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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 supposed to work, anyway.

Civics 101

It’s a weird time to be an environmental scientist. The proposed cuts to federal science funding in the United States are profound, and if they come to pass, it’s not clear what American science will look like on the other side. But for many researchers, science is much more than a career: it’s a community, lifestyle, and sometimes even a family business. 

This episode was produced by our fellow NHPR podcast Outside/In. You can check out photos and more related to this episode right here. 

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!

What's it like being a scientist facing federal funding cuts?

When Mr. Smith Goes to Washington came out in 1939, it infuriated politicians, the press, and fascist nations. At the same time, it delighted audiences and informed them on the legislative process decades before Schoolhouse Rock. 

Today we talk about the film, as well as corruption, earnestness, our families, lost causes, and hope.

Listen to our episode of Hannah's visit to the Lincoln Memorial here.

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!

Cinema Civics: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

"The shadow docket," refers to orders from the Supreme Court that are (often) unsigned, inscrutable, and handed down in the middle of the night. Professor Stephen Vladeck takes us through this increasingly common phenomenon.

Note: This episode was originally produced in 2022. 

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!

The Supreme Court rulings that aren't rulings

Is there a way President Trump (or any president) can serve a third (or fourth) term in office? Maybe there is. 

Most people assume the 22nd Amendment limits a president to two terms, period. What happens when the president, or legal scholars, challenge that assumption? Joining us to talk about that is Bruce Peabody of Fairleigh Dickinson University. 

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!

Is it possible for a president to serve a third term?

As subjects of the British king, the very idea of criticizing monarchy -- or King George III himself -- was a dangerous one. So how did we become a country where "no kings" is a guiding principle? Something we take for granted? 

Holly Brewer is our guide to the resistance, risk and eventual revolution that transformed a British colony into a democratic country that would have no king. 

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!

A country with no kings

Today on Civics 101, we answer listener questions about tariffs. And then, we look at how they've affected one American Industry. It's not a game, but these companies do make them, and they've been hit hard by President Trump's ever-changing tariff policies. 

NOTE - This episode was republished because of a technical issue . 

Click here to check out our 2024 episode on how tariffs work. 

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!

How are tariffs affecting American businesses?

The team delves into some of the many civics lessons the public got while watching Karen Read’s retrial, which ended with her acquittal on all major charges in June. Topics include the First Amendment, judicial discretion, courtroom tactics, and more. Our expert for this episode is Colin Miller, blogger, podcaster, and professor at University of South Carolina School of Law. 

Read Vanity Fair's extensive reporting on this case.

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!

Civics lessons from Karen Read's retrial

Is there a civics lesson in the 1996 film Independence Day? We think so. 

Join the Civics 101 team for a conversation about the film, its politics, and what it says about the United States and its place in the world. 

There's even a fire-jumping dog!

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!

Cinematic Civics: Independence Day

The Senate Parliamentarian is many things. A nonpartisan referee, an appointed official, and at some times one of the most powerful people in our government. 

This week, Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough found several provisions in the currently debated budget appropriations bill violated something called the "Byrd Rule." 

Today we explore this complicated and often-unseen role with Sarah Binder, professor at George Washington University, and a person who spent over thirty years in the office, former Senate Parliamentarian Alan Frumin.

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!

What does the Senate Parliamentarian do?

We know why we feel the way we do about certain political issues, don't we? Don't we??

It turns out that politicians, political strategists, and the media are working every day to alter what we think about something before we know we're thinking about it. And the way this is done is through "framing."

So what is framing? How long have people been doing it? And most importantly, how can we push back against it? Taking us through the Frame Wars is Dr. Jennifer Mercieca, professor of communication and author of Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump.

For those who want to know more, check out our episode on Propaganda, as well as Jen's article on Frame Warfare.

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!

How political “framing” shapes our thoughts

Since its passage after World War I, thousands of people have been investigated for violating the Espionage Act, including Julian Assange, Daniel Ellsberg, and Donald Trump. However, only two people have been executed for violating it during peacetime; Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. 

This episode features Anne Sebba, author of Ethel Rosenberg: A Cold War Tragedy, and Jake Kobrick, Associate Historian at the Federal Judicial Center. It explains the Espionage Act of 1917, the accusations against the Rosenbergs, the twists and turns of their trial, and their execution in 1953. 

Like our work? Click this link to support it with a donation today. 

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!

Federal Courts: Espionage and the Rosenbergs

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