Civics 101
Civics 101 is a podcast that explores how the United States government works, from landmark Supreme Court decisions to the powers of the Senate. Each episode breaks down a different aspect of democracy, explaining the Constitution, amendments, and the inner workings of American institutions. The show aims to make civics accessible and engaging for all listeners.
Episodes
The National Mall
As a kingless, queenless, monarch-free nation, what do we decide to put in the space that best represents us to the world? Why is the Washington Monument a giant obelisk? And while we're at it, what's the deal with Donald Trump's proposed Triumphal Arch?
Today we are guided by an actual, real-life, architectural tour guide, Carolyn Muraskin of DC Design Tours. She walks us through the many ups
What Does it Mean to Be a Democrat or a Republican?
Today we look at the creation and evolution of the two major parties in the US; the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. How did they come about? How did their ideals shift over the last 200+ years? And where might they go next?
These episodes originally aired in 2020, and feature Keneshia Grant, George Will, Kathryn DePalo-Gould, Heather Wagner, Paddy Riley, and William Adler.
Learn mo
How a Bill (REALLY) Becomes a Law
Our final "Back to School" episode is a nod to how we started in the first place. Our show was created to be "Schoolhouse Rock for adults," and no mention of Schoolhouse Rock is complete without a sad little scrap of paper hoping to become a bill.
Today we're exploring how that bill, sitting there on Capitol Hill, becomes a law. This episode features the voices of Andy Wilson, Adia Samba-Quee
What is Federalism?
A tug of war, a balancing act, two dancers dragging each other across the floor. This is the perpetual ebb and flow of power between the states and the federal government. How can things be legal in a state but illegal nationally? Are states obstinate barricades to federal legislation? Or are they laboratories of democracy?
Exclusive Coveron discount: : https://coveron.com/CIVICS or use the
U.S. Versus: The Two Party System
Americans often take issue with our two-party system. So what other options are out there? Today, with the help of political scientists Guillermo Rosas and Robin Best, we explore the reason why we have (and may always have) such a system, and compare it to other democracies around the world. This episode contains an overabundance of Street Fighter 2 references.
INCOGNI DEAL: They can
These United Hosts
In which we take an historical look at the interplay between marriage and democracy, and Hannah and Nick reveal a Civics 101 secret years in the making.
INCOGNI DEAL: They can't harm you, if they can't find you! To get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan, go to incogni.com/CIVICS
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Our 250th Annual Trivia Episode!
Not really. But we send one of our own out in style by asking (and answering) some very tough questions. Including one you might recognize.
INCOGNI DEAL: They can't harm you, if they can't find you! To get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan, go to incogni.com/CIVICS
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Article II of the Constitution
Article II, which lays out the powers, duties, and limits on presidential powers, is one of the most debated and reinterpreted parts of the Constitution. So what does it say?
Today we are joined by Dr. Corey Brettschneider, a professor of political science at Brown, author of several books on presidential power, and co-host of the podcast The Oath and the Office. We go through each and every c
SCOTUS Decision Roundup
The Supreme Court wrapped it's 2025-2026 term and headed off on summer recess, so we're running through the biggest decisions from the bench. What did the court have to say about our constitution, our federal government and our individual rights?
This year they got to everything from Birthright Citizenship to mail-in ballots to executive agencies, cementing some principles and throwing others int
What is communism, socialism, and fascism?
With the midterms coming up, these words are being uttered more and more each day. So what does it really mean when we call someone a socialist, communist, or fascist? Where did these ideologies come from, and why do we have ideologies in the first place?
Today we speak with Patrick McGovern, professor of political science at Buffalo State University, and Susan Kang, professor of political scienc
Article I of The Constitution
Maybe you’ve read the Constitution a ton of times. Maybe you’ve never read it. Maybe you even have one somewhere in your home! But, even for us civics lovers, there are times we forget what exactly is in it. However, by the end of this episode, you’ll know each and every part of the largest, and most important, section.
