belterz/Getty Images Throughline The Whiteness Myth (Throwback) June 6, 2024 • In 1923, an Indian American man named Bhagat Singh Thind told the U.S. Supreme Court that he was white, and 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. 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 (Throwback) Listen · 49:59 49:59 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1198908877/1253700975" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
The Whiteness Myth (Throwback) Listen · 49:59 49:59 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1198908877/1253700975" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
John M Lund Photography Inc/Getty Images Throughline Dance Yourself Free (Throwback) February 22, 2024 • Beyonce's Renaissance brought house music back to mainstream audiences. But even when it wasn't gracing the Grammys, house never went away. Born from the ashes of disco in the late 1970s and '80s, house was by and for the Black, queer youth DJing and dancing in Chicago's underground clubs. Since then it's become the soundtrack of parties around the world, and laid the groundwork for one of the most popular musical genres in history: electronic dance music. Today on the show, the origins of house music — and its tale of Black cultural resistance — told by the people who lived it. Dance Yourself Free (Throwback) Listen · 50:01 50:01 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1198908541/1233000012" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Dance Yourself Free (Throwback) Listen · 50:01 50:01 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1198908541/1233000012" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
KenCanning/Getty Images Throughline When Things Fall Apart (Throwback) January 11, 2024 • Climate change, political unrest, random violence: modern 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 law and order is the only thing protecting us from the savagery of our neighbors. This idea is often called "veneer theory." But is it true? When Things Fall Apart (Throwback) Listen · 49:59 49:59 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1198908427/1223702445" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
When Things Fall Apart (Throwback) Listen · 49:59 49:59 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1198908427/1223702445" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Uncredited/AP Throughline The Hidden War July 27, 2023 • 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 of the 21st century. The U.S. has called it an ethnic cleansing campaign against Tigrayans, a minority group in the country; some human rights organizations have called it a genocide. But many people outside Ethiopia and its diaspora had no idea it was happening. In U.S. media, it's hardly discussed, even as violence has intensified throughout the country. In this episode, we tell the story of Ethiopia — the oldest independent country in Africa — and the political, cultural and religious factors that led to this war. The Hidden War Listen · 52:24 52:24 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1190018372/1200556131" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
The Hidden War Listen · 52:24 52:24 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1190018372/1200556131" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Ezra Acayan/Getty Images Throughline Mythos and Melodrama in the Philippines May 11, 2023 • 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 52:10 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1175026593/1200556190" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Mythos and Melodrama in the Philippines Listen · 52:10 52:10 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1175026593/1200556190" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
zhuweiyi49/Getty Creative Images Throughline What's Your Worth? May 4, 2023 • 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 49:16 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1173142340/1200556194" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
What's Your Worth? Listen · 49:16 49:16 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1173142340/1200556194" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Planet Flem Throughline The Way Back April 20, 2023 • 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 52:35 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1170705584/1200556202" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
The Way Back Listen · 52:35 52:35 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1170705584/1200556202" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Nora Carol Photography/Getty Images Throughline Past is Prologue: Talking Taxes April 13, 2023 • Benjamin Franklin said the only certainties in life are death and taxes. Sifting through receipts, deciphering confusing codes, and filling out forms is an annual ritual that's about much more than money. The history of the income tax and the battle over who should pay how much is about what we value as a nation. In this conversation with historian Molly Michelmore we'll explore the past, present, and future of the income tax. Past is Prologue: Talking Taxes Listen · 50:24 50:24 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1169247885/1200556206" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Past is Prologue: Talking Taxes Listen · 50:24 50:24 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1169247885/1200556206" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
imaginima/Getty Images Throughline Everyone Everywhere All At Once March 23, 2023 • 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 49:00 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1164983078/1200556222" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Everyone Everywhere All At Once Listen · 49:00 49:00 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1164983078/1200556222" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Yuichiro Chino/Getty Images Throughline A More Perfect Human March 9, 2023 • 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 52:06 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1161883646/1200556269" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
A More Perfect Human Listen · 52:06 52:06 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1161883646/1200556269" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
John M Lund Photography Inc/Getty Images Throughline Dance Yourself Free March 2, 2023 • 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 50:18 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1160259231/1200556273" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Dance Yourself Free Listen · 50:18 50:18 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1160259231/1200556273" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
belterz/Getty Images Throughline The Whiteness Myth February 9, 2023 • 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 50:00 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1155489235/1200556285" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
The Whiteness Myth Listen · 50:00 50:00 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1155489235/1200556285" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
KenCanning/Getty Images Throughline When Things Fall Apart January 26, 2023 • 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 50:48 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1151023362/1200556293" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
When Things Fall Apart Listen · 50:48 50:48 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1151023362/1200556293" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Marcia Straub/Getty Images Throughline Extremist Futures January 19, 2023 • It's 2074 and a suicide bomber has killed the President of the United States. Months later Marines open fire on protesters killing dozens. The Second American Civil War has just begun and once again the North and South are pitted against each other. This is all according to the dystopian world chronicled in Omar El Akkad's novel, American War. El Akkad's imagined, yet familiar, world is reflective of today's deep political and societal fissures, but it also pushes us to understand the universal language of war and ruin, to what happens after the violence begins and why it's so hard to end. Extremist Futures Listen · 48:36 48:36 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1148854407/1200556297" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Extremist Futures Listen · 48:36 48:36 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1148854407/1200556297" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript