Throughline Folgen

The fight over the filibuster brings up some deeper questions that we as a country are facing. How do we make space for disagreement without ending up at a stalemate? Can we use the tools given to us by previous generations without turning them into weapons? And how do we decide which parts of our system should be changed – and when it's time to change? The filibuster can hold legislation hostage, stop bills from ever reaching the Senate floor, and lead to hours-long speeches in Congress, but it can be hard to understand what a filibuster actually is, why we have it, and how it impacts the country. In this episode, we look at how the ongoing battle over the filibuster's future is in some ways a battle over its past.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We've been seeing a lot of debate recently about how history should be taught. For example, some believe that the Civil War was about state rights while some argue that slavery played a large role in it. But what if we could all agree on one shared history? The past, as we know it, is a collection of billions of smaller stories that coalesce into the stories of families, communities, nations, and entire cultures. According to Tamim Ansary, narrative is the way we invent the past and the key to understanding history is understanding the stories we tell ourselves about three key areas: technology, environment, and language. With a world seemingly more connected than ever and still volatile with a constant sense of fracturing identities, Tamim contends that our shared history is a story we must invent. And the future of our species depends on our ability to develop a story we can all see ourselves in.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

As tensions between Ukraine and Russia escalate, we decided to take a look at the man who has been running Russia for two decades: Vladimir Putin. How did a former KGB officer make his way up to the top seat — was it political prowess or was he just the recipient of a lot of good fortune? In this episode, we dive into the life of Vladimir Putin and try to understand how he became Russia's new "tsar."Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy