Aughie and Nia explore some of the local and state government traditions of celebrating the holiday season.

Aughie and Nia discuss the Fuller Court, years 1888 - 1910. Melville Fuller was widely regarded as an adequate administrator but not a great intellectual. His court followed in the conservative steps of the Waite Court.

In this episode, Aughie and Nia explore the question of whether Donald Trump can remove Rosie' O'Donnell's American citizenship. 

Nia and Aughie discover and discuss the connections between landline usage and government statistics gathering. They also explore the demographics of owners of landlines.

Aughie and Nia delve into the Mountain Valley Pipeline deal during the debt ceiling debates, and the problems that Congress has made for the Courts in adjudicating any problems with the pipeline. Does the Congress have the power to direct which Court will hear a case?

Nia and Aughie talk about an open position in the federal government, the Architect of the Capitol. They discuss the responsibilities of the job and how to potentially change the job to attract candidates.

Aughie and Nia explore the purpose of the National Film Preservation Board, created by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988. They discuss the criterion used to consider films as well as some of the films that are part of the National Film Registry.

Aughie and Nia discuss the outcomes of government shutdowns.

In the 5th and final part of a short series titled Getting to Know You, Aughie and Nia discuss their favorite political fiction books. Other favorites in the series include West Wing episodes, political movies, political or protest songs, and political scandals.

In part 4 of a short series titled Getting to Know You, Aughie and Nia discuss their favorite protest or political songs. Other favorites in the series include West Wing episodes, protest movies, political or protest songs, and political books.

In part 3 of a short series titled Getting to Know You, Nia and Aughie discuss their favorite political or protest songs. Other favorites in the series include West Wing episodes, protest movies, political scandals, and political books.

In part 2 of a short series titled Getting to Know You, Nia and Aughie discuss their favorite political movies. Other favorites in the series include West Wing episodes, protest songs, political scandals, and political books.

 In a short series titled Getting to Know You, Aughie and Nia discuss their favorite West Wing Episodes. Other favorites upcoming will include movies, protest songs, political scandals, and books.  

Aughie and Nia explore the contributions and impact of the Marshall Court. In part one, they discuss Chief Justice John Marshall's personal history and the formalizing of the U.S. Supreme Court rules under his leadership.

Nia And Aughie discuss the provisions of the debt ceiling agreement reached in June 2023. This is a follow up episode to a January 2023 episode. 

Aughie and Nia share the statistics of this SCOTUS term, including who wrote the most and least, who agreed the most and least, and much more.

Aughie and Nia preview some of the 21 cases that the Supreme Court has already agreed to hear for the 23-24 term.

In the second of three episodes, Aughie and Nia discuss the major decisions released in June by the U.S. Supreme Court; in this episode, the cases covered are: Haaland v. Brackeen, U.S. v Texas, Groff v. DeJoy, Counterman v. Colorado and Moore v. Harper.

In the third of three episodes, Aughie and Nia discuss the major decisions released in June by the U.S. Supreme Court; in this episode, the cases covered are: Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina, Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, Biden v. Nebraska, and Department of Education v. Brown.

In the first of three episodes, Aughie and Nia discuss the major decisions released in June by the U.S. Supreme Court; in this episode, the cases covered are: Andy Warhol v Goldsmith, Gonzalez v. Google LLC and Twitter, Inc. v. Taamneh, Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, Glacier Northwest v. Int'l Brotherhood of Teamsters, Allen v. Milligan, and Jack Daniel’s Properties v. VIP Products.

Scholarly communications librarian Hillary Miller joins Nia and Aughie to debate the issues in the recent case before the Supreme Court, Jack Daniel's Properties, Inc. v. VIP Products LLC.

Scholarly communications librarian Hillary Miller joins Aughie and Nia to discuss the copyright ownership of musical products by writers, singers, and potentially hedge funds.

Nia and Aughie discuss the recently enacted PL 117-228, the Respect for Marriage Act. It repeals The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and guarantees that same sex marriages performed in a state where they are legal must be recognized in all other states.

Aughie and Nia discuss arguments made in Federalist 10 and AntiFederalist 10 regarding the factions and parties that might destroy the rights of the people, especially those holding the minority opinion. 

In a new series, Aughie and Nia are exploring the United States Supreme Court Eras, usually defined by the name of the Chief Justice of the era. In this first episode the first eleven years of the Court (Chiefs Jay, Rutledge, and Ellsworth) are covered as a group, since there really wasn't a lot accomplished in this period.

