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2024

• What is authoritarianism?

• What can (and can’t) the Secretary of Health and Human Services do?

• The Supreme Court’s Criminal Trial

• What is the Cabinet? And how can appointments work?

• Trump’s “Day One” Promises

• How do presidential transitions happen?

• What happens to ensure your vote for president is counted?

• US vs: Healthcare

• What Remains: Science, ethics, and the Smithsonian’s bone collection

• Why does corruption matter?

• How can the president stop a strike? (The Taft-Hartely Act)

• How you can help preserve our democracy (really)

• What is “Originalism?”

• What does the president DO?

• Why is the voting age 18?

• Campaign Jargon Trivia Episode

• So Long, Chevron

• Go play a game!

• What is a whistleblower?

• How Are Cities Chosen for the Olympics?

• Kamala Harris will be the nominee. What now?

• Why was the documents case against Donald Trump dismissed?

• Where History and Love Collide: Doris Kearns Goodwin on the 1960s and Today

• Moyle v U.S.: Why did SCOTUS punt an abortion case?

• The CPB and the Politics of Public Media

• What does the Supreme Court’s immunity decision mean?

• The Second Amendment

• What’s up with those flags?

• Strikes, Unions and Workers’ Rights

• Why do we have the National Zoo?

• What’s it like to report on Congress?

• Why ballot design matters

• “I see a temple that we built.”

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

• What do the RNC and DNC do?

• How to file your taxes

• Why do we pay income taxes, again?

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

• How did Lochner v NY end up on the naughty list?

• How Can The Government Ban TikTok?

• Can the Supreme Court save us from ourselves?

• Amending the Constitution

• What’s Going On With Civics Education?

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

• What are Presidential Pardons?

• How Should We Govern the Algorithm?

• What is Federalist 10?

• Elections 2024: What Is Happening?

• How much do government employees get paid?

• Rumors and Lies, the American Version

• Expulsion from Congress

2023

• Can We Fix School Lunch?

• The Politics of School Lunch

• Does Santa Break the Law?

• What is a Federal Holiday?

• Term Limits for Congress?

• What is the Order of Succession?

• SCOTUS Watchlist

• What Powers Does the Speaker of the House Have?

• The After School Satan Club

• Heather Cox Richardson on the State of America

• The National Weather Service

• Separation of Church and State

• BONUS: American Girl Dolls and YOU

• What Are Government Shutdowns?

• A (Sorta) Civics Trivia Battle

• Did American Girl Dolls Do Right By History?

• Classified Documents

• What is RICO?

• The Republican and Democratic Parties

• Civics Education 2: When Curriculum is Against the Law

• Civics Education 1: What Do We Teach?

• What Is (or Was) Affirmative Action?

• When Espionage Means The Death Penalty

• Presidential Records

• What Moore v Harper Means for Elections

• America’s “War on Drugs”

• What Is “The Shadow Docket?”

• Supreme Court Arguments

• Socialism, Communism, Fascism

• The 14th Amendment

• Supreme Court Ethics

• What’s the Debt Ceiling and the National Debt?

• The Fairness Doctrine

• Reconstruction Pt. 3: The Laws Of The Land

• Reconstruction Pt. 2: The Big Lie

• Reconstruction Pt. 1: Why We Didn't Learn About It

• Defamation, Libel and Dominion, Oh My!

• US vs: Freedom

• How Can The Government Ban An App?

• How Do Indictments and Grand Juries Work?

• Jury Duty: What To Expect When You Get That Summons

• Who Writes Bills?

• Paying Income Taxes

• A Primary Battle

• Who owns the sky?

• The 2008 Financial Crisis Explained

• Why Do We Have an Income Tax?

• What's Up With The U.S. Space Force?

• The Government and Housing: One City's Story

• The Government and Housing: Policy

• Federal Courts: Muhammad Ali and the Draft

• The Last State To Hold Out Against Martin Luther King Jr. Day

• The Life of a Political Operative

• The Lavender Scare

• How the Government Makes a Holiday

2022

• Is Santa a Criminal?

