Politics with Paul

Approachable, nonpartisan, and nonideological analysis of various political topics by nonpartisan political analyst, writer, researcher, and speaker Paul Rader.

Politics with Paul #52: Teaching and Preserving Political History and Civics w/ Alex Vassar

E53 • Aug 5, 2025 • 64 mins

On today's episode, guest Alex Vassar discusses some of the biggest challenges facing the preservation and teaching of political history and civics, and how we can make these better. Alex is the founder of JoinCalifornia.com (a repository of election data and facts for the State of California), the founder of the One Voter Project, and the communications manager for the California State Library. How do we best preserve political history? How do we make that history accessible and engaging for other people, especially if they are not as interested in history? What are some of the biggest obstacles to improving civic and historical understanding amongst the public? What is some advice for groups in other states looking to build political history databases? Tune in to hear Alex's insights on these questions and much more!

Key Points

Political history can be made more engaging by connecting it to personal stories and lesser-known facts that resonate with people's lives and interests.
The distinction between teaching civics and teaching government is crucial, as civics focuses on the individual's role in society and their impact on politics while government focuses on institutional structures and the officials in the government.
Interest and relevance are significant challenges in improving civic and historical education, and building credibility while presenting facts and original documents can help people reevaluate their preconceived notions.

Alex's links:

JoinCalifornia political history database: https://www.joincalifornia.com/
One Voter Project: https://www.onevoter.org/
California State Library: https://www.library.ca.gov/

My links:

Buy my book on Amazon (ebook and paperback): https://www.amazon.com/Why-Independents-Rarely-Win-Elections-ebook/dp/B09K8PYM5J/
Download my FREE 5-day educational email course: https://detoxifyamericanpolitics.com/
My website: https://paulrader.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulRaderWrites
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrader352/
Medium: https://paulrader-42650.medium.com/
Email: [email protected]
Matchmaker FM profile for booking me on your podcast: https://www.matchmaker.fm/podcast-guest/paul-rader-329e65

Speakers

Paul Rader

Host • 40%

Alex Vassar

Guest • 60%

Chapters

0:00	The Importance of Political History
1:47	How Alex Became Fascinated With Politics
3:44	Why Alex Built a Political History Database
6:29	How Alex Built JoinCalifornia's Database
11:38	The Most Difficult Aspects of Making a Historical Database
15:47	Why Create the "One Voter Project" Civics Initiative?
18:13	Enhancing Civic and Political Awareness in California
25:10	Teaching Civics vs. Teaching Government, Improving Civics
31:18	Teaching History to People With Preconceptions About it
36:19	What Places Teach Civics and History Well?
40:01	What Should State, Local Governments Role Be in Teaching Civics?
44:48	Other Weird, Interesting Facts From California Political History
50:00	Alex's Advice for Others Making Political History Databases
56:38	Random Question: Annoying Grammar/Pronunciation Errors
1:00:45	Closing and Our Media

Transcript

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