The Disagreement

In March, we recorded an episode live on stage at SXSW EDU in Austin, Texas. This disagreement is all about ESAs, or Education Savings Accounts. You may have heard of ESAs under a different name, like vouchers or school choice programs. Right now, 18 states have some sort of ESA program in place.The programs are becoming more popular across the country, but should they be? What accounts for the increasing support for ESAs? What risks and benefits do they pose for students and families? Does the rise of ESAs inherently harm our public schools?When we say ESAs, we are NOT talking about 529 plans or other college savings programs. We’re talking about K-12 education. These programs create a government-authorized savings account for families, allowing them to take some quantity of the funding that would have supported their child in public school, and use those dollars in the way they see fit: whether that’s to supplement private school tuition, parochial school tuition, tutoring, special needs services or for other educational purposes.Shaka Mitchell is a Senior Fellow at the American Federation for Children, an advocacy organization in the school choice movement. He has served in leadership roles at high-performing charter school networks, including Rocketship Education and LEAD Public schools in Nashville.Jaime Puente is the Director of Economic Opportunity at Every Texan, an advocacy and public policy organization striving to expand opportunities for all Texans. He currently oversees their work on education. Previously, Jaime served as Legislative Director for members of the Texas House of Representatives.This episode is moderated by The Disagreement’s co-host and co-founder Catherine Cushenberry.Sign up for our newsletter at thedisagreement.substack.com

Today’s disagreement is about transgender health care for young people and the future of the trans rights movement.Gender Affirming Care is a method of treating gender dysphoria by affirming a child’s gender identity and tailoring medical and social interventions around this identity. This might begin with a social transition and often leads to a medical protocol that involves puberty blockers and then cross sex hormones.Almost a year ago, we had a conversation with leading national clinicians, Dr. Jack Drescher and Dr. Erica Anderson about the state of gender affirming care for young people in the United States. If you haven’t listened to that episode, I highly recommend it as a helpful primer for this conversation. Since then, a lot has changed in the conversation about trans care for young people.In April 2024, the Cass report came out in the UK. It is one of the most thorough reviews of the evidence base for gender-affirming care. It also called into question the limits of what we know and don’t know about care for minors. Right now, 27 states have enacted laws to ban or restrict the practice and the supreme court will be ruling on it later this year. And the United States has a new presidential administration who recently issued the executive order: “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation," which attempts to put forth a national ban on gender affirming care.We ask some important questions around gender affirming care and the trans rights movement. Have trans advocates and medical practitioners overstated the quality of the evidence base for gender-affirming interventions for minors?Brianna Wu is a political commentator and trans rights activist. She is executive director of the progressive Rebellion PAC.Dr. Marci Bowers is a pelvic and gynecological surgeon with more than three decades of experience in healthcare. Dr. Bowers was most recently the president of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). She was the organization's first transgender president.Thank you to Brianna and Marci for coming together to have this critical conversation. It's a difficult topic and as you’ll hear, a difficult conversation. But we need more of this. We need more people willing to come together and have hard conversations out in the open, and we really appreciate you both.This conversation is pretty “in the weeds” when it comes to youth gender medicine and the state of the research. If you have the context, that’s great – you can skip ahead. If you don’t, here is a highly efficient glossary:WPATH is the leading trans health organization in the world. Its “Standards of Care” or SOC - have served as the national guidelines for youth gender medicine in most gender clinics.The Standards of Care have evolved a great deal over time: SOC 6, published in 2001, required multiple psychological assessments and a period of Real Life Experience (RLE), living as the preferred gender, before any medical interventions. The most recent SOC, SOC 8, was published in 2022. It removed many of these requirements which activists have described as “gatekeeping.”The Dutch Protocol, also known as “watchful waiting”, is a more conservative alternative to gender-affirming care. It focuses on providing large amounts of psychological support and monitoring during childhood. If the dysphoria continues to persist, then putting young people on puberty blockers and cross sex hormones in late adolescence.Language around gender identity is constantly evolving. Brianna uses the term FTM (or Female to Male) to describe females who transition. For the same demographic, Marci uses “transmasculine.”We also talk about Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and Facial Feminization Surgery (FFS).Okay, that will hopefully create a solid foundation. Take a deep breath. Open your mind as far as it’s willing to go. And prepare for a different kind of conversation on gender affirming care and the future of the trans rights movement.Recommended Reading and ListeningWPATH Standards of Care Version 8Last year’s episode of The Disagreement about gender-affirming care: https://podcasts.apple.com/si/podcast/12-gender-affirming-care-for-children-and-adolescents/id1735027795?i=1000658885782

