Economy / Explainer
How SNAP works: who qualifies for food stamps and what they get
A plain-language guide to SNAP eligibility, the income tests, how benefits are calculated, what you can buy and the most common myths.
Explainers
Civic explainers
How laws, rights, benefits and elections work, in plain language, with clear context and review dates.
Civil rights / Explainer
Can the government take away your U.S. citizenship?
What the Constitution and the Supreme Court say about losing citizenship, how denaturalization works, and what the proposed Enemy Expatriation Act would have changed.
Church & state / Explainer
Separation of church and state, explained
What the First Amendment’s religion clauses say, where the phrase “wall of separation” comes from, and how the Supreme Court’s approach has changed.
Media literacy / Explainer
How to spot a hyperpartisan headline (using this domain’s own past as the example)
Seven checks for a viral political headline, with a real case study: a 2016 headline from the former Addicting Info that BuzzFeed News flagged.
Media literacy / Explainer
Astroturfing and paid commenters: how fake grassroots campaigns work
What astroturfing is, documented examples from fake FCC comments to state troll farms, and the signs of a coordinated campaign.
Elections & Congress / Explainer
How a bill becomes law, and why most bills never do
The steps a federal bill takes from introduction to signature, where most bills stall, and why “introduced a bill” is rarely news.
Elections & Congress / Explainer
Does high turnout help one party? What the evidence says
The conventional wisdom says high turnout helps Democrats. Research and recent elections suggest it is much less predictable than that.
Women’s rights / Explainer
The 19th Amendment and the long fight for women’s suffrage
How American women won the vote, from Seneca Falls to ratification in 1920, and why many women still could not vote for decades afterward.
Tech & AI / Explainer
Is it censorship when Facebook removes your post?
Why the First Amendment limits governments rather than platforms, what the Supreme Court said in the NetChoice cases, and where government pressure fits in.
LGBTQ rights / Explainer
Marriage equality in the U.S.: from DOMA to Obergefell and beyond
How same-sex marriage became legal nationwide, what the Respect for Marriage Act added, and which questions are still being litigated.
Guns & the law / Explainer
The Second Amendment in court: Heller, Bruen and Rahimi
What the Second Amendment says, how the Supreme Court’s major gun cases changed the law, and how courts now test gun regulations.
Economy / Explainer
What is SSI? Supplemental Security Income, who qualifies and how it differs from SSDI
A plain-language guide to SSI: who qualifies, the 2026 and 2027 payment amounts, the income and asset limits, and how SSI differs from Social Security Disability Insurance.
Economy / Explainer
SNAP work requirements explained: who must work, the three-month limit and the 2025 changes
Who has to work to keep SNAP (food stamp) benefits, how the 80-hours-a-month time limit works, what the 2025 law changed, and who is exempt.