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We The People: Canary in the Coal Mine
Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Throughline

We The People: Canary in the Coal Mine

The Third Amendment. Maybe you've heard it as part of a punchline. It's the one about quartering troops — two words you probably haven't heard side by side since about the late 1700s.

We The People: Canary in the Coal Mine

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For the first time, the DNC welcomes influencers to the stage

Olivia Julianna speaks during a campaign event for Houston mayoral candidate U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee on Friday, Oct. 27, 2023. Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via Getty hide caption

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Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via Getty

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For the first time, the DNC welcomes influencers to the stage

Olivia Julianna, 21, is one of more than 200 digital content creators who has been given media credentials to the Democratic National Convention this week.

For the first time, the DNC welcomes influencers to the stage

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Bangladesh's student protestors are now helping to run the country

Students shout slogans during a protest demanding the trial of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. Rajib Dhar/AP hide caption

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Rajib Dhar/AP

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Bangladesh's student protestors are now helping to run the country

Earlier this month, student protestors filled the streets of Dhaka, Bangladesh, in opposition to a controversial quota system for government jobs.

Bangladesh's student protestors are now helping to run the country

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Looking ahead to the DNC, the Harris-Walz campaign prepares for a defining moment

The state of the presidential race is a far cry from what it was just a few months ago. Vice President Kamala Harris's rise to the top of the Democratic ticket has sparked waves of excitement, and some tension, among democratic leaders and voters across the country.

Looking ahead to the DNC, the Harris-Walz campaign prepares for a defining moment

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What Trump's time as president tells us about his promise of mass deportations

A person holds a sign that reads "Mass Deportation Now" on the third day of the Republican National Convention in July. Leon Neal/Getty Images hide caption

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Leon Neal/Getty Images

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What Trump's time as president tells us about his promise of mass deportations

Donald Trump is pledging to go further on immigration than he did in his first term as president, if he is re-elected in November.

What Trump's time as president tells us about his promise of mass deportations

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We The People: Equal Protection
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Throughline

We The People: Equal Protection

The Fourteenth Amendment. Of all the amendments to the U.S. Constitution, the 14th is a big one. It's shaped all of our lives, whether we realize it or not: Roe v. Wade, Brown v. Board of Education, Bush v. Gore, plus other Supreme Court cases that legalized same-sex marriage, interracial marriage, access to birth control — they've all been built on the back of the 14th. The amendment was ratified after the Civil War, and it's packed full of lofty phrases like due process, equal protection, and liberty. But what do those words really guarantee us? Today on Throughline's We the People: How the 14th Amendment has remade America — and how America has remade the 14th (Originally ran as The Fourteenth Amendment).

We The People: Equal Protection

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Does 'weird' work for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz?

VP nominee Tim Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former President Donald Trump. Andrew Harnik; Natalie Behring / AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Andrew Harnik; Natalie Behring / AFP/Getty Images

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Does 'weird' work for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz?

Ever since Minnesota governor and Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz called Republicans "weird," we've seen other Democrats embrace this name-calling strategy and deploy it in interviews and in memes online. We've also seen Republicans lobbing the "weird" moniker right back at Democrats. To get into how "weird" this all is, Brittany chats with NPR culture reporter Andrew Limbong and NPR political correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben about this new political strategy and redefining "normalcy" in 2024.

Does 'weird' work for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz?

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Sick of customer service bots and subscription headaches? There's a plan for that

The Biden administration announced it is taking on what it calls the "doom loop" of customer service calls. William Thomas Cain/Getty Images hide caption

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William Thomas Cain/Getty Images

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Sick of customer service bots and subscription headaches? There's a plan for that

This week, the Biden administration announced it is taking on more of what it calls "everyday headaches and hassles that waste Americans' time and money."

Sick of customer service bots and subscription headaches? There's a plan for that

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How a candidate's military service can help or hurt their campaign

Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a campaign rally with Democratic presidential candidate, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images hide caption

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Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

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How a candidate's military service can help or hurt their campaign

By most measures, the new Democratic ticket has had an impressively smooth launch.

How a candidate's military service can help or hurt their campaign

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How Nancy Pelosi came to call the shots

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi receives a Medal of Freedom from President Biden. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images hide caption

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Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

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How Nancy Pelosi came to call the shots

Speaker of the House Emerita Nancy Pelosi once told Washington Post Columnist Karen Tumulty quote "Nobody ever gives away power. If you want to achieve that, you go for it. But when you get it, you must use it."

How Nancy Pelosi came to call the shots

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The beauty and entitlement of traveling as a tourist

Author Shahnaz Habib next to the cover of her new book, Airplane Mode. Author photo by Eva Garmendia hide caption

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Author photo by Eva Garmendia

Code Switch

The beauty and entitlement of traveling as a tourist

Summer is a time when many Americans are taking off from work and setting their sights on far-off vacation destinations: tropical beaches, fairy-tale cities, sun-drenched countrysides. But in her book Airplane Mode, the reluctant travel writer Shahnaz Habib warns of recklessly embracing what she calls "passport privilege," — and how that can skew peoples' images of what the world is and who it belongs to.