Aughie and Nia cover the Freedom of Information Act and the exemptions the government may rely on to prevent the release of information.

Nia and Aughie discuss the cases heard before the U.S. Supreme Court in February 2023 regarding the responsibility of Google and Twitter for the content published on their platforms.

Aughie and Nia explore how the use of zoning laws at the local level can change the use of property in a city, sometimes to suppress "undesirable" activities.

Who were the authors of the Federalist Papers? What were they written in response to? Why are they important? Aughie and Nia answer these questions in a new intermittent series of episodes.

Nia and Aughie discuss the new government nutritional guidelines, mostly in terms of other reports concerning military readiness and ongoing American health issues.

In the final part of this series, Aughie and Nia touch on the controversies surrounding the process of bringing a drug or medical device to market.

The second in a three part series, Nia and Aughie explore how generics come to market.

Professor Judy Twigg joins Aughie and Nia for a short discussion of Russia's suspension of the START Treaty. They also briefly touch on the prosecution of Russia's war with Ukraine.

In this first of a three part series, Aughie walks Nia through the application process for obtaining permission to produce a new drug or medical device.

Nia and Aughie explore the reasons why the U.S. Supreme Court has released only two opinions since October when their session began.

Aughie and Nia discuss the cases that support the SCOTUS decision to allow the firing of Lisa Slaughter to stand. Slaughter is a member of an independent regulatory agency.

Aughie and Nia briefly touch on the objects in American or Canadian airspace that have been brought down by the U.S. military.

Nia and Aughie explore the history and assignment of zip codes by the U.S. federal government. They also discuss the largely failed implementation of the "extra four digits".

Nia and Aughie discuss the continuing issue of Presidential and Vice-Presidential classified documents being found in inappropriate locations. They further discuss the need for regulations to be simplified and the classification scheme to be applied more carefully.

Aughie and Nia start the regular season of episodes with a discussion of how the government used to assign Social Security Numbers and Employer Identification Numbers. They also talk about the legislative and social history of these important nine-digit numbers.

Aughie and Nia catch up on the results of the SCOTUS investigation of the leak of the Dobbs opinion draft in 2022. The Marshall of the Court released a 20 page report this week detailing the investigation and results.

Nia and Aughie discuss the debt ceiling and the current issues being faced in Congress with raising the debt ceiling. Aughie also discusses historical approaches to the U.S. debt.

Aughie and Nia start the new season with a discussion of recent Presidential records issues. Both President Trump and President Biden have been entangled with the National Archives in potential violations of the Presidential Records Act of 1978. 

In response to the terrorist attacks on the United states on September 11, 2001, the last department (in the series thus far) was created - the Department of Homeland Security. DHS is made up of 22 agencies gathered together to address a wide array of issues, from cybersecurity to border security to transportation safety. Aughie and Nia discuss the controversies and complications surrounding the Department of Homeland Security from inception to current administrative practices.

Taking care of American military veterans began in the colonial era, after the Revolutionary War. In 1811, the federal government authorized housing and medical facilities. After each major war, Veterans' benefits were expanded, from establishing state level homes to the GI Bill after World War II. Eventually these programs were placed in a Veterans Bureau. The Veterans Bureau was elevated to a Department in 1989 by President Ronald Reagan. Aughie and Nia explore the history and controversies surrounding Veterans Affairs.

Aughie and Nia discuss the recent Congressional decision to avert a railroad strike.

Aughie and Nia discuss the issues at stake when President Trump called for the firing of Lisa Cook, a Federal Reserve Board Governor. SCOTUS will take up this issue in January of 2026.

As with previous departments, the Department of Education was re-created recently, but goes back to 1867, when President Andrew Johnson signed legislation creating the first Department of Education. That original agency's main purpose was to collect information about the nation's schools. Thought to be potentially too powerful, the department was demoted to Office of Education until 1979, when it was re-established as a department. Aughie covers a few controversies and secretaries along with the organization of the department.

Nia and Aughie explore the recent decision by Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona to change her party affiliation from Democrat to Independent.

Nia and Aughie move on to the lucky 13th department, the Department of Energy, formed in 1977. While it might seem like a recent department, Energy can trace its beginning agencies back to the Manhattan Project in World War II. The energy crisis of the 1970's also strongly influenced the bipartisan support for the creation of the DoE. Aughie covers the department's prominent secretaries and some criticisms leveled at the department.