Civics In A Year
What do you really know about American government, the Constitution, and your rights as a citizen?
Civics in a Year is a fast-paced podcast series that delivers essential civic knowledge in just 10 minutes per episode. Over the course of a year, we’ll explore 250 key questions—from the founding documents and branches of government to civil liberties, elections, and public participation.
Rooted in the Civic Literacy Curriculum from the Center for American Civics at Arizona State University, this series is a collaborative project supported by the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership. Each episode is designed to spark curiosity, strengthen constitutional understanding, and encourage active citizenship.
Whether you're a student, educator, or lifelong learner, Civics in a Year will guide you through the building blocks of American democracy—one question at a time.
Episodes
97 episodes
Incorporation: From Congress To The States
Start with a single word—Congress—and watch the ground shift beneath your feet. We pull back the curtain on how rights that began as limits on the federal government became limits on states, tracing the winding path from Reconstruction’s ambiti...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 92
•
16:20
Abigail and John: How a Marriage Shaped American Politics
Power changes when it meets a clear-eyed partner. That’s the thread that runs through our conversation with Dr. Kirsten Birkhaug as we trace the political and personal partnership of John and Abigail Adams—two sharp minds who treated marriage l...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 93
•
14:40
Federalism In Practice
Power doesn’t just shift in Washington; it moves along a carefully drawn map between the federal government and the states. We dive into that map by tracing the Tenth Amendment through two centuries of clashes, from the Virginia and Kentucky Re...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 91
•
20:18
What The Tenth Amendment Really Does
Power flows from a simple premise: if the Constitution doesn’t grant it to Congress and it isn’t taken from the states, it stays with the states or the people. We dig into that promise, unpacking the Tenth Amendment as more than a slogan and sh...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 90
•
11:56
Why The Eighth Amendment Still Shapes Who We Are As A Society
Fairness is one of the first ideas we learn as kids, and it never stops shaping how we see justice. We sit down with Dr. Kerry Sautner, president and CEO of Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, to unpack the Eighth Amendment’s compact prom...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 87
•
28:38
Why The Ninth Amendment Protects Federal Limits, Not Hidden Rights
A single sentence in the Bill of Rights has fueled decades of confusion, debate, and hot takes—so we went back to the source to make sense of it. We trace the Ninth Amendment from the founding-era fight over a federal Bill of Rights to James Ma...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 89
•
12:35
Service, Citizenship, And Veterans Day
The quiet that fell on November 11, 1918 did more than end a war—it sparked a living promise we renew every time we show up for one another. We start with the origin of Armistice Day and trace how America reshaped it into Veterans Day, a commit...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 88
•
21:49
How The Fifth, Sixth, And Seventh Amendments Protect Us
Want to know why a room full of ordinary people may be the strongest shield for your freedom? We sit down with Dr. James Stoner to unpack how the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Amendments built a citizen‑powered brake on state power—and why those gu...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 86
•
27:38
The Fourth Amendment: From General Warrants To Probable Cause
We trace the Fourth Amendment from colonial protests against general warrants to modern rules for warrants, cars, phones, and digital surveillance. We explain probable cause, reasonableness, and how courts adapt old principles to new technology...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 85
•
14:43
Understanding The Second Amendment Through History And Natural Law
What if the fiercest argument about the Second Amendment is solved by going back to grammar, history, and first principles? We bring on Professor Nelson Lund—constitutional scholar and author of Rousseau’s Rejuvenation of Political Philosophy—t...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 84
•
17:27
Hate Speech And The First Amendment
Ever wonder why the law protects some of the most offensive speech you’ve ever heard? We sit down with Professor Eugene Volokh to map the real boundaries of the First Amendment—where protection is strongest, where it stops, and why those edges ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 83
•
16:07
Freedom Of The Press, Plainly Explained
Do you want to know what “freedom of the press” protects when you hit publish, post a video, or record a public official? We sit down with Professor Eugene Volokh, a leading First Amendment scholar, to draw a clear map through press rights, spe...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 82
•
10:31
How The Right To Petition Shapes Government Responses
What if the most underrated line of the First Amendment is the one that asks for a reply? We sit down with Dr. Daniel Carpenter of Harvard to explore the right to petition—what it is, where it came from, and why it still shapes how power listen...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 81
•
18:39
Inquiry-Based Learning That Sparks Agency In Civics
We push past rote coverage to show how inquiry turns students into investigators who ask better questions, weigh evidence, and communicate claims. We link inquiry to the EAD roadmap, Arizona standards, and practical frameworks teachers can use ...
•
35:30
Debunking Constitutional Myths With A Historian’s Lens
Think you know the Constitution’s greatest hits? We pull back the curtain with Andrew Porwancher, a constitutional historian and Hamilton biographer, to test common “truths” against the record the founders left behind. We start with power: why ...
•
56:20
Civics In A Year Returns Soon
A short pause can sharpen the conversation, and that’s exactly what we’re doing. We’re stepping back for a moment to gear up for a stronger return on November 3—bringing in sharp scholars, richer context, and practical insights on the ideas and...
•
Season 1
•
2:13
Understanding The Freedom Of Speech: What It Protects And What It Doesn’t
We map the freedom of speech by categories, separating protected ideas from unprotected harms like libel, obscenity, true threats, and incitement, and explain why political speech sits at the core. We also clear up the biggest myth: there is no...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 80
•
26:26
Free Exercise, Explained Clearly
We explore the Free Exercise Clause, trace the path from Reynolds to Smith, and examine how RFRA, vouchers, and the “tire case” shape modern religious liberty. We connect free exercise to establishment, show where they clash, and ask where the ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 79
•
18:01
What The Establishment Clause Really Means
Forget the sound bite about a “wall of separation.” We dig into what the Establishment Clause actually says, why the founders cared, and how the Supreme Court’s view has evolved from strict separation to a history-and-tradition lens that prizes...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 78
•
17:35
Religion, Liberty, And The First Amendment
What happens when a republic that relies on moral character also forbids any national church? We dig into the founding design for religious liberty, starting with the First Amendment’s twin protections—no establishment and free exercise—and the...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 77
•
24:27
Why the Bill of Rights Exists—and What It Really Limits
Start with a myth-buster: the First Amendment wasn’t originally first. We open the door to the real story behind the Bill of Rights—how a wary public demanded assurances, how Madison turned state models into national guarantees, and why the mos...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 76
•
16:51
How the Constitution Faced Slavery without Saying Its Name
We explore how three clauses—and what’s left unsaid—shaped slavery’s legal status at the founding while pointing toward its moral illegitimacy. Dr. Michael Zuckert traces the tension between federal structure, state authority, and the Declarati...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 75
•
25:55
More Perfect, The Role of Compromise in the Constitution
The Constitution didn’t materialize from harmony; it was hammered out line by line by people who disagreed on almost everything except one urgent fact: the Articles weren’t working. We sit down with Julie Silverbrook, Vice President of Civic Ed...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 74
•
12:40
Amending The Constitution
What if the Constitution wasn’t meant to be a relic, but a living commitment we change only when we truly mean it? We dig into Article V with Dr. Sean Beienburg to unpack how the Constitution can be amended, why the framers chose supermajoritie...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 73
•
25:59
Electoral College, Explained
Think you already know how the Electoral College works? We go past the headlines to unpack why the system blends popular voice with state power, how states gained wide discretion over electors, and why most adopted winner-take-all rules. With D...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 72
•
19:59