Civil Discourse

Aughie and Nia discuss the recent Congressional decision to avert a railroad strike.

As with previous departments, the Department of Education was re-created recently, but goes back to 1867, when President Andrew Johnson signed legislation creating the first Department of Education. …

Nia and Aughie explore the recent decision by Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona to change her party affiliation from Democrat to Independent.

Nia and Aughie move on to the lucky 13th department, the Department of Energy, formed in 1977. While it might seem like a recent department, Energy can trace its beginning agencies back to the Manhat…

The next department in the series is also part of the Great Society, the Department of Transportation (DoT).  Aughie explains how the many subagencies of the department work together in various ways …

Aughie and Nia discuss the statistics and implications of the 2022 midterm elections.

In 1965, we got the next department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), as part of President Johnson's Great Society. Nia and Aughie discuss the needs of the nation to find ways t…

Nia and Aughie discuss the recent Supreme Court hearings involving two cases from the Students for Fair Admissions versus Harvard (one case) and SFFA versus UNC (second case). The universities in the…

Aughie and Nia move on to the next department in the series, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, later the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). From Head Start to Medicare, HHS…

Nia and Aughie discuss government intervention, Supreme Court rulings, and hate speech. in light of recent anti-semitic comments made by Ye West.

Aughie and Nia discuss the Department of Labor as the next in the series. The Bureau of Labor was initially part of the Department of Interior, then its own Bureau but not part of the Cabinet, and th…

Nia and Aughie tackle the next department, the Department of Commerce. Originally formed as the Department of Commerce and Labor on February 14, 1903, It later separated into two departments.. Aughie…

Aughie explains rank choice voting.

 Aughie and Nia move on to the next in the series, the Department of Agriculture. At its founding in 1862, the Department of Agriculture was referred to as "The People's Department" by President Abra…

Nia and Aughie continue to discuss the Cabinet Departments, in this case the Department of the Interior. The Department of the Interior, founded in 1849, arose from the need to manage most of the lan…

Aughie and Nia explore the position of Postmaster General from 1753 to modern times in this episode of the Cabinet departments. Aughie explains how the Postmaster General went from running a large pa…

Aughie and Nia move on to the next department in the series, the Department of Justice. They discuss the various Attorneys General, the structure of the Department of Justice, and interesting tidbits…

 Nia and Aughie conclude with part B of two episodes regarding the 3rd of the Department Series, the Department of War/Defense. Aughie sees listeners through World War i and into the renaming to Depa…

Aughie and Nia introduce part A of two episodes regarding the 3rd of the Department Series, the Department of War/Defense. Historians often place the early seeds of the department in the Revolutionar…

Nia and Aughie continue the Department series with part 2, the Department of the Treasury.  They explore the Secretaries of the Treasury and their various roles and responsibilities throughout the ye…