My New Show Is Out! Watch CIVICS MADE EASY on PBS's YouTube, Website & App
New episodes publish every other Thursday (starting June 26th).
For the past two years I’ve been researching, writing, and filming Civics Made Easy. Aside from my book it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. You can read more about the show here if you like.
The path began six and a half years ago. Multiple networks, producers, and iterations later, it’s real. We filmed these twelve episodes — each covering a different topic — in Los Angeles, New York, D.C., Philadelphia, and Puerto Rico.
It takes dozens of people to make a show like this — here are some of them.
The topics covered include the Electoral College, political donations, elections, political parties, voting rights, civic education, the filibuster, U.S. territories, taxes, constitutional conventions, amendments, and our founding documents. I also interviewed U.S. senators, government agency heads, college professors, legal experts, social media influencers, billionaires, and random citizens. They were liberal, conservative, and in-between.
My biggest takeaway from making this is that we agree on far more than we realize. I also think the lack of civics in our schools is directly responsible for voter apathy. Not teaching people how the government works — why we should care, how it affects us, how we can affect it — is the most insidious form of voter suppression.
I’ll have more to say in the coming weeks — but for now I wanted to let you know it’s out. I’m so grateful to the people at PBS, the team at Second Peninsula, and my agents at United Talent Agency (UTA) for making it happen.
So check out Episode 1 on the Electoral College — on YouTube, PBS.org, and the PBS app (on most smartphones and smart TVs) — and let me know what you think.
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I think you’re right about voter apathy and dwindling education. Congrats to everyone involved on the show!