Civics 101

By New Hampshire Public Radio

Education History

What's Civics 101 about?

Ever wonder what a White House Chief of Staff actually does? How about a Press Secretary? And is gerrymandering still a thing in this country? The first 100 days of the Trump administration is the perfect time to bone up on civics you should have learned in school…but probably didn’t. Civics 101 is your guide to what you need to know, when it matters most.

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Becoming a U.S. Citizen

12.03.2019

The first step, the step that really matters in becoming a U.S. citizen, is becoming a permanent resident. Once you have that Green Card in hand, this country is your oyster. Become a citizen, don't become a citizen -- either ...

Civics 101 episodes:

12.03.2019 Becoming a U.S. Citizen The first step, the step that really matters in becoming a U.S. citizen, is becoming a permanent resident. Once you have that Green Card in hand, this country is your oyster. Become a citizen, don't become a citizen -- either ...
11.19.2019 Census It's just a survey; a handful of questions that get issued to every household in the country every ten years. So how does a countrywide headcount end up being at the core of power and money distribution in the U.S.? ...
11.12.2019 Student Contest Announcement: Stump Speech Can you tell us what America needs? In this year’s Student Contest, we’re looking for your stump speech, that 60-second pitch to the nation on what you’d focus on if you were running for president. What are the most important ...
11.05.2019 Electoral College When we vote for a president, we're not really voting for a president. Today in our episode on the Electoral College, we explore the rationale of the framers in creating it, its workings, its celebrations, its critiques, and its potential ...
10.25.2019 Introducing: Stranglehold Want to dig deeper into the world of presidential primaries? No better place to start than New Hampshire. Our colleagues Lauren Chooljian and Jack Rodolico tell the story of New Hampshire's grip on the First in the Nation primary in ...
10.22.2019 Conventions The primaries are over, the caucusing has closed, the results are in. Now it's time to party. Nominating conventions are, by and large, a chance for political elites to get together, network and celebrate. The American public has picked a ...
10.08.2019 Impeachment We have never actually fired the President of the United States. But we sure have tried. It’s the biggest job in the country, so the road to termination is a long and fraught. What happens after Congress initiates the process? ...
09.24.2019 Primaries and Caucuses It's one of the most democratic aspects of our nation, not to mention extremely recent. In this episode we explore the snarled history of how we select party nominees; from delegates to superdelegates, and from gymnasiums in Iowa to booths ...
09.10.2019 How to Run for President The job description is pretty sparse, the laws are convoluted and the path from A to Z seems fraught with peril. So how does a person go from candidate to nominee to Leader of the Free World? We asked some ...
08.13.2019 Student Contest Winner: On the Bench It's time for the 2nd annual winner of our Student Contest! Our winners are Jessie Aniloff, Katie Bruni, and Tara Czekner from Anthony Micalizzi's class at Villa Joseph Marie High School In their podcast, On the Bench, they share their ...
08.06.2019 Starter Kit: How A Bill (really) Becomes a Law We at Civics 101 adore Schoolhouse Rock and that sad little scrap of paper on the steps of the Capitol. But today we try to finish what they started, by diving into the messy, partisan, labyrinthine process of modern-day legislation. ...
07.30.2019 Starter Kit: Federalism 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 ...
07.23.2019 Starter Kit: Judicial Branch The Supreme Court, considered by some to be the most powerful branch, had humble beginnings. How did it stop being, in the words of Alexander Hamilton, "next to nothing?" Do politics affect the court's decisions? And how do cases even ...
07.16.2019 Starter Kit: Legislative Branch There are 535 people who meet in the hallowed halls of Capitol Hill. They go in, legislation comes out. You can watch the machinations of the House and Senate chambers on C-SPAN, you can read their bills online. But what ...
07.09.2019 Starter Kit: Executive Branch In this episode of our Starter Kit series, a primer on the powers of the President, both constitutional and extra-constitutional. Also, a super inefficient mnemonic device to remember the 15 executive departments in the order of their creation. Featuring the ...
07.02.2019 Starter Kit: Checks and Balances We exist in a delicate balance. Ours is a system designed to counterweight itself, to stave off the power grabs that entice even the fairest of us all. The U.S. government is comprised of humans, not angels, so each branch ...
06.25.2019 Upcoming Series: Civics Starter Kit An announcement of our new series, airing on July 2.
