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
82 episodes
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...
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Season 1
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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...
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Season 1
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Episode 80
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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 ...
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Season 1
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Episode 79
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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...
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Season 1
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Episode 78
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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...
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Season 1
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Episode 77
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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...
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Season 1
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Episode 76
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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...
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Season 1
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Episode 75
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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...
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Season 1
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Episode 74
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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...
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Season 1
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Episode 73
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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...
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Season 1
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Episode 72
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19:59
Understanding the Necessary and Proper Clause: Constitutional Foundations Explained
What exactly does the Constitution's Necessary and Proper Clause allow Congress to do? Dr. Beienburg cuts through centuries of debate to reveal the true nature of this misunderstood provision.The podcast begins by addressing a common mi...
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Season 1
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Episode 71
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10:55
Enlightenment to Constitution
A lot of people say the Constitution is outdated; fewer can explain how its design actually came to be. We walk through the ideas that turned Enlightenment philosophy into a durable framework: why the founders insisted on a written constitution...
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Season 1
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Episode 70
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18:43
The Constitution's Preamble, Plain and Powerful
The most famous three words in American politics aren’t the whole story. We take “We the People” and follow it through the full Preamble to see how six clear aims—union, justice, domestic tranquility, common defense, general welfare, and the bl...
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Season 1
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Episode 69
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20:21
Federalism: Dividing Power in American Government
Federalism represents the fundamental division of power between the federal government and states, serving as a core animating feature of American government since the Revolution. Dr. Sean Beienburg explores how this constitutional principle wo...
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Season 1
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Episode 68
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23:36
Checks and Balances: How Our Government Maintains Equilibrium
The architecture of American democracy didn't happen by accident. In this illuminating episode of Civics in a Year, Dr. Sean Beienberg reveals how the Constitution's system of checks and balances creates a government resistant to tyranny yet ca...
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Season 1
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Episode 67
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10:48
Reclaiming Persuasion: Why Political Violence Threatens the Constitution—and How Civic Education Can Save Us
Political violence doesn’t appear out of nowhere; it grows in the shadows of dehumanizing talk, outrage incentives, and the belief that ordinary politics no longer works. We take that trend head‑on with Jeff Davis, program director for civic ed...
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16:06
Constitutional Safeguards: How the Founders Designed America's Power Structure
Power division is at the heart of America's constitutional system, yet few truly understand its ingenious architecture. Dr. Sean Beienberg breaks down this complex framework, revealing how the founders created a government designed not for grid...
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Season 1
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Episode 65
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8:24
State Constitutions: The Blueprint for America
How do you build a nation from scratch? The founders didn't work in a vacuum—they had living laboratories in the form of state constitutions. These documents, written during the revolutionary fervor after 1776, provided crucial lessons about wh...
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Season 1
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Episode 64
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10:32
Articles vs Constitution: What Changed and What Remained
The delicate balance between federal power and state sovereignty has defined American governance since its founding. Dr. Beienberg returns to explore the crucial evolution from the Articles of Confederation to the Constitution, revealing subtle...
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Season 1
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Episode 63
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13:29
Beyond Failure: Rethinking the Articles of Confederation's Legacy
The Articles of Confederation are often dismissed as America's failed first attempt at self-government, but there's a richer story hiding beneath this simplified narrative. Dr. Sean Beienberg takes us on a fascinating journey through America's ...
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Season 1
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Episode 62
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14:23
Kids Version: America's First Rulebook
Remember when you were a kid and tried to build something complicated for the first time? It rarely worked perfectly on the first attempt. The United States had a similar experience with its first government system.The Articles of Confe...
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Season 1
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Episode 61
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4:01
Constitutional Interpretation: Why Judges Still Turn to Hamilton, Madison, and Jay
Why do Supreme Court justices turn to 235-year-old political essays when deciding modern cases? This riveting exploration with Dr. Sean Beienberg reveals how the Federalist Papers continue to shape constitutional interpretation centuries after ...
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Season 1
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Episode 60
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10:16
Breaking Barriers: Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's Legacy
Few Americans have transformed our nation's trajectory quite like Sandra Day O'Connor. Born on an Arizona ranch where she learned resilience and grit, her journey to becoming the first woman on the Supreme Court reveals both personal determinat...
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Season 1
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Episode 59
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9:43
Kids Edition: The Great Debate That Built Our Democracy
We explore the critical debate between Federalists and Anti-Federalists that shaped America's founding and governmental structure in the late 1780s after the Revolutionary War. Their competing visions for the new nation's power structure ultima...
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Season 1
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Episode 58
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4:50
The Art of Disagreement: What America's Founding Debates Teach Us Today
Dr. Paul Carrese returns to Civics in a Year for a profound conversation about what modern Americans can learn from the debates between Federalists and Anti-Federalists during the Constitution's ratification. This eye-opening discussion reveals...
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Season 1
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Episode 57
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24:26