meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Civics 101

US vs: Two Party System

Civics 101

NHPR

Education, History, Supreme Court, American History, Elections, Democracy, Society & Culture, Government, Civics, Politics, Social Studies

4.62.4K Ratings

🗓️ 30 November 2021

⏱️ 27 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Americans often take issue with our two-party system. So what other options are out there? Today, with the help of political scientists Guillermo Rosas and Robin Best, we explore the reason why we have (and may always have) such a system, and compare it to other democracies around the world. This episode contains an overabundance of Street Fighter 2 references.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

You watch enough political speeches, Hannah, and it gets to the point you don't even hear it anymore.

0:08.0

But don't let anyone tell you that America isn't great.

0:12.0

I think we have to get back to what this election has to be about.

0:15.0

Okay, this is the greatest country in the history of mankind.

0:18.0

We live in the greatest nation on earth.

0:21.0

Thank you.

0:22.0

The first thing I tell this story just reminds you of the magical intoxicating power of America.

0:32.0

You're listening to Civics 101. I'm the Capitice.

0:34.0

I'm Hannah McCarkey.

0:35.0

And today we're asking how we measure up against the rest of the world.

0:40.0

It seems Hannah, every few weeks, we come up with another series on our show.

0:44.0

But this is one I desperately want to revisit.

0:46.0

It's called Us Versus, or US Versus,

0:50.0

where we compare others successful or sometimes unsuccessful governmental systems to our own.

0:56.0

And today, something we get asked about constantly, the two party system.

1:02.0

Why do we have it? Can it change?

1:04.0

And most importantly, how does our system compare to other democracies?

1:09.0

And yeah, I'm doing like a whole Street Fighter 2 thing.

1:12.0

This is the opening music to that, by the way.

1:14.0

What does Street Fighter do?

1:16.0

It's a violent lesson in democracy, Hannah. Players pick a fighter who lives in a country somewhere in the world.

1:22.0

And they fly around the world visiting other countries and do battle with other fighters there.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NHPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NHPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.