Civics 101

By NHPR

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 ... more

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FAQs about Civics 101:

How many episodes does Civics 101 have?

The podcast currently has 485 episodes available.

Civics 101 episodes:

December 29, 2017 Camp David
Every president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt has spent time at Camp David. But why was the presidential retreat built in the first place, and what happens there? To find out, we spoke to Retired Rear Admiral Michael Giorgione, former commanding officer of Camp David and author of Inside Camp David: The Private World of the Presidential Retreat.
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14min
December 22, 2017 FEMA
The Federal Emergency Management Agency was established in order to plan and respond to nuclear war. These days, they're tasked with showing up after all sorts of disasters strike. But what kind of resources does FEMA have to respond to storms, earthquakes, fires and floods? And where is the organization when we feel we need them most... in the hours and days after disaster strikes? Our guest today is Garrett Graff, a journalist and historian who wrote The Secret History of FEMA for Wired Magazine.
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16min
December 19, 2017 The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
What do alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives all have in common? They fall under the umbrella of a single federal bureau - commonly referred to as the ATF. On this episode, what led to the creation of the ATF? What kind of power do ATF agents have? What exactly is a legal explosive? Our guest is Katie Tinto, assistant professor at the University of California, Irvine School of Law.
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13min
December 15, 2017 U.S. Allies
On today's episode: What does it mean to be an ally of the United States, who decides which countries we should be allies with, and how do our alliances influence the role of the United States around the world? To clear up these questions, we spoke with Melissa Waters, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis.
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17min
December 12, 2017 HUD
In the 1960’s there was a growing awareness of urban plight and poverty, which was generally referred to as the "Urban Crisis" - the economic abandonment of large U.S. cities. As part of President Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" push came a cabinet department designed in part to stabilize housing and urban areas: the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD. How has HUD evolved since those early days? What programs does the department oversee? And what's its future today? Guiding us through the young history of HUD is Alec MacGillis, politics and government reporter with ProPublica.
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16min
December 08, 2017 The National Archives
The National Archives and Records Administration is the forever home of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, but what else do they keep in their vaults? Can just anybody do research at the Archives? And what role does NARA play in the national election? To find out, we spoke to Jessie Kratz, the historian at the National Archives.
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17min
December 01, 2017 Congressional Committees
In a given week, Congress might vote on everything from international diplomacy to wildlife conservation to internet regulation. How do individual members of Congress become experts on each of these subjects? The answer is: they don't. Congress divides its work load among committees. This week, how does the committee system work, which committees wield the most influence, and how do members of Congress jockey for committee seats? We speak with Garrison Nelson, a professor of political science at the University of Vermont.
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11min
November 28, 2017 U.S. Postal Service
One of the founding institutions of America's government is also one of the most overlooked and surprising ones: the Postal Service. What role did it play in shaping the early, disparate colonies into a unified nation? How has it survived the digital age? And what's its future going forward? Our guest is Winifred Gallagher, writer and author of How the Post Office Created America.
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14min
November 24, 2017IRL 1: Free Speech in Schools
This is the first in a series called Civics 101 IRL; special episodes where we explore the historic moments connected to our regular podcast topics. Today 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 class? Is lewd speech covered by the First Amendment? Can school administrators determine what students can and can't say in the school newspaper? Listen in, and find out how students and schools have gone head to head over how First Amendment rights apply in a public school setting.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this episode inaccurately stated that Justice Abe Fortas was Chief Justice. While Fortas wrote the Tinker decision, Earl Warren was the Chief Justice at the time.
CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more!
To see Civics 101 in book form, check out A User's Guide to Democracy: How America Works by Hannah McCarthy and Nick Capodice, featuring illustrations by Tom Toro.
Check out our other weekly NHPR podcast, Outside/In - we think you'll love it!

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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25min
November 21, 2017 Native American Reservations
On this episode: What is a Native American reservation? What is a pueblo? What does it mean to be a sovereign nation? What is the relationship between reservations and the federal government? Can reservations pass laws that run up against state or federal statutes? How are, and were, reservations created? What does the Bureau of Indian Affairs actually do? Our guest is Maurice Crandall, assistant professor of Native American Studies at Dartmouth, and a citizen of the Yavapai-Apache Nation of Camp Verde.
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18min

FAQs about Civics 101:

How many episodes does Civics 101 have?

The podcast currently has 485 episodes available.

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