• The President & The 25th Amendment

• Who gets to run for president?

• Propaganda

• Post-Presidency Perks: What do former presidents get when they leave office?

• The White House Press Corps & The Press Secretary

• Are We A Democracy? Or A Republic?

• American Myths Pt. 2: Progress

• American Myths Pt. 1: Origins

• Host v Host: A Battle of Wits

• Civics 101 Presents: Future Hindsight on the Asian American Vote

• Nina Totenberg Live On Stage

• Taking The Fifth: When What You Say Could Be Used Against You

• Oaths

• Federal Courts: The Trial of the Chicago 7

• How Powerful is the President's Veto?

• Disinformation and Misinformation

• What's The Difference Between The House & The Senate?

• Federal Courts: Espionage and the Rosenbergs

• Everything You Need to Know About the Midterms

• Federal Courts: Our First Treason Trial (US v Burr)

• What is the National Debt?

• Why You Should Vote (Even When They Don't Want You To)

• How to Vote

• The Declaration Does Not Apply

• The 1965 Voting Rights Act: Where Does It Stand?

• National Park Service

• M, F & X: Gender Markers & Government Documents

• What Does the 2nd Amendment Say?

• Precedent and the Leaked Draft SCOTUS Opinion

• Precedent and the Supreme Court

• Should Animals Have Human Rights?

• District, Circuit, Supreme: How does the federal court system work?

• Freedom of the Press: Parts 1 & 2

• The Shadow Docket

• Roe v Wade: Facts of the Case

• The First National Park

• What is NATO?

• Citizens United v FEC

• US vs. Constitutions

• The Senate Parliamentarian

• The Constitution and the Bill of Rights

• Election Security

• Why You Should Care About the Federal Reserve

• When the Supreme Court Got It Wrong: Civil Rights and Dred Scott

• Civics at the Movies: National Treasure

• What are Committees?

• Who Writes the President's Speeches?

• How Does Security Clearance Work?

• The President and the Price of Gasoline

• The Politics Of The Olympics

• The USDA

• Congressional Investigations

• Declaring War

2021

• A Civics Trivia Special! - Holidays at the White House

• The Lottery

• Federal Holidays

• Civics at the Movies: NASA and Hollywood

• Emergency Powers of the President

• US vs. Two-Party System

• Diplomacy

• Gerrymandering

• After 9/11: Department of Homeland Security

• Government Shutdown

• State Attorneys General

• After 9/11: The FBI

• John Marshall and the Supreme Court

• Civil Rights: Obergefell v Hodges

• Civil Rights: Loving v Virginia

• Civil Rights: Brown v Board of Education of Topeka

• Japanese American Internment

• Civil Rights: Korematsu v United States

• Civil Rights: Plessy v Ferguson

• Civil Rights: Dred Scott v Sandford

• There Ought to Be a Law!

• The Chinese Exclusion Act

• Right to Privacy: Roe v Wade

• Right to Privacy: New Jersey v T.L.O.

• Right to Privacy: Griswold v Connecticut

• Right to Privacy: Mapp v Ohio

• Electoral College Addendum

• Insurrection, Protest, Terrorism, Sedition, Coup

• Ask Civics 101: Who Are the United States Capitol Police?

• Ask Civics 101: Inauguration Day

• Ask Civics 101: What Is Moving Day Like at the White House?

• Ask Civics 101: What Are Democratic Norms?

• Ask Civics 101: Has the U.S. Capitol Been Ambushed Before?

• Ask Civics 101: What Happens When One Party Controls Congress and the Presidency?

• Ask Civics 101: The Peaceful Transition of Power

• Ask Civics 101: The 25th Amendment

• Ask Civics 101: Why Does the Vote Certification Take So Long?

