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Friday

A re-creation of Richard III.

A digital re-creation of Richard III's face. Face Lab at Liverpool John Moores University and the Voice for Richard team hide caption

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Face Lab at Liverpool John Moores University and the Voice for Richard team

How do you re-create the voice of a 15th century king? Dig up his skeleton

When Richard III's skeleton was found under a parking lot in England in 2012, it was an exciting enough discovery for the general public, but a game-changer for Yvonne Morley-Chisholm.

Thursday

The Lord Of Misrule (Throwback)

A 19th-century engraving of Cpt. Miles Standish and his men observing the 'immoral' behavior of the Maypole festivities of 1628 at Merrymount. ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images hide caption

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ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images

Throughline

The Lord Of Misrule (Throwback)

By the time his book went to press in London, on November 18, 1633, Thomas Morton had been exiled from the Puritan colonies in Massachusetts. His crimes: drinking, carousing, and — crucially — building social and economic ties with Native people. His book outlined a vision for what America could become. A very different vision than that of the Puritans.

The Lord Of Misrule (Throwback)

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Tuesday

Angela Merkel recounts being the first and only in new memoir

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) and US President Donald Trump speak during a bilateral meeting at the G7 Summit in 2019. Trump is one of four U.S. Presidents Merkel worked with during her time as Germany's Chancellor. NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images

Consider This from NPR

Angela Merkel recounts being the first and only in new memoir

In her new memoir, Angela Merkel writes about the many dilemmas she had to navigate as Chancellor of Germany. Dilemmas her male colleagues never had to sweat. Like, can you wear a pantsuit instead of a skirt in the Bundestag, Germany's parliament? She decided the answer was, yes.

Angela Merkel recounts being the first and only in new memoir

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The Massacre of Chinese Americans at Rock Springs, Wyoming. Illustration by Thure de Thulstrup. Published in Harper's Weekly, September 26, 1885.

The Massacre of Chinese Americans at Rock Springs, Wyoming. Illustration by Thure de Thulstrup. Published in Harper's Weekly, September 26, 1885. Thure de Thulstrup/Getty Images hide caption

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Thure de Thulstrup/Getty Images

Planet Money

The price America paid for its first big immigration crackdown

The Chinese Exclusion Act was the first significant crackdown on immigration in American history. We explore the factors that led to the Act and examine what happened to the economy after it passed.

Monday

Amelia Earhart stands next to her Lockheed Electra 10E in 1937.

Amelia Earhart stands next to her Lockheed Electra 10E, before her last flight in 1937 from Oakland, Calif., bound for Honolulu. Her disappearance remains one of aviation's biggest mysteries. Uncredited/AP hide caption

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Uncredited/AP

National

Ocean explorers hoped they photographed Amelia Earhart's plane. Turns out it's a rock

Earhart, her navigator and their plane disappeared during their attempted 1937 circumnavigation of the globe. A deep sea exploration company thought it might have solved the mystery, but it lives on.

Ocean explorers hoped they photographed Amelia Earhart's plane. Turns out it's a rock

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Peach and Blossom, the 2024 National Thanksgiving Turkeys, prior to receiving a pardon from President Biden, not pictured, on the South Lawn of the White House on Nov. 25. The National Thanksgiving Turkeys were raised in Minnesota.

Peach and Blossom, the 2024 National Thanksgiving Turkeys, prior to receiving a pardon from President Biden, not pictured, on the South Lawn of the White House on Nov. 25. The National Thanksgiving Turkeys were raised in Minnesota. Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Politics

Biden pardons turkeys Peach and Blossom, another chapter in a strange tradition

The history of the presidential turkey pardon is often misremembered. Here are the fowl facts.

Sunday

Guerrillas from the Ejército Revolucionario del Pueblo (ERP) speak with residents of San Agustín, Usulután department, on July 5, 1983.

Guerrillas from the Ejército Revolucionario del Pueblo (ERP) speak with residents of San Agustín, Usulután department, on July 5, 1983. Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images hide caption

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Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

Perspective

The Picture Show

A photographer's devastating documentation of El Salvador's civil war in the 1980s

In Legacy of Lies, El Salvador 1981-1984, photojournalist Robert Nickelsberg documents how U.S. foreign policy fueled a violent 13-year civil war in El Salvador.

