A User's Guide to Democracy
How America Works
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A User's Guide to Democracy
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Narrated by:
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Hannah McCarthy
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Nick Capodice
About this listen
"An informative and appealing civics lesson for first-time voters and old hands alike." (Publishers Weekly)
From Nick Capodice and Hannah McCarthy, the hosts of New Hampshire Public Radio’s Civics 101, and New Yorker cartoonist Tom Toro, A User's Guide to Democracy is a lively crash course in everything you should know about how the US government works.
Do you know what the Secretary of Defense does all day? Are you sure you know the difference between the House and the Senate? Have you been pretending you know what Federalism is for the last 20 years? Don’t worry - you’re not alone. The American government and its processes can be dizzyingly complex and obscure.
Until now.
Within this audiobook are the keys to knowing what you’re talking about when you argue politics with the uncle you only see at Thanksgiving. It’s the audiobook you'll use for quick reference when the nightly news boggles your mind. This approachable and informative guide gives you the lowdown on everything from the three branches of government, to what you can actually do to make your vote count, to how our founding documents affect our daily lives. Now is the time to finally understand who does what, how they do it, and the best way to get them to listen to you.
A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2020 Nick Capodice, Hannah McCarthy, and Tom Toro (P)2020 Macmillan AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Every major decision governing our diverse, majority-female, and increasingly liberal country bears the stamp of the US Senate, yet the Senate allows an almost exclusively White, predominantly male, and radically conservative minority of the American electorate to impose its will on the rest of us. How did we get to this point? In Kill Switch, Adam Jentleson argues that shifting demographics alone cannot explain how Mitch McConnell harnessed the Senate and turned it into a powerful weapon of minority rule.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Don't bother, narration intolerable!
- By Joseph on 03-08-21
By: Adam Jentleson
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One Vote Away
- How a Single Supreme Court Seat Can Change History
- By: Ted Cruz
- Narrated by: Timothy Andrés Pabon
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
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Story5 out of 5 stars 1,187
In One Vote Away, you will discover how often the high court decisions that affect your life have been decided by just one vote. One vote preserves your right to speak freely, to bear arms, and to exercise your faith. One vote will determine whether your children enjoy their full inheritance as American citizens.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Intellectual and Insightful, so smartly written it became prophetic!
- By Kevin D. on 09-29-20
By: Ted Cruz
-
U.S. Constitution for Dummies
- 2nd Edition
- By: Dr. Michael Arnheim
- Narrated by: Dr. Michael Arnheim
- Length: 18 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 133
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 123
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 120
Want to make sense of the US Constitution? This new edition walks you through this revered document, explaining how the articles and amendments came to be and how they have guided legislators, judges, and presidents - and sparked ongoing debates along the way. You'll get the lowdown on all the big issues - from separation of church and state to impeachment to civil rights - that continue to affect Americans' daily lives. Plus, you'll find out about the different approaches to interpretation and how the document has changed over the past 200+ years.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Much better than I anticipated.
- By JoEllen LeVitre on 08-30-20
-
Give Us the Ballot
- The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America
- By: Ari Berman
- Narrated by: Tom Zingarelli
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- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 334
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 305
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 309
The adoption of the landmark Voting Rights Act in 1965 enfranchised millions of Americans and is widely regarded as the crowning achievement of the civil rights movement. Yet fifty years later, we are still fighting heated battles over race, representation, and political power - over the right to vote, the central pillar of our democracy. A groundbreaking narrative history of voting rights since 1965, Give Us the Ballot tells the story of what happened after the act was passed.
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4 out of 5 stars
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In-Depth Blow by Blow Account of the VRA
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The Everything American Government Book
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- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 78
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 60
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 60
If the confusion following the last presidential election is any indication, the average citizen knows precious little about the democratic system and the laws that affect their daily lives. The Everything American Government Book unravels the complexities of our democracy and provides listeners with the knowledge necessary to make the right decisions and take an active role in the management of their country. This thoroughly researched work is ideal for anyone brushing up on civics, as well as students of all ages.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A solid understanding of local, state and national political structure...
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By: Nick Ragone
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Unrigged
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- Narrated by: L.J. Ganser
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- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 24
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 20
Following Ratf--ked, his “extraordinary timely and undeniably important” (New York Times Book Review) expose of how a small cadre of Republican operatives rigged American elections, David Daley emerged as one of the nation's leading authorities on gerrymandering. In Unrigged, he charts a vibrant political movement that is rising in the wake of his and other reporters' revelations.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
A must-read to uphold democracy!
