# What’s Going On Here?

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/civics-on-the-rocks-6598827/what-s-going-on-here
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/civics-on-the-rocks-6598827/what-s-going-on-here.md
Podcast: [Civics on the Rocks](https://stenobird.com/podcast/civics-on-the-rocks-6598827)
Published: 2025-11-03T14:51:02+00:00
Episode link: https://CivicsOnTheRocks.podbean.com/e/what-s-going-on-here/
Audio file: https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/mwtpmnrepapv522u/WhatsGoingOnHere.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/civics-on-the-rocks-6598827/episodes/what-s-going-on-here
Duration seconds: 5459

## Resource

Get out your dictionaries, folks! It’s time to figure out what’s happening in the U.S. of A. In this listener-suggested episode of Civics, we look at -archies, -acracies, and -isms. REFERENCES Oligarchy: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oligarchy Many of them had a council of elders: Hodkinson, Stephen. “Gerousia.” December 22, 2015. Oxford Classical Dictionary. https://oxfordre.com/classics/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-2832 For Aristotle in his Politics: Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Aristotle: Politics.” https://iep.utm.edu/aristotle-politics/ Aristocracy: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aristocracy The Soviet Union after Stalin: Little, Becky. “Soviet Union Leaders: A Timeline.” History.com https://www.history.com/articles/soviet-union-leaders-order Totalitarian: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/totalitarian You had the Politburo: Editors of Encyclopedia Brittanica. “Politburo.” March 8, 2023. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Politburo Khrushchev: Gibney, Frank B. “Nikita Krushchev.” Updated October 27, 2025. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nikita-Sergeyevich-Khrushchev The Cuban Missile Crisis: Office of the Historian. “The Cuban Missile Crisis, October 1962.” https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/cuban-missile-crisis Gerontocracy: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gerontocracy In Ancient Rome, the Senate is derived from senex which means “old man”: Merriam-Webster. “Senate: Word History.” https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/senate#word-history The song that Anne was attempting to sing: https://youtu.be/ZKCiC-H2Xbg?si=bUP1DxKiJ4C0bIFv We do have a bunch of old senators: DeSilver, Drew. “Age and Generation in the 119th Congress: So…

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