Throughline is a time machine. Each episode, we travel beyond the headlines to answer the question, "How did we get here?" We use sound and stories to bring history to life and put you into the middle of it. From ancient civilizations to forgotten figures, we take you directly to the moments that shaped our world. Throughline is hosted by Peabody Award-winning journalists Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin Arablouei.Subscribe to Throughline+. You'll be supporting the history-reframing, perspective-shifting, time-warping stories you can't get enough of - and you'll unlock access bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org/throughline
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episode 285: The Great Textbook War
Starting in the 1930s, Harold Rugg, the unofficial father of social studies, published a series of historical textbooks that encouraged students to confront the country's chronic problems of racism and class conflict. The textbooks set off a firestorm that echoes today's debates over what kids should and shouldn't learn in school. The push-and-pull fight over what should be taught — and what should be left out — is deeply woven into the fabric of our civic life. In this episode, we go back almost 100 years, to a battle over textbooks that was really about how kids see their history, their country, and themselves. And we ask the question: what should education do?
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