- By Steve Kelem on 09-09-20
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-
Supreme Disorder
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- By: Ilya Shapiro
- Narrated by: Fred Stella
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 37
The brutal confirmation battles we saw over Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh are symptoms of a larger problem with our third branch of government, a problem that began long before Kavanaugh, Merrick Garland, Clarence Thomas, or even Robert Bork: the courts’ own self-corruption, aiding and abetting the expansion of federal power.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Tremendous detail
- By Charles on 07-15-22
By: Ilya Shapiro
-
The Embattled Vote in America
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- By: Allan J. Lichtman
- Narrated by: Dennis Holland
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- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 49
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 44
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 44
America's political leaders have considered suffrage not a natural right but a privilege restricted by wealth, sex, race, residence, literacy, criminal conviction, and citizenship. Today, voter identification laws, political gerrymandering, registration requirements, felon disenfranchisement, and voter purges deny many millions of citizens the opportunity to express their views at the ballot box. We cannot blame the founders alone for America's embattled vote. Best-selling author Allan Lichtman notes that subsequent generations have failed to establish suffrage as a universal right.
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1 out of 5 stars
-
Old Hat ...
- By Richard D. Parker on 01-17-19
-
U.S Citizenship Audio Study Guide with all questions and answers for the USCIS Naturalization test
- By: Immigration Consult
- Narrated by: American Prudence
- Length: 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 411
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 306
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 298
Includes all 100 civics Questions and Answers read by a professional American voice actor with a natural American accent.
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4 out of 5 stars
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1 question has 2 answers - 1 is WRONG! BEWARE
- By Darren on 05-19-19
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The Constitution Today
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 70
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 65
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Story4 out of 5 stars 63
When the stories that lead our daily news involve momentous constitutional questions, present-minded journalists and busy citizens cannot always see the stakes clearly. In The Constitution Today, Akhil Reed Amar, America's preeminent constitutional scholar, considers the biggest and most bitterly contested debates of the last two decades. He shows how the Constitution's text, history, and structure are a crucial repository of collective wisdom, providing specific rules and grand themes relevant to every organ of the American body politic.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Amar is a Brilliant Arguer
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The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 635
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 466
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 467
Instead of the system that the Constitution intended, judges have created a system in which bureaucrats and appointed officials make most of the important policies. While the government claims to be a representative republic, somehow hot-button topics from gay marriage to the allocation of Florida's presidential electors always seem to be decided by unelected judges. What gives them the right to decide such issues? The judges say it's the Constitution.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The best PIG to date
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Our Lost Constitution
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- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 542
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 496
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Story5 out of 5 stars 494
Senator Mike Lee tells the dramatic, little-known stories behind six of the Constitution's most indispensable provisions. He shows their rise. He shows their fall. And he makes vividly clear how nearly every abuse of federal power today is rooted in neglect of this Lost Constitution.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Solution is a bit naive
- By Will on 08-07-16
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9 Presidents Who Screwed Up America
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 447
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 407
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 402
Of the 44 presidents who have led the United States, nine made mistakes that permanently scarred the nation. Which nine? Brion McClanahan, author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers and The Founding Fathers' Guide to the Constitution, will surprise listeners with his list, which he supports with exhaustive and entertaining evidence.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Political opinion without substance.
- By Ella's Dad on 04-27-18
By: Brion McClanahan
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A People's History of the Supreme Court
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- By: Peter Irons, Howard Zinn - foreword
- Narrated by: David Drummond
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- Unabridged
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A comprehensive history of the people and cases that have changed history, this is the definitive account of the nation's highest court.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Really enjoyed this book
- By Paul on 02-19-20
By: Peter Irons, and others
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Hard Driving
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 4
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 4
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The only book-length account of the life of Wendell Scott, the one-time moonshine runner who broke the color barrier in stock-car racing in 1952 and, against all odds, competed for more than 20 years in a sport dominated by Southern Whites.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding! A must for any racing fan!
- By ThatGuyHerb on 10-17-23
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What listeners say about A User's Guide to Democracy
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- love55
- 11-10-20
Incredibly Fun And Informative!!
This is an incredibly fun and informative book! Really helpful in guiding you through the layers of the systems of US government. I already intend on listening to it a second and third time just to be able to keep the knowledge fresh in my mind. Thank you for writing this.
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