What's it like to report on Congress?

On June 14 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that bump stocks are no longer illegal, reversing an order from Donald Trump and the ATF that was passed in the wake of the Las Vegas shootings. The words "Second Amendment" do not appear in the opinion, concurring opinion, or dissent. And yet, within minutes of the ruling, every news agency was calling it a Second Amendment case. So what is the Second Amendment?It's short. 27 words. Words which have been interpreted and reinterpreted by historians, activists, judges, and philosophers. What did it mean when it was written? What does it mean right now? And what happened in between?Today's episode features Saul Cornell, professor of history at Fordham University and author of A Well Regulated Militia, Alexandra Filindra, professor of political science at University of Illinois Chicago and author of Race, Rights, and Rifles, and Jake Charles, lecturing fellow and executive director of the Center for Firearms Law at Duke Law.  CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

Today we break down flags that have been in the news; from variations on the American flag to revolutionary flags like the Gadsden Flag and the "Appeal to Heaven" pine tree flag. These flags do not change in their design, but the meaning of these flags certainly does change.For more flaggery, click here to hear our show about the history of the American flag and SCOTUS cases surrounding it, and click here to learn about why Nick thinks the NH flag is so terrible. BONUS: Check out Hannah and Nick on NPR’s It’s Been a Minute - Conservatives want to burn flags too! CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

This is the story of what happens (and what's happening) when the American workforce tries to get a seat at the table.  Our guides to strikes, unions and the labor movement are Kim Kelly, journalist and author of Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor, Eric Loomis professor of History at the University of Rhode Island and author of A History of America in Ten Strikes and our friend Andrew Swan, an 8th Grade Social Studies teacher in Newton, MA among many other things. CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

The Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, DC is sometimes called “the people’s zoo.” That’s because it’s the only zoo in the country to be created by an act of US Congress, and admission is free.But why did our federal government create a national zoo in the first place?Outside/In producer Felix Poon has the scoop – from its surprising origins in the near-extinction of bison, to a look at its modern-day mission of conservation, we’re going on a field trip to learn all about the National Zoo.Support our public radio show today and you can get our new misinformation/disinformation tote bag! Click here to take a peek at it. CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

Today on Civics 101 we talk about truth, bias, and objectivity in reporting. I visited with Barbara Sprunt, reporter at the Washington desk at NPR, who told me what it's like to cover Capitol Hill. Barbara told me about her schedule, what to listen for when interviewing members of Congress, and what she says to accusations of political bias.Support our public radio show today and you can get our new misinformation/disinformation tote bag! Click here to take a peek at it. CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

We started out by lining up on different sides of the street, then by saying our vote out loud. We've used many methods to vote, but most of them were corruptible by the party in power. But have we reached the pinnacle? Have we finally achieved the "perfect ballot?" Today, Dan Cassino of Farleigh Dickinson University and Josh Pasek of the University of Michigan walk us through the history of ballot design, the ballot fiasco in 2000, and how some ballots continue to favor one candidate (or party) over the other.Wanna look like the hippest Civics 101 fan in town? Click here to check out our new Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda tote bag! CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

Today we explore coins, shells, greenbacks, the Mint, all things tied to American currency.Our guides are Stephen Mihm, professor at the University of Georgia and author of A Nation of Counterfeiters: Capitalists, Con Men, and the Making of the United States, Ellen Feingold, curator at the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian, and Todd Martin from the U.S. Mint. Hey, check out our snazzy new tote bag! Make a $5 a month or $60 one time gift to the show and it's yours! CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

We often tell you that YOUR local government is the one you have to pay really close attention to. So today we’re bringing you an episode from our colleagues over at Outside/In that proves exactly this. It’s about one city - Juneau, Alaska - and what happens when climate change concerns meet municipal resources – or lack thereof. What does a city do when the bottom line doesn’t jibe with reality and federal funds are out of reach?  Especially when a predictable natural disaster is looming on the horizon?Outside/In host Nate Hegyi visits Juneau to see one example of why some Americans - and their civil leaders -  are rejecting tough truths about climate change when it comes knocking at their own back door.To see photos and learn more about Nate's reporting in Juneau, click here. Check out Outside/In at Outsideinradio.org - and follow or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

Host Nick Capodice talks to co-host Hannah McCarthy about what it's like having real access to the Supreme Court. (Spoiler alert: those chairs lean WAY back!)And then the pair pays a very emotional visit to the Lincoln Memorial.  CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more! 

Why do we need so much paper money? Why does the National Zoo have bison?  How did Thomas Edison record sound? How big is the Hope Diamond? What does the CPB do? And what is it ike seeing a Supreme Court oral argument in person? What about all those protests outside?These are all questions the Civics 101 team sought to answer on their second and third days field-tripping in Washington D.C. And now they've been joined by Outside/In producer Felix Poon! Listen in as the team shares their experiences and some interesting facts they picked up during their reporting and down time.And don't forget to stay tuned for all the episodes the team will produce after this trip to our nation's capital! CLICK HERE: Visit our website to donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more!