Today’s disagreement is on The Telepathy Tapes, Autism, and the Paranormal. If you’re not familiar, The Telepathy Tapes is a cultural phenomenon and podcast that launched in Fall 2024. By early January, it was the number one podcast in the country. Today, it’s still in the top ten. Its core thesis is quite provocative: that there are non-verbal autistic young people who possess telepathic powers and are able to read the minds of their parents and teachers.In this episode, we use The Telepathy Tapes as a springboard to ask some big questions about science, skepticism, and the nature of truth. Is telepathy real? How should we evaluate the claims in the podcast? Do these claims adversely affect–even harm–the autistic young people being celebrated?To have this conversation, we’ve brought together a journalist and a religious scholar with very different approaches to understanding the truth.Zaid Jilani is a journalist whose work has appeared in The Intercept, News Nation and Alternet. He writes about politics and culture on his Substack The American Saga.Jeffrey Kripal is the J. Newton Rayzor Chair in Philosophy and Religious Thought at Rice University and the Associate Director of the Center for Theory and Research at the Esalen Institute. Jeffrey is also the author of thirteen books, including most recently: How to Think Impossibly.Before we get started, a note. In The Telepathy Tapes, the nonverbal autistic young people use a controversial method to communicate with the outside world. It’s called “facilitated communication.” There is an adult that helps to facilitate the young person’s communication—usually through some form of touch and holding a letterboard that the young person point to. We get into this in-depth on the podcast.Questions or comments about this episode? Email us at podcast@thedisagreement.com or find us on X and Instagram @thedisagreementhq. Subscribe to our newsletter: https://thedisagreement.substack.com/

This episode was recorded live on stage at EDTECH WEEK in New York City. Like most edtech conferences, there were many conversations about the potential power that AI could play in student learning. Ours was a different kind of conversation. We brought together two experts who both expressed skepticism about the role AI should be playing in education today. While they agreed on many things, there is a highly productive disagreement around whether or not we should be actively teaching AI literacy (or “readiness”) to students in grades K-12.Alex Kotran is the CEO of The AI Education Project (AI Edu), a non-profit devoted to making sure that all students are ready to live, work, and thrive in a world where AI is everywhere. Previously, he was the Director of AI Ethics at H5, a pioneering AI company in the legal services sector.Benjamin Riley is the founder of Cognitive Resonance, a new venture dedicated to improving understanding of human cognition and generative AI. Previously, he founded and served as CEO of Deans for Impact, a nonprofit education organization working to improve teacher training through the use of cognitive science.This episode is moderated by The Disagreement’s cohost and cofounder Catherine Cushenberry.Questions or comments about this episode? Email us at podcast@thedisagreement.com or find us on X and Instagram @thedisagreementhq. Subscribe to our newsletter: https://thedisagreement.substack.com/Want to listen to more live conversations from EDTECH WEEK 2024? Watch more here.

In this enlightening discussion, Michelle Dimino, the Education Program Director at Third Way, and Neal McCluskey, Director of Cato’s Center for Educational Freedom, debate the controversial relevance of the Department of Education. They explore the balance between federal and state control in education, analyzing policies like No Child Left Behind. The conversation also tackles the implications of Title IX enforcement and whether civil rights oversight could shift to other agencies, raising questions about equity and student outcomes.

Gender diversity in sports has become a focal point in the culture war and point of disagreement for sports governing bodies. We recorded this episode before the recent executive orders affecting transgender people. But those recent developments have put the political in a new light. Hopefully what you hear feels like a totally different kind of conversation.What is the nature of biological male advantage? What constitutes fairness? How do we reconcile gender identity and underlying biology?Host Alex Grodd moderates a disagreement between sports legal expert Doriane Coleman and sports physicist Joanna Harper. They explore the nuances of sex/gender category definitions, the implications of hormone therapy for gender diverse athletes, and the broader societal impacts of inclusion in female sports categories. Through deep dives into the science, historical context, and ethical considerations, this is a different kind of conversation about fairness, biology, and gender identity in competitive sports.Got questions or comments about this episode? Email us at podcast@thedisagreement.com or find us on X and Instagram @thedisagreementhq. Subscribe to our Substack at thedisagreement.substack.com.

