Government

After all, every president who could have lived there has, but is it mandatory?

By John Donovan

Splits with the European Union have happened before, but that doesn't mean the U.K.'s Brexit will be easy, or even have much in common with past instances.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Why does health care cost so much in the U.S.? And why, for all that money, isn't the population any healthier? These are just some of the big questions in the debate over health care costs.

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

Whether it's poll taxes, literacy tests, ID laws or limited polling hours, the U.S. has a long-running history of coming up with ways to restrict citizens' voting rights.

By Patrick J. Kiger & Kathryn Whitbourne

We often think of the civil rights movement as just part of the 1960s. On Martin Luther King Day, we explore some civil rights issues going on in the U.S. today.

By Alia Hoyt

"Immigration" has become a loaded word in the U.S. and many other places. But what is the truth about immigration in America? Is it a good thing or not? We sort out the facts from the fictions.

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

Ever felt a pang of guilt on, say, Election Day when you skipped the voting booth to go to dinner? The 'bread and circuses' concept of being pacified by food and entertainment - and forgoing civic duty - goes back to Roman times.

By Laurie L. Dove

While the FDA originated amid the Civil War, it took a 20th century novel about the horrors of meatpacking to convince the government to officially regulate what goes into our bodies. How does the FDA keep us safer these days?

By Clint Pumphrey

We may be living in the age of the Internet, but simple shortwave radio transmitters still play a part in the espionage game. The huge benefit: There's no trail.

By Nathan Chandler

Thousands of think tanks dot the globe, and if you think they don't affect you, you're wrong. The scholars at these high-brow thought factories have a much bigger agenda than merely sitting around looking contemplative.

By John Perritano

Thanks to the First Amendment, people in the U.S. can say whatever they want, wherever they want without fear of prosecution. Er ... not quite.

By Dave Roos

It's the U.S.'s primary public health insurance program, but who pays for it and who qualifies for coverage? Get the scoop on the ins and outs of Medicaid's rules and benefits.

By Maria Trimarchi

Having trouble with your homework? Looking to meet a nice guy? Need some cigarettes? Who you gonna call? 911? Believe it or not, all of these are actual 911 calls. And they aren't the worst examples of emergency number misuse.

By Dave Roos

Before humanity got a handle on the idea of potentially being recorded at any moment, some public figures learned that lesson the hard way. Here are 10 recordings that were damning to the parties involved.

By Bernadette Johnson

Shrouded in mystery. Exposed by a fresh-faced cubicle dweller. An introduction to the National Security Agency, its mission and activities, and the domestic spying programs uncovered in the Edward Snowden leak.

By Chris Opfer

Did you really think NSA stood for No Snooping Allowed? Of course not. But there's at least one more source of data for them to collect that you may not have considered -- and it's in your car.

By Kristen Hall-Geisler

Throughout history, charismatic leaders have emerged and changed the world - for better and for worse.

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

Right-to-work legislation lately has received a ton of attention in the U.S. Why are people so divided on these controversial laws?

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

The image of a firefighter sliding down a pole to his truck and gear as alarms scream in the background is nothing short of iconic. But is it really necessary? Does sliding down a pole save time?

By Jamie Page Deaton

Confusing wording in legislative documents often leads to misinterpretation of the draft's intent. Is that the case with the Affordable Care Act?

By Maria Trimarchi

Candidates for the "51st state" include Puerto Rico, Guam and Washington, D.C. How likely is this to happen for any of them, and how did the U.S. get the 50 it already has?

By Dave Roos

As long as there has been civil discourse, there has been civil disobedience. In other words, protesting against the status quo is nothing new. But what was the largest one ever assembled?

By Robert Lamb & Dave Roos

Decades ago, two political scientists predicted Americans would ultimately move away from establishment, two-party politics. Were they right, and what makes voters go independent in the first place?

By Cristen Conger

Like the more politically liberal Occupy Wall Street movement, the Tea Party has attracted intensive media coverage. But what does this now formalized entity stand for, and who makes up its ranks?

By Cristen Conger

It took just about as much time for the ink to dry on the Declaration of Independence as it did for American politics to become another type of family business. What are 10 of the most successful political dynasties?

By Cristen Conger