Article I, which lays out the powers and restrictions of Congress, is massi
Why do Americans love conspiracy theories?
Conspiracy theories are not new in the United States, but over the years they have taken on a life and power of their own. How did conspiracy theories become so entrenched in the American mind? Why is it that, even if we don't entirely believe them, we like them?
Our guests today are Katherine Olmsted, author of Challenging the Secret Government: The Post-Watergate Investigations of the CIA and F
Do we have separation of church and state?
What did Jefferson mean when he wrote about a "wall of separation" between the church and the state? How have we interpreted the pair of clauses in the 1st Amendment regarding religion? And what is the current relationship between church and state when it comes to the Supreme Court, religious schools, taxes, and growing religious nationalism?
Today we talk to Katherine Stewart, author of The Powe
Why is our union so imperfect? (With Jill Lepore)
Pulitzer-prize winning historian and author Jill Lepore has spent her career uncovering the stories we often do not tell, particularly about American history and democracy. In her most recent books, These Truths and We, the People, she asks what really made and makes the United States and what role citizens have in arching toward a more perfect Union. Listen in as she talks about her work for Writ
How we started, how it's going
This is part two of our story about the original story of America we don't talk about...and how it ties to where we are today.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
America's other origin story
This episode is being recorded just a couple of days before the 4th of July, and as so many are calling it, America's 250th birthday. And we here at Civics 101 have spent a lot of this year trying to understand when and how America, as we know it was really born. What is our origin story? Why are we like this? And why don't we talk about the empire that was here before the United States?
Learn
Why is Congress like this?
Today in our continued exploration of why the US is the way it is, we get to Article I. Why did the framers design Congress the way they did? Why did the small states come out so far ahead? And what, potentially, would James Madison think if he saw its operation in 2026?
To help us navigate the thoughts of men long-dead, we talk to Madison scholar Jack Rakove. He shares his insights on represen
When a flag is against the rules... or the law
In recent years, flag restriction rules, policies and laws have been cropping up across the country. Whether the government is telling you what you can fly or what you cannot, there's always something behind the flag.
We dig into how, why and when it's legal for the government to decide what you can or cannot fly and hear from Halifax, Massachusetts, about what a flag controversy revealed about t
Lessons from the American Revolution (with Ken Burns)
Ken Burns and Sarah Botstein spent nearly a decade making a twelve-hour documentary on the American Revolution. This is what they learned from the thousands of stories and events that resulted in the United States of America. It's a story of world-changing ideas, contradictory figures, myths that do us no good and what it means to be in pursuit of a more perfect union.
You can watch Ken Burns The
How to Make Things Better
Today we complete our trio of episodes in collaboration with iCivics, where we explore why people of myriad groups are having a tough time, civics-wise. In this episode, we tell you how to eradicate your cynicism and make a difference.
First, we share Jill Lepore's presentation on conventions; how we used to interact with our many constitutions. And then, we talk with Eitan Hersh. Eitan is the
How did we get so red, white and blue?
Whether you fly it, wear it or want nothing to do with it, the American flag says a lot in and about the United States. Red, white and blue is far from exclusive to our nation and yet it is very much our brand... and very much branded on anything we can think to put it on.
So where did the American obsession with our flag come from?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Why Students Are Having a Tough Time
Today we share our second installment on why things are tough in the civics world. Specifically, we talk about how students are doing in civics classrooms and on national assessments.
But! It's not all bad news. Shawn Healey (Chief Policy and Advocacy Officer at iCivics) takes us through the myriad state bills that are currently in the legislative process which will affect civic education, and
How making people wait sparked the American Revolution
Once upon a time, American British colonists were separated from power, decision-making, culture and information by thousands of miles and many weeks. As Helena Yoo-Roth puts it, time flowed evenly outward from the homeland.
