OpenStax Audio

American Government 4e - OpenStax Audiobook

Education EN ↓ 17 episodes

A free audiobook production of American Government 4e, an OpenStax textbook. This textbook provides an introduction to US government and civics, and is used widely as in college-level Political Science courses. OpenStax textbooks and this podcast are offered under a Creative Commons license (CC-BY). Text available for free at https://openstax.org. Narrated by Brian Barrick and Sarah Arya (audiobook@fastmail.com).

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OpenStax Audio

Episodes

17. Foreign Policy 17.01.2026 1:39:40

⏳ TIME STAMPS: • 0:00:00 - Welcome • 0:00:48 - Introduction • 0:03:18 - Defining Foreign Policy (17.1) • 0:36:40 - Foreign Policy Instruments (17.2) • 0:55:48 - Institutional Relations in Foreign Policy (17.3) • 1:17:52 - Approaches to Foreign Policy (17.4) • 1:38:22 - Credits 📖ABOUT THE BOOK: An audiobook production of “American Government 4e,” an OpenStax textbook. This college-level text intr...

16. Domestic Policy 16.01.2026 1:36:03

⏳ TIME STAMPS: • 0:00:00 - Welcome • 0:00:48 - Introduction • 0:03:08 - What Is Public Policy? (16.1) • 0:15:47 - Categorizing Public Policy (16.2) • 0:38:11 - Policy Arenas (16.3) • 0:55:14 - Policymakers (16.4) • 1:12:31 - Budgeting and Tax Policy (16.5) • 1:34:45 - Credits 📖ABOUT THE BOOK: An audiobook production of “American Government 4e,” an OpenStax textbook. This college-level text intro...

15. The Bureaucracy 15.01.2026 1:27:56

⏳ TIME STAMPS: • 0:00:00 - Welcome • 0:00:48 - Introduction • 0:02:27 - Bureaucracy and the Evolution of Public Administration (15.1) • 0:23:23 - Toward a Merit-Based Civil Service (15.2) • 0:38:30 - Understanding Bureaucracies and their Types (15.3) • 1:00:56 - Controlling the Bureaucracy (15.4) • 1:27:17 - Credits 📖ABOUT THE BOOK: An audiobook production of “American Government 4e,” an OpenSta...

14. State and Local Government 14.01.2026 1:34:49

⏳ TIME STAMPS: • 0:00:00 - Welcome • 0:00:48 - Introduction • 0:02:13 - State Power and Delegation (14.1) • 0:25:46 - State Political Culture (14.2) • 0:41:38 - Governors and State Legislatures (14.3) • 1:18:23 - State Legislative Term Limits (14.4) • 1:26:56 - County and City Government (14.5) • 1:33:31 - Credits 📖ABOUT THE BOOK: An audiobook production of “American Government 4e,” an OpenStax...

13. The Courts 13.01.2026 1:33:51

⏳ TIME STAMPS: • 0:00:00 - Welcome • 0:00:48 - Introduction • 0:02:22 - Guardians of the Constitution and Individual Rights (13.1) • 0:28:36 - The Dual Court System (13.2) • 0:45:43 - The Federal Court System (13.3) • 1:02:53 - The Supreme Court (13.4) • 1:17:57 - Judicial Decision-Making and Implementation by the Supreme Court (13.5) • 1:32:33 - Credits 📖ABOUT THE BOOK: An audiobook production...

12. The Presidency 12.01.2026 1:47:55

⏳ TIME STAMPS: • 0:00:00 - Welcome • 0:00:48 - Introduction • 0:02:32 - The Design and Evolution of the Presidency (12.1) • 0:28:46 - The Presidential Election Process (12.2) • 0:45:28 - Organizing to Govern (12.3) • 1:07:05 - The Public Presidency (12.4) • 1:21:26 - Presidential Governance: Direct Presidential Action (12.5) • 1:46:36 - Credits 📖ABOUT THE BOOK: An audiobook production of “Americ...

11. Congress 11.01.2026 1:51:40

⏳ TIME STAMPS: • 0:00:00 - Welcome • 0:00:48 - Introduction • 0:02:35 - The Institutional Design of Congress (11.1) • 0:32:29 - Congressional Elections (11.2) • 0:55:58 - Congressional Representation (11.3) • 1:20:19 - House and Senate Organizations (11.4) • 1:34:02 - The Legislative Process (11.5) • 1:50:21 - Credits 📖ABOUT THE BOOK: An audiobook production of “American Government 4e,” an OpenS...

10. Interest Groups and Lobbying 10.01.2026 1:38:04

⏳ TIME STAMPS: • 0:00:00 - Welcome • 0:00:48 - Introduction • 0:02:42 - Interest Groups Defined (10.1) • 0:25:02 - Collective Action and Interest Group Formation (10.2) • 0:38:38 - Interest Groups as Political Participation (10.3) • 1:08:16 - Pathways of Interest Group Influence (10.4) • 1:21:49 - Free Speech and the Regulation of Interest Groups (10.5) • 1:36:46 - Credits 📖ABOUT THE BOOK: An au...

