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

Thursday

James Baldwin's Shadow

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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Throughline

James Baldwin's Shadow

James Baldwin believed that America has been lying to itself since its founding. He wrote, spoke, and thought incessantly about the societal issues that still exist today. As the United States continues to reckon with its history of systemic racism and police brutality, Eddie S. Glaude Jr. guides us through the meaning and purpose of James Baldwin's work and how his words can help us navigate the current moment.

James Baldwin's Shadow

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Friday

History

NPR Podcast 'Throughline' Examines The Real Black Panthers

The movie Judas and the Black Messiah, about Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton, is up for six Oscars on Sunday. The NPR podcast Throughline looks into the history of the Black Panther Party.

NPR Podcast 'Throughline' Examines The Real Black Panthers

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Thursday

Force of Nature

Earth Day on April 20, 1970 in New York, New York. Santi Visalli/Getty Images hide caption

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Force of Nature

Rivers on fire, acid rain falling from the sky, species going extinct, oil spills, polluted air, and undrinkable water. For so long, we didn't think of our planet as a place to preserve. And then in the 1960's and 70's that changed. Democrats and Republicans, with overwhelming public support, came together to pass a sweeping legislative agenda around environmental protection. In today's episode, what led to Earth Day, and what Earth Day led to.

Force of Nature

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Thursday

The Real Black Panthers

The Black Panthers march in protest of the trial of co-founder Huey P. Newton in Oakland, California. Bettmann/Getty hide caption

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Throughline

The Real Black Panthers

The Black Panther Party's battles for social justice and economic equality are the centerpiece of the Oscar-nominated film 'Judas and The Black Messiah.' In 1968, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover said the Black Panther Party "without question, represents the greatest threat to internal security of the country." And with that declaration he used United States federal law enforcement to wage war on the group, But why did Hoover's FBI target the Black Panther Party more severely than any other Black power organization? Historian Donna Murch says the answer lies in the Panthers' political agenda and a strategy that challenged the very foundations of American society.

The Real Black Panthers

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Thursday

Policing in America

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Bettmann/Bettmann Archive

Throughline

Policing in America

Black Americans being victimized and killed by the police is an epidemic. As the trial of Derek Chauvin plays out, it's a truth and a trauma many people in the US and around the world are again witnessing first hand. But this tension between African American communities and the police has existed for centuries. This week, the origins of policing in the United States and how those origins put violent control of Black Americans at the heart of the system.

Policing in America

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Thursday

History

'Throughline': Why Tipping In The U.S. Took Off After The Civil War

Tipping is a norm in the U.S., but it hasn't always been this way. The team at Throughline — NPR's history podcast — examines the history of tipping in the U.S.

'Throughline': Why Tipping In The U.S. Took Off After The Civil War

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Our Own People

Yuri Kochiyama speaks at an anti-war demonstration in New York City's Central Park around 1968. Courtesy of the Kochiyama family/UCLA Asian American Studies Center hide caption

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Courtesy of the Kochiyama family/UCLA Asian American Studies Center

Throughline

Our Own People

"Build bridges, not walls." Solidarity was at the heart of Yuri Kochiyama's work. A Japanese-American activist whose early political awakenings came while incarcerated in the concentration camps of World War II America, Kochiyama dedicated her life to social justice and liberation movements. As hate crimes against AAPI people surge in this country, we reflect on Yuri Kochiyama's ideas around the Asian American struggle, and what solidarity and intersectionality can mean for all struggles.

Our Own People

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Thursday

The Land of the Fee

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Throughline

The Land of the Fee

Tipping is a norm in the U.S. But it hasn't always been this way. A legacy of slavery and racism, tipping took off in the post-Civil War era. The case against tipping had momentum in the early 1900's, yet what began as a movement to end an exploitative practice just ended up continuing it.

The Land of the Fee

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Thursday

Chaos

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Throughline

Chaos

What happens when teenagers are shipwrecked on a deserted island? Can you find the fingerprint of God in warzones? Why was the concept of zero so revolutionary for humanity? A year into a pandemic that has completely upended the lives of people around the world, we look at how we cope with chaos, how we're primed to make order out of randomness, and why the stories we're taught to believe about our propensities for self-destruction may not actually be true.

Chaos

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Thursday

N95

A plague doctor in protective clothing. The beak mask was filled with incense thought to purify air and the cane was used to avoid touching patients. Artwork by Paul Furst. Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption

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Throughline

N95

The N95 respirator has become one of the most coveted items in the world during the pandemic, especially by medical professionals. But how did this seemingly simple mask become the lifesaving tool it is today? From bird beaks to wrapping paper to bras, we follow the curious history of one of the most important defenses in our fight against COVID-19.

N95

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Thursday

History

Marcus Garvey: Visionary, Orator, And Black Empowerment And Pan-Africanism Champion

From NPR's history podcast Throughline comes this profile of the visionary, orator, and champion of Black empowerment and Pan-Africanism, Marcus Garvey.

Marcus Garvey: Visionary, Orator, And Black Empowerment And Pan-Africanism Champion

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Remembering Bayard Rustin: The Man Behind the March on Washington

Joelle Avelino NPR hide caption

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NPR

Throughline

Remembering Bayard Rustin: The Man Behind the March on Washington

Bayard Rustin, the man behind the March on Washington, was one of the most consequential architects of the civil rights movement you may never have heard of. Rustin imagined how nonviolent civil resistance could be used to dismantle segregation in the United States. He organized around the idea for years and eventually introduced it to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But his identity as a gay man made him a target, obscured his rightful status and made him feel forced to choose, again and again, which aspect of his identity was most important.

Remembering Bayard Rustin: The Man Behind the March on Washington

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Tuesday

Octavia Butler: Visionary Fiction‬
Joelle Avelino

It's Been a Minute

Octavia Butler: Visionary Fiction‬

A special episode from our friends at NPR's history podcast Throughline: Octavia Butler's alternate realities and 'speculative fiction' reveal striking, and often devastating parallels to the world we live in today. She was a deep observer of the human condition, perplexed and inspired by our propensity towards self-destruction. But along with her warning is her message of hope - a hope conjured by centuries of survival and persistence. For every society that perishes in her books comes a story of rebuilding, of repair.

Octavia Butler: Visionary Fiction‬

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Saturday

BONUS: Throughline — Octavia Butler: Visionary Fiction‬

Artistic rendering of Octavia Butler. Joelle Avelino hide caption

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Joelle Avelino

Short Wave

BONUS: Throughline — Octavia Butler: Visionary Fiction‬

To round out our celebration of Black History Month, we're bringing you a special episode featuring acclaimed science fiction writer Octavia Butler from our friends at NPR's history podcast Throughline.

BONUS: Throughline — Octavia Butler: Visionary Fiction‬

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Thursday

'Black Moses' Lives On: How Marcus Garvey's Vision Still Resonates
Joelle Avelino

Throughline

'Black Moses' Lives On: How Marcus Garvey's Vision Still Resonates

Decades before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey attracted millions with a simple, uncompromising message: Black people deserved nothing less than everything, and if that couldn't happen in the United States, they should return to Africa. This week, the seismic influence and complicated legacy of Marcus Garvey.

'Black Moses' Lives On: How Marcus Garvey's Vision Still Resonates

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