Podcast Episodes

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 integrity of our election system is intact despite th…

Published on 3 months, 1 week ago

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 that Carter. Jason is asking why Congress is working…

Published on 3 months, 2 weeks ago

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 person or one group of people having all the power, and we se…

Published on 3 months, 3 weeks ago

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 1967. However, the history of public media is mu…

Published on 4 months ago

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 that knowledge? Where are we today and why should…

Published on 4 months, 1 week ago

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 Boston. It features the voices of Justice Patricia Alverez…

Published on 4 months, 2 weeks ago

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 Stanger, professor at Middlebury College, we decided …

Published on 4 months, 3 weeks ago

Why do we have the National Weather Service?

Most Americans can look down at their phone and see a prediction of the future. How is that even possible?

Well, we'll tell you. Today it's all about the weather; from early predictive methods and alm…

Published on 4 months, 4 weeks ago

Who decides what politicians should say?

Today we explore the nebulous world of political consultants. 

These are the people who run political campaigns. They use a mixture of science and gut-feeling to determine what a candidate should say …

Published on 5 months ago

April Fools: Politicians, the press, and more

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 …

Published on 5 months, 1 week ago