Destini Ann Davis, a peaceful parenting advocate with over 1.5 million TikTok followers and author of "Very Intentional Parenting," engages in a thought-provoking dialogue about discipline in child-rearing. They debate the nature of punishment versus nurturing practices, highlighting the importance of empathy and connection. The conversation touches on balancing freedom and boundaries, the significance of discipline in fostering authority, and creative strategies for cooperation in household tasks. Davis emphasizes compassion over fear, paving the way for empowered parenting.

In the last couple of years, sports betting has exploded across the United States. The rise of mobile, app-based sports betting is having profound impacts on the nature of sports viewership, fandom, and gambling addiction, particularly amongst young men.Is the rapid ascent of online sports betting creating a public health crisis? Is the online sports betting industry predatory? How should it be regulated?Dr. Harry Levant is the Director of Gambling Policy with the Public Health Advocacy Institute at Northeastern University. Harry is also an Internationally Certified Gambling Counselor and a gambling addict in recovery for more than ten years.Ben Fawkes is a sports betting expert and industry insider. As a consultant and writer, Ben has produced work for CBS Sports, Gannett, and ESPN. Previously, was the Vice President, Digital Content at VSiN, The Sports Betting Network.Show Notes3:16 - Legalization: Benefits and Risks6:44 - Public Health Concerns11:30 - Infrastructure, Addiction and Revenue22:00 - Same Game Parlays32:00 - Advertising and The Impact on Young People36:21 - Sports Gambling and Fandom45:00 - VIP Hosts and Reload Bonuses48:08 - The Need for Regulation55:51 - SteelmanExtra CreditSurge in problem gambling in NJDraftKings CEO rebuffs argument that AI could make sports betting more addictive: ‘There is some onus on the individual’A Psychiatrist Tried to Quit Gambling. Betting Apps Kept Her Hooked.Fanduel network shows an industry bought and paid for by gamblingWhat did you think about this episode? Email us at podcast@thedisagreement.com. You can also DM us on Instagram @thedisagreementhq.

This disagreement is on The Ethics of Having Kids.In the age of climate change, is it more ethical to have kids or not have kids? What are the costs and benefits of either choice when the reality of our shared future is unknown? What does the pro-natalist movement and its policies get right and wrong?Heather Houser is a professor of English Literature at the University of Texas at Austin. A cultural critic and author of the book Infowhelm, Heather is an expert on climate change and feminism.Liz Bruenig is a staff writer at The Atlantic, where she writes about theology, politics and policy. Previously, Liz was an opinion writer for The New York Times and The Washington Post, where she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing.What did you think about this episode? Email us at podcast@thedisagreement.com. You can also DM us on Instagram @thedisagreementhq.

Today’s disagreement is on AI tutoring and K-12 Education. How will AI tutoring benefit struggling and high achieving students? Will it enable personalized learning pathways for students?Two education experts come together for a longform, productive disagreement about whether AI is going to usher in a new era of personalized learning – and whether that is a good thing.Niels Hoven is the Founder and CEO of Mentava, a software company committed to accelerating learning for top-performing students. Mentava’s first product is a software-based tutor, designed to teach preschool students how to read.Benjamin Riley is the founder of Cognitive Resonance, a new venture dedicated to improving understanding of human cognition and generative AI. Previously, he founded and served as CEO of Deans for Impact, a nonprofit education organization working to improve teacher training through the use of cognitive science.Show NotesReflections on personalized learning 15 years in [03:00]AI and the new path to personalized learning [05:02]The risk of moving away from collective learning [06:47]Theory of mind considerations [10:10]Bill gates and the dream of AI in Ed [15:17]The future of ungated learning [17:15]The danger of magnifying differences [20:12]The 5% problem [22:15]Engagement and learning [23:40]Balancing AI risks and benefits [30:09]Is our current system working or failing [33:05]What should we be improving [36:32]The joy of effortful thinking [38:01]Steelmanning [40:20]What did you think about this episode? Email us at podcast@thedisagreement.com. You can also DM us on Instagram @thedisagreementhq.