Podcast

Episode 1: Introducing the Civics Radio Network Podcast

The Civics Radio Network came out of a collaboration between Carrie Kaufman and Ashton Ridley to develop programming for KUNV Radio that had to do with civics and young people. They hit upon a 2-step process: a bootcamp to teach students civics and journalism, and a podcast for them to share what they learned. Ashton and Carrie talk about the process while sharing clips of students’ reactions at the end of the bootcamp.

So… Las Vegas isn’t really in Las Vegas. Most people who live here don’t know that. And most people who live here don’t live in Las Vegas. About 650,000 people live in Las Vegas proper. That’s represented by the green areas of the map to the left. The blue area is North Las Vegas – which is an actual city, not a description. Almost 300,000 people live there. A bit more than that live in Henderson, which is shown on the map as purple. But the orange part? That is the biggest area on the map? That’s unincorporated Clark County. Which has more than a million people. Who don’t live in Las Vegas.

Fun fact, also: the Strip is not in Las Vegas.

The students who worked on this project are Ektor Ndreu, Alexandria Buhr, and Gregory Noble Jr.

Last summer, Henderson police went to a house to investigate a complaint from a neighbor. Police found the owners were running a puppy mill. That is, they were breeding young, female dogs and selling their pups for $2,000-$5,000.The residents had 39 dogs. 34 of them were French Bulldogs. Four of them were pregnant.

The team decided to look at this topic because… well… PUPPIES! But also because it is a demonstration of how civics work when neighboring municipalities don’t coordinate. It’s hard to ban pet stores – as Clark County and North Las Vegas did – when pet stores are perfectly legal in Henderson and Las Vegas.

The students who worked on this project are Trevor Tumminia, Arabella Robertson and Rowan Lewis.

In 2023, the Nevada legislature passed a SB92, regulating sidewalk vendors. You know, the people who sell corn and shaved ice in various parks, and near your grocery store. The law was the first ever to regulate these micro-businesses. But the regulations didn’t turn out the way the backers of the bill expected them to.

The students who worked on this project are Ben Oates and Molly Bilbray-Axelrod.

This was the one story the students wanted to work on most. Three people from Moms for Liberty ran for office this election. Two won, both on the CCSD school board. These teenagers interviewed an expert on right wing groups, a teacher who was targeted by Moms for Liberty, and the president of the local Moms for Liberty chapter.

The audio here isn’t great. But the work certainly is.

The students who worked on this project are Amel Cook, Sonny Vergara, Lilian Woldemariam and Abigail Negate.