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The Lavender Scare
One day in late April 1958, a young economist named Madeleine Tress was approached by two men in suits at her office at the U.S. Department of Commerce. They took her to a private room, turned on a t…
Published on 2 years, 4 months ago
Getting to Sesame Street (2022)
American schools have always been more than where we go to learn the ABCs: They're places where socialization happens and cultural norms are developed. And arguments over what those norms are and how…
Published on 2 years, 4 months ago
The Hidden War
How does a country go from its leader winning the Nobel Peace Prize to all-out war in just one year? That's the question surrounding Ethiopia, which has become embroiled in one of the deadliest wars …
Published on 2 years, 5 months ago
All Wars Are Fought Twice (2022)
"All wars are fought twice, the first time on the battlefield, the second time in memory," writes Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen. This week on Throughline, we want to pause the news …
Published on 2 years, 5 months ago
No Bad Ideas?
Humans have always created. But historian Samuel W. Franklin argues that "creativity" didn't become a social value until the Cold War. Today, we're at another inflection point for humanity, technolog…
Published on 2 years, 5 months ago
The Legacy of Henry Kissinger
Depending on where you stand, Henry Kissinger is either a foreign policy mastermind or a war criminal. Some see him as a brilliant strategist who made tough but necessary decisions to advance America…
Published on 2 years, 5 months ago
After Roe: A New Battlefield (2022)
The Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade transformed the landscape of abortion rights overnight. For the doctors, lawyers, feminists, and others who had fought for nationwide legalization, Roe was…
Published on 2 years, 6 months ago
The Labor Of Love
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, …
Published on 2 years, 6 months ago
Affirmative Action
This conversation was recorded ahead of the Supreme Court's expected decision on affirmative action. As of publishing, no decision has been issued.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule on affirmative…
Published on 2 years, 6 months ago
Before Roe: The Physicians' Crusade (2022)
Abortion wasn't always controversial. In fact, in colonial America it would have been considered a fairly common practice: a private decision made by women, and aided mostly by midwives. But in the m…
Published on 2 years, 6 months ago