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.

"I see a temple that we built."

Host Nick Capodice talks to co-host Hannah McCarthy about what it's like having real access to the Supreme Court. (Spoiler alert: those chairs lean WAY back!)And then the pair pays a very emotional visit to the Lincoln Memorial.  CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

04-26
36:43

Why are we printing so much paper money? (D.C. field trip dispatch)

Why do we need so much paper money? Why does the National Zoo have bison?  How did Thomas Edison record sound? How big is the Hope Diamond? What does the CPB do? And what is it ike seeing a Supreme Court oral argument in person? What about all those protests outside?These are all questions the Civics 101 team sought to answer on their second and third days field-tripping in Washington D.C. And now they've been joined by Outside/In producer Felix Poon! Listen in as the team shares their experiences and some interesting facts they picked up during their reporting and down time.And don't forget to stay tuned for all the episodes the team will produce after this trip to our nation's capital! CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

04-26
30:50

The Constitution is not vegan! (D.C. field trip dispatch)

This week our team has hit the road to - where else - our nation’s capital, Washington D.C. While we’re here, we’ll be conducting interviews and gathering tape for future episodes, but we’re also doing something else: immersing ourselves in the sights and sounds of the seat of our federal government.That’s right, it’s a Civics 101 field trip! You can follow along on Instagram and on our brand-new TikTok channel.In this episode, listen to what it was like as we explored the city during our first full day in D.C. - where we walked, what we saw, and what made us curious. And one of those facts...yeah, it was about the Constitution. BUCKLE UP.  CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

04-24
21:42

Why is Marbury v. Madison in Trump’s Supreme Court brief?

You might think you know why Marbury v Madison is important: it set the precedent whereby the Supreme Court decides whether laws are constitutional or not, a power known as judicial review. But what else does this landmark decision say? And why is this case from more than two hundred years ago cited so prominently in former president Donald Trump's current Supreme Court brief? In this episode, host Hannah McCarthy "Hansplains" the connection between this famous case and current events, with the help of Quinnipiac University's Wayne Unger.  CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

04-23
50:18

What do the RNC and DNC do?

Today we're talking RNC and DNC. The committees, not the conventions. What do they do? Who decides who chairs them? And what does it mean to a national committee when someone can post a message on social media that has more impact than thousands of mailbox flyers?Today's guests are Boris Heersink and Marjorie Hershey, who take us from a few folks setting up a convention to a massive organization that tries (and sometimes fails) to wrangle a party's identity. CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

04-16
30:04

How to file your taxes

Most Americans need help to file our tax return each year - about 90% of people use technology like Turbo Tax, or hire a human tax preparer.  Why does it feel like it takes degree in accounting, or the money to pay someone with a degree, or computer software, just to comply with the law? We revisit our explainers on why our tax system is the way it is, and how to comply with it, just in time for tax day.  We talk about everything that goes into filing taxes, how some people game the system, why it's so complicated, and how to successfully file your taxes (and avoid paying more than you should to do it).   CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

04-09
41:34

Why do we pay income taxes, again?

We revisit our explainers on why our tax system is the way it is, and how to comply with it, just in time for tax day.   We haven't always had a federal income tax, and in the beginning, it only applied to the very richest Americans. So how did we end up with the permanent income tax we have today, with all its complicated rules about everything from pre-tax income to deductions and credits? And what does it actually pay for?    CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

04-09
39:19

Promises, Promises: What Biden and Trump are saying they'll do if elected

Forget the rhetoric and hysterical political ads! Host Hannah McCarthy did the research, and she runs down all of the *actual* campaign promises being made by President Joe Biden and Donald Trump as they both make a second run for the White House. The economy. Healthcare. Gun violence.  Policing. Education. And...firing lots of people.  In this edition of Civics 101, find out what the two presumptive nominees for President of the United States are telling voters they will do if elected.   CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

04-02
47:23

How did Lochner v. New York end up on the naughty list?

Lochner v New York, a 1905 Supreme Court case about working hours and contracts, is considered anti-canon. Right up there with Dred Scott, Plessy and Korematsu. The question is, how did it get there? Why do people think it's so bad? And what does this decision, and the era that followed, say about politics and the Supreme Court?Our guides to this case and what came after are Rebecca Brown, Rader Family Trustee Chair in Law at USC Gould School of Law and Matthew Lindsay, Associate Professor of Law at University of Baltimore School of Law. CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

03-26
43:52

How Can The Government Ban TikTok?

TikTok - an app with around 170 Million American users - is under intense scrutiny by the U.S. government, including a bill passed by the House of Representatives which issues a threat: "sell or be banned." But how and why can the government do that? What does this kind of business restriction look like? We talked to Steven Balla of George Washington University to get the low down on regulations and bans in the United States. TLDR: This episode goes beyond the current legislation, but it's updated from an earlier version which dropped in April, 2023. CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

03-18
22:10

Can the Supreme Court save us from ourselves?

