Civics 101

The Supreme Court chooses what it wants to offer opinions on, and those opinions redefine the way law works in this nation, trickling down to your world works for you. So what did they pick this time around? This is our watchlist for the most significant cases before the court this year. CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, ge...

In light of the recent kerfuffle regarding the many elections for a new Speaker of the House, we decided it was time to break down the powers and history of the second-most powerful job in DC.  Dan Cassino of Farleigh Dickinson University tells us all about the Speaker; from fundraising to the rules committee to the steering committee to a self-proclaimed Beelzebub to what the repeated failed elec...

The tale of what happens when The Satanic Temple comes to Hellertown, PA.  From dear teacher friend Jason Stern comes this lesson in First Amendment rights. It all started when the Saucon Valley School District got word that the After School Satan Club was coming to town. CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free education...

Heather Cox Richardson became a household name with her daily newsletter,  Letters from an American, in which she does something simple and essential: provide her readers with the historical context for today's politics. She recently wrote a book called Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America. Hannah sat down with Heather as part of the live series Writers on a New England Stage at the...

Most Americans can look down at their phone and see a prediction of the future. How is that even possible? Well, we'll tell you. Today it's all about the weather; from early predictive methods and almanacs to the National Weather Service's modern-day practices of collecting, analyzing, and sharing a staggering amount of data. First we talked with Kris Harper, a professor of history and philosophy...

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 finally, 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...

Is there such a thing as too much American Girl Doll on a podcast about civics? No, say we! This will, however, be the last of it. After publishing our first two episodes we heard from SO many people about what American Girl means to them. These dolls and their stories really meant something, and continue to, to a lot of our listeners. So today, we'll hear from some of you AND from one very funny,...

Today we share a quick recap of what happened on Saturday, 9/30/23 when the government almost shut down, and then 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. Support our show today with a gift of...

Yeah, this is us having a good time playing trivia. Rounds include "which thing is larger," historic LinkedIn pages, and "things that are falling." We love making this show, but we can only do it with listener support. Click here to make a donation; a one-time gift of $60 gets you a swanky new Civics 101 hat.  CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate to the podcast, sign up...

This episode of Civics 101 is the second chapter of a story about American Girl dolls, and what this beloved brand got right – and wrong – about the American experience. If you haven't heard part one yet, make sure to go back and take a listen! DONATE TO CIVICS 101 NOW AND GET OUR NEW STICKER!  CLICK RIGHT HERE TO SUPPORT OUR WORK. (YOU CAN ALSO GET A VERY COOL BASEBALL CAP!) Guests include Marcia...

For so many of us, American Girl dolls were more than just toys, they’re how we learned about the past. But is American Girl’s version historically accurate? Believe it or not, there's no shortage of scholars who have a lot to say about that.  DONATE TO CIVICS 101 NOW AND GET OUR NEW STICKER!  CLICK RIGHT HERE TO SUPPORT OUR WORK. (YOU CAN ALSO GET A VERY COOL BASEBALL CAP!) This episode of Civics...

The government classifies millions of documents every year - secrets that can only be seen by certain people, and under certain conditions. Who decides what is secret, and what isn't? How well is the classification system working? And can a president declassify any secret, at any time, just by thinking it?  We talk with Margaret Kwoka, law professor at Ohio State University, where she focuses on l...

In August, 2023 Donald Trump and 18 others were indicted for violating Georgia's RICO law. Today we break down RICO, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act from 1970, and learn the origins and purpose of RICO as well as how RICO cases differ from others.  Our guest is Myles Ranier, civil litigator and former federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of Louisiana.  CLICK HERE: Vis...

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. Listen to all...

Today is the second part in our series about the state of civic education in the US. We talk about how teachers choose what to teach, so-called "divisive concepts laws," and how we can approach disagreements without falling prey to "division actors." This episode features  Louise Dube, Executive Director of iCivics and member of the Implementation Consortium at Educating for American Democracy Jus...

In June of 2023 the Supreme Court determined that affirmative action -- a practice that had been common in some colleges and universities since the 1960s -- was a violation of the Equal Protections clause of the 14th Amendment. So what, exactly, are these schools not allowed to do anymore? What does it have to do with race and diversity? How was it supposed to work... and did it? Margaret M. Chin,...

In June of 2023, Donald Trump was charged with 37 counts of alleged mishandling of classified documents, as well as obstruction of justice. Of those 37 counts, 31 are alleged violations of the Espionage Act. Now, since its passage after World War I, thousands of people have been investigated for violating the Espionage Act, including Julian Assange, Daniel Ellsberg, and Donald Trump. However, only...

Every president generates millions of records in the course of leading the country: memos, emails, speeches, notes, tweets... There are rules for how those records should be treated, both as historical documents, and as public property, enshrined in the Presidential Records Act. What does the Act say,  and what does it have to do with how former-President Donald Trump handled government documents...

In June 2023, the Supreme Court determined that states do not have independent and exclusive authority when it comes to federal election rules. By the time they issued the majority opinion, it no longer mattered in the state that started it all.  So what happened in Moore v Harper? What is (or was) the Independent State Legislature Theory, and what other powers did the court vest in itself in this...

Today is the first part in a series about the state of civic education in the US. In this episode, we gauge how we're doing civics-wise and then delve into the perpetually controversial history of history; have we ever agreed upon a narrative for our nation that we can teach students? Walking us through the past, present, and future of social studies and civic education are Danielle Allen, James B...

You probably associate the so-called "War on Drugs" with the Reagans. Or maybe, more correctly, with the Nixon administration. But the government's anti-drug policies started decades before that. And, as we discuss in this week's episode, those policies were often motivated by things other than public health and safety. Instead, they targeted - and continue to target - immigrants and communities o...

A law in Texas banning abortions after six weeks. The blocking of a majority-Black congressional district in Alabama. OSHA regulations requiring vaccinations or a negative COVID test result.  All of these controversial issues were decided not through the tried-and-true method of a hearing in the Supreme Court, but rather through a system called "the shadow docket," orders from the court that are (...

Oral arguments at the Supreme Court are a window into the personalities, beliefs, and behavior of justices. They allow advocates to engage directly with the highest court in the land about how the law should work in practice. And over the last two decades, as country has become increasingly partisan, they've started to sound very different. We talk about how, why, and what's up with all the interr...

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 science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and host of Left On Red.   CLICK HERE: Visit...

The 14th Amendment granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States. It also granted them equal protection under the laws and guaranteed due process of law. Those are considered its most important provisions today. That wasn't always the case, however. Why did it take so long for the Supreme Court to affirm these provisions of this significant Amendment, and what does th...