Freshed

Today we explore the transformation of education systems. How does change happen? Is change always positive? And what do we even mean by an education system? With me are Sara Ruto, Rakesh Rajani, and Brad Olsen. Earlier this year, they were part of a Brookings Roundtable discussion about what it means to integrate scaling impact and systems transformation to advance education improvement around the world. Sara Ruto is a Program Officer at Echidna Giving, Rakesh Rajani is the President of JustSystems, and Brad Olsen is a senior fellow with the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution. freshedpodcast.com/ruto-rajani-olsen/ -- Get in touch! Twitter: @FreshEdpodcast Facebook: FreshEd Email: info@freshedpodcast.com

If you want to join our growing community, sign up at FreshEdpodcast.com. -- Today we take stock of academic publishing in education research. From the massive growth in article submissions, to the growing profit margins of the major publishers and to the impact Generative AI is having on scholarship – we take a critical look at the state of publishing. With me is Gustavo Fischman who was the previous editor of Education Policy Analysis Archives and is the current co-editor in chief of AERA Open. Gustavo Fischman is a professor of education policy at Arizona State University. A few years ago he co-wrote the piece “Education research is still the hardest science: a proposal for improving its trustworthiness and usability.” freshedpodcast.com/fischman/ -- Get in touch! Twitter: @FreshEdpodcast Facebook: FreshEd Email: info@freshedpodcast.com

If you want to join our growing community, sign up at FreshEdpodcast.com. -- Today we explore transitional justice in Colombia. My guests are Garnett Russell, Paula Mantilla-Blanco, and Daniela Romero. They have recently published a report entitled Transitional Justice and Education in Colombia: Voices of Youth. Garnett Russell is an associate professor of International and Comparative Education at Teachers College, Columbia University where Daniela Romero is a lecturer. Paul Mantilla-Blanco is a post-doctoral fellow at Binghamton University. freshedpodcast.com/russell-mantilla-blanco-romero/ -- Get in touch! Twitter: @FreshEdpodcast Facebook: FreshEd Email: info@freshedpodcast.com

Since the 2025 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund just ended, I thought it would be good to replay an episode about global economic governance. In my conversation with Jamie Martin, we look at early efforts of international development and technical assistance, revealing how many of the tensions that existed in the early 1900s are still with us today. Jamie Martin is an Assistant Professor of History and Social Studies at Harvard University. His new book is The Meddlers: Sovereignty, Empire, and the Birth of Global Economic Governance. freshedpodcast.com/jamiemartin -- Get in touch! Twitter: @FreshEdpodcast Facebook: FreshEd Email: info@freshedpodcast.com Support FreshEd: www.freshedpodcast.com/support/

If you want to join our growing community, sign up at FreshEdpodcast.com. -- Today I’m joined by Howard Gardner, the renowned research professor of cognition and education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. For over half a century, Howard has impacted how we think about learning, intelligence, creativity, and ethics. He is a major educational thinker of our time. Howard Gardner recently published two books, The Essential Howard Gardner on Education and the Essential Howard Gardner on Mind (Teachers College Press). freshedpodcast.com/gardner/ -- Get in touch! Twitter: @FreshEdpodcast Facebook: FreshEd Email: info@freshedpodcast.com

While FreshEd is away, we are going to replay some of our favourite episodes about education in a digital society. -- Today we unpack the neuro-affective turn in education. With me are Kirsi Yliniva and Audrey Bryan. Kirsi Yliniva is a PhD researcher and university teacher in the Faculty of Education and Psychology at the University of Oulu. Audrey Bryan is an associate professor of sociology in the School of Human Development at Dublin City University’s Institute of Education. Together with Kristiina Brunila, they have recently published the article “‘The future we want’? – The ideal twenty-first century learner and education’s neuro-affective turn.” https://freshedpodcast.com/yliniva-bryan/ -- Get in touch! Twitter: @FreshEdpodcast Facebook: FreshEd Email: info@freshedpodcast.com Support FreshEd: www.freshedpodcast.com/support/

While FreshEd is away, we are going to replay some of our favourite episodes about education in a digital society. -- Today we explore how univeristies are turning into data-driven institutions. My guest is Janja Komljenovic. Janja Komljenovic is a senior lecturer at the University of Edinburgh. Her new co-written article with Sam Sellar and Kean Birch is “Turning universities into data-driven organizations: seven dimensions of change”, which was published in Higher Education. freshedpodcast.com/368-komljenovic/ -- Get in touch! Twitter: @FreshEdpodcast Facebook: FreshEd Email: info@freshedpodcast.com Support FreshEd: www.freshedpodcast.com/support/