Thursday

The Mother of Thanksgiving

Portrait of Sarah Josepha Hale painted by James Reid Lambdin, circa 1831. James Reid Lambdin/Wikimedia Commons hide caption

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James Reid Lambdin/Wikimedia Commons

Throughline

The Mother of Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving story most of us hear is about friendship and unity. And that's what Sarah Josepha Hale had on her mind when she sat down to write a letter to President Lincoln in 1863, deep into the Civil War. Hale had already spent years campaigning for a national day of thanksgiving, using her platform as editor of one the country's most widely-read magazines and writing elected officials to argue that Americans urgently needed a national story. But she'd gotten nowhere – until now.

The Mother of Thanksgiving

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Tuesday

Illustration depicting Chinese laborers clearing snow on the Pacific Railroad in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Dated 19th century.

Illustration depicting Chinese laborers clearing snow on the Pacific Railroad in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Dated 19th century. Ann Ronan Picture Library/Photo 12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images hide caption

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Ann Ronan Picture Library/Photo 12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Planet Money

America's first major immigration crackdown and the making and breaking of the West

Chinese immigrants sacrificed to create America's first transcontinental railroad. Its completion may have contributed to a backlash that led to the first major immigration clampdown in U.S. history.

Sunday

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., speaks after being elected Senate Majority Leader for the 119th Congress following the Senate Republican leadership elections on Nov. 13.

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., speaks after being elected Senate Majority Leader for the 119th Congress following the Senate Republican leadership elections on Nov. 13. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images hide caption

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Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Analysis

Politics

Trump picks loyalists for top jobs, testing loyalty of Senate GOP

Nominees for several key Cabinet posts in the new administration of President-elect Trump caught officials in Washington off guard and ignited a firestorm of criticism — not all of it from Democrats.

Saturday

From left: Michelle Salaün, Jeannine Plassard and Marie-Annick Gouez, the daughters of Catherine Tournellec Salaün, stand at their mother‘s grave in Plabennec, in France's Brittany region, in June.

From left: Michelle Salaün, Jeannine Plassard and Marie-Annick Gouez, the daughters of Catherine Tournellec Salaün, stand at their mother's grave in Plabennec, in France's Brittany region, in June. Eleanor Beardsley/NPR hide caption

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Eleanor Beardsley/NPR

Europe

In France, a family reckons with World War II Allies' legacy of rape and murder

In 1944, as Allied troops celebrated D-Day victory, a French family experienced a trauma that would be felt for generations: a murder and sexual assault so traumatic they are only now coming to terms with it.

In France, a family reckons with World War II Allies' legacy of rape and murder

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Friday

People's Liberation Army soldiers stand guard in Tiananmen Square at the end of the flag-raising ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, in Beijing, on Oct. 1.

People's Liberation Army soldiers stand guard in Tiananmen Square at the end of the flag-raising ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, in Beijing, on Oct. 1. Andrea Verdelli/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Andrea Verdelli/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Perspective

Asia

At Tiananmen Square, tight security with metal detectors reflects a changing China

There's a police check to exit the subway, another to get in line, a third while standing in line, and metal detectors and X-ray machines before you finally reach the Beijing landmark.

China has changed a lot in the past 75 years — Tiananmen Square reflects that change

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Tom Homan, left, is President-elect Donald Trump's choice for the role of border czar. Steven Ratner, right, was Obama's "car czar."

President-elect Trump announced former acting ICE director Tom Homan (left) as his incoming border czar, joining a long list of presidents who have appointed czars to oversee specific issues — like Obama's "car czar" Steven Rattner (right). Drew Angerer/Getty Images hide caption

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Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Politics

One thing Trump and Obama have in common: a fondness for 'czars'

Trump is the latest president to appoint a czar to deal with a particular issue — in this case, the border. But what does that mean? A look at the controversial history of government czars.

Thursday

Behind the Scenes of Throughline
Fox Photos/Getty Images

Throughline

Behind the Scenes of Throughline

Today on the show, we're taking you behind the scenes. We'll tell you how Throughline was born, some of what goes into making our episodes, and a little bit about how we make our special sauce — the Throughline rizz, as the kids say.

Behind the Scenes of Throughline

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Wednesday

The USS Edsall is pictured in San Diego Harbor, Calif., in the 1920s. The ship was lost during World War II but was located by Australia's navy last year.

The USS Edsall is pictured in San Diego Harbor, Calif., 1920s. The ship was lost during World War II but was located by Australia's navy last year. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command hide caption

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U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command

The USS Edsall, sunk by Japanese forces in World War II, has been found

The USS Edsall was overpowered by a Japanese fleet in the Indian Ocean but fought valiantly to the end, the U.S. Navy said. It was found in deep waters south of Australia's Christmas Island.