
EdSurge Podcast
A weekly podcast about the future of learning. Join EdSurge journalists as they sit down with educators, innovators and scholars for frank and in-depth conversations.
Latest episodes

Jul 13, 2021 • 33min
How Antiracism Work is Changing Early Childhood Education
Little kids are curious about race and difference. So how are teachers preparing to help children develop positive social identities, encourage their self-expression and help them feel comfortable and safe? We talk with Dr. Calvin Moore, Jr., CEO of the Council for Professional Recognition, which administers the Child Development Associate National Credentialing Program, the most widely-used credential in early childhood education.

Jul 6, 2021 • 36min
Encore: How YouTube Star John Green Thinks About His Educational Videos
Just after the pandemic began, we reached out to one of the masters of making educational videos, John Green, for his advice and thoughts on education during this unprecedented time. And he talks about his podcast, The Anthropocene Reviewed, now a bestselling book by the same name.

Jun 29, 2021 • 27min
That Assignment Where Students Give Someone In Need $1,000
Teachers around the country have been giving an unusual assignment to their students that goes like this: Think of someone who is in a bit of a financial pinch, make a video about why the person deserves a boost, and then hand-deliver the person a check for $1,000. The money comes from a philanthropic effort called VING, and on this week’s podcast we talk to its founder and hear one of these surprise student gifts in action.

Jun 22, 2021 • 30min
Why Curiosity Is Key to Detecting Misinformation
We’re living in a world of big data, but also one where misinformation spreads like never before. On this week's podcast we talk with Tim Harford, author of The Data Detective, about his advice for how to better understand the numbers in our world.

Jun 15, 2021 • 36min
The Long and Surprising History of ‘Teaching Machines’
People don’t talk much today about early teaching machines, some of which were made out of wood and brass. And that’s no accident, according to Audrey Watters, a longtime critical observer of edtech who is out with a new book called Teaching Machines: The History of Personalized Learning. On this episode, we’re dusting off these old teaching machines from all the way back to the 1920s, to see what these low-tech devices can teach us about education today.

Jun 8, 2021 • 35min
Recruiting Black Men to Lead in the Classroom
Only two percent of teachers in the U.S. are black men. Markus Flynn, executive director of the nonprofit Black Men Teach, is leading creative efforts to diversify the teaching workforce, and change the culture of schools.

Jun 1, 2021 • 30min
The Lessons Teen Moms Can Teach Colleges
Today, one in five college students is a parent. Yet few higher ed institutions track parenting status or have programs designed to serve students who have children. For this week’s EdSurge Podcast, we spoke with author Nicole Lynn Lewis about what teen parents need to thrive at college.

May 25, 2021 • 34min
Who Deserves a Seat at the Nation’s 'Best' High School? Bootstraps, Ep. 2
What a debate about the admissions process at one of the best public high schools in the country says about who should get what in education.

May 18, 2021 • 31min
Encore: Should Instructors Rethink Final Exams?
When the pandemic hit, the traditional final exam just didn't seem to fit the moment for one physics professor. So she decided on a community-service project instead, and says it has made a more lasting impact on students than any blue book would have. She's one of several educators replacing final exams with "epic finales." This is an encore of an episode that originally ran in July 2020.

May 11, 2021 • 30min
Who Really Benefits From College Student Diversity?
On this week's episode, we look at how colleges talk about diversity—and about why they embrace it—and how that language ends up affecting students.