{"podcast":{"title":"Civics on the Rocks","slug":"civics-on-the-rocks-6598827","podcast_index_feed_id":6598827,"rss_url":"https://feed.podbean.com/civicsontherocks/feed.xml","website_url":"https://CivicsOnTheRocks.podbean.com","image_url":"https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/1381621/CivicsOnTheRocks_Art_v7_3000x3000_9m36fc.png","author":"Anne Trominski","episode_count":54,"summary":"A history teacher and an engineer walk into a bar...ouch! Except there isn’t a bar. But there are a few dad jokes. And whiskey. Two guys who know a few things, have been around a few blocks, and a few cocktails, discuss politics, science, history, technology, and—*gestures wildly*—, all while drinking and dropping pop culture references. Did we mention the dad jokes? Grab a drink, pull up a chair, and join us for Civics on the Rocks.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/civics-on-the-rocks-6598827"},"episode":{"title":"What’s Going On Here?","slug":"what-s-going-on-here","published_at":"2025-11-03T14:51:02+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/civics-on-the-rocks-6598827/what-s-going-on-here","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/civics-on-the-rocks-6598827","url":"https://CivicsOnTheRocks.podbean.com/e/what-s-going-on-here/","audio_url":"https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/mwtpmnrepapv522u/WhatsGoingOnHere.mp3","summary":"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…","meta_description":"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 -arc…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":5459,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/civics-on-the-rocks-6598827/episodes/what-s-going-on-here/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/civics-on-the-rocks-6598827/what-s-going-on-here.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}