A free press, ideally, learns what is happening in our democracy and passes that information on to us. How, then, do we learn the truth about this country when there’s so much misinformation, so many opinions, claims of fake news and widespread mistrust of the truth? Joining us again are Melissa Wasser and Erin Coyle . CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE SHOW AND CHECK OUT OUR NEW TOTE BAG! CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get f...
Oct 20, 2020•24 min
Today we’re exploring the relatively recent phenomenon of Presidential Debates. How are they run? When did we start doing them? Why was George HW Bush looking at his watch?? And most importantly, why should we keep doing them? Our experts in this episode are debate scholar Alan Schroeder, and Executive Director of the Commission on Presidential Debates, Janet Brown. If you enjoy political ephemera and deeper dives in our episode topics, subscribe to our newsletter Extra Credit . CLICK HERE TO DO...
Oct 06, 2020•19 min
The only working-class job enshrined in the Bill of Rights, a free press is essential to the health of the democracy. The citizens deserve to know what’s going on, so the framers made sure that news could be printed and information disseminated. But how does the press actually do that? Are they upholding their end of the bargain? What does the best version of the press and the news look like? CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE SHOW AND CHECK OUT OUR NEW TOTE BAG! CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see al...
Sep 22, 2020•21 min
The Declaration of Independence called George III a tyrant. And in 1848, a group of women’s rights activists mirrored our founding document to accuse men of the same crime. Today in our final revisit to the Declaration of Independence, we explore the Declaration of Sentiments, the document at the heart of the women’s suffrage movement. Our guest is Laura Free, host of the podcast Amended and professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. If you’re a fan of Civics 101, you’ll love our newsletter...
Sep 08, 2020•17 min
Most of us know about birthright citizenship, but not many people have ever heard of Wong Kim Ark and the landmark Supreme Court decision that decided both his fate and the fate of a U.S. immigration policy that endures to this day. Sign up for the Civics 101 newsletter CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE SHOW AND CHECK OUT OUR NEW TOTE BAG! 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...
Aug 25, 2020•24 min
Today is our second revisit to the document that made us a nation. Writer, activist, and Independent presidential candidate Mark Charles lays out the anti-Native American sentiments within it, the doctrines and proclamations from before 1776 that justified ‘discovery,’ and the Supreme Court decisions that continue to cite them all. CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE SHOW AND CHECK OUT OUR NEW TOTE BAG! CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate to the podcast, sign up for our news...
Aug 11, 2020•18 min
Today is the first of three revisits to the Declaration of Independence; three communities to which the tenets of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness did not apply. Byron Williams, author of The Radical Declaration, walks us through how enslaved Americans and Black Americans pushed against the document from the very beginning of our nation’s founding. CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE SHOW AND CHECK OUT OUR NEW TOTE BAG! CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate to the p...
Jul 28, 2020•15 min
Voting in America is not always straightforward, nor is its impact always clear. In this episode, we give you the basic tools to vote on election day, including tips for avoiding the roadblocks. And for those of you on the fence about exercising that enfranchisement, a word to the wise: your vote matters. We’ll tell you why. CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE SHOW AND CHECK OUT OUR NEW TOTE BAG! CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter,...
Jul 14, 2020•20 min
The United States is a representative democracy. The idea is that we’re a government by the people (we vote officials into office) and for the people (the officials in office are supposed to represent our interests). But it’s not so straight forward around here. Take that golden idea and add restrictive voter laws, billions of dollars and a whacky electoral system, and representation takes on a whole different hue. CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE SHOW AND CHECK OUT OUR NEW TOTE BAG! CLICK HERE: Visi...
Jul 02, 2020•24 min
The Posse Comitatus Act was passed in 1878 as the Reconstruction drew to a close and troops were pulled out of the southeastern United States. The idea was to prevent the military from enforcing laws. After all, that’s what law enforcement is for — state and local police forces are the ones deputized to do that work. But what does it mean when the police use military gear and tactics to enforce that law? Ashley Farmer, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice Sciences at Illinois State University...
