Hosted by Bobbi Fisher + Joe Ulery. A nonpolitical, educational podcast in which we highlight how our government works - so, you understand how to make the government work for you. From the Electoral College, to navigating Election Day, or how an idea becomes law, we simplify the mechanics of our government. Our goal is to empower you with knowledge and confidence to participate in the Great Experiment - the concept of the United States of America as a nation founded on the principles of democracy and self-governance. Join us as we unravel the complex ball of government and civics one thread at a time. Welcome to Plain Civics!
Send us a messageJoin hosts Bobbi Fisher and Joe Ulery as they discuss civics education, or lack thereof, as well as voting percentages, detecting misinformation, improving civil discourse, and what happens to our nation if we fail to fix these things. Support the show
Send us a messageJoin hosts Bobbi Fisher and Joe Ulery as they discuss the steps citizens need to take to vote in the upcoming primary and general elections this year. They look at why exercising your right to vote is so important, when primary elections are held in each state, deadlines to register to vote, requirements for voting (Indiana specific, but info is given to find your own state’s requirements), how to cast your vote, voter ID, the SAVE Act being debated by Congress right now, and researching the candidates and issues before voting.Several significant state voting links have been added to the Plain Civics Facebook page to help you find your state’s requirements.Support the show
Send us a messageJoin hosts Bobbi Fisher and Joe Ulery as they continue with the fourth of Ben Franklin’s civic virtues and then continue the discussion of 20 signs of tyranny, using Professor Timothy Snyder’s 2017 book, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century, as a guide. This episode covers lessons eight through twenty. These lessons from Professor Snyder’s book are even more relevant today than they were in 2017, when it was first published. We must work to prevent our democratic republic from becoming completely authoritarian. Support the show
Send us a messageJoin hosts Bobbi Fisher and Joe Ulery as they continue with the third of Ben Franklin’s civic virtues and then move into a discussion of liberal democracy v. authoritarianism. They will explain the difference between the two and prompt listeners to be on the lookout for signs of each. Once the differences of these two forms of government are laid out, they move into a discussion of 20 signs of tyranny, using Professor Timothy Snyder’s 2017 book, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century, as a guide. Lessons one through seven are covered in this episode and the remainder of the lessons in the next episode.Support the show
Send us a messageJoin hosts Joe Ulery and Bobbi Fisher as they track the beginnings, development, an evolution of political parties in U.S. history. It hasn’t always been the Democratic and Republican Parties. Political parties in the U.S. actually started back in the 1790’s with the Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party and have changed numerous times since then. In fact, today’s Democratic and Republican Parties are not the same as they were in the beginning. In this episode we also introduce two new short segments into our podcast, Ben Franklin’s Virtues and Don’t Know Much About History.Support the show