This is the story of waiting, longing and realizing that time might just be on our side as we approached the American Revolutionary War. Helena Yoo-Roth is the author of th
Why Teachers Are Having a Tough Time
This is the first episode in a series we are doing with iCivics, who invited us to their National Forum for Civic Learning Week.
Today we share the many conversations we had with civics and social studies teachers from across the country, and we explore the results from a nationwide survey on what they're going through right now. And, finally, what could be done to help them?
To learn more a
What did the world really think about the Declaration of Independence?
For Americans today, it's a treasure. Scripture. The thing that made us. It wasn't always that way, though. This is the story of the Declaration of Independence before it was enshrined in our collective national consciousness. Back when it was a news headline and we had no control what others thought of it.
Our guest is Emily Sneff, author of When the Declaration of Independence was News.
Lear
Ask a Judge: What is Pro Se?
What is the process when a person wishes to represent themselves in court? How common is it? Is it true that a person who represents themselves "has a fool for a client?"
Today in our "Ask a Judge" series, attorney and magistrate Amy Lin Meyerson and "small town lawyer" Ray Williams give tips for those who have no choice but to address the court on their own behalf.
Here is the American Bar
What's the Strait of Hormuz? And how do blockades work?
You've been hearing about it in the news, but what exactly is the Strait of Hormuz? And as for those blockades...how do they work?
DONATE TO THE PODCAST HERE.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
How did federal income taxes get this way?
We haven't always had a federal income tax, and in the beginning, it only applied to the very richest Americans. So how did we end up with the permanent income tax we have today, with all its complicated rules about everything from pre-tax income to deductions and credits? And what does it actually pay for?
DONATE TO THE SHOW!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What is the 25th Amendment?
Sometimes, news happens in the real world, and suddenly a political or civics topic becomes very top of mind for members of the public.
And when that happens, we at Civics 101 often say, hey…we have an episode about that.
DONATE TO THE SHOW!
One of those conversations happened this week, after a tweet from President Trump related to the war in Iran had some conservative, traditionally pro-Trum
The Raw Milk Question
Today we bring you a story from our sister podcast Outside/In, produced and reported by Marina Henke.
DONATE TO THE PODCAST!
In 2009, the state of Maine ordered farmer Dan Brown to stop selling his raw milk. It kicked off a five-year legal battle that stoked the flames of Maine’s dairy wars. But, after Farmer Brown lost his case and hung up his milking hat, things quieted down.
Twenty years l
Can American elections be "nationalized"? What does that mean?
In this country, the states run elections. Congress is empowered to step in; the president is not. So what does it mean for the president to call on a political party to "take over." Is that allowed? What would that mean? And why is this happening now?
DONATE TO THE PODCAST!
We talk with Sarah Cooper from the Carter Center to understand who is in charge and whether anyone else can take charge.
L
Why are we paying more for gas right now?
Four years ago we made an episode about how the president has very limited powers when it comes to lowering the price of gas. Turns out, we hadn't considered every possibility.
Today, we talk about how a president can make gasoline more expensive, by waging conflict in the middle east. Our guest is Robert Rapier, chemical engineer, investment writer, and energy sector expert. He came back on the
Someone oughta open up a window
Today we take a field trip to Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where Nick explains why he's like this via an obsession with 1776, the movie based on the musical based on the true events that launched a nation. Our nation. Also, Nick and Hannah get real using Dido as inspiration.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Civic Role of Religious Leaders
Why do religious leaders step out from behind the pulpit and take to the streets? What does it mean to practice what you preach? As faith groups across the nation stand alongside protestors and assert their beliefs, we talk to four religious leaders about how and why they take action.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Are you really mad? What can you do about that?
As hosts of a civics podcast, we are not allowed to advocate for policy. But you can. Here are three things you can do to get your elected officials to listen when you're mad about something.
By way of example, Nick reveals his pettiest, most apolitical gripe; and methods he would hypothetically use to address it. We talk lobbying, contacting your electeds, and getting (possibly famous) people to
What does "detention" mean?
