The NPR podcasts Throughline and Planet Money collaborate to tell the story of how Taiwan transformed into the world's semiconductor superhub, and the man who helped lead the way.

From BTS to Squid Game, South Korea reigns as a global exporter of pop culture. In the past two decades, government intervention has led the country to become a major driver of global soft power.

At the start of the 20th century, only the most privileged could afford to go to college. Today millions of students pursue higher education, but collectively they owe $1.7 trillion in debt.

Monopoly is one of the best-selling board games in history — sales went up during the COVID-19 pandemic. The game is built on powerful American lore: anyone can rise from rags to riches.

NPR's history podcast Throughline explores how opponents of abortion rights banded together, built power and launched one of the most successful grassroots campaigns of the past century.

Abortion wasn't always controversial. In fact, in colonial America it would have been considered a fairly common practice. But in the mid-1800s, a small group of physicians set out to change that.

Cinco de Mayo has come to stand for a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage. On May 5, 1862, an epic battle was fought and won by Mexicans, which helped shape the future of Mexico and the U.S.

The filibuster can stop bills from reaching the Senate floor and lead to hours-long speeches. It can be hard to understand what a filibuster is, why we have it and how it impacts the country.

Our dreams can haunt us. Recurring dreams about failing tests or running late are a common occurrence, but what are we to make of them? And are there hidden meanings in our dreams?

The team of the NPR history podcast Throughline talks to singer Thom Yorke and art designer Stanley Donwood about two Radiohead albums that captured the anxieties and dread of the early 2000s.

At the turn of the millennium, Radiohead turned creeping melancholy and desolation into two albums that changed the band's career. Two decades later, maybe we've caught up to their prophetic vision.

The book associated with The New York Times Magazine initiative, The 1619 Project, has been a best seller. The project aims to reframe the scope of American history through the lens of slavery.

The attack drone was supposed to be a symbol of the era of precision warfare. But are drones precise enough? Do they desensitize us to the casualties of civilians caught up between warring parties?

How did a small group of Islamic students go from local vigilantes to the Taliban? It is one of the most infamous and enigmatic forces in the world.

The eyes of the world are on Tokyo for the Summer Games. NPR's history podcast, Throughline, examines whether the cities that host the Games end up winning or losing.

What started as an economic system has become an all-encompassing force. That wasn't inevitable. NPR's Throughline examines a project that has taken hundreds of years — and is still developing.

The recent Gaza-Israel violence began with an issue that's plagued the region for a century: settlements. NPR's history podcast Throughline relays the back story of settlements and displacement.

NPR's history podcast Throughline bring us the story of why the Uyghur people have become the target of what many are calling a genocide in China.

The movie Judas and the Black Messiah, about Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton, is up for six Oscars on Sunday. The NPR podcast Throughline looks into the history of the Black Panther Party.

Tipping is a norm in the U.S., but it hasn't always been this way. The team at Throughline — NPR's history podcast — examines the history of tipping in the U.S.