US politics, explained. With a wink.
Fair, sourced explainers on how Washington really works. No shouting, a few jokes.
Start with the big questions
Six things everyone argues about and few people can explain. Each answer comes first, the details after.
- How does a bill become a law? From an idea in a lawmaker’s head to the president’s pen, in nine steps. Read the answerHow Government Works
- Democrat vs. Republican: what’s the difference? What each party stands for, described the way its own voters would. Read the answerParties & Ideologies
- How does the Electoral College work? Why 270 is the magic number, and what happens at a 269–269 tie. Read the answerElections
- What is a filibuster? The Senate’s favorite delay tactic, and why talking for 24 hours is optional now. Read the answerHow Government Works
- Is my news biased? Find your outlet on the Media Bias Chart and see how it was rated. Read the answerMedia & Bias
- What are the swing states? The handful of states that decide presidential elections, and why they swing. Read the answerElections
Pick a ride
Eight topics, from the Constitution to the cartoons. Every hub starts simple and goes as deep as you like.
- How Government Works Congress, the courts, the White House and the rules that tie them together.
- Elections Primaries, swing states, the Electoral College and who gets to vote.
- Parties & Ideologies Democrats, Republicans, liberals, conservatives, and everyone in between.
- Presidents Who held the job, what they got done, and how they are ranked.
- Media & Bias How news outlets lean, and how to read them anyway.
- Issues Guns, health care, taxes, immigration, climate: the arguments, fairly told.
- People Profiles of the politicians and pundits everyone keeps talking about.
- Cartoons The carnival part: cartoons that show how politics works.
Is your news biased?
Independent rating services place news outlets by political lean and by reliability. Our guide explains how those ratings are made and how to read the news with them, without telling you what to think.
Open the Media Bias ChartPop quiz: the numbers that run Washington
Guess first, then flip the card.
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How many electoral votes win the presidency?Flip
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How many people sit in Congress?Flip
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How many senators does it take to end a filibuster?Flip
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How many justices sit on the Supreme Court?Flip
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How many terms can a president serve?Flip
Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill
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Day 1. I’m a bill! Soon I’ll be a law!
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Committee: “We’ll look into it.”
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Day 412. Still in committee.
A new site on an old address
From 2009 to 2018 this domain hosted a different blog that has no connection to today’s site. Since 2026 it has had a new owner and a new purpose: explaining how US politics works, with sources, without taking sides.
Read the whole story