Civics 101
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Civics 101
How do landmark Supreme Court decisions affect our lives? What does the 2nd Amendment really say? Why does the Senate have so much power? Civics 101 is the podcast about how our democracy works…or is supposed to work, anyway.
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The Lottery: How it happened, and what it pays for
The lottery generates over $70 billion in revenue each year. Today on Civics 101 we explore how we got here; from failed lotteries in the Revolutionar...
What is SNAP?
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, once upon a time called food stamps, helps nearly 42 million Americans every month. While the 2025 gove...
How did the Epstein Files Transparency Act happen?
Today we talk about the myriad procedures involved in getting the Epstein Files Transparency Act passed in record time. How do discharge petitions wor...
What can we learn from the American Revolution?
Ken Burns and Sarah Botstein spent nearly a decade making a twelve-hour documentary on the American Revolution. This is what they learned from the tho...
Billionaires
In sixty years, we have gone from 2 billionaires in the United States to just under 2,000. How on earth did that happen?
Today, Timothy Noah fro...
Why are so many voters sitting out this week?
Off-year elections -- as in, not a presidential or a midterm -- have fairly dismal voter turnout. Yet they matter a great deal. Most of our lives are...
Project 2025: What it is and what it's doing
The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, has published a Mandate for Leadership since 1981, making policy recommendations to the federal go...
Who's the most outdoorsy president? (A trivia crossover)
This episode is a crossover with our sister NHPR podcast, Outside/In.
What do pastries have to do with environmental justice? Cat butts with the...
The government is shut down....again. But what does that mean?
In this episode, we give a brief explanation of what's behind the current government shutdown. The, we explain all the ins and outs of government shut...
What Could Go Right: Whatever Happened to Civics?
Today we’re bringing you an episode of What Could Go Right from our friends at The Progress Network.
Each Wednesday on What Could Go Right, host...
Making Fun of Politicians
Did you know cartoonists were on Nixon's enemies list? Or that LBJ prevented a cartoonist from getting a medal when he made a cartoon against the Viet...
The Grievances in the Declaration (part 2)
Click here to listen to part one of our airing of the grievances if you haven't yet! Today we tackle charges 13-27 against the King, as well as compar...
Can the president legally hide their health status?
The American public has long been on the lookout for unsteadiness in the leader of the free world. It's important to us (or, historically, has been) t...
The Grievances in the Declaration (part 1)
"He" has done bad things. Twenty seven of them. And these things were so bad that the colonists used them to demonstrate that they had no choice but t...
Why does the government fund things, and what happens when it stops?
Congress appropriates funds, the executive branch ensures those funds are spent and spent wisely. That is how it works. It is not, however, how it is...
Civics Trivia: Taxes, terrifying birds, and The West Wing
It's another edition of Civics 101 Trivia! This time, it's also the swan song for one of our own.
Senior Producer Christina Phillips, our master...
Is same-sex marriage in legal peril?
In 2015, the Supreme Court made marriage equality the law of the land. However, for the first time in over five years, Kim Davis (an opponent of same-...
Obergefell v Hodges, 2015
This is the decision that said the fundamental right to marry is protected under the 14th Amendment. How did it come about? What was the status of mar...
What happens when enough states want to change the Constitution?
Our Constitution provides for its own changes -- the framers knew that, while they worked hard, the law of the land was neither perfect nor should it...
How can the president take over a city's police department?
On Monday, August 11th, Trump announced a takeover of Washington, D.C.'s Metropolitan police. He also deployed National Guard troops and federal agent...
What's it like being a scientist facing federal funding cuts?
It’s a weird time to be an environmental scientist. The proposed cuts to federal science funding in the United States are profound, and if they come t...
Cinema Civics: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
When Mr. Smith Goes to Washington came out in 1939, it infuriated politicians, the press, and fascist nations. At the same time, it delighted audience...
The Supreme Court rulings that aren't rulings
"The shadow docket," refers to orders from the Supreme Court that are (often) unsigned, inscrutable, and handed down in the middle of the night. Profe...
Is it possible for a president to serve a third term?
Is there a way President Trump (or any president) can serve a third (or fourth) term in office? Maybe there is.
Most people assume the 22nd Ame...
A country with no kings
As subjects of the British king, the very idea of criticizing monarchy -- or King George III himself -- was a dangerous one. So how did we become a co...
How are tariffs affecting American businesses?
Today on Civics 101, we answer listener questions about tariffs. And then, we look at how they've affected one American Industry. It's not a game, but...
Civics lessons from Karen Read's retrial
The team delves into some of the many civics lessons the public got while watching Karen Read’s retrial, which ended with her acquittal on all major c...
Cinematic Civics: Independence Day
Is there a civics lesson in the 1996 film Independence Day? We think so.
Join the Civics 101 team for a conversation about the film, its politi...
What does the Senate Parliamentarian do?
The Senate Parliamentarian is many things. A nonpartisan referee, an appointed official, and at some times one of the most powerful people in our gove...
How political “framing” shapes our thoughts
We know why we feel the way we do about certain political issues, don't we? Don't we??
It turns out that politicians, political strategists, and...
Cinematic Civics: The Manchurian Candidate
The Civics 101 team delves into the 1962 film The Manchurian Candidate, a political satire and thriller that is more than relevant in today’s politica...
How is the Alien Enemies Act being used right now?
Now that we have explored what the Alien Enemies Act is, we dive in to how it's being used to shape deportation policy under President Donald Trump. <...
What is the Alien Enemies Act?
The Alien Enemies Act is a war power granted to the president that has only been used four times in US history since its creation in 1798. It allows t...
How President Trump is trying to change elections
In March, President Trump signed an executive order that promises to preserve and protect the integrity of American elections. The data shows the inte...
Fixing a problem that doesn't exist
The SAVE Act passed the House in April, 2025. As it awaits consideration in Congress, we spoke with Jason Carter from the Carter Center. Yes, like tha...
How can Congress check the president?
Checks and balances are at the absolute core of our governmental workings.
The framers designed a system that was directly opposed to one perso...
Who pays for public media?
Public media funding makes up less than 0.001% of the federal budget, and calls to defund it have existed essentially since the creation of the CBP in...
What happens when we don't trust democracy?
Generations of Americans were not taught how to live in a democracy. That, ultimately, is what civic education is about. So what happens when we lose...
What is the Rule of Law?
What is the rule of law? It's certainly not the same as the rule of men.
This episode was recorded live at the John J. Moakley Courthouse in Bo...
Efficiency v. Democracy
Today we were going to explore how "big tech" has woven itself into the fabric of the Trump administration. But after a conversation with Allison Stan...