Listen Up!

The Harvard EdCast

Host: Jill Anderson
Launched: 2011

The Harvard EdCast, HGSE’s offi­cial podcast since 2011, offers an accessible exploration of educa­tion through weekly conversations with thought leaders. Hosted by Jill Anderson, assistant director of creative media at HGSE, the podcast explores a wide range of topics, looking at newer issues like the role of AI in education and why schools need to be better prepared for cyberattacks, to long-standing concerns over how we teach kids to read and early childhood learning in the United States. By engaging with teachers, researchers, poli­cymakers, and education leaders from around the world, the EdCast’s goal is to address challenges and inequities in schools and make edu­cation’s intricacies more under­standable, offering useful insights for anyone interested in the field of education. Recent guests include Tim Shriver, chair of the Special Olympics; Professor Ebony Brid­well-Mitchell on investing in people in schools; and Professor Martin West on the uncertain future of the federal Department of Education.

Free Range Humans

Hosts: Jal Mehta and Rod Allen
Launched: 2021

Free Range Humans invites listen­ers to explore how schools can be transformed to better serve human needs. Hosted by Professor Jal Mehta and Rod Allen, former dis­trict superintendent and assistant deputy minister with the British Columbia Ministry of Education, this series dives deep into the world of education reform. The podcast centers on conversations with ed­ucators, seeking ways to achieve deeper learning in schools. By en­gaging with a diverse range of voic­es across the education spectrum, Free Range Humans offers fresh perspectives on making learning more relevant and engaging. Recent episodes feature Chris Kennedy, superintendent of West Vancouver schools, and Eric Xie, a senior in high school, illustrating the pod­cast’s goal to include multiple view­points. Through these discussions, Mehta and Allen challenge listeners to reimagine schools as spaces that truly fit “human consumption,” promoting a vision of education that prepares students for an ever-changing world.

Thinkability

Hosts: Shari Tishman and David Perkins
Launched: 2022

Now in its fourth season, Thinkabil­ity is a podcast series from the Ed School’s Project Zero. Hosted by Project Zero Principal Investiga­tor Shari Tishman, Ed.D.’91, and Professor Emeritus David Perkins, this podcast unpacks the world of cognition and learning. Through casual conversations, Tishman and Perkins explore themes such as curiosity, intuition, and metacogni­tion, offering listeners a deeper un­derstanding of how our minds work. The series is designed for anyone intrigued by the connections be­tween thinking and learning. Each episode invites audiences to reflect on their own thought processes and gain new perspectives on education and cognition. In a recent episode, for example, listeners discover how a simple step outside normal rou­tines can lead to “unruly rules” that enhance thinking and action. As the hosts describe it, Thinkability is a podcast “for people who like to think about thinking.”

I Still Believe in School

Host: Dave Barry
Launched: 2024

Dave Barry, Ed.M.’12, assistant professor of early childhood edu­cation at West Chester University of Pennsylvania, brings more than a decade of classroom experience to his podcast, I Still Believe in School. What’s unique is that despite ac­knowledging teaching’s challenges — a topic he explored in his book, Addressing Stress with Self-Com­passion: A Guide for Early Child­hood Teachers — Barry’s podcast shines a light on what’s going well in education. Each episode features conversations with educators who share their wisdom and innovative practices to inject positivity into the narrative surrounding teaching. The podcast combines inspiration with action, as guests participate in games to raise funds for class­rooms. By highlighting success sto­ries and the rewarding aspects of education, Barry aims to reinvigo­rate teachers’ passion and remind listeners of educators’ crucial societal role. Past episodes have included “Because I Believe in Us” and “Because I Believe We Owe it to Every Single Child.”

After Hours

Host: Uche Amaechi and Monica Higgins
Launched: 2020

After Hours, created by Lectur­er Uche Amaechi, Ed.M.’10, Ed.D.’16, and Professor Monica Higgins, brings real-world leader­ship experiences into the class­room. Originally designed for their A608 Leadership Entrepreneurship and Learning course, this podcast features interviews with Ed School alumni who are tackling today’s complex challenges across various sectors. Each episode explores how leadership concepts taught in A608 manifest in practice, offering stu­dents and listeners valuable insights from professionals in the field. Re­cent guests include Mary Wall, Ed.L.’17, who led national school reopening efforts and served on the White House COVID-19 Response Team, and Rebecca Grainger, Ed.L.D.’20, senior adviser for youth and schools to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. By showcasing di­verse voices and experiences, After Hours aims to inspire leadership as the discussions address contempo­rary education issue and bring academic theory and practical application together.