Episodes

  • The right to free speech

    The right to free speech
    Feb 10 2026
    Freedom of the press. The right to assembly. And the right to free speech. The first amendment includes some of the most fundamental and most debated rights. In this episode, we explore how the meaning of free speech has changed throughout history and continues to evolve today.

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    21 mins
  • The Man Who Took On The Klan

    The Man Who Took On The Klan
    Feb 5 2026
    In 1871, Ku Klux Klan violence in South Carolina got so bad that the governor sent a telegram to President Ulysses S. Grant warning that he was facing a state of war. Grant sent him Amos Akerman: a former Confederate soldier and slaveholder who became the U.S. government’s most zealous warrior against the KKK.

    Guests:

    Bernard Powers, director of the Center for the Study of Slavery in Charleston at the College of Charleston in South Carolina

    Guy Gugliotta, author of Grant's Enforcer, Taking Down the Klan

    Kidada Williams, professor of history at Wayne State University and author of I Saw Death Coming, A History of Terror and Survival in the War Against Reconstruction

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    49 mins
  • Becoming Supreme | America in Pursuit

    Becoming Supreme | America in Pursuit
    Feb 3 2026
    Political rebellions, family feuds, and power grabs – the founding of the Supreme Court has about as much drama as a Hollywood movie. In this week’s episode, the story of how the Supreme Court went from the weakest branch in the government to the powerful arbiter it is today.
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    14 mins
  • James Baldwin's Fire

    James Baldwin's Fire
    Jan 29 2026
    James Baldwin believed that America has been lying to itself since its founding. A sharp, funny, and insightful commentator on Black identity and American democracy, he never hesitated to bear witness, regardless of what it cost him. We speak with writer and professor Eddie S. Glaude Jr. about how James Baldwin's words can help us navigate our current moment. This episode originally ran in 2020.

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    43 mins
  • Signed, Sealed & Delivered | America in Pursuit

    Signed, Sealed & Delivered | America in Pursuit
    Jan 27 2026
    The key to good communication is in the delivery – literally. This week on America in Pursuit, how the creation of the U.S. postal service transformed our political culture and helped start a revolution, one letter at a time.


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    11 mins
  • Iran Protests Explained

    Iran Protests Explained
    Jan 22 2026
    Iran has been here before. For decades the country has gone through cycles of protest and repression at the hands of the Islamic Republic. What makes this cycle different?

    In this episode of Throughline from NPR, we speak to two Iranian experts about their view of the past, present, and future of Iran’s protest movement.

    Guests:
    Ali Alfoneh, senior fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington DC

    Holly Dagres, senior fellow at the Washington Institute and curator of the Iranist on Substack.

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    47 mins
  • The Deadliest Ally | America in Pursuit

    The Deadliest Ally | America in Pursuit
    Jan 20 2026

    Forget guns and generals — the real victor of the Revolution had wings. This week on America in Pursuit the story of how a deadly swarm of mosquitoes shaped the American Revolution and changed the course of history.

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    10 mins
  • Ken Burns and the American Revolution

    Ken Burns and the American Revolution
    Jan 15 2026
    Ramtin talks with filmmaker Ken Burns about the revolution that made the U.S., and the surprising lessons he thinks it holds for us today.

    Guests:

    Ken Burns, documentary filmmaker.

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    50 mins