Civics & Coffee: A History Podcast
Civics & Coffee delivers bite-sized U.S. history with clear, engaging storytelling — all in the time it takes to drink your morning cup of coffee. Host Alycia brings America’s past to life with well-researched episodes that are approachable, human, and impossible to forget.
In 2026, Civics & Coffee dives into the Gilded Age - a transformative era of booming industry, powerful presidents, labor uprisings, immigration waves, inequality, and social reformers. From national crises like the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 to personal stories of figures such as Rutherford B. Hayes, Lucy Webb Hayes, and the Exodusters, each episode uncovers the people, tensions, and turning points that shaped modern America.
Whether you’re a longtime history lover or just history-curious, Civics & Coffee offers context without the homework and storytelling without the fluff. Grab your mug and join the conversation, one cup at a time.
Episodes
308 episodes
Entangled Alliances: The Global Roots of American Freedom with Dr. Ronald Angelo Johnson
Join me as I sit down with historian Ronald Angelo Johnson to explore his groundbreaking book Entangled Alliances: Black Internationalism in the Early American Republic. Johnson reveals how free Black communities, Caribbean revolutiona...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 307
•
1:09:30
Fearless Women: Exploring Patriotic Feminism with Dr. Elizabeth Cobbs
Join me as I welcome historian and bestselling author Dr. Elizabeth Cobbs about her book Fearless Women and her powerful concept of patriotic feminism. Dr. Cobbs explains how generations of American women have pushed the nation to live up to it...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 306
•
33:17
The Election of 1876: Bargain or Betrayal?
The presidential election of 1876 stands as one of the most contested and consequential turning points in American history. In this episode, I explore the dramatic showdown between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel Tilden, unfo...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 305
•
19:59
The Fourth Annual Friendsgiving Podcast Spectacular
Your favorite history podcasters are back again! Join myself, Kenny from Abridged Presidential Histories, Howard from Plodding Through the Presidencies, and Jerry from The Presidencies of the United States as we chat about the upcoming 250th an...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 304
•
1:02:23
The Battle of Little Bighorn: The Victory That Doomed a Nation
What really happened at the Battle of Little Bighorn and how did a single momentous victory seal the fate of the Plains tribes?Join me this week as I dive into the events that led to Custer’s defeat, the broken treaties and gold rush tha...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 303
•
15:32
Inside The Gods of New York: Johnathan Mahler on the Decade That Remade the City
In this episode, I sit down with Jonathan Mahler, author of The Gods of New York, to explore the four years that transformed America’s greatest city—and foretold the divisions that would come to define the nation.From Wall Street’s boom ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 302
•
26:15
The Alien Enemies Act: When Fear Became Law—and Never Left
Passed in 1798 as part of the notorious Alien and Sedition Acts, the Alien Enemies Act has outlived its controversial siblings — and it’s still on the books today. In this episode, I trace its origins in the fear and politics of the early repub...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 301
•
16:23
Reconstruction's Legacy: The Second Founding That Could Have Been
In this episode, I look back on the Reconstruction era — a period that represented both a second founding of the United States and one of its greatest unfinished revolutions. Over the past year, I explored the political battles, social transfor...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 300
•
14:14
Public Memory & Myths: Matthew Davis on A Biography of a Mountain
Join me as I sit down with author Matthew Davis to discuss his new book, A Biography of a Mountain, an in-depth look at the creation, meaning, and legacy of Mount Rushmore. Davis explores how the monument came to symbolize both America...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 299
•
30:20
The Insurrection Act: A Civics Lesson in Power, Law, and Order
The Insurrection Act has stood at the crossroads of law, power, and public order for over two centuries. This episode traces its roots from the Militia Acts of 1792 and 1795 to its modern interpretations in moments of national crisis. Discover ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 298
•
18:45
Victoria Woodhull: Eden Collinsworth on a Most Improbable Life
She was a child clairvoyant, the first woman to own a Wall Street brokerage firm—and in 1872, she became the first woman to run for president of the United States. Join me as I sit down with author Eden Collinsworth to unpack the astonishing, u...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 297
•
40:36
The Fever That Haunted the South: The Forgotten Epidemic of 1878
What kind of epidemic could turn a thriving American city into a ghost town almost overnight?Join me as I explore the chilling story of the 1878 yellow fever epidemic—a public health disaster that decimated Memphis and echoed far beyond ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 296
•
15:44
Before Jack the Ripper: The Savage Crimes of the Servant Girl Annihilator
What if America’s first serial killer wasn’t H.H. Holmes—but someone far more brutal and completely forgotten?In this episode, I unravel the chilling mystery of the Servant Girl Annihilator, a violent and elusive murderer who stalked Aus...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 295
•
16:08
Holy Local: Shae Corey on Religion, Oral History, and Public Memory in D.C.
