Nick Capodice

2 months ago | nhpr.org | Hannah McCarthy |Nick Capodice |Christina Phillips

In this episode, the Civics 101 team unpacks the meaning behind the term 'Constitutional Crisis.' Listen Monday, Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. with an encore airing at 9 p.m. on NHPR and NHPR.org— or listen anytime by clicking the link below. It's a term thrown around quite a bit lately, but what does it actually mean? This is an episode about the basics of the Law of the Land, the three branches of government and what happens when they're don't work the way they're supposed to.

2 months ago | nhpr.org | Christina Phillips |Hannah McCarthy |Nick Capodice

This episode of Civics 101: The CPB and the Politics of Public Media aired Monday, August 5, 2024. It was updated in January 2025. What is the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, or the CPB? How does it all work? And why is it SO political? In this episode, senior producer Christina Phillips explains it all. She first spoke with the CPB's Anne Brachman, and then did a deep dive to learn more. Christina also covers 2024 legislation called the Defund NPR Act. You can read that bill right here.

Dec 9, 2024 | civics101podcast.org | Nick Capodice

Archival: [00:00:07] Indisputable is that the government is using military courts to try civilian protesters, that opposition figures are behind bars, that the president says he wants to change the Constitution in order to, quote, restore the peace. How is that not creeping authoritarianism? Archival: [00:00:22] Chairman Mao may loom large here as a symbol of strength, but he's also a reminder of the chaos that can come when one [00:00:30] leader has far too much of it.

Nov 7, 2024 | civics101podcast.org | Nick Capodice

In 2018, we did an episode on Presidential Transitions. Now that we have had an election, we decided to revisit it. There are nearly 4,000 positions that a president appoints after their inauguration. How do they do it? How long does it take? And why has Donald Trump repeatedly refused to sign the "memoranda of understanding" regarding the transition from the U.S. General Services Administration?

Oct 14, 2024 | civics101podcast.org | Nick Capodice

Corruption in politics is a trope that's been around ever since we had politics. And it can feel inevitable. Regardless of anticorruption legislation and executive orders, it seems like it will never go away. David Sirota, editor in chief of The Lever and host of the podcast Master Plan, argues the opposite.  Today on Civics 101 we learn about what corruption is, how it influences (or doesn't influence) policy, and what needs to be done to eradicate it from our political system.