Civics for Life

5.0 (1)
EDUCATION
UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY

This is the official podcast of Civics for Life. Civics for Life is an initiative of the Sandra Day O’Connor Institute for American Democracy. Civics for Life is an online resource center for multigenerational civics education, civil discourse and civic engagement.

JAN 2

How to Save Democracy, with Josiah Ober

Is democracy in trouble? Many Americans believe so: recent polls consistently rank "threats to democracy" as one of respondents' top concerns. In the new book The Civic Bargain, authors Brook Manville and Josiah Ober look to history for examples of democracies under threat. By examining the ways in which historical democracies confronted their own challenges, the authors are able to distill lessons and principles that can benefit us today. You can find us at: https://civicsforlife.org/ ...

46 min
07/28/2023

Why Rural America Is Thriving, with Elizabeth Currid-Halkett

The story often told is that rural America is in decline, and that rural Americans are resentful of their suburban and urban counterparts. But Elizabeth Currid-Halkett argues in her new book The Overlooked Americans: The Resilience of Our Rural Towns and What It Means For Our Country that rural Americans and rural America are in many ways actually thriving. Currid-Halkett joins Institute director of public policy Liam Julian for an enlightening discussion.You can find us at: https://civicsfor...

42 min
07/13/2023

The Future of the Court

Civics for Life and the O'Connor Institute welcome Professor Cristina Rodríguez and Mr. Adam White as they join host Liam Julian, director of Public Policy at the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute, for an online conversation and share diverse perspectives on the Future of the Court. Rodríguez and White both served as members of the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States, formed by President Joe Biden's Executive Order 14023 in April 2021. The Commission’s pur...

55 min
07/13/2023

The Pros and Cons of Open Primaries and Ranked Choice Voting

Do open primaries and ranked-choice voting have the potential to improve American elections, or will they create more problems than they solve? Kevin Meyer, former lieutenant governor of Alaska; Steve Goldstein, executive director of Save Democracy AZ; and Jaime Molera, former Arizona superintendent of public instruction join the O'Connor Institute and Civics for Life to discuss the issue.You can find us at: https://civicsforlife.org/ Follow us on: Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube TikTok

56 min
07/13/2023

Art's Role in Civil Society, with Jed Perl

Civics for Life and the O'Connor Institute welcome Jed Perl as he joins Liam Julian, director of Public Policy at the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute, for a discussion on the relationship between art and society, the artist’s role in society, and whether art and artists have definite social and political responsibilities.Perl is the author of nine books, including a two-volume biography of the American sculptor Alexander Calder; a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship; an art critic for the New ...

59 min
07/13/2023

Gerrymandering in America, with Nick Seabrook

Civics for Life and the O'Connor Institute welcome Professor Nick Seabrook as he joins Liam Julian, director of Public Policy at the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute, for an online conversation on Gerrymandering.Gerrymandering, according to Webster, is "to divide or arrange (an area) into political units to give special advantages to one group when voting districts are designed to achieve specific political outcomes."Nick Seabrook, an authority on gerrymandering and constitutional law, discusses...

59 min
07/06/2023

The Museum as Civic Space, with Dr. Anthea Hartig

What is the museum’s role in society? How does – and can – the museum function as a civic space? Dr. Anthea Hartig, the first woman director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, recently sat down with Civics for Life to briefly discuss these and other questionsYou can find us at: https://civicsforlife.org/ Follow us on: Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube TikTok

16 min
07/06/2023

Emancipation's Complicated History, with Kris Manjapra

Emancipation in America is often presented as a single and singular undertaking. But Professor Kris Manjapra's new book, Black Ghost of Empire, complicates that story by situating America's national emancipation in a long line of global emancipations--including the first emancipations, which occurred in America's North in the late 18th century--that were in many ways structured to benefit former enslavers and ensure that the formerly enslaved remained repressed.Were these compromised emancipa...

45 min
07/06/2023

Socrates, Alcibiades, and 'The Quest for Character,' with Massimo Pigliucci

In his book The Quest for Character, Massimo Pigliucci asks: can good character be taught?Through an exploration of Greek and Roman philosophy, and especially the interaction of Socrates and Alcibiades, Pigliucci helps us understand what makes a good leader, and how we can educate others, and ourselves, to be better people and citizens.You can find us at: https://civicsforlife.org/ Follow us on: Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube TikTok

47 min
07/06/2023

John Locke: The 17th Century Philosopher who Shaped American Thought

The Sandra Day O’Connor Institute for American Democracy presents a Civics for Life Conversation with author and historian Claire Rydell Arcenas and Liam Julian, director of Public Policy at the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute. In her book America's Philosopher: John Locke in American Intellectual Life, Rydell Arcenas seeks to better understand and illuminate the crucial 17th century philosopher by showing how he influenced Americans at different historical moments. Widely known as the fou...

58 min

10 Episodes

Creator

Civics for Life
Years Active

2023 - 2024
Episodes

10
Rating

Clean
Show Website

Civics for Life

Civics for Life

Episodes

How to Save Democracy, with Josiah Ober

Why Rural America Is Thriving, with Elizabeth Currid-Halkett

The Future of the Court

The Pros and Cons of Open Primaries and Ranked Choice Voting

Art's Role in Civil Society, with Jed Perl

Gerrymandering in America, with Nick Seabrook

The Museum as Civic Space, with Dr. Anthea Hartig

Emancipation's Complicated History, with Kris Manjapra

Socrates, Alcibiades, and 'The Quest for Character,' with Massimo Pigliucci

John Locke: The 17th Century Philosopher who Shaped American Thought

About

Information