What can one church in Washington, D.C. reveal about American religious life, social justice, and the power of oral history? In this episode, I talk with public historian Shae Corey, the creator and producer of the podcast Holy Local, ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 294
•
39:57
Diamond in the Rough: The Murder of Bessie Moore
In 1877, the body of a woman was found near a twisted oak tree in Jefferson, Texas—dressed in fine clothes, shot in the head, and missing a diamond ring. Her name was Bessie Moore, better known as Diamond Bessie. What followed was one of the mo...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 293
•
15:08
Louisiana Voodoo: Untangling the Myths, the Magic, and the History
Join me this week as I dig into the real story behind Louisiana Voodoo — a spiritual tradition shaped by West African roots, Haitian resistance, and the streets of New Orleans. Discover how the Haitian Revolution sent shockwaves across the Atla...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 292
•
14:48
White Man’s Law Rules the Country: The Modoc War
One of the costliest conflicts launched in opposition of Indigenous Americans, the Modoc War pitted the United States Army against a dwindling band of Modoc. Despite being outnumbered and outgunned, Modoc fighters successfully defended their po...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 291
•
20:36
A Version of Sisterhood: Unwed & Unbothered with Emma Duval
From spinsters to old maids, women who broke conventions to remain single have long been derided as somehow outside of the norm. But history shows this has been happening for generations. What gives?Join me this week as I sit down with a...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 290
•
45:55
Community Care: Black Women During Reconstruction
Join me this week as I explore the vital but often overlooked role of Black women in the Reconstruction-era South. In the aftermath of the Civil War, Black women were central to rebuilding Black communities and creating the social foundation fo...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 289
•
15:02
Unpacking the Mind Behind Vietnam: Dr. William Taubman on McNamara At War
Join me as I sit down with Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer William Taubman to explore his latest work, McNamara at War: A New History. Authors Philip and William Taubman take readers behind the scenes of Robert S. McNamara’s career, ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 288
•
52:04
Talking to Books: Education during Reconstruction
After the Civil War, education became one of the most powerful tools for newly freed Black Americans and one of the most fiercely contested. Join me as I explore the rise of Black education during Reconstruction, from grassroots schools built b...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 287
•
15:56
Landscape of Ruin: The Southern Economy during Reconstruction
How do you replace enslaved labor and rebuild an economy?In the aftermath of the Civil War, the Southern economy didn’t just have to recover; it had to reinvent itself. Join me as I explore how systems like sharecropping and the cotton l...
•
17:39
Art, Ambition & the Gilded Age: The Miniature Painter Revealed with Kathleen Langone
What can a miniature portrait painter teach us about fame, fortune, and forgotten women of the Gilded Age?In this episode I welcome historian and author Kathleen Langone to explore the fascinating life and career of Amalia Kussner — one ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 285
•
23:39
Reconstruction Beyond the South: The Broken Promises to Mexican Americans
Reconstruction is often taught as a Southern story, focused on the political, social, and legal changes that followed the Civil War. But for Mexican Americans living in the American Southwest, this era brought a different set of challenges, bet...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 284
•
16:43
Jay Gould: Titan or Tyrant?
Join me this week as I take a look at the life and legacy of Jay Gould, one of the most talked-about figures of the Gilded Age. From his early years in the tannery business to his rise as a major player in America’s railroad expansion, Gould le...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 283
•
19:02