We've used the word "detention" many times when we've talked about immigration laws and ICE. But what does that word actually mean? A listener wanted to know, so we got the answer.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Why did the FBI keep tabs on high school students?
About a week ago, host Hannah McCarthy stumbled on an article by an historian named Dr. Aaron Fountain Jr. What she read kind of blew her mind, so she decided to give him a call.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
When did immigrants become "illegal?"
The rules about who could and could not come and live in the United States have changed many times over the last 250 years, but exactly when restrictions were first put on immigration might surprise you.
Today, walking us through the myriad qualitative and quantitative systems surrounding immigration policy is Muzaffar Chishti, Senior Fellow and Director of the Migration Policy Institute.
H
What is ICE's job?
We examine what the current presidential administration tells us about Immigration and Customs Enforcement and what the numbers, courts and history of the agency have to say.
For more information on the data referenced in this episode, you can check out this Politico fact check of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem's statements about ICE, this CATO Institute analysis, this CBS report, and this TRAC rep
Safe to Drink
Introducing “Safe to Drink:” A New Hampshire town finds out its water has been contaminated by a chemical. The most basic question — whether the water is safe to drink — doesn’t have a clear answer. Nobody seems to know much about this so-called forever chemical, which is weird because… this has all happened before.
From the Document team at New Hampshire Public Radio, "Safe to Drink" is a four-p
What happens when it's not NASA bringing civilians to space?
In 1985, high school teacher Christa McAuliffe was selected to become the first private citizen to travel to space. After the Challenger explosion that killed her and 6 other astronauts, NASA scrapped its Teacher in Space Project; it was still too risky to send private citizens to space.
40 years later, things are looking very different.
Today, celebrities and billionaires are buying trips on
What is the Monroe Doctrine?
After its inception in 1823, the Monroe Doctrine was largely ignored. But after a while, different administrations saw the value in maintaining control over the western hemisphere. And notably, it is having a renaissance in the Trump presidency.
So what IS the Monroe Doctrine? How has it been interpreted in various presidencies? And, most importantly, is it legal under international law? Civ
How does asylum work? And what has changed?
On this episode, we’re talking about the history and evolution of United States’ refugee and asylum policy. We have been a country of exclusion for about as long as we’ve projected the image of a democratic refuge. We talk about what it actually takes to secure refugee or asylum status in the U.S. and how that gargantuan task has been made so much more difficult, if not impossible for some, under
What's happening with Venezuela?
Sometimes, we just have to make a "101" episode of Civics 101. That is the case this week, in the wake of the arrest of Venezuela's sitting president by the United States. So, what's happening with Venezuela, Maduro, and the Trump administration's plan to "run" that country?
CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free ed
Restoring Civility in our Politics (on The Middle)
This week Nick appears on The Middle, with Jeremy Hobson. The topic is civility in politics, and they're joined by former New Hampshire State Legislator Doug Teschner and Citizens Count Executive Director Anna Brown.
This episode was recorded live at the Bank of NH Stage in Concord, NH and features audience questions and comments.
Write to us at civics101@nhpr.org to tell us what you think: is
Probable Claus: Is Santa a Criminal?
Today we answer this question from a listener, "Is Santa a criminal?"
We get to the bottom of the myriad actions of the jolly old elf, and whether he could reasonably be tried for civil and criminal violations, including but not limited to trespassing, breaking and entering, voyeurism, stalking, surveillance, burglary, tax evasion, bad labor practices, emotional distress, and (in one instance) inv
What is the filibuster?
Why does it take, in practice, 60 votes for a bill to pass in the Senate? Why doesn't it seem like anyone is up there talking for days anymore? And why do we even have it in the first place?
Today is all about the filibuster; from its benign origins to its use and misuse, the arguments for and against it, and what it would take to eliminate it entirely. Our guest is Molly Reynolds from the Brookin
The Lottery: How it happened, and what it pays for
The lottery generates over $70 billion in revenue each year. Today on Civics 101 we explore how we got here; from failed lotteries in the Revolutionary War to the Golden Octopus to the Numbers Game to a Mega Millions ticket from your neighborhood shop. Where does all of that money GO? And why are states so dependent on them in the first place?
