If You Can Keep It
94 episodes - English - Latest episode: 10 months ago - ★★★★★ - 9 ratings'If You Can Keep It' explores the structure and workings of the U.S. government. What does it mean to be an American? Armed with primary sources, humor, and anecdotes, Amanda and Sam attempt to answer this question by making civics education fascinating and fun.
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Episodes
S7-E9: The Final Curtain
June 11, 2023 21:24 - 47 minutes - 43.5 MBThank you for six super fun years, listeners. Go forth. Read the Constitution. Don't be dicks. We love you all.
S7-E8: Come on Down!- It's the Obama Episode
June 11, 2023 19:48 - 41 minutes - 38.3 MBIn IYCKI's penultimate episode, Amanda and Sam discuss Barack Obama, Occupy Wall Street, BLM and the Tea Party among other things.
S7-E7: We're Pretty Sure that We're Not Sure - The George W. Bush Story
June 11, 2023 19:42 - 1 hour - 56.8 MBAmanda and Sam discuss mocktails, tea preferences, George W. Bush, the 2000 election, and 9/11 among other things.
S7-E6: The Bill Clinton Calamity
March 04, 2023 22:11 - 52 minutes - 42.8 MBAmanda and Sam discuss their facial care routines, Bill Clinton's presidency, the super cool Monica Lewinsky, some riots, and an impeachment.
S7-E5: The HW stands for "Hey! Wacky Sock Day!" - George HW Bush
January 09, 2023 20:06 - 35 minutes - 29.6 MBAmanda and Sam discuss food (of course), hydration, Amanda's childhood political activism (featuring Milli Vanilli), and other things, including but not limited to George HW Bush.
S7-E4: Nearly Nude - The Ronald Reagan Story
December 08, 2022 02:32 - 30 minutes - 25.1 MBAmanda and Sam lament the retrograde, do a lot of deep dives into things that have nothing to do with anything, and discuss Ronald Reagan and his porn-sounding filmography.
S7-E3: Peanuts and Jesus - The Jimmy Carter Story
October 20, 2022 01:27 - 35 minutes - 29.4 MBAmanda and Sam discussed Jimmy Carter, Tessa the dog, shoe billed storks, and other beings. Like swamp rabbits which are a thing. There are seven-ish riots.
S7-E2 - President Huntsberger - AKA Gerald Ford
August 14, 2022 17:23 - 39 minutes - 31.9 MBAmanda and Sam discuss Gerald Ford, smoked salmon, and wedding preparations. Mao gets some snacks. Sam goes down a film rabbit hole. Amanda discusses five riots.
S7-E1 - Crookery, CREEPiness, and Love Letters to Pat: The Richard Nixon Story
July 25, 2022 01:50 - 58 minutes - 46.9 MBAmong many other things, Amanda and Sam discuss Richard Nixon - The man, the myth, the onion.
S6-E15: Don't Be a Jumbo - The LBJ Story
May 22, 2022 23:04 - 51 minutes - 42 MBAmanda and Sam discuss Lyndon B. Johnson, his weird life rules, his obsession with his appendage (yep, that one), and the million incidents of civil unrest that took place during his presidency.
S6-E14: JFK Part II - The Assassination
May 10, 2022 02:02 - 41 minutes - 48.5 MBAmanda and Sam discuss many things, among them being the official story and some unofficial theories about JFK's assassination
S6-E12: Money, Catholicism, TV Debates, and the Presidential Art of Not Keeping It in One's Pants - JFK Part 1
March 21, 2022 20:31 - 42 minutes - 48.1 MBAmanda and Sam pre-ramble about lifting weights and Tessa's cone of shame before they get into the life and times of JFK. This episode concerns his life. Stay tuned for JFK part 2 where they deal with his assassination.
S6-E13: Money, Catholicism, TV Debates, and the Presidential Art of Not Keeping It in One's Pants - JFK Part 1
March 21, 2022 20:31 - 42 minutes - 48.1 MBAmanda and Sam pre-ramble about lifting weights and Tessa's cone of shame before they get into the life and times of JFK. This episode concerns his life. Stay tuned for JFK part 2 where they deal with his assassination.
