When Christmas Went Viral

A Victorian family gather to stir the Christmas pudding for luck. Christmas card of 1871 or 1872.

Ramtin Arablouei, co-host and co-producer of Throughline.

Rund Abdelfatah is the co-host and producer of Throughline, a podcast that explores the history of current events. In that role, she's responsible for all aspects of the podcast's production, including development of episode concepts, interviewing guests, and sound design.

Ramtin Arablouei is co-host and co-producer of NPR's podcast Throughline, a show that explores history through creative, immersive storytelling designed to reintroduce history to new audiences.

Casey Miner is an award-winning narrative audio editor, producer and writer who's worked with NPR, Wondery, Reveal, The Stoop, Slate, Pop-Up Magazine and Mother Jones, among many others. Projects she's worked on have been recognized by the Peabody Awards, the Emmy Awards, the National Association of Black Journalists and the Society of Professional Journalists. She created and hosted The Specialist, a podcast about work we don't think about and the people who do it, and is a co-founder of the Editors Collective, a group of narrative audio editors working to diversify the field and build networks and career paths for new editors. [Copyright 2024 NPR]

Julie Caine is supervising editor for NPR's Throughline. An award-winning editor, reporter and audio producer, Caine's heart is in her ears. She led podcasting and on-demand audio at KQED in San Francisco, overseeing strategy, new show development and a vibrant podcast portfolio, including The Bay, Truth Be Told and Rightnowish. She helped found Jetty Studios, an international podcast unit for the Al Jazeera Media Network, where she launched Closer Than They Appear and Game of Our Lives, and developed The Take. She's a founding producer and editor on The Stoop and The Specialist podcasts, and was managing producer for Crosscurrents at KALW Public Radio, a springboard for shows like 99% Invisible, Snap Judgment, The Intersection, and Kamau Right Now. She believes deeply in Grace Paley's maxim that you must be a story listener to be a storyteller. [Copyright 2024 NPR]

Devin Katayama is a Senior Producer for NPR's Throughline podcast. He was formerly Editor of Talent and Development for KQED, where he created equitable opportunities for interns and newsroom staff. Prior to that, he hosted The Bay and American Suburb podcasts. While an education reporter with WFPL, Katayama won WBUR's 2014 Daniel Schorr award and a regional RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Award for his documentary "At Risk." Katayama has also received numerous local awards from the Associated Press and the Society of Professional Journalists. He earned his master's in journalism from Columbia College Chicago, and a bachelor's in English creative writing from CUNY Hunter College. Katayama is based in Vallejo, California – the 707. [Copyright 2024 NPR]

Cristina Kim is a reporter/producer for Throughline.

Irene Noguchi is the Executive Producer leading NPR's Enterprise Storytelling Unit, which includes the talented teams creating podcasts Rough Translation, Invisibilia and Embedded, as well as Sunday episodes of Up First in collaboration with Morning Edition and longform narrative collaborations across public media. She brings a rich background of public radio, digital media and experience covering news and launching new podcasts.

December 12, 2024

Christmas wasn’t always a national shopping spree — or even a day off work. But in 19th-century London, it went viral. When Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol, the book’s tale of miserly Scrooge and the ghosts that transformed him transformed the holiday too, especially in the U.S.

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Guests:

Leon Litvack, professor of Victorian Studies at Queen’s University in Belfast and editor of the Charles Dickens Letters project.

Lucinda Dickens Hawksley, author and historian of Victorian England.

Ramtin Arablouei is co-host and co-producer of NPR's podcast Throughline, a show that explores history through creative, immersive storytelling designed to reintroduce history to new audiences.

Cristina Kim is a reporter/producer for Throughline.

When Christmas Went Viral

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