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The ThoughtStretchers Podcast

Heterodox conversations to stretch your thinking about important issues in education.

Tracks

Drew Perkins talks with Songyee Yoon, author and founder and managing partner of the venture capital firm Principal Venture Partners (PVP), where she focuses on investing in AI-native companies transforming industries. Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode

5/30/25 • 49:33

Drew Perkins talks with teacher and author, Richard Bustin, about his book What Are We Teaching? Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode

5/21/25 • 65:06

Drew Perkins is joined by Andrew Watson, Dr. Cindy Nebel, and Fox Demoisey to discuss the intersections between the Science of Learning, project-based learning, and inquiry. Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode

5/9/25 • 54:24

Drew Perkins talks with Tim Minella, Senior Constitutionalism Fellow at The Goldwater Institute, about their work to eliminate DEI in higher education. Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode

4/16/25 • 73:14

Drew Perkins is joined by educators and DEI practitioners Carlos Hoyt, Daryl Sinclair, and Nunana Nyomi for a salon-style conversation about the complexities and nuances of DEI. Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode  

4/10/25 • 57:47

Drew Perkins talks with Bruce Robertson about his new book, Power Up Your Questioning: A Practical Handbook for Teachers. Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode    

4/2/25 • 61:00

Drew Perkins talks with Dr. Abraham George about his work to help children transcend India's caste system through education and his Shanti Bhavan School. Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode

3/26/25 • 68:34

Drew Perkins talks with Robert Barnett, Modern Classrooms Project cofounder, about his new book, Meet Every Learner's Needs: Redesigning Instruction So All Students Can Succeed. Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode

3/19/25 • 57:10

Drew Perkins hosted this conversation with Paul Kirschner, Claudio Vanhees, and Daniel Muijs, three of the ten co-authors of the open-access book, Developing Curriculum for Deep Thinking: The Knowledge Revival. This was a ThoughtStretchers Community event that included registered participant questions. Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode

3/12/25 • 66:47

Drew Perkins talks with, parent, Jackie Castillo-Blaber, and parent/teacher Melinda Karshner about the challenges of teaching reading to dyslexic students. Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode

3/5/25 • 72:06

Drew Perkins talks with Jack Despain Zhou about his project to establish a new think tank called Center for Educational Progress. Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode

2/26/25 • 55:52

Drew Perkins talks with Jonathon Dallimore about his book, Teaching History: A Practical Guide for Secondary School Teachers. Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode

2/19/25 • 93:37

Drew Perkins talks with Howard Gardner about his two new books, The Essential Howard Gardner On Education and On Mind, both reflections on his academic career and work. Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode

2/13/25 • 65:23

Drew Perkins hosts this salon-style conversation with Dylan Wiliam, Oliver Caviglioli, Carl Hendrick, and Christian Bokhove about Cognitive Load Theory. Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode

2/5/25 • 87:28

This episode is the recording of a live discussion about school choice and vouchers, hosted by Drew Perkins, with Josh Cowen and Neal McCluskey as part of our ThoughtStretchers Community. It includes RSVP'd guests and their questions.  Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode

1/30/25 • 68:20

This episode is another experimentation in AI-generated podcast 'conversations', this time about the recent open-access publication Developing Curriculum for Deep Thinking: The Knowledge Revival.   Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode

1/23/25 • 19:41

Drew Perkins talks with Katharine Birbalsingh, Headmistress of London's Michaela School about her approach to multiculturalism and the role of knowledge and inquiry in quality education. Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode

1/10/25 • 58:53

Drew Perkins talks with Christian Moore-Anderson about his Knowledge Doesn't Equal Understanding blog piece. Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode

1/1/25 • 74:29

This episode is AI-generated and includes an AI-generated reading of a recent blog piece followed by an AI-generated conversation. It uses our published blog piece, 4 Ways School Leaders Can Navigate Polarizing Culture-War Issues, written by Drew Perkins as the source material. Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode

12/13/24 • 40:52

Drew Perkins talks with Susan Kaiser Greenland about her latest book, Real-world Enlightenment: Discovering Ordinary Magic in Everyday Life. Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode

12/6/24 • 67:03

This episode is an AI-generated podcast conversation using NotebookLM. It uses our published blog piece written by Drew Perkins as the source material.  Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode

12/2/24 • 21:26

Drew Perkins talks with Nate Hansford about his book The Scientific Principles of Teaching. Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode    

11/30/24 • 70:57

Drew Perkins talks with NASSP 2025 Principal of the Year, Tracie Swilley, about her work to turn around a struggling school.  Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode

11/21/24 • 68:12

Drew Perkins talks with Zaretta Hammond about her work and her focus on making culturally responsive teaching more cognitively responsive. Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode

11/13/24 • 64:42

Drew Perkins talks with Heather Peske, President of the National Council on Teacher Quality, about their recently published executive summary, Reimagining
the Teaching Role: How Strategic Staffing Can Attract and Retain Effective Teachers. Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode

11/7/24 • 41:10

Drew Perkins talks with Josh Cowen about his book, The Privateers: How Billionaires Created a Culture War and Sold School Vouchers Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode

10/30/24 • 63:38

Drew Perkins talks with Karen Foley, President of JPA Chicago, about their work to address student mental health in the Chicago area. Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode

10/23/24 • 44:02

Drew Perkins talks with Oliver Cavigioli about his reframing of Cognitive Load Theory. Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode

10/15/24 • 62:29

Drew Perkins talks with Neal McCluskey, Director of the Cato Institute's Center for Educational Freedom, about his school choice advocacy. Click To View Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode

10/11/24 • 96:39

Drew Perkins talks with Nayeli Vivanco, Vice President at International House at UC Berkeley, about their approach to promoting respectful discourse and unity.  Click To View Links & Resources Mentioned In This Episode

10/4/24 • 60:55