S6-E12: Ol' Duckpin - Dwight D. Eisenhower
March 06, 2022 21:09 - 28 minutes - 32.9 MBSam is the bread, Amanda is the stuff, riots are the fries, and McCarthyism and aliens are the olives on the toothpick in the sandwich.
S6-E11: Poof! You're the President - Harry S. Truman
March 06, 2022 21:04 - 35 minutes - 41.4 MBAmanda and Sam discuss Harry S. Truman and his TWO terms in office (emphasis on two). The pre-ramble is long and many snacks are eaten.
S6-E10: Especially Stamp Collecting - FDR and the Longest Presidency Ever
February 07, 2022 03:17 - 47 minutes - 59.8 MBProducer Zack dips at the beginning of this one, throwing Amanda and Sam into a minor panic, wherein his weird social experiment becomes most of the preramble. Eventually, they start the episode, in which they discuss FDR, the Great Democrat/Repbulican Ideology swap, the shit sandwich he had to eat at the beginning of his presidency, the New Deal, and other various sundry goings on. Amanda soothes her sore throat with corned beef.
S6-E9: His Own Damn Dam - The Herbert Hoover Story
January 23, 2022 19:16 - 37 minutes - 46 MBAmanda and Sam discuss our 31st POTUS (Not J Edgar Hoover), Producer Zack demonstrates his dedication to Diet Coke, Amanda sings a piercing rendition of the "All in the Family" theme song, and Sam briefly forgot about the concept of time vis-à-vis Hoovers alligators.
S6-E8: Strikingly Nondescript - Calvin Coolidge
January 09, 2022 14:00 - 34 minutes - 43 MBAmanda and Sam discuss Calvin Coolidge, his do-nothing attitude, his quiet demeanor, the fact that he was a readhead, a bunch of other stuff and 4 riots.
S6-E7: A Boob and a Bag - The Warren G. Harding Story
September 26, 2021 20:26 - 36 minutes - 45.7 MBAmanda and Sam discuss Warren G. Harding, his propensity for boning everyone in sight, the fact that he named his junk, and some riots.
S6-E6: See You Next Tuesday - The Woodrow Wilson Story
September 24, 2021 14:05 - 56 minutes - 69.1 MBAmanda and Sam discuss Woodrow Wilson, his place on Amanda's "Absolutely Not" list, his appalling racism, and 56 riots.
S6-E5:Pauline the Missing Prize Cow and the Rise and Fall of Billy Possum - The William Howard Taft Story
September 05, 2021 13:27 - 46 minutes - 56.9 MBAmanda and Sam eat snacks and talk Taft. Toy manufacturers make questionable decisions. A prized cow is inexplicably misplaced. We discuss some riots.
S6-E4: Speak Softly and Walk on Stilts - The Teddy Roosevelt Story
August 23, 2021 02:13 - 45 minutes - 60.7 MBAmanda and Sam discuss the first Roosevelt to be POTUS, his general vibe, his shitload of pets, the perilous concept of stewardship, and a few riots. Sam reminisces about the horror of taking the bar exam. Amanda misremembers the acquisition of her current TV and attempts to issue a crumpet retraction.
S6-E3: Out of the Cleveland Sandwich and Onto Better Things- The William McKinley Story
August 06, 2021 03:20 - 42 minutes - 61 MBAmanda and Sam discuss William McKinley, his resemblance to a famous muppet, and a few riots.
S6-E2: The Meat in the Cleveland Sandwich: Benjamin Harrison
July 18, 2021 15:14 - 36 minutes - 48.2 MBAmanda and Sam go down several rabbit holes, the least of which include discussions of Benjamin Harrison and a few riots.
S6-E1: #Cleveland: Steve the Cleve
July 04, 2021 02:06 - 32 minutes - 37.7 MBAmanda and Sam discuss a whole bunch of riots, Grover Cleveland's child bride, and a tumor that is in the Mutter Museum in Philly.
S5-E24: Fancypants Arthur
April 30, 2021 20:40 - 37 minutes - 43.7 MBAmanda and Sam discuss Chester A. Arthur, three riots, and Amanda introduces a very special rundown.
S5-E23: Dirty Fingers and a Bulls**t Metal Detector - The James A. Garfield Experience
April 05, 2021 01:27 - 36 minutes - 42 MBIn a long, but productive preramble, Amanda and Sam have a spirited discussion about "cancel culture" vis a vis the Dr. Seuss thing. In the actual episode, they touch on the life and times of James Garfield.
