Civics on the Rocks cover art

Civics on the Rocks

Civics on the Rocks

Written by: Anne Trominski
Listen for free

A history teacher and an engineer walk into a bar…ouch! Except there isn’t a bar. But there are 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 the planet Earth. They also warp through rabbit holes in both the Federation and the Galactic Empire, and toast the ashes of the Twelve Colonies. And did I mention dad jokes? Yeah. Grab a drink, pull up a chair, and join us for Civics on the Rocks.

Oh, and if you want some merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/CivcsRocks/shop?asc=u

Copyright 2026 All Rights Reserved Political Science Politics & Government World
Episodes
  • What is Continuity of Government?

    What is Continuity of Government?
    Jun 8 2026
    Steve shows up prepared, Mack drops a bombshell or two, and Anne gets wasted. REFERENCES It’s when the vase of flowers is suddenly on the left-hand side of the screen: Film Draft. “What is Continuity in Film? Definitions, Types, and Examples.” August 26, 2025. https://filmdaft.com/what-is-continuity-in-film-definition-types-examples/ It really became a serious concern with the advent of the threat of nuclear war: Tegmark, Max. “Here’s How Bad a Nuclear War Would Actually Be.” June 29, 2023. Time. https://time.com/6290977/nuclear-war-impact-essay/ During the Cold War: Britannica Editors. “Cold War.” Updated February 18, 2026. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Cold-War Including Washington, D.C.: https://washington.org/ Sate, local, tribal, territorial: FEMA. “Guide to Continuity of Government [PDF].” July 2021. https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_sltt-cog-guidance_070921.pdf For Texas, it’s not a joke that we kind of rely on HEB: HEB Newsroom. “HEB Disaster Relief.” https://newsroom.heb.com/disaster-relief/ Ye olde Continental Congress: Britannica Editors. “Continental Congress.” Updated October 11, 2025. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Continental-Congress We may have to leave Philadelphia and go to Baltimore because the British are coming: United States House of Representatives. “Meeting Places for the Continental and Confederation Congresses.” https://history.house.gov/People/Continental-Congress/Meeting-Places/ Anne was just trying to be funny. It’s quite nice: https://baltimore.org/ Basically, it’s an emergency plan. You could also call it a contingency plan: This vs. That. “The Contingency Plan vs. The Emergency Plan: What’s the Difference?” https://thisvsthat.io/the-contingency-plan-vs-the-emergency-plan In the previous episode: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-n7xcc-1ad17a2 We talked about the Twenty-Fifth Amendment: Constitution Annotated. “Twenty-Fifth Amendment.” https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-25/ The presidential succession: USA.gov. “Order of Presidential Succession.” https://www.usa.gov/presidential-succession Think about royal houses of Europe: Veldman, Sarah. “A Comprehensive Guide to the Royal Families of Europe.” Updated September 20, 2025. The List. https://www.thelist.com/1524478/royal-families-of-europe-guide/ That was “Designated Survivor,” the series: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5296406/ Mack is right. They did start doing it when Reagan was president: Su, Amelia. “The Designated Survivor Explained—Why One Leader Stays Hidden.” February 24, 2026. Los Angeles Magazine. https://lamag.com/news-and-politics/the-designated-survivor-explained-why-one-leader-stays-hidden/ At the State of the Union Address, you have the president, vice president, speaker of the house, but you also have all of Congress, most of the Cabinet, and some of the Supreme Court justices, joint chiefs: Mullery, Way and Chol, Annette. “Who Sits Where at Trump’s State of the Union Address: A Visual Guide.” February 23, 2026. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/23/politics/seating-chart-state-of-the-union-vis There have been threats (note that this list is a brief summary from 2024 so it is not comprehensive and does not include the attacks on President Trump): Congress.gov. “U.S. Secret Service: Threats to and Assaults on Sitting Presidents and Vice Presidents [PDF].” Updated October 23, 2024. https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/IF/PDF/IF11732/IF11732.4.pdf Mack is again correct. It was for Obama’s inauguration: Reuters. “U.S. Probes Potential Obama Inauguration Threat.” January 20, 2009. https://www.reuters.com/article/world/us-politics/us-probes-potential-obama-inauguration-threat-idUSTRE50J4RT/ The documentary about the presidents’ chiefs of staff is called The Presidents’ Gatekeepers: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2331119/ The line from Mars Attacks!: https://youtu.be/HfcMl1OKJGw?si=IZwz2CgMPjVoqQ1X Like the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia: Matchar, Emily. “The Town That Kept Its Nuclear Bunker a Secret for Three Decades.” April 9, 2024. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-town-that-kept-its-nuclear-bunker-a-secret-for-three-decades-180984107/ Overnight, they lower them into a bomb shelter: Kratz, Jessie. “Protecting the Bill of Rights: the Mosler Vault.” December 17, 2015. National Archives. https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2015/12/17/protecting-the-bill-of-rights-the-mosler-vault/ Soviets got the atomic bomb sooner than people thought: Atomic Heritage Foundation. “Soviet Atomic Program—1946.” https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/history/soviet-atomic-program-1946/ And then the hydrogen bomb: Britannica Editors. “Thermonuclear Bomb.” Updated February 6, 2026. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/technology/thermonuclear-bomb Eisenhower was really down and depressed about the threat of nuclear war: ...
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 10 mins
  • Does the Constitution Have an Escape Clause?