While FreshEd is away, we are going to replay some of our favourite episodes about education in a digital society. -- Children are inundated with technology. Video games, smartphones, and computers are common in the lives of today’s digital generation. With school closures from the covid-19 pandemic, learning from home only added to the screen time overload for many children. How do children and young people use and are affected by technological transformations in their everyday lives? How are schools and education systems adapting to these changes? And what might we learn from the coronavirus when it comes to technology and education? With me is Halla Holmarsdottir a Professor in the Faculty of Education and International Studies at the Oslo Metropolitan University in Norway. She is currently the coordinator of a large-scale European Research project funded by Horizon 2020 (grant agreement No 870548) entitled The Impact of Technological Transformations on the Digital Generation (DigiGen). The DigiGen pr

FreshEd is at the CIES Annual Conference. While we are away, we are going to replay some of our favourite episodes about the theme of the conference: "Envisioning Education in a Digital Society." If you are in Chicago, please stop by the FreshEd table in the exhibition hall. And please consider becoming a member of FreshEd: freshedpodcast.com/support -- Today we look at digital humanitarianism and how digital interfaces are constructing new forms and modes of governance. My guest is Fleur Johns who has recently authored the new book #Help: Digital Humanitarianism and the Remaking of International Order. Fleur Johns is a professor in the faculty of law and justice at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. She is currently an Australian Research Council Future Fellow. Correction: In the interview, Fleur Johns mentions the 1998 floods in Bangladesh when in fact she meant the 1988 floods. Citation: Johns, Fleur, interview with Will Brehm, FreshEd, 336, podcast audio, November 13, 2023. https://freshedpo

If you find FreshEd a valuable educational resource, please consider becoming a member. You can sign up at our website, Freshedpodcast.com. Also, if you’re going to be at the comparative and international education society’s annual conference this week, stop by the FreshEd booth. Me and a few other FreshEd team members will be there! -- Today we explore the status of the teaching profession across the world. With me are Xavier Dumay, Tore Bernt Sorensen and Lynn Paine, the co-editors of the 2025 World Yearbook of Education. The volume explores teacher polices, teacher employment relations, and teacher education. Xavier Dumay is a Professor of Education at UCLouvain in Belgium; Tore Bernt Sorensen is a Lecturer of Education at the School of Education, University of Glasgow in the UK; and Lynn Paine is an Emerita Professor of Teacher Education at Michigan State University, in the USA. They co-edited the 2025 World year Book of Education entitled “The Teaching Profession in a Globalizing World: Governance, Ca

Today we explore the history of modern mass schooling. My guest, Agustina Paglayan, argues in her new book that schooling was originally a strategy for state-building through indoctrination. Agustina Paglayan is a political science and public policy professor at the University of California, San Diego, and a nonresident fellow at the Center for Global Development. Her new book is “Raised to Obey: The rise and spread of Mass Education," which was published by Princeton University Press. freshedpodcast.com/Paglayan/ -- Get in touch! Twitter: @FreshEdpodcast Facebook: FreshEd Email: info@freshedpodcast.com

FreshEd will be holding its Annual General meeting soon. Everyone is welcome to join. You can find registration details on our website. Hope to see you there! -- Today we explore how schools make race. My guest is Laura Chávez-Moreno. Laura Chávez-Moreno is an assistant professor in the Departments of Chicana/o & Central American Studies and Education at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her new book is entitled: How Schools Make Race: Teaching Latinx Racialization in America (Harvard Education Press). https://freshedpodcast.com/chavez-moreno/ -- Get in touch! Twitter: @FreshEdpodcast Facebook: FreshEd Email: info@freshedpodcast.com

To kick the year off, I sit down with Professors Pasi Sahlberg and Glenn Savage on the sidelines of the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement, which was held at the University of Melbourne last week. Our conversation explores some of the big ideas mentioned at the conference. As you’ll hear, much of the conversations challenged the narrow meaning of effectiveness and improvement and pushed against the so-called what works agenda. Pasi Sahlberg and Glenn Savage are professors of education at the University of Melbourne. www.freshedpodcast.com/sahlberg-savage -- Get in touch! Twitter: @FreshEdpodcast Facebook: FreshEd Email: info@freshedpodcast.com

FreshEd is on holidays. We’ll be back with new episodes in February. In the meantime, we are replaying some of our favourite episodes from our archive, which now totals over 380 episodes. The best way for you to explore our archive is on our website, freshedpodcast.com. You’ll find hand-picked playlists, transcripts, and even accompanying educational resources. And while you're there, please consider becoming a member of FreshEd for as little as $10/month. Members receive exclusive benefits. -- Today marks the 3rd anniversary of FreshEd. To celebrate, we are going to air our first ever FreshEd Live event where Saskia Sassen joined me for a conversation about her life and work. Saskia Sassen is a professor at Columbia University. In 1991, she published the now classic book called The Global City where she chronicled how New York, London, and Tokyo became the centers in the new digital economy. What she focused on was the rise of intermediary services that allowed corporations to operate globally. Instead of s

