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.
Episodes
October 13, 2026 • 38 mins
As a kingless, queenless, monarch-free nation, what do we decide to put in the space that best represents us to the world? Why is the Washington Monument a giant obelisk? And while we're at it, what's the deal with Donald Trump's proposed Triumphal Arch?
Today we are guided by an actual, real-life, architectural tour guide, Carolyn Muraskin of DC Design Tours. She walks us through the many ups and downs of DC's rich design histo...
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October 6, 2026 • 44 mins
Today we look at the creation and evolution of the two major parties in the US; the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. How did they come about? How did their ideals shift over the last 200+ years? And where might they go next?
These episodes originally aired in 2020, and feature Keneshia Grant, George Will, Kathryn DePalo-Gould, Heather Wagner, Paddy Riley, and William Adler.
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September 29, 2026 • 28 mins
Our final "Back to School" episode is a nod to how we started in the first place. Our show was created to be "Schoolhouse Rock for adults," and no mention of Schoolhouse Rock is complete without a sad little scrap of paper hoping to become a bill.
Today we're exploring how that bill, sitting there on Capitol Hill, becomes a law. This episode features the voices of Andy Wilson, Adia Samba-Quee, Alizah Ross, and Eleanor Powell.
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September 22, 2026 • 27 mins
A tug of war, a balancing act, two dancers dragging each other across the floor. This is the perpetual ebb and flow of power between the states and the federal government. How can things be legal in a state but illegal nationally? Are states obstinate barricades to federal legislation? Or are they laboratories of democracy?
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September 15, 2026 • 29 mins
Americans often take issue with our two-party system. So what other options are out there? Today, with the help of political scientists Guillermo Rosas and Robin Best, we explore the reason why we have (and may always have) such a system, and compare it to other democracies around the world. This episode contains an overabundance of Street Fighter 2 references.
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September 8, 2026 • 47 mins
In which we take an historical look at the interplay between marriage and democracy, and Hannah and Nick reveal a Civics 101 secret years in the making.
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September 1, 2026 • 31 mins
Not really. But we send one of our own out in style by asking (and answering) some very tough questions. Including one you might recognize.
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August 25, 2026 • 37 mins
Article II, which lays out the powers, duties, and limits on presidential powers, is one of the most debated and reinterpreted parts of the Constitution. So what does it say?
Today we are joined by Dr. Corey Brettschneider, a professor of political science at Brown, author of several books on presidential power, and co-host of the podcast The Oath and the Office. We go through each and every clause of Article II, but somehow it...
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August 19, 2026 • 36 mins
The Supreme Court wrapped it's 2025-2026 term and headed off on summer recess, so we're running through the biggest decisions from the bench. What did the court have to say about our constitution, our federal government and our individual rights?
This year they got to everything from Birthright Citizenship to mail-in ballots to executive agencies, cementing some principles and throwing others into legal limbo. A lot can change in ...
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August 11, 2026 • 33 mins
With the midterms coming up, these words are being uttered more and more each day. So what does it really mean when we call someone a socialist, communist, or fascist? Where did these ideologies come from, and why do we have ideologies in the first place?
Today we speak with Patrick McGovern, professor of political science at Buffalo State University, and Susan Kang, professor of political science at John Jay College of Criminal J...
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August 4, 2026 • 48 mins
Maybe you’ve read the Constitution a ton of times. Maybe you’ve never read it. Maybe you even have one somewhere in your home! But, even for us civics lovers, there are times we forget what exactly is in it. However, by the end of this episode, you’ll know each and every part of the largest, and most important, section.
Article I, which lays out the powers and restrictions of Congress, is massive. It comprises ...
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July 28, 2026 • 43 mins
Conspiracy theories are not new in the United States, but over the years they have taken on a life and power of their own. How did conspiracy theories become so entrenched in the American mind? Why is it that, even if we don't entirely believe them, we like them?
Our guests today are Katherine Olmsted, author of Challenging the Secret Government: The Post-Watergate Investigations of the CIA and FBI and history professor at UC Davi...
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July 21, 2026 • 32 mins
What did Jefferson mean when he wrote about a "wall of separation" between the church and the state? How have we interpreted the pair of clauses in the 1st Amendment regarding religion? And what is the current relationship between church and state when it comes to the Supreme Court, religious schools, taxes, and growing religious nationalism?
Today we talk to Katherine Stewart, author of The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous...
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July 14, 2026 • 55 mins
Pulitzer-prize winning historian and author Jill Lepore has spent her career uncovering the stories we often do not tell, particularly about American history and democracy. In her most recent books, These Truths and We, the People, she asks what really made and makes the United States and what role citizens have in arching toward a more perfect Union. Listen in as she talks about her work for Writers on a New England Stage, recorde...
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July 7, 2026 • 23 mins
This is part two of our story about the original story of America we don't talk about...and how it ties to where we are today.
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July 3, 2026 • 30 mins
This episode is being recorded just a couple of days before the 4th of July, and as so many are calling it, America's 250th birthday. And we here at Civics 101 have spent a lot of this year trying to understand when and how America, as we know it was really born. What is our origin story? Why are we like this? And why don't we talk about the empire that was here before the United States?
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June 30, 2026 • 28 mins
Today in our continued exploration of why the US is the way it is, we get to Article I. Why did the framers design Congress the way they did? Why did the small states come out so far ahead? And what, potentially, would James Madison think if he saw its operation in 2026?
To help us navigate the thoughts of men long-dead, we talk to Madison scholar Jack Rakove. He shares his insights on representation, the electoral college, and ...
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June 23, 2026 • 28 mins
In recent years, flag restriction rules, policies and laws have been cropping up across the country. Whether the government is telling you what you can fly or what you cannot, there's always something behind the flag.
We dig into how, why and when it's legal for the government to decide what you can or cannot fly and hear from Halifax, Massachusetts, about what a flag controversy revealed about that town.
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June 16, 2026 • 46 mins
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 thousands of stories and events that resulted in the United States of America. It's a story of world-changing ideas, contradictory figures, myths that do us no good and what it means to be in pursuit of a more perfect union.
You can watch Ken Burns The American Revolution on PBS, PBS.or...
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June 9, 2026 • 28 mins
Today we complete our trio of episodes in collaboration with iCivics, where we explore why people of myriad groups are having a tough time, civics-wise. In this episode, we tell you how to eradicate your cynicism and make a difference.
First, we share Jill Lepore's presentation on conventions; how we used to interact with our many constitutions. And then, we talk with Eitan Hersh. Eitan is the author of Politics Is for Power: H...
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