[KAMALA HARRIS] “These are unprecedented times” [TOM O’HALLERAN] “We’re in an unprecedented time” [KRISTI NOEM] “…unprecedented border crisis” [JD VANCE] “...the unprecedented thing is the idea…” [MERRICK GARLAND] “...not normal” [JOE BIDEN] “...is not normal” [multiple voices] "This unprecedented…" [multiple voices] "Unprecedented…" "…you are making, at the expense of the American people…" "…truly, without parallel in our history" [music fades out] [KOUSHA NAVIDAR] Why are Supreme Court  nominations so contentious?

Can the president do whatever they want? Are we more polarized now than ever?

And how long are we going to keep saying we’re living in “unprecedented times” before we admit: it seems like the government isn’t exactly working the way we were taught it was supposed to in social studies class? If you’ve ever found yourself asking these kinds of questions or fact-checking your uncle’s opinions about them you’re not alone. Take it from me: a guy who’s been inside the belly of the beast.

Hi, I’m Kousha Navidar. After I got my Masters in Public Policy, I was a political speechwriter. I wrote speeches for a lot of people: a governor, a former senator, a member of President Obama’s Cabinet.

Today, I host live radio shows where I talk to experts, and the people, about what’s happening in our government. But before all that, I was a 16-year-old who got to take an oath, and I became a U. S. citizen.

They gave me a little flag. I think I still have it somewhere. The truth is, a lot has changed since I became a citizen all those years ago.

Even in the decade since the last Crash Course U. S. Government and Politics series, we’ve become more divided.

It’s harder to know what information we can trust. And, look, things might seem tough right now. But one thing I love about government is it’s a reminder that you’re not alone.

And we can start by understanding it together. So, Crash Course is back, to answer your Big Questions on U. S.

Government. We’re not covering the basics of the three branches. We’re not rehashing how a bill becomes a law.

Instead, over 15 episodes, we’re going to build on the foundation of the first series. We’ll dig deep into stuff that’s relevant right now, and ask whether this system that was built 250 years ago is still serving us like it should. [computer buzzes and smokes] Ahh! [buzzing stops] [Kousha blows smoke] Ow! [long beep] Together, we’ll look at the wider forces that influence politics, peek inside the systems that are supposed to work for us, and hold our present moment up to history to help us understand what the heck is happening. By the end of the series, you’ll go from feeling overwhelmed about our politics to actually understanding why it works the way it does, and what we might do about it going forward.

So, let’s you and I meet back here next week. And you know what? We’ll start with an easy one: why are U.

S. politics so divisive? I’ll see you then. This episode of Crash Course Big Questions on U.

S. Government was produced in partnership with USAFacts, a non-partisan civic tech project that makes government data easier to understand. For more resources that go along with these videos, go to usafacts.org/crashcourse.

Thanks for watching this episode of Crash Course Big Questions on U. S. Government, which was filmed in Indianapolis, Indiana, and was made with the help of all these nice people.

If you want to help keep Crash Course free for everyone, forever, you can join our community on Patreon.