    Does the Constitution Have an Escape Clause?
    May 25 2026
    The Twenty-Fifth Amendment: Mack derides, Steve chides, Anne makes asides, and everyone switches sides. REFERENCES The great Constitutional scholars on the interwebs are talking about the Twenty-Fifth Amendment: Constitution Annotated. “Twenty-Fifth Amendment.” https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-25/ The idea of, “Oh, we’ll use the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to get rid of Trump”: Common Cause. “Common Cause Calls on the Cabinet to Invoke the 25th Amendment.” https://www.commoncause.org/work/trump-is-unfit-to-serve/ Impeachment and expulsion: History, Art, & Archives. “Impeachment.” https://history.house.gov/Institution/Origins-Development/Impeachment/ Which has failed twice: Mascaro, Lisa; Jalonick, Mary Clare; Lemire, Jonathan; and Fram, Alan. “Donald Trump Becomes the First U.S. President to be Impeached Twice.” January 13, 2021. PBS News. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/majority-of-house-members-vote-for-2nd-impeachment-of-trump It’s in Article II, Section 1, Clause 6: Constitution Annotated. “Article II.” https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/article-2/section-1/clause-6/ The delegates of the Constitutional Convention: National Archives. “Meet the Framers of the Constitution.” https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/founding-fathers Since the Cold War began: Britannica Editors. “Cold War.” Revised February 18, 2026. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Cold-War The advent of nuclear…: Office for Disarmament Affairs. “Nuclear Weapons.” United Nations. https://disarmament.unoda.org/index.php/en/our-work/weapons-mass-destruction/nuclear-weapons …and ballistic weapons: Britannica Editors. “Ballistic Missile.” Updated October 24, 2025. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/technology/ballistic-missile The Civics on the Rocks Team would like to acknowledge that in this episode we use various colloquialisms to describe mental illness that some may find problematic. No offense was intended and we apologize if any was taken. King George III went a little nutso: Watson, John Steven. “George III.” Updated April 17, 2026. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-III There are a lot of really good theories as to why that happened and how that happened: Putnam, Polly. “The King’s ‘Malady’: George III’s Mental Illness Explored.” March 22, 2024. Historic Royal Palaces. https://www.hrp.org.uk/blog/the-kings-malady-george-iiis-mental-illness-explored/ Did people in the colonies know? Well, King Geoge III’s illness became public around 1788, and the final draft of the Constitution was signed in 1787, so it probably was not an influence on Article II. In the Declaration, the grievances are against the King: Zagarri, Rosemarie. “The Declaration’s Grievances Against the King.” National Constitution Center. https://constitutioncenter.org/essays/the-declarations-grievances-against-the-king They pinned everything on Parliament and wrote nice letters and missives to the King: American Battlefield Trust. “Petitioning the King and Parliament.” Updated July 23, 2025. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/petitioning-king-and-parliament The first Continental Congress and the Declaration of Rights and Grievances: Horan, Katherine and Horecny, Zoie. “First Continental Congress.” Updated May 30, 2025. George Washington’s Mount Vernon. https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/first-continental-congress The presidency was a wholly new creation: Marion, David. “The Creation of the American Presidency.” Bill of Rights Institute. https://billofrightsinstitute.org/essays/the-creation-of-the-american-presidency/ Were there examples of governors removed in case of inability? We didn’t do a big deep dive on this, but Virginia has an excellent archive documenting its colonial governors, so there was… …Sir John Harvey, who was removed as royal governor of Virginia for alleged treason: Tarter, Brent. “Sir John Harvey.” Updated December 22, 2021. Encyclopedia Virginia. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/harvey-sir-john-ca-1581-or-1582-by-1650/ …Francis Nicholson, who was removed as royal governor of Virgina for being uncouth and a jackass toward one particular woman (as well as political reasons): Zacek, Natalie. “Francis Nicholson.” Updated December 22, 2021. Encyclopedia Virginia. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/nicholson-francis-1655-1728/ …and Lieutenant Governor Robert Hunter who never served in Virginia because he was kidnapped by the French whilst in transit (Don’t worry. They were nice to him and he later got to be governor of another colony.): Find a Grave. “Lieutenant Governor Robert Hunter.” https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/124558546/robert-hunter So we’ll go with, yeah, there was some precedent. When Woodrow Wilson had a stroke: Woodrow Willson Presidential Library and Museum. “Thomas Woodrow Wilson.” ...
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 21 mins
  • Untethered Tangent on Arresting a Ship

    Untethered Tangent on Arresting a Ship
    May 11 2026
    6 mins
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
No reviews yet