Taking us on this madcap journey are two experts on th
What is SNAP?
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, once upon a time called food stamps, helps nearly 42 million Americans every month. While the 2025 government shutdown showed us what happens when SNAP dries up, we have yet to see the effects of major new legislative changes to the program.
So what, exactly, is SNAP? How does it work? Who gets it? Why do we have it to begin with, and what does it loo
How did the Epstein Files Transparency Act happen?
Today we talk about the myriad procedures involved in getting the Epstein Files Transparency Act passed in record time. How do discharge petitions work? What did HR 581 do exactly? How did it get through the Senate so quickly? And while we're at it, why did it take a record seven weeks to swear in a new representative?
Here is the discharge petition signed by 218 members of Congress.
Here is the
What can we learn from the American Revolution?
Ken Burns and Sarah Botstein spent nearly a decade making a twelve-hour documentary on the American Revolution. This is what they learned from the thousands of stories and events that resulted in the United States of America. It's a story of world-changing ideas, contradictory figures, myths that do us no good and what it means to be in pursuit of a more perfect union.
You can watch Ken Burns The
Billionaires
In sixty years, we have gone from 2 billionaires in the United States to just under 2,000. How on earth did that happen?
Today, Timothy Noah from the New Republic takes us all the way from our framers fearing excessive wealth to the country's first (potential) trillionaire. To learn about their proliferation, their desires, and their outsized effect on American policy, check out his article, How t
Why are so many voters sitting out this week?
Off-year elections -- as in, not a presidential or a midterm -- have fairly dismal voter turnout. Yet they matter a great deal. Most of our lives are lived at the local, not the national, level. So why do so many skip their state and local elections?
We spoke with Luis Lozada, the CEO of Democracy Works, to understand why people don't show and why they should.
Democracy Works is a nonpartisan nonp
Project 2025: What it is and what it's doing
The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, has published a Mandate for Leadership since 1981, making policy recommendations to the federal government. The latest edition is part of something much bigger: Project 2025. The newest Mandate is part of a four-pillar project designed to fundamentally change the federal government from the inside. Though President Trump and his team spent his th
Who's the most outdoorsy president? (A trivia crossover)
This episode is a crossover with our sister NHPR podcast, Outside/In.
What do pastries have to do with environmental justice? Cat butts with the climate crisis? And what US president ate a half-chewed piece of salmon leftover from a bear on reality TV?
Grab a pencil (and maybe a pint?) and get ready for the inaugural Outside/In trivia episode we’re calling “Natural Selection.” We’ve got a game cal
The government is shut down....again. But what does that mean?
In this episode, we give a brief explanation of what's behind the current government shutdown. The, we explain all the ins and outs of government shutdowns. Have they always been part of our legislative process? How do they happen? And what happens when they happen? Our guest is Charles Tiefer, professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law.
CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of
What Could Go Right: Whatever Happened to Civics?
Today we’re bringing you an episode of What Could Go Right from our friends at The Progress Network.
Each Wednesday on What Could Go Right, hosts Zachary Karabell and Emma Varvaloucas converse with diverse experts to have sharp, honest conversations about what’s going on in the world, even during difficult times. In this episode, Nick spoke with Emma and Zachary about the state of civics education
What are the rules for making fun of politicians?
Did you know cartoonists were on Nixon's enemies list? Or that LBJ prevented a cartoonist from getting a medal when he made a cartoon against the Vietnam War? Today we talk about the history of editorial cartoons and political satire, from "Join or Die" to the Obama fist bump, from Thomas Nast to Jimmy Kimmel. Our guide is New Yorker cartoonist Tom Toro, author of And to Think We Started as a Book
The Grievances in the Declaration (part 2)
Click here to listen to part one of our airing of the grievances if you haven't yet! Today we tackle charges 13-27 against the King, as well as comparisons that have been made between George III and Donald Trump.