05.14.2019 Life Stages: Death It's also the final episode of our Life Stages series, and its euphemism-free. We speak to a doctors, lawyers, professors, and funeral professionals about the rules of death; pronouncing, declaring, burying, cremating, willing, trusting, canceling, donating. Featuring the voices of ...
05.07.2019 Life Stages: Retirement The prospect of retirement -- of leaving the work force, aging, confronting a new body and a new way of life -- is peppered with concepts and requirements so unwieldy they can make your brain turn off. So how do ...
04.30.2019 Life Stages: Marriage Today, what does it really mean to be married? Divorced? What changes in the law's eyes? What do you have to do? And, most importantly, how and why has the government decided who is allowed to marry whom? And while ...
04.23.2019 Life Stages: Work The modern day workplace is the product of a centuries-long battle for fair wages, reasonable hours and safe conditions. Today's episode tells the story of the labor in the United States -- from slavery and indentured servitude to the Equal ...
04.16.2019 Life Stages: School As Adam Laats said, "when it comes to schools, the most important thing is who you are, and where you live." In today's episode, we explore how K-12 education has developed in the US since the 1600s, what teachers can ...
04.09.2019 Life Stages: Birth What does it take to be born an American citizen? And then, once you are, how do you prove it? And what does it get you? Today on Civics 101, we talk to Dr. Mary Kate Hattan of Concord Hospital, ...
02.26.2019 Founding Documents: Bill of Rights The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments to our Constitution. Why do we have one? What does it 'do'? And what does it really, really do? Our guests are Linda Monk, Alvin Tillery, David O. Stewart, Woody Holton, ...
02.22.2019 Special Announcement: Student Contest Go to civics101podcast.org/contest for rules and resources. Make an under 15 minute podcast episode in any format by May 15th. We want to hear about your favorite civics primary source. This can be anything from Abigail Adams’ pocket to an ...
02.19.2019 Founding Documents: The Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers Ten days after the Constitution was signed at the Old Philadelphia State House, an anonymous op-ed appeared in the New York Journal. Signed by "Cato," it cautioned readers of the new Constitution to take it with a grain of salt. ...
02.12.2019 Founding Documents: The Constitution After just six years under the Articles of Confederation, a committee of anxious delegates agreed to meet in Philadelphia to amend the government. While the country suffered recession and rebellions, a group of fifty-five men determined the shape of the ...
02.05.2019 Founding Documents: Articles of Confederation While a famous committee of five drafted the Declaration of Independence, a far more unsung committee of thirteen wrote America's first rulebook. The Articles of Confederation was our first constitution, and it lasted nine years. If you prefer Typee to ...
01.29.2019 Founding Documents: Declaration of Independence America declared independence on July 2, 1776. But two days later it adopted this radical, revolutionary, inclusive, exclusive, secessionist, compromising, hypocritical, inspirational document. What does it say? What does it ignore? This episode features many scholars with differing opinions on ...
01.22.2019 Founding Documents: Magna Carta Magna Carta was sealed on a field in England in 1215. It's purpose was to appease some frustrated Barons, and it was never intended to last. Over 800 years later, this document is credited with establishing one of the most ...
11.20.2018 Special Announcement: Upcoming Season For our next season, we're going to tackle America's founding documents: Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Federalist Papers. Episode One will release on January 22nd, but don't ...
11.06.2018 Midterm Edition: Why Vote? We've told you that midterm elections matter. But the truth is, midterms only matter to you -- and you only matter to your legislators -- if you show up at the polls. It's the first step in making yourself heard. ...
10.30.2018 Midterm Edition: Propositions Regardless of how you choose to vote on Prop 1, you'll finish this episode knowing all about ballot measures. These are bills and amendments initiated by the people, and voted into law by the people. What could possibly go wrong ...
10.23.2018 Midterm Edition: Campaigning How do you stand out in a sea of lawn signs, or make yourself heard above the roar of a thousand ads? Campaigns are hard enough when the whole country is watching -- so what does it take to get ...
10.16.2018 Midterm Edition: House v Senate Two houses, both alike in...well, many things. But oh so different in many others. We go from absolute basics to the philosophical differences that exist in the Legislative branch. This episode features the opinions of former staffers from both chambers, ...
