How wheelchairs, a river, and a spaceship challenged the status quo

Listen to "We Keep Us Safe" on NPR's Embedded podcast

In the summer of 2020, teenager Antonio Mays Jr. traveled a thousand miles to join a racial justice movement after the killing of George Floyd. Less than a week after he arrived in Seattle, he was shot and killed there. The case remains unsolved. In this eight-part series, hosts Sydney Brownstone of The Seattle Times and Will James of KUOW team up with NPR's Embedded to investigate Antonio's death, surfacing crucial evidence and eyewitness accounts. Find "We Keep Us Safe" in the Embedded podcast feed. Listen to Embedded wherever you get your podcasts, including the NPR App [https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510311/embedded], Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1091709555?mt=2&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory], Pocket Casts [https://pca.st/embd], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/4uGM0HtHF1DPR4LHNlfvwm], and via RSS [https://feeds.npr.org/510311/podcast.xml]. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

Route 66 and the quest to connect America

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 People Support shows like Throughline with NPR+. Sign up today at plus.npr.org [http://plus.npr.org]. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

How wheelchairs, a river, and a spaceship challenged the status quo

Stories of resistance from three places: Denver, Colorado where the Gang of 19 put their bodies on the line for the right to use public transportation. Montgomery, Alabama, where a song quietly galvanized generations. And finally, on broadcast TV, where a 1966 prime-time show inspired Americans to dream bigger. To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline [plus.npr.org/throughline]. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

The ongoing battle over asylum in America

The U.S. has long professed to be a country where people can seek refuge. That's the promise etched into the base of the Statue of Liberty. But it's never been that clear-cut. And in June, the Supreme Court passed two rulings that could make seeking safe haven in the U.S. even more difficult.  Today on the show, the story of how the U.S. asylum system was forged in response to moments of crisis, and where it left gaps: from Jewish refugees fleeing the Holocaust, to Cuban and Haitian asylum seekers during the Cold War, to the precarious system of today. This episode originally aired in December 2024. Guests: Maria Cristina Garcia, Professor of History at Cornell University, studying immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers Ruth Wasem, former Immigration Policy Specialist at the U.S. Library of Congress' Congressional Research Service and author of the forthcoming book, The Struggle for Fairness: Forging the Immigration Act of 1965 Support shows like Throughline with NPR+. Sign up today at plus.npr.org [http://plus.npr.org]. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

American history through song

There are many ways to look at and understand American history. In this series, we’ve shared stories about how this country was founded and how it continues to evolve over time. Today, a journey through American history, with the sounds of music. To access bonus episodes and listen to Throughline sponsor-free, subscribe to Throughline+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/throughline [plus.npr.org/throughline]. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]