The Civics Lab

About The Civics Lab

The Civics Lab at St. Edward's University (Austin, TX) is a student and faculty collaborative podcast on civics life in America. We interview guests and discuss issues around the intersection of politics, economics, society, public policy, religion and other important issues to the civics life in the United States and Texas. Dr. David Thomason, on the faculty at St. Ed's, is the director of the Kozmetsky Center of Excellence and project manager of the Civics Lab. Students at St. Ed's produce, research and comment on the podcast. The Civics Lab team is led by St. Edward's University students Jacob Zivin and the Kozmetsky Fellows team. The podcast is brought to you by the Kozmetsky Center. Support the Civics Lab Podcast by becoming a donor or sponsor! Your contribution helps us keep meaningful conversations going. Donate today at bit.ly/KOZDONOR (http://bit.ly/KOZDONOR), or contact Jacie Minnick Associate Director of Development via email at jminnick@stedwards.edu to learn more about sponsorship opportunities.

Publisher

David Thomason

Category

government · news · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

5 Nov 2020

Latest episode

2 Oct 2025

Latest episodes

37 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   2 Oct 2025

   Exploring Civic Education through Statecraft Simulation

   Joe Jaeger, CEO of Statecraft Simulations, discusses his project-based learning platform and how it teaches students about the complexities of the political system in this interview.

2. 

   8 Sept 2025

   Public Goods and Urban Growth: Housing and Environmental Responsibility in Austin and Travis County

   Host Ashika Ganguly, Luis Osta Lugo, Corbin Graham, and attorney Jim Blackburn discuss housing development on a Travis County landfill and the push for developer accountability.

3. 

   7 Aug 2025

   The Role of Leadership in Civic Progress: A Conversation with Leadership Austin's CEO

   Jill Goodman, CEO of Leadership Austin, discusses the importance of leadership programs and tough conversations for community progress in this interview.

Who has been a guest on The Civics Lab

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Joe Jaeger
• Jill Goodman
• Dottie Watkins

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

8 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 13 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

14

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

32