FreshEd is on holidays. We’ll be back with new episodes in February. In the meantime, we are replaying some of our favourite episodes from our archive, which now totals over 380 episodes. The best way for you to explore our archive is on our website, freshedpodcast.com. You’ll find hand-picked playlists, transcripts, and even accompanying educational resources. And while you're there, please consider becoming a member of FreshEd for as little as $10/month. Members receive exclusive benefits. -- The past few shows have focused on climate change as being the biggest issue facing teacher unions globally. There are, of course, other big issues. One of them is propaganda. Misinformation campaigns have been on the rise partly due to the turn towards right-wing extremism in many parts of the world. Social media has created new ways to spread misinformation and propaganda, making education a powerful tool to combat the spread of lies and what we might call fake news. My guest today is Maria Ressa, a Filipino-America

FreshEd is on holidays. We’ll be back with new episodes in February. In the meantime, we are replaying some of our favourite episodes from our archive, which now totals over 380 episodes. The best way for you to explore our archive is on our website, freshedpodcast.com. You’ll find hand-picked playlists, transcripts, and even accompanying educational resources. And while you're there, please consider becoming a member of FreshEd for as little as $10/month. Members receive exclusive benefits. -- Is there a worldwide learning crisis today? My guest, Keith Lewin, argues that the real issue in much of international education development has to do with financing. In our conversation, we discuss aid to education and the ways in which the Sustainable Development Goals don't take the idea of sustainability seriously. Keith Lewin is an Emeritus Professor of International Education and Development at the University of Sussex. www.freshedpodcast.com/keithlewin twitter: @freshedpodcast email: info@freshedpodcast.com

FreshEd is on holidays. We’ll be back with new episodes in February. In the meantime, we are replaying some of our favourite episodes from our archive, which now totals over 380 episodes. The best way for you to explore our archive is on our website, freshedpodcast.com. You’ll find hand-picked playlists, transcripts, and even accompanying educational resources. And while you're there, please consider becoming a member of FreshEd for as little as $10/month. Members receive exclusive benefits. -- Today we talk about transitional justice, the role of truth telling in historical memory, and how education can help or hinder the process. With me is Natasha Robinson who has written a new book chapter entitled “Developing Historical Consciousness for Social Cohesion: How South African Students Learn to Construct the Relationship Between Past and Present.” Natasha Robinson is a Postdoctoral researcher at Oxford University and ESRC Fellow. www.freshedpodcast.com/natasharobinson -- Get in touch! Twitter: @FreshEdpodcas

FreshEd is on holidays. We’ll be back with new episodes in February. In the meantime, we are replaying some of our favourite episodes from our archive, which now totals over 380 episodes. The best way for you to explore our archive is on our website, freshedpodcast.com. You’ll find hand-picked playlists, transcripts, and even accompanying educational resources. And while you're there, please consider becoming a member of FreshEd for as little as $10/month. Members receive exclusive benefits. -- Today Mir Abdullah Miri joins me to talk about his escape from Afghanistan and takes me inside the production of “The Desert of Death,” an episode he made for the Intercepted podcast. Mir Abdullah Miri is an Afghanistan Observatory Scholar at New America. In Afghanistan, he served on the faculty of Herat University. In the fall of 2021, Miri was evacuated from Kabul to England, and now lives in Bath. freshedpodcast.com/miri -- Get in touch! Twitter: @FreshEdpodcast Facebook: FreshEd Email: info@freshedpodcast.com Su

FreshEd is on holidays. We’ll be back with new episodes in February. In the meantime, we are replaying some of our favourite episodes from our archive, which now totals over 380 episodes. The best way for you to explore our archive is on our website, freshedpodcast.com. You’ll find hand-picked playlists, transcripts, and even accompanying educational resources. And while you're there, please consider becoming a member of FreshEd for as little as $10/month. Members receive exclusive benefits. -- Today we look at systems thinking in international education and development. With me are Moira V. Faul and Laura Savage. Moira V. Faul is Executive Director of NORRAG, and also a Senior Lecturer at the Geneva Graduate Institute. Laura Savage is the Executive Director of the International Education Funders Group (IEFG). Their new co-edited collection is entitled Systems Thinking in International Education and Development, which is Open Access. Please note: NORRAG provides financial contributions to FreshEd. freshedp

FreshEd is on holidays. We’ll be back with new episodes in February. In the meantime, we are replaying some of our favourite episodes from our archive, which now totals over 380 episodes. The best way for you to explore our archive is on our website, freshedpodcast.com. You’ll find hand-picked playlists, transcripts, and even accompanying educational resources. And while you're there, please consider becoming a member of FreshEd for as little as $10/month. Members receive exclusive benefits. -- Today Steve Carney joins me to talk about his new co-written book with Ulla Ambrosius Madsen entitled “Education in Radical Uncertainty: Transgression in Theory and Method.” The book offers a major critique of the field of comparative education and asks us to dwell in experience rather than make value judgements. This is a powerful book in both form and content and demands to be read by anyone working in the field of comparative and international education. Steve Carney is a Professor of Educational Studies at Roskild