The Civics Lab
David Thomason
The Civics Lab at St. Edward's University (Austin, TX) is a student and faculty collaborative podcast on civics life in America. We interview guests and discuss issues around the intersection of politics, economics, society, public policy, religion and other important issues to the civics life in the United States and Texas. Dr. David Thomason, on the faculty at St. Ed's, is the director of the Kozmetsky Center of Excellence and project manager of the Civics Lab. Students at St. Ed's produce, research and comment on the podcast. The Civics Lab team is led by St. Edward's University students Jacob Zivin, George Reyes, Charlie Mossberger, Paige Kennedy, Tori Fleming and Janie Herring. The podcast is brought to you by the Kozmetsky Center. Some of the podcasts are also funded by a Civics Engagement grant from Pi Sigma Alpha.
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Top 10 The Civics Lab Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Civics Lab episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Civics Lab for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Civics Lab episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Snowmageddon... Texas Style - Ep 8
The Civics Lab
03/18/21 • 49 min
On this episode, we had a conversation with James Barragan, reporter for the Dallas Morning News who covers Texas politics and the Texas Legislature. Days after the historic winter storm that blew through Texas, we discussed power outages across the state, ERCOT hearings at the Capitol, how the Covid-19 Pandemic has affected how reporters like himself receive information and cover the legislative session, the importance of free press in our society, and much more.
Respond to this weeks episode of The Civics Lab @TheCivicsLab on Instagram and Twitter. Stay tuned for our next episode as we talk with Austinites for Progressive Reform on the future of Austin's city government, what reforms and amendments they are pushing, and how a change in Austin's government could affect the state as a whole.
Ross Ramsey discusses Texas Politics
The Civics Lab
03/14/22 • 58 min
Ross Ramsey. co-founder and chief editor of the Texas Tribune, sat down in the Civics Lab Studio this week. A lively and information conversation, Ramsey shares his thoughts on the state of Texas politics. We cover the primary voter turnout, controversial statements by statewide leaders, how Denton in the 1970's ended up passing liquor laws and whether Blue Bell Ice Cream is worth fighting over Plus much more! React to the conversation on our twitter feed: @thecivicslab
Civics Education in America- Ep. 11
The Civics Lab
06/18/21 • 51 min
In this episode, we discuss the nature and scope of civics education. We sit down with Braver Angels, Generation Citizen, and the Holy Cross Institute, as we explore what it means to be a citizen and how education plays a vital role in shaping our character and identity.
11/19/24 • 4 min
Victoria Guerrero, a Kozmetsky Fellow at St. Edward's University, shares her research on the relationship between South Korean music and Austin. She discusses the Asian Music Festival in Central Texas and the variety of cultures represented by music. Jacob Zivin interviews and George Reyes introduces the episode.
Quick Take on Voting Access in Texas
The Civics Lab
11/04/24 • 2 min
Interview with Amy Stansbury, Austin Common and Grace Chimene, with League of Women Voters Texas after the Kozmestky Center's panel on voting access in Texas. If you need help voting, go to vote411.org Happy Voting!
Jay Kleberg, Candidate for Texas Land Commissioner
The Civics Lab
04/01/22 • 26 min
You may be asking, what is the Texas Land Commission? Texas elects a Land Commissioner? Why? In this episode, we have Jay Kleberg in the Civics Lab studio to discuss why he is running for this statewide office and what makes this position important in the fight against climate change, education funding, Veterans' healthcare, and protecting and expanding our access to public lands.
03/31/22 • 7 min
Civics Lab team members went to John P. Ojeda Middle School, in Southeast Austin to discuss a project that teachers and students are collaborating to grow, market and finance the production of salsa. Students and teachers have literally turned computer rooms into greenhouses and are applying the spirit of American entrepreneurship to address access to healthy foods. Join in on this week's quick take!
Websites on what Austin is doing to address food insecurity:
https://www.austintexas.gov/content/austin-travis-county-food-policy-board
https://reeis.usda.gov/web/crisprojectpages/0219788-central-texas-foodshed-assessment.html
https://www.austintexas.gov/page/food-system-research-reports
Del Valle ISD Link
03/28/22 • 5 min
Join Michael Baumgartner and Esther Heymans as they attend and interview participants at the RevUP Texas (Register Educate Vote Use Your Power!) rally to promote voter registration and raising awareness of disability issues in Texas politics. The Civics Lab team interviews Bob Kafka, organizer and advocate for RevUp. Join them in this quick take!
RevUp! Texas:
https://www.revuptexas.org/
Twitter for RevUP:
REV UP Texas
@REVUP_Texas
Bob Kafka
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKK7tIql9us
03/24/22 • 8 min
In this Quick Take, we sat down with Claire Campos-O'Neal, a candidate for state representative from an Austin district. She discusses her passion for education and the way more women can run for office. And check out Cosmic on South Congress!
Websites:
https://www.clairefortexas.com/
https://annieslist.com/
https://www.raiseyourhandtexas.org/
https://www.cosmiccoffeebeer.com/
Russia, Money In Politics, and January 6 Attackers
The Civics Lab
03/27/22 • 31 min
We sat down for a casual conversation revolving around some of the biggest political stories of the week, and some that might have flown under your radar. Listen in as we discuss the January 6th hearings, Beto's defamation lawsuit, and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
- Episode recorded on 3/8/22
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FAQ
How many episodes does The Civics Lab have?
The Civics Lab currently has 32 episodes available.
What topics does The Civics Lab cover?
The podcast is about News, Austin, Civics, Society & Culture, Podcasts and Politics.
What is the most popular episode on The Civics Lab?
The episode title 'How a Middle School in Austin is Making Salsa and Growing Young Entrepreneurs' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on The Civics Lab?
The average episode length on The Civics Lab is 31 minutes.
How often are episodes of The Civics Lab released?
Episodes of The Civics Lab are typically released every 8 days, 23 hours.
When was the first episode of The Civics Lab?
The first episode of The Civics Lab was released on Nov 5, 2020.
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