When the Supreme Court says something is or isn't constitutional, what does that really mean? What are the effects, or lack thereof, of their decisions? And what do we do if we don't agree with what they say?Today Linda Monk, author of The Bill of Rights: A User's Guide, walks us through four times in US History that the Supreme Court was not the be-all-end-all decision maker.Here are some links to shows we reference in the episode:Dred Scott v SandfordBrown vs. Board of Education of Topeka CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

03-12
27:55

Amending the Constitution

The process is pretty straightforward. Plenty of people want to make some change. And yet? We've only done it 27 times. So what does it take to amend the U.S. Constitution and why does it barely ever happen?Robinson Woodward Burns, Associate Professor of Political Science at Howard University, is our guide.Want more Civics 101? Sign up for our newsletter and enjoy the pure delight of an extra dose of (genuinely fun) civics musing twice a month. CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

03-05
21:40

What's Going On With Civics Education?

Listen to our full, two-part series from 2023 on the history of civics education, and the current legal and ideological debates around social studies happening in across the country today.  Walking us through the past, present, and future of social studies and civic education are Danielle Allen, James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University, and Adam Laats, Historian and Professor of Teaching, Learning and Educational Leadership at Binghamton University.  We also hear from Louise Dube, Executive Director of iCivics and member of the Implementation Consortium at Educating for American Democracy, Justin Reich, Director at MIT Teaching Systems Lab and host of the TeachLab podcast, and CherylAnne Amendola,  Department Chair and teacher at Montclair Kimberly Academy and host of the podcast Teaching History Her Way. CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

02-27
59:30

Extra Credit: How to Argue Against Disinformation; Trump Trials Update

When the cats are away...well...you know. In this special episode, Executive Producer Rebecca Lavoie and Senior Producer Christina Phillips follow up on some recent discussions sparked by our newsletter Extra Credit. How do you have a legitimate discussion with someone who has the facts wrong? And what's going on with all of these different trials involving former President Donald Trump?Click here to read Nick's essay on responding to someone who's wrong. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter!Click here to make a donation to Civics 101. CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

02-20
34:15

What Are Presidential Pardons?

The president has the power to release someone from prison, restore their voting rights, or stop a federal criminal investigation with little more than the wave of a hand. How did the president get this power, and are there any limitations? What would it mean for a president to pardon themselves? Brian Kalt, constitutional law professor at Michigan State University, helps answer these questions. CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

02-13
31:46

How Should We Govern the Algorithm?

Machine learning is being used in police precincts, schools, courts and elsewhere across the country to help us make decisions. Using data about us, algorithms can do almost instantly what it would take human beings both time and money to do.  Cheaper, faster, more efficient and potentially more accurate -- but should we be doing it? How should we be using it? And what about our privacy and our rights?Aziz Huq,  Frank and Bernice J. Greenberg Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School, is our guide to the new world order. CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

02-06
52:07

What is Federalist 10?

Federalist 10 was one of the Federalist Papers, a collection of 85 essays that were published in New York to encourage ratification of the newly drafted Constitution. This essay is taught in classrooms across the country and often referred to as the most important. So what's it about?Taking us through the ideas of faction, republicanism, and Madison's inability to predict Facebook are Jeffrey Rosen, President of the National Constitution Center,  Alison LaCroix, Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School, and our dear friend Ryan Werenka, AP Government and Politics teacher at Troy High School in Michigan. Click here to listen to our episode on the Federalist and Antifederalist Papers.And click here to support our show and get yourself some wool socks and a hat! CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

01-30
25:40

Election 2024: What Is Happening?

Primaries, caucuses, conventions, court cases -- oh, it's a lot. Hannah and Nick have the most important dates and some crucial context for your calendar this election year. Buckle up, 2024 is already underway.Check out our recommended listening for more helpful info!Primaries and CaucusesConventionsStranglehold: Make Room (for context on New Hampshire and its hold on the first in the nation Primary)By the way, it isn't too late to snag a Civics 101 baseball hat! Donate now and show the world you know what's going on. CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

01-23
27:10

How much do government employees get paid?

Government salaries vary an awful lot; from $100 a year to $11.5 million. So who makes what? Today we divide the issue of taxpayer-funded salaries in two. How much officials make, and then how much they really make. Why do so many politicians make money once they leave office? How much can you get from speaking at events? And how do lobbyists affect not only policy, but their career trajectory? Our guest is Anna Massoglia from Open Secrets, the "nation's premier research group tracking money in U.S. politics."Click here to get a hat and/or socks during our podcast fund drive! CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

01-16
26:03

Rumors and Lies, the American Version

In this double feature of two of our favorite episodes we cover misinformation, disinformation and propaganda -- three tricky truth-benders that come at you from every angle in American life. Our guides include Samantha Lai of the Brookings Institute, Peter Adams of the News Literacy Project, John Maxwell Hamilton (professor and author of Manipulating the Masses: Woodrow Wilson and the Birth of American Propaganda and Jennifer Mercieca, professor and author of Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump. CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

01-09
01:01:08

Saba Shehzadi

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02-04 Reply

lorenzo leal jr.

thank you for this episode, I'm 50 and I'm glad I'm not the only one seeing the truth

10-31 Reply

Shawna

these are very informative . Thank you so much!!!

06-26 Reply

Jerry Stibral

We are 'Hybrid' Democracy; - A 'Representative' Democracy or - A 'Democratic' Republic!

11-08 Reply

ID25362226

Mi

07-26 Reply

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