Civics 101

Pranks are a staple of April Fools' Day - even when it comes to politics and the press.  On this special edition of Civics 101, Senior Producer Christina Phillips tests our April Fools knowledge with some surprising trivia, and a whole lot more! 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...

Taxes on wages make up the bulk of federal revenue every year. Where does that money go, and who decides how much you should pay? The process is extremely complicated - and deeply political - which is why it's important for everyday taxpayers to understand how the people they elected choose to spend the money voters give out of their paychecks every year.  We talk with tax policy expert Beverly Mo...

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: Visit our website to...

Two years ago today, we attended Civic Learning Week and produced an episode on the state of civics education in the US. We heard some good things and some frustrating things. Today we're getting an update on civics education with Emma Humphries from iCivics, hearing some student audio submissions from our friends at the Youth Media Challenge, and getting advice on how students can make change wit...

Meet your president's Cabinet! Who was appointed, by what margin, and a look at the backgrounds of the people filling these critical roles. In other words, who is running our country? Let's find out.  This is the second part of a two-part episode.  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!...

Meet your president's Cabinet. Who was appointed, by what margin, and a look at the backgrounds of the people filling these critical roles. In other words, who is running our country? Let's find out.  This is the first part of a two-part episode.  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! T...

Ariel Lawhon discusses the real-life early American midwife at the center of her novel The Frozen River.  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, check out A User's Guide to Democracy: How America Works by Hannah McCarthy and Nick Capodice, featuring illust...

When it comes to the protection of a free and fair press, there is one landmark Supreme Court case that sits at the top, and it is New York Times Company v Sullivan (1964).  This case redefined libel in the United States and is cited in almost every defamation suit since, but its origin is in the Civil Rights Movement, when newspapers were sued to the brink of collapse for covering protests in the...

Have you ever wondered with the White House counsel does? Who it is? Whether that person is the president’s personal lawyer…or something else? And what about the Justice Department? Where do all those legal types fit in? Our guest is political science professor Nancy Kassop. She’s an expert on many things, but her extensive experience interviewing White House counsels helped us dig deep on this to...

It's a term thrown around quite a bit lately, but what does it actually mean? This is an episode about the basics of the Law of the Land, the three branches of government and what happens when they're don't work the way they're supposed to. Our guide is Aziz Huq, Professor of Law at the University of Chicago. His books include The Rule of Law: A Very Short Introduction, The Collapse of Constitutio...

Every president (with the exception of William Henry Harrison)  has issued executive orders. Most recently, Donald Trump issued several on his first day in office. Some have been published in the Federal Register, others are facing legal challenges. So what IS an executive order? How do they differ from other executive actions, like proclamations or memoranda? Who writes them? Who reviews them? Al...

Ever since fluoridation became widespread in the 1950s, cavities in kids have fallen drastically. The effort is considered one of the ten greatest public health achievements of the 20th century. But it’s also one of the most controversial. Today, the story of what that's so, from our sister podcast, NHPR's Outside/In.  CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate to the podcast...

During his campaign, now-President Trump promised a lot of action (much of it to happen on day one). So what did he actually do once he regained the office? A LOT. This is the first week of Trump's executive orders. For some context, check out our episodes on: Wong Kim Ark and Birthright Citizenship Dred Scott The Fourteenth Amendment An earlier version of this episode incorrectly identified sever...

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. This is the case that solidified the Fourteenth Amendment as we understand it today.      CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate to the podca...

During his campaign, Donald Trump promised several times that he would dismantle the US Department of Education. So today we wanted to explore what such a dismantling would look like, as well as what the DoED does in the first place.  Turns out, while the Department does an awful lot of things, there is much for which it is criticized that it does not do. Taking us through its creation, its histor...

What has Donald Trump claimed he would do when it comes to environmental policy in the U.S.? What happened during his last administration?  And what are the limits on executive powers when it comes to treaties and global agreements? Elizabeth Bomberg, Professor of Politics at the University of Edinburgh, tells us what we can expect when it comes to emissions regulations, drilling, climate research...

Transportation and infrastructure are massive (literally) undertakings here in the United States. So what does it mean to oversee it all? What is the Secretary of Transportation actually in charge of and what's going on with our roads, bridges, airports, etc.? We spoke with Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to find out. CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate to t...

How do we mourn our presidents and former presidents? Where did all those very public rituals come from? And how much input does a president have in their own post-death ceremonies? We break down the history and mystery of presidential funerals with Lindsay Chervinsky and Matthew Costello.  This episode of Civics 101 was produced by senior producer Christina Phillps and mixed by Rebecca Lavoie. It...

In our latest edition of Holiday Trivia, a rundown of some of the quirky food, drinks, and celebratory ephemera at the White House during the most wonderful time of the year.  Have an opinion on the pronunciation of "praline?" Send us an email!   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...

President-elect Donald Trump has said, "the most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariff, and it’s my favorite word." So what are they? Why might the United States raise or lower a tariff on goods from another country? How has America used tariffs throughout our history? And how might Donald Trump's proposed tariffs affect the cost of goods in the US? Taking us through tariffs is Dr. Shannon O'...

Authoritarianism and autocracies take many forms. So how do you know it when you see it? Our guide to the erosion of choice, rights, truth and power is Anne Applebaum, author of several books including, most recently, Autocracy, Inc..   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 Civic...

Former HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius talks about the powers - and limits - of the role in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump's pick of RFK Jr. for the role. This episode was brought to us by the podcast Tradeoffs, hosted by former NHPR health reporter Dan Gorenstein. CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educat...

In 1906, the Supreme Court stayed a man's execution. That same day, his town murdered him. Then SCOTUS held it's first and only criminal trial for those who had allowed it to happen. This is the story of a wrongful conviction that was only the beginning of injustice and the students who learned that story in June of 2024. It's also the story of what happens when you realize your government is clos...

Whenever there's an incoming administration, there's a big to-do about Cabinet nominations. So what does The Cabinet DO? How has it evolved since  Washington's administration? What is the process for appointing someone to the cabinet? And finally, how could a president appoint someone without approval from the Senate? Taking us through all the cabinetry is Dan Cassino, professor of government and...

President Elect Donald Trump has said he won't be a dictator "except for day one." We take a look at all of the "day one" promises he's made over the course of his campaign and explain how he might get them done. Or not. For a sense of how many times Donald Trump made these promises, check out the Washington Post's data here. Click HERE to buy tickets for NHPR's Holiday Raffle!  NHPR’s Holiday Raf...