Jun 16, 2020•19 min
What is protest, constitutionally? Historically? What is protected, and what is not? And what do you have to know before you grab a sign and go outside? Today we explore the long scope of public dissent from the Boston Tea Party to the current #blacklivesmatter protests. Our guests are Alvin Tillery from Northwestern University , and Bakari Sellers , CNN commentator and author of the recent book My Vanishing Country . CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE SHOW AND CHECK OUT OUR NEW TOTE BAG! CLICK HERE: V...
Jun 09, 2020•25 min
It’s the government on your doorstep — the only Executive Branch agency that visits every home in the country on a regular basis. So how does the USPS do it? And what happens when an agency this essential is in trouble? Our guests for this episode are Allison Marsh , history professor at the University of South Carolina and Kevin Kosar , a Vice President at R Street. CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE SHOW AND CHECK OUT OUR NEW TOTE BAG! CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate ...
May 19, 2020•24 min
Starting next week, millions of American students are going to be taking their Advanced Placement exams from home. One of those is AP US Government and Politics. This exam is usually taken at school, but this year students are going to take a significantly modified test from home. We talked to three teachers to find out what is taught in the course, the nine foundational documents that students are expected to know, and myriad tips and tricks for taking the exam. CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE SHOW...
May 08, 2020•23 min
All fifty states and many tribes in the nation have issued emergency or major disaster declarations in the past weeks. State governors have been issuing orders, offering condolences and rallying cries and clashing with mayors and the President as they navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and attempt to keep their citizens and their economies safe. So what are a governor’s emergency powers? State and local government reporter Alan Greenblatt leads us through the how and why of those powers, and what th...
Apr 14, 2020•16 min
The Nineteenth Amendment was first introduced to Congress in 1878. It took over four decades of pleas, protests, petitions and speeches to finally get it ratified. We’re told that the Nineteenth granted all women the right to vote in America — but this was not the case in practice. How did the divides in the suffrage movement define the fight for women’s enfranchisement? And how did that amendment finally get passed? With a stern note from someone’s mom. CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE SHOW AND CHEC...
Apr 07, 2020•20 min
The prominent figures and events of the women’s suffrage movement of the 19th and 20th centuries can feel almost mythical at times. That’s in part because they are, in fact, myths. The telling of the Nineteenth Amendment tends to stretch from a convention in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848 to the amendment’s ratification in 1920, but the true story is a much longer one. We explore the myths and unveil the realities in part one of two episodes on the Nineteenth Amendment. CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO T...
Mar 24, 2020•24 min
What do these green rectangles even mean? When did we start using them? And why are we talking so much about the peso? Today it’s the history of American money, from silver certificates to a greenback dollar. Featuring the voices of Stephen Mihm, Ellen Feingold, and Todd Martin. CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE SHOW AND CHECK OUT OUR NEW TOTE BAG! 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 s...
Mar 10, 2020•18 min
What prevents someone from affiliating with a political party? What is the ideology of an independent? And how can these voters exist in a two party system? Walking us through the world of the party outsiders is political scientist Samara Klar , head of IndependentVoting.org, Jacqueline Salit and president of New Hampshire Independent Voters, Tiani Coleman . CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE SHOW AND CHECK OUT OUR NEW TOTE BAG! CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate to the po...
Feb 26, 2020•19 min
What role did slavery play in the formation of the Republican Party? How did a scrappy third party coalition create what became known as the Grand Old Party? And how did the party of Lincoln become the party of Trump? Taking us on the journey from 1854 Wisconsin to the present day Republican party is author George Will and political scientists Keneshia Grant, Kathryn Depalo-Gould and William Adler. Find more on our website, civics101podcast.org CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE SHOW AND CHECK OUT OUR ...
Jan 28, 2020•23 min
How did the Democratic party become "blue?" Why were they initially called Republicans? And most importantly, how did the party that supported slavery become the party that nominated our first African-American president? Taking us on the long winding path from the origin of the party to the modern-day Democrat is author Heather Wagner, political scientist Keneshia Grant, and historian Paddy Riley. CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE SHOW AND CHECK OUT OUR NEW TOTE BAG! CLICK HERE: Visit our website to s...
