Every president (with the exception of William Henry Harrison) has issued executive orders. Most recently, Donald Trump issued several on his first day in office. Some have been published in the Federal Register, others are facing legal challenges.

So what IS an executive order? How do they differ from other executive actions, like proclamations or memoranda? Who writes them? Who reviews them? All that and more with our guest Andy Rudalevidge, professor of Government at Bowdoin and author of By Executive Order: Bureaucratic Management and the Limits of Presidential Power.

Click here for our episode on the Federal Register.

Here is a link to every single proclamation issued by a president.

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Ever since fluoridation became widespread in the 1950s, cavities in kids have fallen drastically. The effort is considered one of the ten greatest public health achievements of the 20th century. But it’s also one of the most controversial.

Today, the story of what that's so, from our sister podcast, NHPR's Outside/In.

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• CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more!
• To see Civics 101 in book form, check out A User's Guide to Democracy: How America Works by Hannah McCarthy and Nick Capodice, featuring illustrations by Tom Toro.
• Check out our other weekly NHPR podcast, Outside/In - we think you'll love it!

During his campaign, now-President Trump promised a lot of action (much of it to happen on day one). So what did he actually do once he regained the office? A LOT. This is the first week of Trump's executive orders.

For some context, check out our episodes on:

Wong Kim Ark and Birthright Citizenship

Dred Scott

The Fourteenth Amendment

An earlier version of this episode incorrectly identified several Presidential memoranda and proclamations as executive orders.

Want our new "Civics is my cup of tea" mug? CLICK HERE TO DONATE AND GET YOURS!

• CLICK HERE: Visit our website to see all of our episodes, donate to the podcast, sign up for our newsletter, get free educational materials, and more!
• To see Civics 101 in book form, check out A User's Guide to Democracy: How America Works by Hannah McCarthy and Nick Capodice, featuring illustrations by Tom Toro.
• Check out our other weekly NHPR podcast, Outside/In - we think you'll love it!