Constitution

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Friday

History

How The Electoral College Came To Choose The President Of The U.S.

The history of the Electoral College is in part tied to America's history of slavery. NPR's podcast Throughline explores the complicated story of how the U.S. presidential election system came to be.

How The Electoral College Came To Choose The President Of The U.S.

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History

Who Can Vote In The U.S? The Answer Has Changed A Lot Throughout History

NPR's history podcast Throughline gives us insight onto the ongoing battle for the right to vote.

Who Can Vote In The U.S? The Answer Has Changed A Lot Throughout History

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Thursday

The Most Sacred Right
Kaz Fantone

Throughline

The Most Sacred Right

Frederick Douglass dreamed of a country where all people could vote and he did everything in his power to make that dream a reality. In the face of slavery, the Civil War and the violence of Jim Crow, he fought his entire life for what he believed was a sacred, natural right that should be available to all people - voting.

The Most Sacred Right

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Monday

History

The History Of How We Vote: From Drunken Parties To Private Booths

As next month's elections near, the NPR podcast Throughline dives into the history of voting in the United States, and asks why the process went from a public affair to a private one.

The History Of How We Vote: From Drunken Parties To Private Booths

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Thursday

How We Vote
Kaz Fantone

Throughline

How We Vote

Drunken brawls, coercion, and lace curtains. Believe it or not, how regular people vote was not something the founding fathers thought much about, or planned for. Americans went from casting votes at drunken parties in the town square to private booths behind a drawn curtain. In this episode, the process of voting; how it was originally designed, who it was intended for, moments in our country's history when we reimagined it altogether, and what we're left with today.

How We Vote

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Tuesday

Presenting Throughline: 'James Baldwin's Fire'

James Baldwin poses while at home in Saint Paul de Vence, South of France during September of 1985. Ulf Andersen/Getty Images hide caption

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Ulf Andersen/Getty Images

It's Been a Minute

Presenting Throughline: 'James Baldwin's Fire'

Writer and thinker James Baldwin used the power of his words to confront in order to connect, something that feels especially relatable in a year when the United States has been forced to reckon with racial inequality. This week we share an episode from our friends at NPR's Throughline, about James Baldwin, his life and philosophy, and what we can learn from him to lead us into the future.

Presenting Throughline: 'James Baldwin's Fire'

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Wednesday

History

History Of Employer-Based Health Insurance In The U.S.

As more Americans lose their jobs due to the pandemic, they also lose their health insurance tied to their employment. NPR dives into the origins of employer-based health insurance in the U.S.

History Of Employer-Based Health Insurance In The U.S.

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Tuesday

History

Constitution's Article 2 Leaves Room For Interpreting Presidential Powers

NPR's history podcast Throughline take us back to the moment when the founding fathers created the office of the president. Questions over the limits of presidential power surface repeatedly.

Constitution's Article 2 Leaves Room For Interpreting Presidential Powers

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Monday

History

NPR Podcast 'Throughline' Delves Into The Kerner Commission's Findings

In 1967, following a summer of racial unrest, President Lyndon Johnson called on the Kerner Commission to figure out the causes and the remedies. Those findings continue to shape American life.

NPR Podcast 'Throughline' Delves Into The Kerner Commission's Findings

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Monday

BONUS: The Kerner Commission
Underwood Archives/Getty Images

Planet Money

BONUS: The Kerner Commission

In 1967, President Johnson created a commission to investigate racial unrest in America. But, the answer they came up with was not the answer he was hoping for. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

BONUS: The Kerner Commission

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Wednesday

Thursday

History

What Typhoid Mary's Story Tells Us About COVID-19 Tensions

NPR's Throughline Podcast discusses what the story of Typhoid Mary tells us about journalism, the powers of the state, and the tension between personal responsibility and personal liberty.

What Typhoid Mary's Story Tells Us About COVID-19 Tensions

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Friday

History

NPR's History Podcast 'Throughline' Explores Policing In America

Unrest was sparked across the nation after a black man in Minneapolis was killed in police custody. Tensions between African American communities and the police have existed for centuries.

NPR's History Podcast 'Throughline' Explores Policing In America

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