Episodes

  • History's playbook for taming the beast of inflation

    History's playbook for taming the beast of inflation
    May 28 2026
    Gas. Meat. Flights. Houses. The cost of living is up. Inflation is rearing its head again. And as it rises higher, inflation risks devastating economies and draining savings accounts. So what can be done about it? This week, we explore the history of inflation in the U.S., how the government has responded, and who pays the price. This episode originally aired in 2022.

    Guests:

    John Cochrane, senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution

    Meg Jacobs, senior research scholar, Princeton School of Public and International Affairs


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    47 mins
  • Yuri Kochiyamas’s lifetime of activism

    Yuri Kochiyamas’s lifetime of activism
    May 26 2026
    Civil rights activist Yuri Kochiyama lived a life dedicated to social justice for people of all backgrounds. Not only a pillar of the Asian-American movement, she also fought for Black liberation and the rights of political prisoners. Today on the show, how Yuri Kochiyama’s 50 years of activism was informed and practiced.

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    21 mins
  • Prediction markets are making a 150-year comeback

    Prediction markets are making a 150-year comeback
    May 21 2026
    Prediction market sites allow users to put money on everything from the war in Iran to the winner of the Super Bowl. But where did these markets come from? And what can that history tell us about where they might be going? Today on the show, how betting on popes and presidents long ago planted a seed for a “terrorism market” in the early 2000s, and how those early prediction markets shaped the industry that has taken hold today.

    Guests:

    Koleman Strumpf    , economics professor at Wake Forest University

    Paul Rhode, economic historian at the University of Michigan.

    Robin Hanson, Associate Professor of Economics at George Mason University and systems architect for the Policy Analysis Market

    Robert Forsythe, Professor of Finance at Wayne State University and co-founder of the Iowa Political Stock Market

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    52 mins
  • Frances Perkins Goes To Washington

    Frances Perkins Goes To Washington
    May 19 2026
    This week, we explore the life of the first woman Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins, and how in the midst of the Great Depression she helped reshape the nation by fighting for minimum wage, Social Security, and unemployment insurance.

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    16 mins
  • War by remote control, how drones changed modern warfare

    War by remote control, how drones changed modern warfare
    May 14 2026
    Drones are swarming battlefields in Ukraine, Iran, and beyond. Drone warfare is cheap, efficient, autonomous — and changing warfare forever. Today on the show, the past, present and future of battle by remote control. This episode originally published in 2021 and has been updated.

    GUEST:

    James Rodgers, war historian and author of several books about drones, including Drones: What Everyone Needs to Know

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    51 mins
  • Four voices from the Great Depression

    Four voices from the Great Depression
    May 12 2026
    A glimpse into life during the Great Depression from the people that lived it.

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    19 mins
  • How our memory of war can shape the future

    How our memory of war can shape the future
    May 7 2026
    All wars are fought twice: first on the battlefield, the second time in memory," writes Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen. This week on Throughline, we revisit our 2022 conversation with Nguyen about how the way we remember and selectively forget the ravages of war has the power to reshape our future.

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    49 mins
  • The origins of the Socialist Party of America

    The origins of the Socialist Party of America
    May 5 2026
    Rapid industrialization reshaped American life in the mid-19th century. But as corporations grew larger and more powerful, working conditions for many everyday Americans worsened while wages stalled. Enter Eugene Debs, the labor organizer and founder of the American Socialist Party, who rallied workers nationwide to fight for their rights.

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    17 mins