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: the week in politics, drawn.
Is your news biased?
Every outlet leans a little. The Media Bias Chart shows where 30 of the biggest American news sources sit, from left to right and from shaky to rock-solid, and explains how each rating was made.
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.
Back on the midway since 2009
The Political Carnival started in 2009 as a fast, funny political blog. Its posts were linked by newsrooms across the country before it went quiet in 2018. In 2026 it reopened under new ownership with a new job: explaining US politics fairly, with sources, and still with a joke or two.
Read the whole storyOver the years, newsrooms like these linked to our old posts: