FreshEd

Today we look at the power of Participatory Action Research in public science. My guest is Michelle Fine. In the 1990s, she worked on a study called Changing Minds, which looked at the impact of college in a maximum-security prison. The research team comprised of women in and outside of prison. For Michelle, participatory action research plays an important role in the struggle for social justice. It not only can change legislation, impact critical social theory, and mobilize popular opinion for educational justice; but seemingly small issues can also have deep and lasting implications. Michelle Fine is a Distinguished Professor at the Graduate Center at the City University of New York where she is a founding member of the Public Science Project. http://www.freshedpodcast.com/michellefine twitter: @freshedpodcast email: info@freshedpodcast.com

Today we bring you a special episode of FreshEd. With me is Manos Antoninis, the Director of the Global Education Monitoring Report, which was just released. Each year, UNESCO publishes an editorially-independent Global Education Monitoring report to monitor the progress towards the education targets in the Sustainable Development Goals. This year’s topic is migration, displacement and education. Based on evidence from around the world, the report argues that investing in the education of mobile people can actually create cohesion and peace. Of course, there are many challenges facing children, teachers, policymakers, and society from the displacement and migration of large numbers of people. The 2019 GEM report is entitled "Migration, Displacement, and Education: Building Bridges, not Walls" and is available online now. http://www.freshedpodcast.com/Antoninis twitter:@freshedpodcast email: info@freshedpodcast.com

Today I continue my two-part conversation with Justin Driver, the author of the new book, The Schoolhouse Gate: Public Education, the Supreme Court, and the Battle for the American Mind. In today’s episode Justin recounts his biography from growing up in Washington DC to clerking for two Supreme Court justices. Justin takes us through some of the Supreme Court cases involving public schools he thinks are most important but that receive little attention today. He also looks to the future given the recent confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Justin Driver is the Harry N. Wyatt Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School. His book, The Schoolhouse Gate (2018 Pantheon), is receiving rave reviews. The New York Times called it “indispensable” while the Washington Post called it “masterful.” http://www.freshedpodcast.com/driver-p2 twitter: @freshedpodcast email: info@freshedpodcast.com

Do constitutional rights stop at the schoolhouse gate? Are American students, in other words, granted the freedom and protections outlined in the US constitution? This question doesn’t have an easy answer. My guest for the next two episodes is Justin Driver. In his new book, The Schoolhouse Gate: Public Education, the Supreme Court, and the Battle for the American Mind, Justin explores most if not all Supreme Court rulings on students in public education. In the first part of my conversation with Justin, we explore the constitutional significance of school rulings and focus much of our attention on the issue of race. Justin Driver is the Harry N. Wyatt Professor of Law at the University of Chicago Law School. His first book,The Schoolhouse Gate(2018 Pantheon), is receiving rave reviews. The New York Times called it “indispensable” while the Washington Post called it “masterful.” http://www.freshedpodcast.com/driver-p1 twitter: @freshedpodcast email: info@freshedpodcast.com

Nine public service employees are suing Navient, the student debt service provider, for providing misleading and inaccurate information. They allege that Navient engaged in predatory lending, more interested in turning a profit than finding them the best repayment plan. My guest today is Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. ATF has been helping their members navigate the student loan industry. What they found is shocking. For Randi, there is a legal and electoral path to find justice for student loan borrowers. For listeners living in the USA, please make sure you vote tomorrow. www.freshedpodcast.com/weingarten twitter: @freshedpodcast email: info@freshedpodcast.com

Today we explore the feminist movement in China. My guest is Leta Hong Fincher, an award-winning journalist and scholar. Leta argues that the jailing of the Feminist Five in 2015 was a turning point for the movement. Leta Hong Fincher recently published the book, Betraying Big Brother: The Feminist Awakening in China, published by Verso (2018). www.freshedpodcast.com/fincher twitter:@freshedpodcast email: info@freshedpodcast.com

Today marks the 3rd anniversary of FreshEd. To celebrate, we are going to air our first ever FreshEd Live event where Saskia Sassen joined me for a conversation about her life and work. Saskia Sassen is a professor at Columbia University. In 1991, she published the now classic book called The Global City where she chronicled how New York, London, and Tokyo became the centers in the new digital economy. What she focused on was the rise of intermediary services that allowed corporations to operate globally. Instead of seeing place as no longer necessary in the digital economy, she saw certain cities as physical sites that became more important than ever in the global economy. For Sassen, intermediaries concentrated in certain parts of the city and relied on high-level knowledge, like algorithmic mathematics. In New York City, financial services took over lower Manhattan. This left a peculiar reality for the physical buildings in the city. As a result, many people who didn’t work in intermediary services were expelled from those parts of the city. And yet, despite this expulsion by intermediaries, new forms of inclusion were created. Today’s show was recorded at Musashi University during the Third Japanese Political Economy Workshop organized by Nobuharu Yokokawa. www.freshedpodcast.com/sassen twitter: @freshedpodcast email: info@freshedpodcast.com

Many universities worldwide hope to internationalize and push faculty to produce knowledge across disciplines. That’s easier said than done. My guest today, Angela Last, looks at these university fads and finds difficult ethical dilemmas that scholars must overcome. Angela Last is Lecturer in Human Geography at the University of Leicester. Angela is an interdisciplinary researcher in the field of political ecology, drawing on her background in art & design and science communication to investigate environmental controversies and geographical knowledge production. She has been writing the blog Mutable Matter since 2007. The chapter discussed in today's podcast was published in Decolonizing the University (2018, Pluto Press). www.freshedpodcast.com/last

Many listeners probably use LinkedIn. That’s the social media website aimed at connecting employers with employees. My guest today, Janja Komljenovic, researches the ways in which LinkedIn is shaped by and shaping higher education. Janja argues that LinkedIn furthers the employability mandate in universities. Janja Komljenovic is a lecturer of higher education at Lancaster University. In today’s show, we discuss her new article “Linkedin, Platforming labour, and the new employability mandate for universities,” which was published in Globalisation, Societies and Education. http://www.freshedpodcast.com/janjakomljenovic/

Today we discuss education, gender and sexual health. My guest, Marni Sommer, has helped develop puberty books for girls and boys in low-income countries. To date, these books have been developed in seven countries, with almost two million copies distributed to girls and boys. Marni Sommer is an Associate Professor of Sociomedical Sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University where she leads the GATE (Gender, Adolescent Transitions and Environment) program. She is also the President of the non-profit Grow and Know. In our conversation she discusses how she navigates being both an academic and development practitioner. http://www.freshedpodcast.com/marnisommer/