Civil Discourse

Nia and Aughie discuss the cases heard before the U.S. Supreme Court in February 2023 regarding the responsibility of Google and Twitter for the content published on their platforms.

Aughie and Nia explore how the use of zoning laws at the local level can change the use of property in a city, sometimes to suppress "undesirable" activities.

Who were the authors of the Federalist Papers? What were they written in response to? Why are they important? Aughie and Nia answer these questions in a new intermittent series of episodes.

Nia and Aughie discuss the new government nutritional guidelines, mostly in terms of other reports concerning military readiness and ongoing American health issues.

In the final part of this series, Aughie and Nia touch on the controversies surrounding the process of bringing a drug or medical device to market.

The second in a three part series, Nia and Aughie explore how generics come to market.

Professor Judy Twigg joins Aughie and Nia for a short discussion of Russia's suspension of the START Treaty. They also briefly touch on the prosecution of Russia's war with Ukraine.

In this first of a three part series, Aughie walks Nia through the application process for obtaining permission to produce a new drug or medical device.

Nia and Aughie explore the reasons why the U.S. Supreme Court has released only two opinions since October when their session began.

Aughie and Nia briefly touch on the objects in American or Canadian airspace that have been brought down by the U.S. military.

Nia and Aughie explore the history and assignment of zip codes by the U.S. federal government. They also discuss the largely failed implementation of the "extra four digits".

Nia and Aughie discuss the continuing issue of Presidential and Vice-Presidential classified documents being found in inappropriate locations. They further discuss the need for regulations to be simplified and the classification scheme to be applied more carefully.

Aughie and Nia start the regular season of episodes with a discussion of how the government used to assign Social Security Numbers and Employer Identification Numbers. They also talk about the legislative and social history of these important nine-digit numbers.

Aughie and Nia catch up on the results of the SCOTUS investigation of the leak of the Dobbs opinion draft in 2022. The Marshall of the Court released a 20 page report this week detailing the investigation and results.

Nia and Aughie discuss the debt ceiling and the current issues being faced in Congress with raising the debt ceiling. Aughie also discusses historical approaches to the U.S. debt.

Aughie and Nia start the new season with a discussion of recent Presidential records issues. Both President Trump and President Biden have been entangled with the National Archives in potential violations of the Presidential Records Act of 1978. 

In response to the terrorist attacks on the United states on September 11, 2001, the last department (in the series thus far) was created - the Department of Homeland Security. DHS is made up of 22 agencies gathered together to address a wide array of issues, from cybersecurity to border security to transportation safety. Aughie and Nia discuss the controversies and complications surrounding the D...

Taking care of American military veterans began in the colonial era, after the Revolutionary War. In 1811, the federal government authorized housing and medical facilities. After each major war, Veterans' benefits were expanded, from establishing state level homes to the GI Bill after World War II. Eventually these programs were placed in a Veterans Bureau. The Veterans Bureau was elevated to a De...

Aughie and Nia discuss the recent Congressional decision to avert a railroad strike.

As with previous departments, the Department of Education was re-created recently, but goes back to 1867, when President Andrew Johnson signed legislation creating the first Department of Education. That original agency's main purpose was to collect information about the nation's schools. Thought to be potentially too powerful, the department was demoted to Office of Education until 1979, when it...

Nia and Aughie move on to the lucky 13th department, the Department of Energy, formed in 1977. While it might seem like a recent department, Energy can trace its beginning agencies back to the Manhattan Project in World War II. The energy crisis of the 1970's also strongly influenced the bipartisan support for the creation of the DoE. Aughie covers the department's prominent secretaries and some c...

Nia and Aughie explore the recent decision by Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona to change her party affiliation from Democrat to Independent.

The next department in the series is also part of the Great Society, the Department of Transportation (DoT).  Aughie explains how the many subagencies of the department work together in various ways to support public transportation, from the Federal Aviation Administration to the Federal Highway Administration. Aughie also reminds listeners that this department is a particularly good example of co...

Aughie and Nia discuss the statistics and implications of the 2022 midterm elections.

In 1965, we got the next department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), as part of President Johnson's Great Society. Nia and Aughie discuss the needs of the nation to find ways toward homeownership, fair housing, and assistance to the working poor to mitigate the costs associated with housing. They also discuss the secretaries and the criticisms of the department.