Civil Discourse

Nia and Aughie discuss the messiness of the Iowa Democratic caucus at some length. Aughie offered a historical look at the caucus process, and the primary process in general.

Nia and Aughie discuss strategies likely to be employed in the 2020 presidential election. They also explore two cases before the US Supreme Court involving faithless electors, and the potential puni…

In this episode, Nia wants to invade Canada when she is President, and Aughie explains why she might want to get Congressional buy-in for an invasion. We talk about the War Powers Act and the respons…

This episode discusses the annual tradition of the White House Christmas Tree, its origins, history, and current practices.

This episode introduces listener's to the tradition of the president's pardoning of turkeys at Thanksgiving and uses that as a springboard for discussion about presidential powers to issue pardons.

The final episode in this series tackles the Commerce Clause from the standpoint of the Affordable Care Act and the use of federal funds as both a carrot and a stick to induce individuals and states …

This episode continues the discussion of the Commerce Clause, including cases about farmers growing extra crops and grandmothers growing medicinal marijuana. 

This episode introduces the listeners to the Commerce Clause, including when and why it was included in the Constitution, what it regulates and its importance to the oversight of commercial intercour…

This podcast takes a look at the 25th Amendment, which was proposed after the death of President Kennedy and which provides the procedures for replacing the president or vice president in the event o…

This podcast reviews the Federal Register (AKA the bible for bureaucrats) which is defined as: "…the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of federal agencies and organiza…

This podcast reviews the process and internal working of what it takes to issue a presidential executive order and the subsequent issues including potential legal ramifications, injunctions, etc. It …

This podcast discusses the creation of the post office to unify the country, to create a way to connect sellers and buyers and also to help aid in the migratory patterns of the United States. The Pon…

This podcast reviews the process of getting a picture on a postage stamp. It all starts with the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee. According to the committee, you have to be dead and have had some k…

This podcast continues the conversation about the federal budget process but this time focuses on Congress’ role. It follows the path of the budget from the president’s office through Congressional l…

This podcast reviews the federal budget process starting with the president (through the Office of Budget and Management, OMB), the OMB sending out memos to each federal agency for their requirements…

This podcast discusses the VCU Common Book, Evicted by Matthew Desmond, and the eviction process in general. It covers both the technical definition (the legal process that leads to someone to be phy…

This podcast is a continuation of the podcast Eviction Part 1: the Short Take. It discusses cases of eviction, how the instability of housing impacts individuals and neighborhoods, section eight and …

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