In which Dan chats with Cindy Blackburn, Director of Learning and Engagement at Toddle, about curriculum, that "dirty word" at many progressive schools. Cindy is also the host of the School Leaders Project podcast, where she interviews leading ...

In which Dan chats with Olina Banerji, a reporter for EdWeek who recently wrote a great article, "Schools Are Eerily Quiet...

In which Dan sits down (in person!) with Oshri Hakak (@oshrihakak), children's author, mental health advocate, and all-around deep thinker about the world we live in. Oshri collaborates with NAMI Westside Los Angeles (@namiwla) to talk with stu...

In which Dan talks about addressing hard topics and fielding tough questions from our smallest students with Kat Nguyen, a Kindergarten teacher in California. How do early childhood teachers address the questions and comments that inevitably ar...

In which Dan talks about how teachers can feel prepared and empowered to teach and talk about the upcoming election. He's joined by Erica Hodgin from Facing History & Ourselves, truly the gold st...

In which Dan discusses the nature of technology with Dan Krutka, an associate professor at the University of North Texas, a prolific academic writer, and one of the founders of Civics of Technology, a project and online community founded on som...

In which Dan talks with Garreth Heidt, an educator in Pennsylvania who’s spent a career thinking about and practicing how education could be different. Garreth leads the Nova LAB program at Perkiomen Valley HS. Dan and Garreth discuss h...

In which Dan chats with Tyler Rablin (@Mr_Rablin) about how teachers can make assessment really work for student motivation, purpose, and confidence. Tyler is a teacher and instructional coach in Washington, and he's the author of the new book ...

In which Dan comments on our nation's obsession with STEM education and misaligned priorities. We've been sold a story by industry leaders that STEM jobs are the future; we lionize tech and math nerds; we push kids to take the highest possible ...

In which Dan talks about the challenges facing girls today--and reasons for optimism--with Donna Jackson Nakazawa. Donna is the author of seven books, most recently Girls on the Brink: Helping Our Daughters Thrive in an Era of Increased Anxiety...

In which Dan talks media literacy--the skills needed to responsibly decode, assess, and create media--with Tim Krueger, a Social Studies teacher in Syracuse, New York, and someone who's been doing a ton of thinking and teaching about this essen...

In which Dan takes a few minutes to share his thoughts on the power of putting students in a position to hear and reflect on personal stories. Drawing on recent experiences with a Holocaust survivor and an immigration unit, Dan talks about how ...

In which Dan explores the power of outdoor experiential learning with Fulcrum Adventures, a Los Angeles-based company and leader in the team building and outdoor youth development space. Their motto is Do. Risk. Grow. Dan talks...

In which Dan talks about puberty--that rite of passage that many of us would sooner forget--and how for kids today it looks and feels so very different from a generation ago. He talks to Dr. Cara Natterson and Vanessa Kroll Bennett, hosts of th...

In which Dan talks with Celeste Kirsh, middle school educator, podcast host, and Ph.D. student. Celeste is a deeply reflective and thoughtful person, and so Dan picks her brain about digital media literacy, teaching young people to write, and w...

In which Dan talks with Annie Abrams, public school teacher and author of the new book Shortchanged: How Advanced Placement Cheats Students. Dan was always skeptical of the AP for reasons related to cost and its content-heavy nature, b...

In which Dan interviews Yehudah Potok, Director of Jewish Education Program and  Lead for the Antisemitism Project at Facing History and Ourselves.  A recent uptick in antisemitism around t...

In which Dan discusses history, representation, and America's blindspots with Femi Redwood (@femiredwood), journalist and host of the podcast Beyond Black History Month, which has just kicked off its second season. They talk about the very idea...

In which Dan learns all about the book adaptation process from Rebecca Stefoff (@RebeccaStefoff), author of numerous fiction and nonfiction titles. Notably, Rebecca has adapted important works by Howard Zinn, Ronald Takaki, and Charles Darwin...

In which Dan talks with Kindra Neely (@kindraneely), author of the new graphic memoir Numb to This: Memoir of a Mass Shooting.  Neely is a survivor of the 2...

In which Dan chats with Monte Syrie (@MonteSyrie) about the gains, pains, and learning that comes with being a professional educator. Our fast-paced, get-it-now culture can lead teachers to think that they should be polished and amazing NOW. Mo...

In which Dan asks a bunch of really smart educators, "What have the past two+ years taught us?" We're entering another school year of pandemic teaching and learning, so what do we have to show for it? Forget the think pieces online and the ra...

In which Dan chats with author Barbara Dee about her work writing powerful novels about middle school students, for middle school students. Barbara's 13th novel comes out this fall, and her books take on issues ranging from me...

In which Dan examines the behemoth that is traditional grading--you know, the A-F and 0-100 scales, and GPAs. Dan is joined by Susan Blum (@SusanDebraBlum) who has done a ton of thinking, speaking, and writing about how teachers can move away f...

In which Dan takes a close look at the recent spread of censorship aimed at schools and libraries across the United States. Hundreds (!) of new laws have been proposed in just months that would put teachers and curriculums under the microscope,...