Crash Course U.S. Government and Politics

  • Premiered: Jan 2015
  • Episodes: 50
  • Followers: 2
  • Ended
  • YouTube
  • Friday at 17
  • Documentary History

Seasons:

You need to be logged in to mark episodes as watched. Log in or sign up.

Season 1
1x1
Introduction
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 23, 2015
Craig Benzine introduces a brand new Crash Course about U.S. Government and Politics! This course will provide you with an overview of how the government of the United States is supposed .. show full overview
1x2
The Bicameral Congress
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 30, 2015
Craig Benzine teaches you about the United States Congress, and why it's bicameral, and what bicameral means. Craig tells you what the Senate and House of Representatives are for, some .. show full overview
1x3
Checks & Balances
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 06, 2015
In which Craig Benzine teaches you about the US Governments Separation of powers and the system of checks and balances. In theory, the Legislative Branch, the Executive Branch, and the .. show full overview
1x4
Fedaralism
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 14, 2015
In which Craig Benzine teaches you about federalism, or the idea that in the United States, power is divided between the national government and the 50 state governments. Craig will .. show full overview
1x5
Constitutional Compromises
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 20, 2015
In which Craig Benzine teaches you about the compromises met in ratifying the U.S. Constitution. The United State’s didn’t always have its current system of government. Actually, this is .. show full overview
1x6
Congressional Elections
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 27, 2015
This week Craig Benzine talks about the importance of elections. But he isn’t going to focus on presidential elections, but instead those of the strongest part of our government: .. show full overview
1x7
Congressional Committees
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 06, 2015
This week Craig Benzine clears up the role of committees in Congress. We’ll talk about standing committees, joint committees, conference committees, and caucuses (and not the .. show full overview
1x8
Congressional Leadership
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 14, 2015
This week Craig Benzine explores the leadership structure of congress. We’ll break out the clone machine to examine the responsibilities of the speaker of the house, the majority and .. show full overview
1x9
How a Bill Becomes a Law
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 20, 2015
Oh my, Craig has his work cut out for him this week. The process of how a bill becomes a law can be pretty complex, fraught with potential bill-death at every corner. As if just getting .. show full overview
1x10
Congressional Decisions
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 27, 2015
This week Craig breaks out the crystal ball to try and figure out why our congresspeople do the things that they do. We’ll talk about the three motivating factors of congressional .. show full overview
1x11
Presidential Power
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 11, 2015
This week Craig looks at the expressed powers of the President of the United States - that is the ones you can find in the Constitution. From appointing judges and granting pardons, to .. show full overview
1x12
Presidential Powers 2
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 17, 2015
This week Craig continues our conversation on presidential powers by looking at those NOT found in the Constitution - implied or inherent powers. We’ll talk about how the president uses .. show full overview
1x13
Congressional Delegation
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 24, 2015
In which Craig Benzine teaches you about delegation, and informal powers. What are all these federal agencies about? Well, the president has a lot of stuff to do as the chief executive, .. show full overview
1x14
How Presidents Govern
Episode overview
Air date
May 01, 2015
This week Craig Benzine talks about how the president gets things done. Filling the role of the executive branch is a pretty big job - much too big for just one person. It's so big that .. show full overview
1x15
Bureaucracy Basics
Episode overview
Air date
May 09, 2015
This week Craig Benzine discuses bureaucracies. Bureaucracies tend to be associated with unintelligible rules and time-wasting procedures, but they play an important, though .. show full overview
1x16
Types of Bureaucracies
Episode overview
Air date
May 15, 2015
This week Craig Benzine breaks down the different types of bureaucracies. I mean sure, they’re all part of the executive branch, but some work more directly with the president than .. show full overview
1x17
Controlling Bureaucracies
Episode overview
Air date
May 23, 2015
In which Craig Benzine tells you how we keep bureaucracy in check. So we've spent the last few episodes telling you all about what bureaucracies are and why they are formed. And .. show full overview
1x18
Legal System Basics
Episode overview
Air date
May 30, 2015
This week Craig Benzine takes a first look at the judicial branch. It's pretty easy to forget that the courts, and the laws that come out of them, affect our lives on a daily basis. But .. show full overview
1x19
Structure of the Court System
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 05, 2015
This week Craig Benzine is going to talk about the structure of the U.S. court system and how exactly it manages to keep things moving smoothly. We’’ll talk about trial courts, district .. show full overview
1x20
Supreme Court of the United States Procedures
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 12, 2015
This week Craig Benzine talks about what happens when a case makes it to the Supreme Court of the United States (or the SCOTUS). We're going to focus on court procedure today. We talk .. show full overview
1x21
Judicial Review
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 26, 2015
Today, Craig Benzine is going to tell you about the Supreme Court's most important case, Marbury v. Madison, and how the court granted itself the power of judicial review. Judicial .. show full overview
1x22
Judicial Decisions
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 10, 2015
Today, Craig Benzine is going to dive into the factors that influence judicial decisions. As you may have noticed, the Supreme Court recently handed down some pretty big decisions on .. show full overview
1x23
Civil Rights & Liberties
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 17, 2015
Today, Craig is going to give you an overview of civil rights and civil liberties. Often these terms are used interchangeably, but they are actually very different. Our civil liberties, .. show full overview
1x24
Freedom of Religion
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 24, 2015
Today, Craig is going to take a look at the First Amendment and your right to freedom of religion. We’ll examine some significant Supreme Court decisions and talk about how they’ve .. show full overview
1x25
Freedom of Speech
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 31, 2015
Today, FINALLY, Craig is going to talk about Free Speech! Now, free speech is so important because it not only allows you to critique the government, but it also protects you from the .. show full overview