09. Political Parties 09.01.2026 1:57:17

⏳ TIME STAMPS: • 0:00:00 - Welcome • 0:00:47 - Introduction • 0:02:25 - What Are Parties and How Did They Form? (9.1) • 0:26:08 - The Two-Party System (9.2) • 0:54:22 - The Shape of Modern Political Parties (9.3) • 1:23:28 - Divided Government and Partisan Polarization (9.4) • 1:55:59 - Credits 📖ABOUT THE BOOK: An audiobook production of “American Government 4e,” an OpenStax textbook. This colle...

08. The Media 08.01.2026 2:02:34

⏳ TIME STAMPS: • 0:00:00 - Welcome • 0:00:47 - Introduction • 0:02:59 - What Is the Media? (8.1) • 0:30:17 - The Evolution of the Media (8.2) • 1:02:44 - Regulating the Media (8.3) • 1:34:51 - The Impact of the Media (8.4) • 2:01:16 - Credits 📖ABOUT THE BOOK: An audiobook production of “American Government 4e,” an OpenStax textbook. This college-level text introduces the foundations, structures,...

07. Voting and Elections 07.01.2026 2:14:46

⏳ TIME STAMPS: • 0:00:00 - Welcome • 0:00:48 - Introduction • 0:02:45 - Voter Registration (7.1) • 0:20:43 - Voter Turnout (7.2) • 0:48:02 - Elections (7.3) • 1:31:30 - Campaigns and Voting (7.4) • 1:58:53 - Direct Democracy (7.5) • 2:13:27 - Credits 📖ABOUT THE BOOK: An audiobook production of “American Government 4e,” an OpenStax textbook. This college-level text introduces the foundations, str...

06. The Politics of Public Opinion 06.01.2026 2:05:47

⏳ TIME STAMPS: • 0:00:00 - Welcome • 0:00:49 - Introduction • 0:02:49 - The Nature of Public Opinion (6.1) • 0:32:56 - How Is Public Opinion Measured? (6.2) • 1:00:28 - What Does the Public Think? (6.3) • 1:37:26 - The Effects of Public Opinion (6.4) • 2:04:29 - Credits 📖ABOUT THE BOOK: An audiobook production of “American Government 4e,” an OpenStax textbook. This college-level text introduces...

05. Civil Rights 05.01.2026 2:24:12

⏳ TIME STAMPS: • 0:00:00 - Welcome • 0:00:47 - Introduction • 0:02:33 - What Are Civil Rights and How Do We Identify Them? (5.1) • 0:17:38 - The African American Struggle for Equality (5.2) • 0:58:01 - The Fight for Women’s Rights (5.3) • 1:20:19 - Civil Rights for Indigenous Groups: Native Americans, Alaskans, and Hawaiians (5.4) • 1:41:15 - Equal Protection for Other Groups (5.5) • 2:22:54 - Cr...

04. Civil Liberties 04.01.2026 2:20:01

⏳ TIME STAMPS: • 0:00:00 - Welcome • 0:00:46 - Introduction • 0:02:38 - What Are Civil Liberties? (4.1) • 0:27:05 - Securing Basic Freedoms (4.2) • 1:22:45 - The Rights of Suspects (4.3) • 1:51:17 - Interpreting the Bill of Rights (4.4) • 2:18:43 - Credits 📖ABOUT THE BOOK: An audiobook production of “American Government 4e,” an OpenStax textbook. This college-level text introduces the foundation...

03. American Federalism 03.01.2026 1:49:49

⏳ TIME STAMPS: • 0:00:00 - Welcome • 0:00:47 - Introduction • 0:02:44 - The Division of Powers (3.1) • 0:35:27 - The Evolution of American Federalism (3.2) • 1:05:27 - Intergovernmental Relationships (3.3) • 1:23:59 - Competitive Federalism Today (3.4) • 1:39:06 - Advantages and Disadvantages of Federalism (3.5) • 1:48:31 - Credits 📖ABOUT THE BOOK: An audiobook production of “American Government...

02. The Constitution and Its Origins 02.01.2026 1:36:38

⏳ TIME STAMPS: • 0:00:00 - Welcome • 0:00:49 - Introduction • 0:02:38 - The Pre-Revolutionary Period and the Roots of the American Political Tradition (2.1) • 0:20:29 - The Articles of Confederation (2.2) • 0:33:05 - The Development of the Constitution (2.3) • 0:56:33 - The Ratification of the Constitution (2.4) • 1:20:00 - Constitutional Change (2.5) • 1:35:20 - Credits 📖ABOUT THE BOOK: An audi...

01. American Government and Civic Engagement 01.01.2026 1:13:34

⏳ TIME STAMPS: • 0:00:00 - Welcome • 0:00:50 - Introduction • 0:02:37 - What is Government? (1.1) • 0:26:04 - Who Governs? Elitism, Pluralism, and Tradeoffs (1.2) • 0:43:05 - Engagement in a Democracy (1.3) • 1:12:15 - Credits 📖ABOUT THE BOOK: An audiobook production of “American Government 4e,” an OpenStax textbook. This college-level text introduces the foundations, structures, and processes o...