Jan 14, 2020•20 min
When it comes to federal elections, third party candidates are almost assured a defeat. And yet the Libertarian Party, the Green Party, the Reform Party -- these underdogs always appear on the scene ready for a fight. So why run if you're not going to win? What do third parties do to American politics? Our mediators for this one are Marjorie Hershey, Professor of Political Science Emerita at Indiana University and Geoffrey Skelley, Elections Analyst at FiveThirtyEight. CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO TH...
Dec 18, 2019•25 min
The first step, the step that really matters in becoming a U.S. citizen, is becoming a permanent resident. Once you have that Green Card in hand, this country is your oyster. Become a citizen, don't become a citizen -- either way, you get to stay for as long as you like. We hear a lot about the legal path to citizenship, but what does that path actually look like? And why is it so much longer for some than for others? Has it always been like this? Lighting the way in this episode are Allan Werni...
Dec 03, 2019•20 min
It's just a survey; a handful of questions that get issued to every household in the country every ten years. So how does a countrywide headcount end up being at the core of power and money distribution in the U.S.? And why does it matter if you fill it out? Walking us through the people, money and power at the heart of the census are national NPR correspondent Hansi Lo Wang and Chief Historian of the U.S. Census Bureau Sharon Tosi Lacey . After you listen, why not stand up and be counted as a s...
Nov 19, 2019•19 min
When we vote for a president, we're not really voting for a president. Today in our episode on the Electoral College, we explore the rationale of the framers in creating it, its workings, its celebrations, its critiques, and its potential future. This episode features the voices of Northwestern Professor of political science Alvin Tillery, University of Texas Professor of political science Rebecca Deen, and former 'faithless elector' Christopher Suprun. CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE SHOW AND CHECK...
Nov 05, 2019•19 min
The primaries are over, the caucusing has closed, the results are in. Now it's time to party. Nominating conventions are, by and large, a chance for political elites to get together, network and celebrate. The American public has picked a presidential candidate and the convention is there to give it all some pomp and circumstance. But what are all those fancy folk up to in that convention center? And what happens if there is no clear winner after primary season is over? Taking us out onto the co...
Oct 22, 2019•33 min
We have never actually fired the President of the United States. But we sure have tried. It’s the biggest job in the country, so the road to termination is a long and fraught. What happens after Congress initiates the process? What is impeachment? How does the process play out? Our brilliant friends Linda Monk (the Constitution Lady), Frank Bowman (author of High Crimes and Misdemeanors) and Dan Cassino (Political Science Professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University) are our guides to the Big Sho...
Oct 08, 2019•19 min
It's one of the most democratic aspects of our nation, not to mention extremely recent. In this episode we explore the snarled history of how we select party nominees; from delegates to superdelegates, and from gymnasiums in Iowa to booths in New Hampshire. This episode features political scientists Bruce Stinebrickner (DePauw University) and Alvin Tillery (Northwestern University), NPR's Domenico Montanarro, Iowa Public Radio's Kate Payne, and Lauren Chooljian from NHPR. CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO...
Sep 24, 2019•28 min
The job description is pretty sparse, the laws are convoluted and the path from A to Z seems fraught with peril. So how does a person go from candidate to nominee to Leader of the Free World? We asked some heavy hitters for the inside scoop on running for President. Settle in for a long and strange ride with Former Governor and Democratic nominee for President, Michael Dukakis, CNN political analyst Bakari Sellers and founding partner of Purple Strategies, Mark Squier. CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO TH...
Sep 10, 2019•32 min
We at Civics 101 adore Schoolhouse Rock and that sad little scrap of paper on the steps of the Capitol. But today we try to finish what they started, by diving into the messy, partisan, labyrinthine process of modern-day legislation. This episode features the voices of Andy Wilson, Adia Samba-Quee, Alizah Ross, and Eleanor Powell. CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE SHOW AND CHECK OUT OUR NEW TOTE BAG! CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsl...
Aug 06, 2019•25 min
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? Today's episode features Lisa Manheim, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Washington School of Law and co-author of The Limits of Presidential Power, and Dave Ro...
Jul 30, 2019•24 min