The beauty and entitlement of traveling as a tourist

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Can Tim Walz secure Midwestern swing states? That's what Democrats are hoping

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has been tapped by current Vice President Kamala Harris to be her running mate. Jim Watson and Chris Kleponsis/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Jim Watson and Chris Kleponsis/AFP via Getty Images

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Can Tim Walz secure Midwestern swing states? That's what Democrats are hoping

Kamala Harris has tapped Minnesota governor Tim Walz to be her running mate. Democrats hope he can secure Midwestern swing states.

Can Tim Walz secure Midwestern swing states? That's what Democrats are hoping

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Code Switch: Do we need to stop using the word "felon"?

What the reaction to Trump's felony conviction tells us about the word "felon" Jackie Lay hide caption

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Jackie Lay

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Code Switch: Do we need to stop using the word "felon"?

Ever since Vice President Kamala Harris entered the presidential race, things changed. Her campaign almost immediately started framing the election as: Harris, the former prosecutor - vs. Trump the felon. And that word - "felon" - is one that our friends over at NPR's Code Switch have been thinking a lot about since former President Trump was convicted of 34 counts back in May. In this episode, Code Switch co-hosts B.A. Parker and Gene Demby chop it up with the comedian Arif Shahid, who performs under the name Felonious Munk, to talk about what it means for him to carry this reference to his felony conviction so publicly. Then, Gene talks to Josie Duffy-Rice, a writer who focuses on the criminal justice system, to look at the ways "felon" sticks to people long after their sentences end.

Code Switch: Do we need to stop using the word "felon"?

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The misunderstood humor of political memes

VP Kamala Harris has been the subject of many, many coconut tree memes. Chris duMond/Getty Images/Issouf Sanogo/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Chris duMond/Getty Images/Issouf Sanogo/AFP via Getty Images

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The misunderstood humor of political memes

From the attempted assassination of former President Trump, to President Biden dropping out of the election, and VP Kamala Harris stepping up... The news these past few weeks has been buck wild. And the energy online is similarly unhinged. But what do most people get wrong when they try to interpret the latest explosion of political memes? And what do these posts actually say about how people are processing major events? And are there consequences to just posting through it? Host Brittany Luse is joined by Tatum Hunter, consumer tech reporter at The Washington Post, and Kyle Chayka, staff writer at The New Yorker, to discuss what meaning could possibly be gleaned from the meme madness.

The misunderstood humor of political memes

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We the People: Gun Rights
Marc Piscotty/Getty Images

Throughline

We the People: Gun Rights

The Second Amendment. In April 1938, an Oklahoma bank robber was arrested for carrying an unregistered sawed-off shotgun across state lines. The robber, Jack Miller, put forward a novel defense: that a law banning him from carrying that gun violated his Second Amendment rights. For most of U.S. history, the Second Amendment was one of the sleepier ones. It rarely showed up in court, and was almost never used to challenge laws. Jack Miller's case changed that. And it set off a chain of events that would fundamentally change how U.S. law deals with guns. Today on Throughline's We the People: How the second amendment came out of the shadows. (Originally ran as The Right to Bear Arms)

We the People: Gun Rights

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'Not a badge of honor': how book bans affect Indigenous literature
Jackie Lay

Code Switch

'Not a badge of honor': how book bans affect Indigenous literature

For some authors, finding their book on a "banned" list can feel almost like an accolade, putting them right there with classics like The Bluest Eye and To Kill a Mockingbird. But the reality is, most banned books never get the kind of recognition or readership that the most famous ones do.

'Not a badge of honor': how book bans affect Indigenous literature

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A childhood friend paints a picture of Kamala Harris' upbringing

In her childhood in Berkeley, Calif., you can find the seeds of the political leader that Vice President Kamala Harris grew up to become.

A childhood friend paints a picture of Kamala Harris' upbringing

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Who will Vice President Kamala Harris pick to be her running mate?

Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she is introduced during the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.'s Grand Boulé, Wednesday, July 24, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings) Darron Cummings/AP hide caption

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Darron Cummings/AP

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Who will Vice President Kamala Harris pick to be her running mate?

Vice President Kamala Harris has a little over a week to pick a running mate to join her on the presidential ticket.

Who will Vice President Kamala Harris pick to be her running mate?

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A year after her speakership, Nancy Pelosi's influence remains strong

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi at the U.S. Capitol in February. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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A year after her speakership, Nancy Pelosi's influence remains strong

Among the many Democratic Party insiders who publicly or privately urged President Joe Biden to reconsider running for reelection, one played an outsized role: Nancy Pelosi.

A year after her speakership, Nancy Pelosi's influence remains strong

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Kamala Harris, Revisited
Chris duMond/Getty Images

Code Switch

Kamala Harris, Revisited

With Kamala Harris entering the presidential race, we look back at what has shaped her personally and politically —from being the self-described "top cop" of California, to taking on a former president with dozens of felony convictions.

Kamala Harris, Revisited

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