• Ask Civics 101: What Role Does Congress Play in the Electoral College?

2020

• Ask Civics 101: How Does a Contested Convention Work?

• Ask Civics 101: Holidays at the White House

• Ask Civics 101: What Is Voter Fraud?

• Ask Civics 101: How Is a Seat Filled When a Member of Congress Takes Another Job?

• Ask Civics 101: How Do Presidential Pardons Work?

• Ask Civics 101: How Does the Electoral College Vote?

• Ask Civics 101: Who Are Electors?

• Ask Civics 101: What Does the National Archives Have To Do With the Electoral College?

• Ask Civics 101: What Does the Solicitor General Do?

• Ask Civics 101: What Do Politicians Do After They Leave Office?

• Ask Civics 101: What's Going On in the Georgia Senate Races?

• Ask Civics 101: What Happens to Campaign Funds after the Election Is Over?

• Ask Civics 101: How Do We Add States? What Is the Difference Between a State and a Commonwealth?

• Ask Civics 101: What Is an Executive Order?

• Ask Civics 101: How Do Judicial Appointments and Elections Work?

• Ask Civics 101: What Are the Differences Among Constructionist, Originalist, and Liberal Supreme Court Justices?

• Ask Civics 101: How Do Elections Rise to the Supreme Court?

• Ask Civics 101: Will We Ever Get Rid of the Electoral College System?

• Ask Civics 101: What Is a Concession Speech?

• Ask Civics 101: What Is "Court Packing?"

• Ask Civics 101: What Is a "Lame Duck" Session?

• Ask Civics 101: How Is My Ballot Counted?

• The Election

• Ask Civics 101: Why Is Our Voting Age Eighteen?

• Ask Civics 101: How Did the Supreme Court Become so Important?

• Ask Civics 101: What is the Hatch Act?

• Freedom of the Press: Part 2

• Ask Civics 101: What Does the 25th Amendment Say About the President Stepping Down?

• Ask Civics 101: How Do Recounts Work?

• Presidential Debates

• Freedom of the Press: Part 1

• Ask Civics 101: Why Is the American Campaign Season so Long?

• Ask Civics 101: Why Do We Have the Electoral College?

• Introducing Ask Civics 101: What Are We?

• The Declaration Revisited: The Declaration of Sentiments

• Birthright Citizenship: US v Wong Kim Ark

• The Declaration Revisited: Native Americans

• The Declaration Revisited: Black Americans

• Civic Action: Voting, Part 2

• Civic Action: Voting, Part 1

• Posse Comitatus

• Civic Action: Protest

• The United States Postal Service

• AP US Government Prepisode

• Emergency Powers of the Governor

• 19th Amendment: Part 2

• 19th Amendment: Part 1

• Civics 101 Presents: Code Switch

• Money

• Independents

• The Stump Speech: Student Contest

• The Republican Party

• The Democratic Party

2019

• Third Parties

• Becoming a U.S. Citizen

• Census

• Electoral College

• Conventions

• Impeachment

• Primaries and Caucuses

• How To Run for President

• Student Contest Winner: On the Bench

• Starter Kit: How a Bill (really) Becomes a Law

• Starter Kit: Federalism

• Starter Kit: Judicial Branch

• Starter Kit: Legislative Branch

• Starter Kit: Executive Branch

• Starter Kit: Checks and Balances

• Life Stages: Death

• Life Stages: Retirement

• Life Stages: Marriage

• Life Stages: Work

• Life Stages: School

• Life Stages: Birth

• Founding Documents: The Bill of Rights

• Founding Documents: The Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers

• Founding Documents: The Constitution

• Founding Documents: Articles of Confederation

• Founding Documents: Declaration of Independence

• Founding Documents: Magna Carta

2018

Hosted by Hannah McCarthy & Nick Capodice

• Midterm Edition: 5 Things to Know About the Midterms

• Midterm Edition: Why Vote?