S5-E22: Granny Lemonade Ruthy Hayes - Rutherford B. Hayes
February 27, 2021 14:12 - 33 minutes - 38.7 MBAmanda and Sam discuss being aware of becoming boring, door dashing Taco Bell, and gazing longingly out of windows. They also discuss fellow Ohioan, Rutherford B. Hayes, and how accident prone he was in war, how much they love him in Paraguay, and the lack of correlation between presidents who had beards and almost any other data. Amanda discusses one riot and we do a heavily abridged impeachment rundown (no song this time).
S5-E21: Beef, Bourbon, and ... jobs - Also Ulysses Grant.
February 13, 2021 14:10 - 42 minutes - 48.9 MBAmanda and Sam are in rare form during the preramble. Eventually they discuss Ulysses Grant and 20 riots. Sam hijacks the impeachment rundown (feh deh deh da deh da deh da deh da deh deh). Mao chimes in, though no one is sure about what.
S5-E20: Ulysses, Hear Me Out - Andrew Johnson and His Little Fellows
January 25, 2021 13:37 - 51 minutes - 62.2 MBAmanda and Sam discuss Andrew Johnson, his impeachment, some riots, Johnson's mouse friends. Listen to the end for a long post-ramble about the Riots at the Capitol.
S5-E19: Babe-raham Lincoln
January 13, 2021 02:11 - 36 minutes - 45.1 MBHappy New Year, listeners! Amanda and Sam are back, predictably later than originally planned, to discuss Abraham Lincoln, possibly the most crush-worthy president. Amanda discusses 7 riots. We touch on SCOTUS's response to Trump's desperate bid to overturn an election he lost. While that portion of it is old news by the time this comes out, Sam's explanation of an amicus brief is timeless. Happy Birthday to producer Zack, on whose birthday we recorded this episode.
S5-E18: Ol' Buck the Dough Face: James Buchanan and Being the World's Less-Than-Okayest President
November 22, 2020 19:20 - 44 minutes - 54.5 MBWhat better thing to do on election night (yep, we pre-record) than talk about James Buchanan and his bromances. Amanda discovers that her limit of whiteclaw is one and one quarter whiteclaws and Sam finds out that next to who is winning the election, the next American priority is where to find Chinese food. Spoiler alert: Biden won.
S5-E17: The Litmus Does Not Exist: A Conversation about Franklin Pierce and Other Things
November 09, 2020 03:57 - 48 minutes - 59.8 MBAmanda and Sam discuss severed torsos, apple butter, apple preferences in general, Franklin Pierce, Amanda's semi-crush on Franklin Pierce (and subsequent rethinking of that crush when we start discussing the comb over), eight riots, and Mao's cat girlfriend. Producer Zack joins the conversation for the SCOTUS rundown.
S5-E16: World's Okayest President - Millard Fillmore
October 17, 2020 19:54 - 37 minutes - 46.3 MBIn a pre-ramble that is almost longer than the actual episode, Amanda and Sam discuss beans and other carbohydrates, Letterkenny, why cats might lick walls, which animals like baths, how much Amanda hates bedtime at her house, and whether Zack is confidently ready to begin recording the episode. They also discuss Millard Fillmore and a few riots. Side note: We pretty much always pre-record our episodes. The "Hot for Teacher" references were made prior to the death of Eddie Van Halen, an even...
S5-E15: Old Rough and Ready - Zachary Taylor
September 28, 2020 02:00 - 29 minutes - 36.7 MBAmanda and Sam discuss our 12th POTUS and his rivalry with the lead singer of Korn.
S5-E14: Down with the Codfish Aristocracy!
August 16, 2020 15:39 - 31 minutes - 37.4 MBAmanda and Sam discuss James Polk and the Astor Place Riots
S5-E13: His Accidency, John Tyler
August 02, 2020 14:30 - 35 minutes - 42.8 MBIn an excessively long pre-ramble, Amanda and Sam discuss sushi, match-making, left handed people vs. right handed people, professional manicures, how different people organize their thoughts, and what to do with 25 pounds of peaches. You’d almost think that this isn’t an American history podcast. In the eventual episode, they discuss John Tyler (from “…and Tyler too”) and how much everyone completely hated him, but how he also managed to throw more hip than any old man this side of the Mis...
