Thinking in the Midst

Cam Scribner and Kathleen Knight Abowitz join Cara and Derek to discuss a topic arising out of Scribner's contribution to Concordia University's fall institute on “Political Challenges of/for/in 21st Century Schools: Addressing Polarization in the Classroom.” There's a lot of talk about "small-c conservatism" in this one.For more of Cam's work, click here, here, and here.For Kathleen's work. click here, here, and here.Use this form to suggest future topics and guests!

Nicholas Tampio and Kathy Hytten join Cara and Derek to talk about Dewey, political saturation, democratic habits, and how expensive youth hockey is. For Kathy's works, click here and here For Nick's edition and intro to Democracy and Education, click here. And for his Common Core book, click here. And for public-facing work on Dewey, click here. And use this form to recommend future guests and topics!

A live episode! GroundWorks's 2024 edition features a piece on "Systemic Indoctrination" by Fedor Korochkin, and in an event held Tuesday, January 14th, he gave it as a talk, with Christopher Martin and Rebecca Taylor responding, and followed by a Q&A session. Here is the paper at the GroundWorks website, and Here is the form to recommend future topics and guests.

Phoebe Gilpin, a doctoral candidate focused on curriculum and educator voices, Martha Perez-Mugg, who explores critical disability studies, and Arham Kazi, studying childhood and epistemology, dive into the books that shaped their philosophical journeys. They discuss the transformative impact of texts like Plato's Euthyphro and bell hooks' Teaching to Transgress. The conversation also covers their current favorites, including Social Reproduction Theory and Catherine Elgin's True Enough, showcasing a rich tapestry of literature that fuels their scholarship.

In this episode, Dave Backer, an expert in education policy and school finance, and Heather DuBois-Bourenane, the dynamic Executive Director of the Wisconsin Public Education Network, dive deep into the complexities of school funding. They discuss how financial structures shape educational equity and community engagement. From revealing insights about bond statements to practical advice on local activism, they highlight the critical roles of transparency and advocacy in reforming education finance. Get ready to rethink how money impacts learning!

This week, we present another cross-posted episode -- this time featuring Cara's podcast Teaching from an Ethical Center. This week's guest, Jia Lee, talks to Cara about the idea of adapting curriculum to fit her students, the idea of "fidelity" as policymakers and curriculum designers use the term, and what else it might mean, as well. As always, please use this form to recommend future guests and topics!

In this episode, we're featuring a philosophical conversation in a different register, re-releasing a conversation between Derek and Annie Schultz about the 1998 film You've Got Mail. Is Nora Ephron an early object-oriented ontologist? What can we expect or hope to learn from fictional characters? The New Yorker article on Nora Ephron we referenced The Atlantic piece on the gentrification of the self. Please use this form to recommend future guests or topics!

PEN America's Jeremy Young and the University of Connecticut's Michael Lynch join Cara and Derek to talk about the use of state power to restrict what can be discussed and studied in educational institutions, particularly, though not exclusively, colleges and universities. Jeremy's report, America's Censored Classrooms 2024 Michael's forthcoming On Truth in Politics (available for preorder) Use this form to recommend future episodes and guests!

Casey Burkholder, Stephanie Jones, and Lauren Bialystok join Cara and Derek to talk about what ELSE we're teaching when we teach -- and argue about -- sexuality, and how it might be different. For more of Casey's work, click here, here, here, and here. Here is Lauren's book, and here is the book chapter she mentioned in the episode. And for Stephanie's work, click here, here, here, and here. Please use this form to recommend future topics and guests!

Katie Sellars and Alex Nikolaidis sit down with Cara and Derek to talk about their experiences with academic conferences in general, and with the Ohio Valley Philosophy of Education Society in particular. For Alex's work, see his website. For Katie's projects, see her website, too. To recommend future guests or topics, please use this form.