Episodios

  • #201 Use It Or Lose It

    #201 Use It Or Lose It
    Jul 10 2025
    Local democracy has never been more essential, so why does it so often disappoint us? Jack convenes an all-star cast to discuss the promise vs the reality of school boards as democratic institutions. Special guests Rachel White, Derek Gottlieb, Kathleen Knight Abowitz and Johann Neem make the case that, love them or hate them, school boards remain one of the last places where Americans can come together as neighbors as part of a community. Bonus: we meet one of the longest-serving school board members in the land. The financial support of listeners like you keeps this podcast going. Subscribe on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HaveYouHeardPodcast
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    51 m
  • #200 Don’t Buy the AI Hype

    #200 Don’t Buy the AI Hype
    Jun 19 2025
    It’s the 200th episode of Have You Heard and we’ve assembled an all-star lineup to help us make sense of what the AI ‘revolution’ in education is really about. Audrey Watters, Ben Riley and John Warner view the over-heated claims being made about AI’s potential with extreme skepticism, reminding us of the long history of the ed tech sales pitch, and the dangers of a world in which tech titans have the money, power and influence to reshape education along reactionary lines.
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    47 m
  • #199 Dangerous Learning, Dangerous Times

    #199 Dangerous Learning, Dangerous Times
    May 29 2025
    Legal scholar Derek Black is a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s anti-DEI crusade, arguing that the effort to impose what he calls ‘loyalty oaths’ on schools is blatantly unconstitutional. Black argues that the attacks on public education are at the center of a larger project aimed at undermining the two central pillars of democracy: free speech and due process. The author of a new book, Dangerous Learning: The South's Long War on Black Literacy, Black draws parallels between the lead-up to the Civil War and today’s paranoia-fueled efforts to limit what teachers can teach and students can learn. The financial support of listeners like you keeps this podcast going. Subscribe on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HaveYouHeardPodcast
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    43 m
  • #198 Ethnic Studies ‘Works.’ Does That Even Matter Anymore?

    #198 Ethnic Studies ‘Works.’ Does That Even Matter Anymore?
    May 13 2025
    We’re headed to California, where high school students will soon be required to complete an ethnic studies course in order to graduate. The policy has set off the predictable culture war response, with critics charging that ethnic studies is indoctrination, activism, DEI, CRT, etc. But lost in the fog of backlash are the impressive results that ethnic studies has shown for students who struggle in school, including boosting attendance, GPA, and engagement. So what’s the problem? It turns out that ethnic studies’ inherent activism is precisely why the course is so effective, and why it’s such a target these days. The financial support of listeners like you keeps this podcast going. Subscribe on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HaveYouHeardPodcast
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    46 m
  • #197 Taking America Back (to a Less Educated Past)

    #197 Taking America Back (to a Less Educated Past)
    Apr 24 2025
    The vision of the future on offer from Donald Trump looks a lot like the past, when men were men, women stayed home, and just about everyone was less educated. To get a glimpse of what that future might look like we head to Indiana, one of the great ‘human capital anti-success stories of the 21st century,’ according to our guest, economist Michael Hicks. Hicks makes the case that Indiana has pursued a series of disastrous policy choices over the past decade, including slashing spending on K-12 schools and higher education, expanding school choice (while cutting school spending), and preparing kids for the jobs of the past. The financial support of listeners like you keeps this podcast going. Subscribe on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HaveYouHeardPodcast
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    44 m
  • #196 The Best Schools You’ve Never Heard Of

    #196 The Best Schools You’ve Never Heard Of
    Apr 10 2025
    The best schools in the country may be run by - wait for it - the Defense Department. But as education researcher Kenneth Wong tells us, the schools’ success is a fairly recent development, reflecting a years-long overhaul centered on improving teaching and learning. Alas, the ‘what works’ era that would have once sent education experts rushing to the scene in search of the secret sauce is no more. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has priortized the crusade against DEI while his boss has ordered him to draw up a plan to voucher-ize the schools. The financial support of listeners like you keeps this podcast going. Subscribe on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HaveYouHeardPodcast
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    39 m
  • #195 Public Education is on the Precipice

    #195 Public Education is on the Precipice
    Mar 26 2025
    We’re headed to Vermont where public schools are confronting a ‘perfect storm’ of challenges. Costs are rising in this largely rural state even as the student population is declining, fueling a taxpayer revolt. Meanwhile, thanks to a recent SCOTUS ruling, a tradition of funding private schools with public funds means that Vermont must now pay for religious education. Enter the state’s Republican governor with a bold plan to do education in Vermont completely differently. Will public education in the Green Mountain State survive? And how long before schools in your state face a similar precipice? The financial support of listeners like you keeps this podcast going. Subscribe on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HaveYouHeardPodcast
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    49 m
  • #194 Letter to a Trump Voter

    #194 Letter to a Trump Voter
    Mar 11 2025
    Like just about everyone these days, our own Jack Schneider is troubled–make that frightened–by our political landscape. But however deep our divides may be, there’s one issue that can, if not bring us together, allow for at least a conversation. The dismantling of the public education system would be so obviously bad for all of us that maybe, just maybe, a shout from the other side of the partisan divide might actually be heard. In this Letter to a Trump Voter, Jack reminds us of all the important areas of aggreement Americans actually share when it comes to their public schools. "Maybe if we can agree to protect public education we can find other things to agree on." Music for the episode provided by the brilliant Francisco Rafart. Song list: - Caminito del Turia - Always with you - Andes Haze - Magic Concepts Links to music: Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/3EIxblOsWLuH54ZRWDuw1m Website https://rafartmusic.com/albums The financial support of listeners like you keeps this podcast going. Subscribe on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HaveYouHeardPodcast
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    39 m