1x26
Freedom of the Press
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 07, 2015
Today, Craig is going to finish up our discussion of the First Amendment with freedom of the press. Like an individual's right to free speech, the press has a right, and arguably .. show full overview
1x27
Search and Seizure
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 15, 2015
This week Craig talks about police searches and seizures. Now, the fourth amendment says that you have the right to be protected against "unreasonable searches and seizures" but what .. show full overview
1x28
Due Process of Law
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 21, 2015
This week Craig is going to continue our discussion of due process. Technically, we started last week with the 4th amendment and search and seizure, but this week we’re going to look at .. show full overview
1x29
Equal Protection
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 29, 2015
Today, Craig is going to talk about the most important part of the Constitution - the Fourteenth Amendment. In particular, we're going to discuss the "equal protection" clause and how it .. show full overview
1x30
Sex Discrimination
Episode overview
Air date
Sep 04, 2015
Today, Craig is going to talk about employment discrimination, and we're going to focus primarily on women in the workforce. Discrimination against women tends to be handled somewhat .. show full overview
1x31
Discrimination
Episode overview
Air date
Sep 19, 2015
Today, Craig is going to wrap up our discussion of discrimination by looking more closely at those “discrete and insular minorities” referenced in the 14th Amendment. We’ll talk about .. show full overview
1x32
Affirmative Action
Episode overview
Air date
Sep 26, 2015
So we've been talking about civil rights for the last few episodes now, and we're finally going to wrap this discussion up with the rather controversial topic of affirmative action. .. show full overview
1x33
Public Opinion
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 02, 2015
So today, Craig is finally going to start talking about politics. Now up until this point we've specifically been looking at government - that is answering the questions of who, what, .. show full overview
1x34
Shaping Public Opinion
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 09, 2015
So today Craig is going to talk about where our political opinions come from. Of course, most people’s politics are grounded in their ideologies, but there are also other external .. show full overview
1x35
Political Ideology
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 16, 2015
So today Craig is going to look at political ideology in America. We're going to focus on liberals and conservatives and talk about the influencers of both of these viewpoints. Now, it's .. show full overview
1x36
Election Basics
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 23, 2015
This week Craig is going to give you a broad overview of elections in the United States. So as you may have noticed, there are kind of a lot of people in the U.S, and holding individual .. show full overview
1x37
Gerrymandering
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 31, 2015
Today Craig is going to talk about a topic that makes voters and politicians alike ANGRY! We're going to talk about Gerrymandering - that is the process in which voting districts are .. show full overview
1x38
How Voters Decide
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 13, 2015
So today, Craig is going to try to get inside the heads of voters by discussing how voters make decisions. Now obviously, like all decision making, voter decisions are influenced by a .. show full overview
1x39
Political Campaigns
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 21, 2015
So political campaigns are a pretty big deal in the United States. For instance the 2012 presidential election clocked in at the most expensive ever - at around $6 billion dollars! .. show full overview
1x40
Political Parties
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 04, 2015
Today, Craig is going to talk about political parties and their role in American politics. So, when most people think about political parties they associate them with the common .. show full overview
1x41
Party Systems
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 11, 2015
Today, Craig is going to dive into the history of American political parties. So throughout most of United States history our political system has been dominated by a two-party system, .. show full overview
1x42
Interest Groups
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 19, 2015
Today, Craig is going to talk about something you fans out there have been demanding for months - money in politics. Specifically, we're going to talk about special interest groups and .. show full overview
1x43
Interest Group Formation
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 08, 2016
So last week we talked about what special interest groups are and how they influence the political system, and today we’re going to focus on why we even have them in the first place. As .. show full overview
1x44
Media Institution
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 16, 2016
So today we're going to look at the rather thorny issue of the media and its role in politics. Wether you're talking about older forms of media like newspapers and radio or newer forms .. show full overview
1x45
Media Regulation
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 23, 2016
Today we wrap up our discussion of the media by talking about how the government interacts with and influences the content we see. Now it may be easy to assume that because we live in a .. show full overview
1x46
Market Economy
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 29, 2016
Today, we’re going to take a look at how the government plays a role in the economy. Specifically, the way the government creates and maintains our market economic system. Now sure, the .. show full overview
1x47
Government Regulation
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 06, 2016
Today, we’re going to wrap up our discussion of economic policy by looking at government regulation. We're going to talk about the government's goals for the U.S. economy and the .. show full overview
1x48
Monetary and Fiscal Policy
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 12, 2016
Today, Craig is going to dive into the controversy of monetary and fiscal policy. Monetary and fiscal policy are ways the government, and most notably the Federal Reserve, influences the .. show full overview
1x49
Social Policy
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 27, 2016
Today, Craig is going to talk about social policy - in the United States this means achieving one of three goals: protecting Americans from risk, promoting equal opportunity, or .. show full overview
1x50 Show finale
Foreign Policy
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 04, 2016
Today Craig finishes up our series on U.S. Government and Politics by talking about both the least and most important aspect of government: foreign policy. Foreign policy is important .. show full overview

If there are missing episodes or banners (and they exist on TheTVDB) you can request an automatic full show update:

Request show update

Characters

If you like this show, you may also enjoy: