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
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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June 2, 2026 • 28 mins
Whether you fly it, wear it or want nothing to do with it, the American flag says a lot in and about the United States. Red, white and blue is far from exclusive to our nation and yet it is very much our brand... and very much branded on anything we can think to put it on.
So where did the American obsession with our flag come from?
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May 26, 2026 • 27 mins
Today we share our second installment on why things are tough in the civics world. Specifically, we talk about how students are doing in civics classrooms and on national assessments.
But! It's not all bad news. Shawn Healey (Chief Policy and Advocacy Officer at iCivics) takes us through the myriad state bills that are currently in the legislative process which will affect civic education, and we hear from three students (Ava-Ju...
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May 19, 2026 • 43 mins
Once upon a time, American British colonists were separated from power, decision-making, culture and information by thousands of miles and many weeks. As Helena Yoo-Roth puts it, time flowed evenly outward from the homeland.
This is the story of waiting, longing and realizing that time might just be on our side as we approached the American Revolutionary War. Helena Yoo-Roth is the author of the forthcoming American Timelines: I...
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May 12, 2026 • 28 mins
This is the first episode in a series we are doing with iCivics, who invited us to their National Forum for Civic Learning Week.
Today we share the many conversations we had with civics and social studies teachers from across the country, and we explore the results from a nationwide survey on what they're going through right now. And, finally, what could be done to help them?
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May 5, 2026 • 32 mins
For Americans today, it's a treasure. Scripture. The thing that made us. It wasn't always that way, though. This is the story of the Declaration of Independence before it was enshrined in our collective national consciousness. Back when it was a news headline and we had no control what others thought of it.
Our guest is Emily Sneff, author of When the Declaration of Independence was News.
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April 28, 2026 • 24 mins
What is the process when a person wishes to represent themselves in court? How common is it? Is it true that a person who represents themselves "has a fool for a client?"
Today in our "Ask a Judge" series, attorney and magistrate Amy Lin Meyerson and "small town lawyer" Ray Williams give tips for those who have no choice but to address the court on their own behalf.
Here is the American Bar Association's virtual legal advice...
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April 21, 2026 • 23 mins
You've been hearing about it in the news, but what exactly is the Strait of Hormuz? And as for those blockades...how do they work?
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April 14, 2026 • 39 mins
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?
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April 9, 2026 • 29 mins
Sometimes, news happens in the real world, and suddenly a political or civics topic becomes very top of mind for members of the public.
And when that happens, we at Civics 101 often say, hey…we have an episode about that.
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One of those conversations happened this week, after a tweet from President Trump related to the war in Iran had some conservative, traditionally pro-Trump voices evoking a spec...
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April 7, 2026 • 36 mins
Today we bring you a story from our sister podcast Outside/In, produced and reported by Marina Henke.
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In 2009, the state of Maine ordered farmer Dan Brown to stop selling his raw milk. It kicked off a five-year legal battle that stoked the flames of Maine’s dairy wars. But, after Farmer Brown lost his case and hung up his milking hat, things quieted down.
Twenty years later, raw milk has surge...
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March 31, 2026 • 34 mins
In this country, the states run elections. Congress is empowered to step in; the president is not. So what does it mean for the president to call on a political party to "take over." Is that allowed? What would that mean? And why is this happening now?
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We talk with Sarah Cooper from the Carter Center to understand who is in charge and whether anyone else can take charge.
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March 24, 2026 • 22 mins
Four years ago we made an episode about how the president has very limited powers when it comes to lowering the price of gas. Turns out, we hadn't considered every possibility.
Today, we talk about how a president can make gasoline more expensive, by waging conflict in the middle east. Our guest is Robert Rapier, chemical engineer, investment writer, and energy sector expert. He came back on the show to tell us about the logistics...
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March 17, 2026 • 30 mins
Today we take a field trip to Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where Nick explains why he's like this via an obsession with 1776, the movie based on the musical based on the true events that launched a nation. Our nation. Also, Nick and Hannah get real using Dido as inspiration.
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March 11, 2026 • 30 mins
Why do religious leaders step out from behind the pulpit and take to the streets? What does it mean to practice what you preach? As faith groups across the nation stand alongside protestors and assert their beliefs, we talk to four religious leaders about how and why they take action.
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March 3, 2026 • 48 mins
As hosts of a civics podcast, we are not allowed to advocate for policy. But you can. Here are three things you can do to get your elected officials to listen when you're mad about something.
By way of example, Nick reveals his pettiest, most apolitical gripe; and methods he would hypothetically use to address it. We talk lobbying, contacting your electeds, and getting (possibly famous) people together to advocate for change.
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February 24, 2026 • 35 mins
We've used the word "detention" many times when we've talked about immigration laws and ICE. But what does that word actually mean? A listener wanted to know, so we got the answer.
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February 17, 2026 • 38 mins
About a week ago, host Hannah McCarthy stumbled on an article by an historian named Dr. Aaron Fountain Jr. What she read kind of blew her mind, so she decided to give him a call.
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