• Midterm Edition: Propositions (aka Ballot Measures)

• Midterm Edition: Campaigning

• Midterm Edition: House v Senate

• Midterm Edition: State and Local Elections

Note: Episodes beyond this point were produced in a different format (interview) than today’s version of Civics 101. Many of the topics have been revisited or updated in newer episodes of the podcast.

• Special Announcement and IRL2

• IRL1: Free Speech in Schools [Rebroadcast]

• The Death Penalty

• The Equal Rights Amendment

• The Affordable Care Act

• Tariffs

• Contest Winner: Unconventional

• The Draft

• The Federal Register

• National Institutes of Health (NIH)

• Police

• Infrastructure – Water!

• Freedom of Information Act

• NASA

• The White House Press Secretary

• ICE: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

• The National Guard

• Presidential Transitions

NOTE: Episodes beyond this point were hosted by Virginia Prescott. Many topics have been revisited in more recent episodes of Civics 101.

• Hostages

• Infrastructure - Roads!

• Foreign Aid

• The CIA

• The Americans with Disabilities Act

• The Eighth Amendment

• The Department of Justice

• The Hatch Act

• The Fourth Amendment

• The FBI

• Torture

• Department of State & Department of Defense [REBROADCAST]

• Democratic Norms

• IRL2: The Flag and the Pledge

• Voting Rights

• The Fifteenth Amendment

• The Fourteenth Amendment

• The Thirteenth Amendment

• DACA

• First Ladies

• Nuclear Weapons

• Inspectors General

• The Federal Election Commission

• How We Vote

• Super PACs

• Welfare

• Lightning Round

• The Two-Party System

• The Surgeon General

• Post-Presidency

• Department of Homeland Security

• The National Anthem

2017

Episodes hosted by Virginia Prescott. Many topics have been revisited or updated in newer episodes of Civics 101.

• Camp David

• Lobbying [Rebroadcast]

• FEMA

• The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

• U.S. Allies

• HUD

• The National Archives

• The U.S. Flag Code

• Congressional Committees

• U.S. Postal Service

• IRL 1: Free Speech in Schools

• Native American Reservations

• White House Staffers

• Unions

• The Vice President

• The 2nd Amendment (Please listen to our 2022 episode on this topic.)

• The Secret Service

• The 1st Amendment - Freedom of the Press

• The Federalist Papers

• Populism

• The 1st Amendment - Freedom of Assembly

• The EPA

• The Secretary of Education

• The Nuclear Codes [Rebroadcast]

• The CDC

• The Debt Ceiling

• The Attorney General

• Federalism

• The Census

• Government Shutdown

• Commander in Chief

• The 1st Amendment - Freedom of Speech

• Judges

• State of Emergency

• Treason

• U.S. Voting Systems

• Sanctions

• Who Gets to Run for President

• Federal Grand Juries

• Ambassadors

• Speaker of the House

• Intelligence Agencies

• U.S. Territories

• Obstruction of Justice

• Church & State

• Lobbying

• Autocracies & Oligarchies & Democracies, Oh My!

• Approval Ratings

• Party Whips

• Separation of Powers

• Budget Basics

• How a Bill Becomes a Law

• National Debt & The Deficit

• Political Speechwriting

• Congressional Caucuses

• How a Case Gets to the Supreme Court

• The Cabinet

• Term Limits

• The IRS

• Emoluments

• Congressional Investigations

• The Congressional Budget Office

• The Electoral College

• Senate Rules

• Office of Scheduling & Advance

• Veto

• Gerrymandering

• Department of State & Department of Defense

• The Office of Presidential Correspondence

• Filibuster

• The Nuclear Codes

• The State of the Union Address

• Impeachment

• Overturning a Supreme Court Ruling

• Federal Courts

• Executive Orders

• The National Security Council

• Calling Your Congressperson

• How to Amend the Constitution

• The Comment Period

• White House Press Corps

• Chief of Staff