Rund Abdelfatah

The 25th amendment. A few years before JFK was shot, an idealistic young lawyer set out on a mission to convince people something essential was missing from the Constitution: clear instructions for what should happen if a U.S. president was no longer able to serve. On this episode of our ongoing series We the People, the story behind one of the last amendments to the Constitution, and the man who got it done. This story originally published in March 2025. Guest: John Feerick, Norris Professor of Law at Fordham Law School and author of The Twenty-Fifth Amendment - Its Complete History and Applications. To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline.

The Supreme Court's 2025-26 term has been punctuated with some high-stakes cases: birthright citizenship, voting rights, presidential powers and consequential civil rights cases. Some of the most anticipated and significant cases have yet to be decided. As the justices make the final sprint to the end of the term in early July, we take stock of how the Supreme Court evolved from the weakest branch of government to the powerhouse arbiter it is today. This episode originally aired in 2020.Guests:Larry Kramer, former dean of Stanford Law School and author of The People Themselves: Popular Constitutionalism and Judicial ReviewRachel Shelden, associate professor of History and director of the George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center at Penn State University, and author of The Political Supreme CourtLucas Powe Jr., professor of Law and Government at the University of TexasSupport shows like Throughline with NPR+. Sign up today at plus.npr.org.

Prediction markets aren’t new. Election betting was common until the 1940s, then mysteriously faded away.There was an entire political era when party bosses were expected to conspicuously gamble on their candidates (even if they secretly hedged).And in the 1980s, a few economists designed an election market that beat out election polling 74 percent of the time.Today, we’re running an excerpt from our friends at Throughline, NPR’s excellent history podcast. Subscribe right now if you don’t already. And, listen to their extended version of the episode to hear about the early markets for betting on terrorism and military uses of prediction markets.Support:NPR+Read: Our book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life Our weekly longform Planet Money newsletterOur weekly Indicator round-up newsletterFollow: InstagramTikTokYouTubeFacebookToday's episode was produced for Planet Money by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler, edited by Alex Goldmark, and engineered by Maggie Luthar. The original Throughline episode was produced by Rund Abdelfatah, Casey Miner, Cristina Kim, Devin Katayama, Sarah Wyman, Julia Redpath, and Kyana Moghadam.

Oil may dominate the headlines about the Middle East, but the real power often flows through water.

Devastating compromises. Midnight rides. A nailbiter vote. Statue toppling riots… and the very real possibility of death. This July 4th, we're taking you inside the making of the Declaration of Independence and how, against all odds, a single document introduced the world to a new kind of nation. Guests:Walter Isaacson, professor at Tulane University and author of The Greatest Sentence Ever Written.Denise Kiernan, author of Signing Their Lives Away: The Fame and Misfortune of the Men Who Signed the Declaration and Obstinate Daughters: The Rebels, Writers, and Renegade Women Who Ignited the American Revolution.Support shows like Throughline with NPR+. Sign up today at plus.npr.org.

Devastating compromises. Midnight rides. A nailbiter vote. Statue toppling riots… and the very real possibility of death. This July 4th, we're taking you inside the making of the Declaration of Independence and how, against all odds, a single document introduced the world to a new kind of nation. Guests:Walter Isaacson, professor at Tulane University and author of The Greatest Sentence Ever Written.Denise Kiernan, author of Signing Their Lives Away: The Fame and Misfortune of the Men Who Signed the Declaration and Obstinate Daughters: The Rebels, Writers, and Renegade Women Who Ignited the American Revolution.Support shows like Throughline with NPR+. Sign up today at plus.npr.org.

Route 66 turns 100 this year. It's considered America’s most nostalgic road trip. With wide open road, sunsets that fill the whole sky, dirt-kissed Chevy trucks, and revving motorcycles. But Route 66 started out as a muddy road to nowhere. Today on the show, we’ll meet a league of gilded-age bicyclists, a ragtag gang of cross-country runners, and the very stubborn highway commissioner who turned it into the “Main Street of America.”Guests:Susan Croce Kelly, author of Father of Route 66 and Route 66: the Highway and its PeopleSupport shows like Throughline with NPR+. Sign up today at plus.npr.org.

We think of Walmart as ultra-American, but its business relationship with China has fundamentally changed how American retail operates. In this episode, how one retailer helped turn China into the world’s factory, eventually becoming the single largest U.S. importer of Chinese consumer goods. Guest:Eileen Otis, Associate Professor of Sociology at Northeastern University and author of Walmart: Made in China Support shows like Throughline with NPR+. Sign up today at plus.npr.org.

From impoverishment to global superpower, China's supremacy happened at a breakneck speed thanks to the visionary strategy of the man who took power in 1978.

In our final installment of AP250, how We Shall Overcome became the anthem of generations of protestors.