10.09.2018 Midterm Edition: State and Local Elections Midterm elections don't have the glitz or drama of presidential campaigning. They're full of aldermen and comptrollers, state senators and governors. These offices seem meager next to national government. But most of the time, it's state and local officials that ...
10.02.2018 Midterm Edition: 5 Things to Know about the Midterms Today we launch our five-part series on the midterm elections! Keith Hughes, creator of Hip History, tells us the five things he thinks every American should know about midterms and why they matter. Each episode in this series concludes with ...
08.21.2018 Special Announcement and IRL2 rebroadcast First off, our next season of Civics 101 will launch this October with a special miniseries on the midterm elections. Each episode will better educate you on what you're voting for in November (you are voting, right? Even if you ...
08.07.2018 IRL1: Free Speech in Schools [Rebroadcast] A rebroadcast to get ready for the school year: we're digging into four incredibly important Supreme Court cases - four cases that have shaped how we interpret the meaning of free speech in public schools. Is political protest allowed in ...
07.31.2018 The Death Penalty On today's episode we're looking into a practice that sets the U.S. aside from all other Western countries: Capital Punishment. So, is the death penalty a part of the constitution? How has the Supreme Court ruled on the issue? And ...
07.24.2018 The Equal Rights Amendment The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed Constitutional amendment that would explicitly guarantee legal equality under U.S. law, regardless of sex. But almost a century after it was first proposed, the ERA has still not been ratified. What's the ...
07.17.2018 The Affordable Care Act On today's episode, we tackle a defining law from the Obama administration, the Affordable Care Act -- better known as Obamacare. Some people love it, others hate it, but what did the law really do? Is American health care actually ...
07.10.2018 Tariffs Today on Civics 101, Ron Elving takes us through Tariffs. What are they? What are the pros and cons of taxing goods that enter our country? What is the effect on the consumer? And finally, how do trade wars end?
07.03.2018 Contest Winner: Unconventional Adia Samba-Quee is the winner of our first ever student contest. She wrote, narrated, and cast a "Parks n' Rec-style mockumentary about the arguments surrounding representation at the Constitutional Convention in 1787."
06.26.2018 The Draft Do you believe in the power of an informed citizenry? Click this link to support Civics 101 today. When you hear 'the draft' you might think about the Vietnam War... but the history of compulsory military service goes all the ...
06.19.2018 The Federal Register Show your support for Civics 101. Click here to donate: https://goo.gl/6VNE6E Today a listener opens up a rabbit hole, and we immediately jump down it. We're learning about the Federal Register, a dense, cryptic document published every single day that ...
06.12.2018 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Hey folks! We're raising money to support this podcast. Please click this link and donate today! https://goo.gl/6VNE6E Remember the Human Genome Project? The massively complicated international undertaking that aimed to map the entirety of human DNA? It was funded and ...
06.05.2018 Police Norm Stamper was a past-Chief of Seattle's Police Department and an officer with the San Diego PD. He joins us to talk about the history of modern policing, the role of police today, and how to make sense of controversial ...
05.29.2018 Infrastructure – Water! Drinking water in the United States is, according to the EPA, among the world's "most reliable and safest supplies." Its delivery involves a complex infrastructure of pipes, treatment facilities, aqueducts, dams, and reservoirs, and it operates on a local, state, ...
05.22.2018 Freedom of Information Act On today's episode: What exactly is the Freedom of Information Act, better known as FOIA? Can anybody use it to get their hands on... any public documents? What kind of government secrets have come to light as a result of ...

Older episodes

Civics 101

What's Civics 101 about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Civics 101 episodes:

Becoming a U.S. Citizen

Census

Student Contest Announcement: Stump Speech

Electoral College

Introducing: Stranglehold

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

Upcoming Series: Civics Starter Kit

Life Stages: Death

Life Stages: Retirement

Life Stages: Marriage

Life Stages: Work

Life Stages: School

Life Stages: Birth

Founding Documents: Bill of Rights

Special Announcement: Student Contest

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

Special Announcement: Upcoming Season

Midterm Edition: Why Vote?

Midterm Edition: Propositions

Midterm Edition: Campaigning

Midterm Edition: House v Senate

Midterm Edition: State and Local Elections

Midterm Edition: 5 Things to Know about the Midterms

Special Announcement and IRL2 rebroadcast

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

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