We started out by lining up on different sides of the street, then by saying our vote out loud. We've used many methods to vote, but most of them were corruptible by the party in power. But have we reached the pinnacle? Have we finally achieved the "perfect ballot?"

Today, Dan Cassino of Farleigh Dickinson University and Josh Pasek of the University of Michigan walk us through the history of ballot design, the ballot fiasco in 2000, and how some ballots continue to favor one candidate (or party) over the other.

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Today we explore coins, shells, greenbacks, the Mint, all things tied to American currency.

Our guides are Stephen Mihm, professor at the University of Georgia and author of A Nation of Counterfeiters: Capitalists, Con Men, and the Making of the United States, Ellen Feingold, curator at the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian, and Todd Martin from the U.S. Mint.

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We often tell you that YOUR local government is the one you have to pay really close attention to. So today we’re bringing you an episode from our colleagues over at Outside/In that proves exactly this. It’s about one city - Juneau, Alaska - and what happens when climate change concerns meet municipal resources – or lack thereof. What does a city do when the bottom line doesn’t jibe with reality and federal funds are out of reach? Especially when a predictable natural disaster is looming on the horizon?

Outside/In host Nate Hegyi visits Juneau to see one example of why some Americans - and their civil leaders - are rejecting tough truths about climate change when it comes knocking at their own back door.

To see photos and learn more about Nate's reporting in Juneau, click here.

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