1Fake news. Twitter rants. Misinformation. Silos. Echo chambers. Spin. Alternative facts. Investigation, accusation, and obfuscation. Punditry, polls, and prognostication. This is today's politics. To cut through the noise, students need a guide to how politics really works and why it matters. American Politics Today has been that trusted source. And the new sixth edition brings even greater focus to examining preconceived notions of how government operates and understanding what's really going on.