Our guide is once again Craig Gallagher from Colby-Sawyer College, who breaks down what exactly got the colonists so darn mad.
Make sure to listen to our episode on the modern-day effec
Can the president legally hide their health status?
The American public has long been on the lookout for unsteadiness in the leader of the free world. It's important to us (or, historically, has been) that the president seems, well, well. If not robust. Of course, the president is a human, and as such is not immune to malady.
So why do we care so much about the president's health? Are they under obligation, legal or otherwise, to keep us in the lo
The Grievances in the Declaration (part 1)
"He" has done bad things. Twenty seven of them. And these things were so bad that the colonists used them to demonstrate that they had no choice but to become an independent nation. King George III was, in their eyes, a despot. So what did he do?
Today we talk about grievances 1-12 in the Declaration of Independence. We will cover the rest, as well as modern-day parallels, in a few weeks. Our gues
Why does the government fund things, and what happens when it stops?
Congress appropriates funds, the executive branch ensures those funds are spent and spent wisely. That is how it works. It is not, however, how it is working right now. The Trump Administration has, in recent months, repeatedly and often successfully frozen the funds that Congress assigned to certain departments and agencies. Jobs have been lost, research shelved, life-saving care ended, budgets a
Civics Trivia: Taxes, terrifying birds, and The West Wing
It's another edition of Civics 101 Trivia! This time, it's also the swan song for one of our own.
Senior Producer Christina Phillips, our mastermind of minutiae and all things related to taxes, joins us to convene a final round of her trademark trivia.
Here is the link to the FOIA documents about the government's involvement in Hollywood productions.
CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all o
Is same-sex marriage in legal peril?
In 2015, the Supreme Court made marriage equality the law of the land. However, for the first time in over five years, Kim Davis (an opponent of same-sex marriage) petitioned for a writ of certiorari to overturn Obergefell. Is there a possibility the court will revisit its finding? How does this decision compare to other recently overturned decisions like Roe v Wade? And is even talking about this
Obergefell v Hodges, 2015
This is the decision that said the fundamental right to marry is protected under the 14th Amendment. How did it come about? What was the status of marriage before June of 2015? And why is the government so involved in the marriage business anyways?
This episode features the voices of Melissa Wasser from the Project on Government Oversight and Jim Obergefell, the named party in Obergefell v Hodges.
What happens when enough states want to change the Constitution?
Our Constitution provides for its own changes -- the framers knew that, while they worked hard, the law of the land was neither perfect nor should it be entirely immutable. So they included Article V, which allows either Congress OR the states to amend the Constitution if enough people agree. We've never had a constitutional convention of the states before, but that doesn't mean we won't. There's
How can the president take over a city's police department?
On Monday, August 11th, Trump announced a takeover of Washington, D.C.'s Metropolitan police. He also deployed National Guard troops and federal agents to the streets, all in the name of cracking down on crime. We called on political scientist and historian Dan Cassino to help us understand what happened, why it's legal and what could happen next.
CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of ou
What's it like being a scientist facing federal funding cuts?
It’s a weird time to be an environmental scientist. The proposed cuts to federal science funding in the United States are profound, and if they come to pass, it’s not clear what American science will look like on the other side. But for many researchers, science is much more than a career: it’s a community, lifestyle, and sometimes even a family business.
This episode was produced by our fellow N
Cinema Civics: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
When Mr. Smith Goes to Washington came out in 1939, it infuriated politicians, the press, and fascist nations. At the same time, it delighted audiences and informed them on the legislative process decades before Schoolhouse Rock.
Today we talk about the film, as well as corruption, earnestness, our families, lost causes, and hope.
Listen to our episode of Hannah's visit to the Lincoln Memorial he
The Supreme Court rulings that aren't rulings
"The shadow docket," refers to orders from the Supreme Court that are (often) unsigned, inscrutable, and handed down in the middle of the night. Professor Stephen Vladeck takes us through this increasingly common phenomenon.
