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What is the Midterm Curse?
October 23, 2023
During midterm elections - those that take place between presidential elections - the president's party tends to lose seats in Congress. While not a guarantee, the party in power loses an average of 30 seats during the midterms. So why does this happen? Let's explore a some of the theories that explain this phenomenon and meet a few presidents who managed to avoid the dreaded midterm curse.
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The Committees that Created a Nation | Simple Civics
October 28, 2025
How a few emboldened colonists created the United States behind closed doors.
How the Patriots "Out-Spied" the British
October 20, 2025
Invisible ink, secret codes, and dirty laundry helped the patriots turn the tide of the Revolution....
What even is the Situation Room?
October 14, 2025
There are many rooms in The White House, but only one specifically designed for times of crisis....
Are Local Governments POWERFUL? That Depends
October 3, 2025
How much power does your local government REALLY have?
How does Social Security work?
September 29, 2025
Social Security is a massive, complex system that touches the lives of nearly every American....
What is WFYI's Simple Civics?
September 4, 2025
Civics doesn’t have to be complicated, so let’s make it simple!
The history of America's National Park Service
June 10, 2025
Can you imagine what the United States would be like without the National Park Service?
The Debt Ceiling: A spending safeguard or a political bargaining chip?
May 14, 2025
The debt ceiling, much like ranch dressing or hamburgers, is a uniquely American invention....
The history and purpose of The Federal Reserve
April 30, 2025
The Federal Reserve is the central bank of the U.S. But why do we even have it in the first...
How NASA works with private space companies
April 17, 2025
While Blue Origin and Space X make headlines, NASA remains as a leader of academic space research....
How do billionaires avoid paying taxes?
March 12, 2025
Billionaires pay less in taxes than ever before, but how do they do it?
Shirley Chisholm and the Fight for Political Equality
February 18, 2025
Learn how America's first Black congresswoman broke barriers and ran for president against...
What type of Government does the US have?
February 3, 2025
Online you may see arguments that the United States isn't a democracy. Are these claims valid?...
How these Political Outsiders became President
January 17, 2025
We know how Trump won, but how did other outsiders like James Garfield and Lincoln become president?...
Why doesn't Indiana have citizen-initiated ballot measures?
November 5, 2024
Why do some states have citizen-initiated ballot measures, and others don't?
Should Election Day be a federal holiday?
October 23, 2024
Hear the arguments for and against this idea in this episode of Simple Civics!
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