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Hosted by Bobbi Fisher + Joe Ulery. A nonpolitical, educational podcast in which we highlight how our government works - so, you understand how to make the government work for you. From the Electoral College, to navigating Election Day, or how an idea becomes law, we simplify the mechanics of our government. Our goal is to empower you with knowledge and confidence to participate in the Great Experiment - the concept of the United States of America as a nation founded on the principles of democracy and self-governance. Join us as we unravel the complex ball of government and civics one thread at a time. Welcome to Plain Civics!
32 Episodes
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Send us a message Join hosts Bobbi Fisher and Joe Ulery as they continue with the fourth of Ben Franklin’s civic virtues and then continue the discussion of 20 signs of tyranny, using Professor Timothy Snyder’s 2017 book, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century, as a guide. This episode covers lessons eight through twenty. These lessons from Professor Snyder’s book are even more relevant today than they were in 2017, when it was first published. We must work to prevent our...
Send us a message Join hosts Bobbi Fisher and Joe Ulery as they continue with the third of Ben Franklin’s civic virtues and then move into a discussion of liberal democracy v. authoritarianism. They will explain the difference between the two and prompt listeners to be on the lookout for signs of each. Once the differences of these two forms of government are laid out, they move into a discussion of 20 signs of tyranny, using Professor Timothy Snyder’s 2017 book, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons Fr...
Send us a message Join hosts Joe Ulery and Bobbi Fisher as they track the beginnings, development, an evolution of political parties in U.S. history. It hasn’t always been the Democratic and Republican Parties. Political parties in the U.S. actually started back in the 1790’s with the Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party and have changed numerous times since then. In fact, today’s Democratic and Republican Parties are not the same as they were in the beginning. In this e...
Send us a message Join hosts Bobbi Fisher and Joe Ulery as they introduce a new opening feature called “Ben Franklin’s Virtues,” where they cover the 13 civic virtues that one of our famous Founders thought to be most important. One virtue will open each of the next 13 episodes. Following this, and in light of recent events, the hosts review some important ideas and actions that We the People need to remain mindful of in order to sustain our almost 250 year-old democratic republic, as i...
Send us a message Join hosts Joe Ulery and Bobbi Fisher as they tackle 5 more common misconceptions about our government. These misconceptions include the impeachment process, whether the U.S. is a democracy, use of the Bible for swearing in officials, straight ticket voting, and removal of the President using the 25th Amendment. So join the hosts as they attempt to educate you about these misconceptions. Support the show
Send us a message In this second special holiday episode of Plain Civics, join host Bobbi Fisher as she tells the story of an ambitious battle plan devised by General George Washington to take place on Christmas night 1776. Up to this point in the Revolutionary War the Americans had achieved little success on the battlefield and troop morale was extremely low. Gen. Washington hoped that a surprise attack at Trenton, NJ, on unsuspecting Hessian soldiers might give the American soldiers the boo...
Send us a message The holiday season slows the country down — but civics doesn’t stop. In this special episode of Plain Civics, Joe Ulery looks at how holidays fit into American civic life. From early debates over Christmas in colonial America to Congress making it a federal holiday, from George Washington’s Christmas-night gamble to how government continues operating during the holidays today. This episode focuses on history, constitutional context, and civic reality — not politics of the mo...
Send us a message Join hosts Bobbi Fisher and Joe Ulery as they discuss the “freedom of religion” portion of the First Amendment. The First Amendment actually provides us with 5 freedoms, including freedom of religion, which includes the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause; and freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and petition which we covered in episodes 21 and 22. There is a reason the Framers included all of these in the very first amendment, so listen in and find out why the...
Send us a message We will return in Episode 24 with the freedom of religion part of the First Amendment. In this episode, join the hosts Bobbi Fisher and Joe Ulery as they discuss times in our almost 250-year history when the situation in the U.S. looked as bleak, or even bleaker, than they do today, but Americans were able to fight and claw in their quest for equal rights and a more perfect union to survive and advance our nation. Support the show
Send us a message Join hosts Bobbi Fisher and Joe Ulery as they discuss the “freedom of expression” portion of the First Amendment. The First Amendment actually provides us with 5 freedoms, including freedom of religion, which we will examine in an upcoming episode, and freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and petition. We covered speech in the last episode and, in this one, we will examine press, assembly, and petition. There is a reason the Framers included all of these in the very first am...
Send us a message Join hosts Bobbi Fisher and Joe Ulery as they discuss the “freedom of expression” portion of the First Amendment. The First Amendment actually provides us with 5 freedoms, including freedom of religion, which we will examine in episode 24, and freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and petition. There is a reason the Framers included all of these in the very first amendment, so listen in and find out why these freedoms are so important to us as Americans. Support the show
Send us a message Join hosts Bobbi Fisher and Joe Ulery as they unwrap how polarization and civil discourse are related, tell about how we, as a nation, have been here before, and how we overcame those difficult episodes of civil discourse. What is different this time around and how we can still overcome the tough period of polarization and uncivil discourse. Support the show
Send us a message Joins hosts Bobbi Fisher and Joe Ulery as they discuss political polarization in America. They unwrap what is meant by polarization, possible reasons for it, why it seems worse right now, and what we can do to lessen it and why we need to. Support the show
Send us a message Join hosts Bobbi Fisher and Joe Ulery as they take a deep dive into gerrymandering. They explain what it is, how it and the name came about, and how it it relates to the census and state redistributing after each census. Support the show
Send us a message Listen as hosts Bobbi Fisher and Joe Ulery discuss what your duties and responsibilities are as citizens of the United States. Duties such as following laws and serving on a jury are required, and responsibilities such as voting and staying informed about the issues are expected. But there are more than these. So, listen and learn why civic engagement, civic education, and fulfilling our duties and responsibilities as citizens are so important. We also have added a new segme...
Send us a message In this special episode we are going to explore some common misconceptions about various topics related to civics. We tried to think of things we have heard people say that made us stop and think, “What?” Maybe the “what” meant, “That person doesn’t know what they are talking about,” or maybe it meant, ”Wow, I didn’t know that and I would almost bet other people don’t either.” So, lets take a look at freedom of speech, executive orders, immigrant rights, the Pledge of Allegi...
Send us a message Slavery definitely had an influence on the writing and wording of the U.S. Constitution and the history of our republic, not just in its earliest days but we can still see some of its lingering effects in our nation today…almost 250 years later. This episode discusses the truths about slavery in America and gives a first-hand look at what enslaved Africans endured in the so-called Middle Passage and beyond. We also look at the three clauses of the original Constitution that ...
Send us a message Join hosts Bobbi Fisher and Joe Ulery as they delve into why and how the Bill of Rights was added to the original Constitution within just a couple years of its ratification. Included is what each amendment actually states, an explanation of the three categories of rights, and what is meant by positive and negative rights. Support the show
Send us a message Join hosts, Joe Ulery and Bobbi Fisher as they tackle the reason we use the Electoral College to elect the President, and explain how the process works. There is also a discussion of why people don’t vote and how to encourage them to. Support the show
Send us a message Join hosts Joe Ulery and Bobbi Fisher as they delve into the ratification process of the new Constitution, the purpose and meaning of the general welfare clause and habeas corpus, and dissect the Preamble of the Constitution because it’s not just a bunch of words. Support the show
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