Note: This episode was originally produced in 2022.
CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free
Is it possible for a president to serve a third term?
Is there a way President Trump (or any president) can serve a third (or fourth) term in office? Maybe there is.
Most people assume the 22nd Amendment limits a president to two terms, period. What happens when the president, or legal scholars, challenge that assumption? Joining us to talk about that is Bruce Peabody of Fairleigh Dickinson University.
CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all
A country with no kings
As subjects of the British king, the very idea of criticizing monarchy -- or King George III himself -- was a dangerous one. So how did we become a country where "no kings" is a guiding principle? Something we take for granted?
Holly Brewer is our guide to the resistance, risk and eventual revolution that transformed a British colony into a democratic country that would have no king.
CLICK H
How are tariffs affecting American businesses?
Today on Civics 101, we answer listener questions about tariffs. And then, we look at how they've affected one American Industry. It's not a game, but these companies do make them, and they've been hit hard by President Trump's ever-changing tariff policies.
NOTE - This episode was republished because of a technical issue .
Click here to check out our 2024 episode on how tariffs work.
CLICK
Civics lessons from Karen Read's retrial
The team delves into some of the many civics lessons the public got while watching Karen Read’s retrial, which ended with her acquittal on all major charges in June. Topics include the First Amendment, judicial discretion, courtroom tactics, and more. Our expert for this episode is Colin Miller, blogger, podcaster, and professor at University of South Carolina School of Law.
Read Vanity Fair's ex
Cinematic Civics: Independence Day
Is there a civics lesson in the 1996 film Independence Day? We think so.
Join the Civics 101 team for a conversation about the film, its politics, and what it says about the United States and its place in the world.
There's even a fire-jumping dog!
CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and
What does the Senate Parliamentarian do?
The Senate Parliamentarian is many things. A nonpartisan referee, an appointed official, and at some times one of the most powerful people in our government.
This week, Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough found several provisions in the currently debated budget appropriations bill violated something called the "Byrd Rule."
Today we explore this complicated and often-unseen role with Sara
How political “framing” shapes our thoughts
We know why we feel the way we do about certain political issues, don't we? Don't we??
It turns out that politicians, political strategists, and the media are working every day to alter what we think about something before we know we're thinking about it. And the way this is done is through "framing."
So what is framing? How long have people been doing it? And most importantly, how can we push bac
Cinematic Civics: The Manchurian Candidate
The Civics 101 team delves into the 1962 film The Manchurian Candidate, a political satire and thriller that is more than relevant in today’s political climate.
Note: this episode contains spoilers for the film.
CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more!
To see Civics 101 in book form,
How is the Alien Enemies Act being used right now?
Now that we have explored what the Alien Enemies Act is, we dive in to how it's being used to shape deportation policy under President Donald Trump.
Note: We recommend listening to the prior episode first! Staying in your podcast feed? It's the episode right before this one, called "What is the Alien Enemies Act."
CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate to the podcas
What is the Alien Enemies Act?
The Alien Enemies Act is a war power granted to the president that has only been used four times in US history since its creation in 1798. It allows the president to order the detention and deportation of noncitizens from "enemy" nations during war, invasion, or predatory incursion. When it was created, the US had a very different understanding of Constitutional rights, including due process, than
Recommended
True Crime Classics
The Healer Revolution
Becoming: HER with Nikki Spoelstra
Booked, Blonde & Busy w/ Olivia Ponton
McKinsey on Consumer and Retail
megahired.com
Hard Knocks Podcast
Effective Weight Loss for Moms | High protein, Strength Training, Lose Weight, Meal Planning, Fat Loss, Healthy Habits
The Human-Animal Connection - Pet Life Radio Original
Infinite Health with Dr. Arasi Maran
The Daily
World News Tonight with David Muir
