Join NHPR’s Civics 101 this summer for a six-part broadcast series beginning Monday, July 29. Hosts Hannah McCarthy and Nick Capodice cover everything from the politics behind the Olympics– to how the CPB is funded– and the difference between misinformation and disinformation.
Beginning July 29, each 1-hour broadcast will air Mondays at 1 p.m. and 9 p.m. on-air, online, or with the NHPR app.

The Politics of the Olympics -
Monday, July 29
This year’s Summer Olympics begin Friday, July 26 and will be held in Paris, France. This global event takes years of planning, negotiation and convincing -- not to mention billions of dollars -- to stage. In this episode we’ll learn how the games are used by the United States and others around the world. We’ll also learn what it takes to host, what the games do for a nation– and what it means when you refuse to attend.
Our guests for this episode are Jules Boykoff, professor of government and politics at Pacific University and author of several books on the politics of the Olympics, and Nancy Qian, Professor of Managerial Economics & Decision Sciences at Northwestern University.
The CPB and the Politics of Public Media -
Monday, August 5
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. Since we taped the episode, there's a new effort afoot to defund the CPB. More on that here.
Civics 101 is free to listen to, but not free to make. Support from listeners like you keeps this non-profit, independent show from NHPR in your podcast feed and on your radio. Give today by clicking here!
The Second Amendment -
Monday, Aug 12
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?
This 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.
Disinformation, Misinformation, and Propaganda - Monday, Aug 19
In preparation for the upcoming election, we’re going to talk about lies. Civics 101, New Hampshire Public Radio’s show about how our democracy works, dives into the difference between misinformation and disinformation, and how to avoid it. We’ll also talk about our government's history with propaganda.
Our guests for this episode are Samantha Lai of the Brookings Institute and Peter Adams of the News Literacy Project.
How Should We Teach Civics? -
Monday, Aug 26
Walking us through the past, present, and future of social studies and civic education are Danielle Allen, James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University, and Adam Laats, Historian and Professor of Teaching, Learning and Educational Leadership at Binghamton University. We also hear from Louise Dube, Executive Director of iCivics and member of the Implementation Consortium at Educating for American Democracy, Justin Reich, Director at MIT Teaching Systems Lab and host of the TeachLab podcast, and CherylAnne Amendola, Department Chair and teacher at Montclair Kimberly Academy and host of the podcast Teaching History Her Way.
Strikes, Unions and Workers’ Rights -
Monday, Sept 2
On this Labor Day, learn 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.
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Civics 101 is free to listen to, but not free to make. Support from listeners like you keeps this non-profit, independent show from a public radio station in your podcast feed and on your radio. Give today by clicking here!