S5-E12: Cranky Cider One and Done-er - Poor Old William Henry Harrison
July 19, 2020 15:39 - 31 minutes - 38.6 MBAmanda and Sam spend a lot of time on the proverbial tarmac, but they eventually talk about the 32-day term of our 9th POTUS, the Dorr Rebellion, the first of many Cincinnati riots, and the Battle of Tippecanoe. This episode features "Hold Music" by Steve Combs (CC BY 4.0) available via https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Steve_Combs/The_Sun_is_Rising/06_Hold_Music.
Getting to know your Hosts: The Sam Edition
July 06, 2020 02:04 - 19 minutes - 24.9 MBSamantha Potatohead answers 73 of Amanda's questions.
Getting to know your Hosts: The Amanda Edition
June 01, 2020 01:17 - 18 minutes - 24.2 MBAmanda answers 73 questions.
S5-E9: Wine Break!
April 05, 2020 02:12 - 51 minutes - 62.9 MBAmanda, Sam, and special guest Vince discuss wine, wine laws, and how to correctly pronounce sommelier. This episode was recorded shortly before all hell broke loose with the Covid-19 pandemic. The IYCKI collective urges you to stay safe, distance, wash your hands, get your info from reliable or original sources and hang in there! Check out our special guest at: https://visforvino.com/
S5-E8: Martin Van Buren
March 15, 2020 13:47 - 16 minutes - 21.1 MBAmanda and Sam discuss the 8th POTUS and the origin of “OK.” Amanda discloses her celebrity crush on Jake Gyllenhaal. Stay tuned for next episode’s collaboration with Vince from V is for Vino.
S5-E7: Pregnant with Bullets - Andrew Jackson
March 03, 2020 02:04 - 20 minutes - 26.5 MBAmanda and Sam discuss the 7th POTUS: His violent nature, his cursing parrot, his terrible policies. and his giant wheel of cheese. Amanda does the last impeachment rundown (feh deh.... deh.... da.... you get the idea).
S5-E6: Accidentally Aged Aged Cheddar and the Yankee Doodle Food Song
February 10, 2020 01:37 - 23 minutes - 29 MBAmanda and Sam discuss John QUINCY Adams, Amanda forgets some really basic facts, and the Hulk oversees the episode.
S5-E5: The Original Florida Man - James Monroe
January 20, 2020 02:55 - 20 minutes - 25.4 MBAmanda and Sam discuss the 5th POTUS (the actual last cocked hat who actually died on July 4th), the Incredible Hulk supervises Zack, and Amanda and Sam become accidental tea drinkers.
S5-E4: The Pocket President - James Madison
January 08, 2020 03:42 - 18 minutes - 23 MBAmanda and Sam discuss James Madison: the littlest president whose dinner was eaten by the Brits.
S5-E3: Proactive Whack-A-Mole - Thomas Jefferson
December 22, 2019 15:33 - 17 minutes - 23.5 MBAmanda and Sam discuss the 3rd POTUS, Sam gets the good can of diet coke, and Amanda feels ambivalent about impeachment rundown (feh deh deh deh deh da deh da deh da deh deh).
S5-E2: Presidential Minisode 2 - Hyperbole Adams
December 10, 2019 03:51 - 15 minutes - 20.7 MBAmanda and Sam discuss the second president of the United States, his feelings about the office itself, and how crime can bring frienemies together. Sam ends with SCOTUS rundown.
S5 - E1: Presidential Minisode 1 - George Washington and the Impeachment Inquiry
November 25, 2019 04:03 - 26 minutes - 32.5 MBIn preramble, Sam discusses her propensity for unfortunate office injuries and indelicate nature. Amanda attempts to make the introduction as short as possible; Sam effectively opposes that effort. Sam and Amanda discuss George Washington's presidential legacy, provide facts and dispel myths about him, and discuss the state of the impeachment inquiry against Donald J. Trump.
The Impeachment Tea
October 10, 2019 02:17 - 44 minutes - 54.8 MBin a surprise mini-ish-sode, Amanda and Sam discuss impeachment. Amanda sings a lot of rundown songs. Sam pulls her hair out in her best Gene Wilder impression