Jennifer and Jack are joined by journalist Kathryn Joyce to discuss the right’s newfound fondness for an old cause: classical education. Today’s version comes in a new form–publicly funded classical charter schools–and has a decidedly conservative…
We’re headed back to the Clinton-era to understand the origins of the Democrats’ fondness for market-based solutions to social and economic problems. We’re joined by historian Lily Geismer, author of the new book Left Behind: The Democrats’ Failed…
What should schools do about climate change? To get some perspective on this big, even existential, question, Have You Heard is joined summons an all-star cast. Oren Pizmony-Levy, the director of the Center for Sustainable Futures at Teachers College,…
When Jeff Sharlet reviewed Florida’s new “Don’t Say Gay” law, it felt a bit too familiar. That’s because Sharlet spent years reporting on the anti-LGBTQ crusade in Putin’s Russia. The Florida law, along with a wave of anti-trans legislation across the…
Thirty years into the great charter experiment, the question of just how public these schools are remains unresolved. We’re joined by Wagma Mommandi and Kevin Welner, author of a new book on how charter schools control access and shape enrollment….
When a proposal to “reimagine” Charleston, South Carolina’s schools suddenly surfaced late last year, it prompted a furious backlash. Community groups and public education advocates warned that the plan, backed by a deep-pocketed foundation, was a…
Jennifer joins forces with the hosts of the popular podcast Know Your Enemy to discuss why almost every big culture-war battle of the moment—from “Critical Race Theory” to COVID mandates—is being fought in America’s schools. Meanwhile, Democrats,…
The impulse to reform American schools is as old as the nation itself. And so too is the impulse to “forget” all of the fixes we’ve tried before. Have You Heard is joined by the eminent emeritus education historian Larry Cuban to discuss his new book,…
Even before Omicron swamped schools, teachers were feeling beleaguered. In this episode we catch up with four teachers who appeared on Have You Heard last year to learn about how they’re surviving education gag orders and a culture that regards them…
The sudden passion for all things parents’ rights may seem like it came out of nowhere. But as education historian Jon Hale explains, it’s the latest in a steady erosion of the idea of public education as a public good. From white parents pulling away…