Point of Learning

Peter talks with Justin McDaniel about two of the very unusual courses he teaches at Penn.

Peter talks with Eric Hudson about his work in schools on Human-Centered AI.

Peter talks with Jonathan Rauch about two of his books, The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth and Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy.

Peter talks with Ilana Redstone about her book The Certainty Trap: Why We Need to Question Ourselves More—and How We Can Judge Others Less.

Peter talks with Robin Bernstein about her new book Freeman’s Challenge: The Murder That Shook America’s Original Prison for Profit, an explosive, moving story about the entangled origins of prison for profit and anti-Black racism.

Peter talks with John Webb about his new book Molyvos: A Greek Village's Heroic Response to the Global Refugee Crisis, including resonances with John's own experience caring for Haitian migrants in the 1970s.

Peter talks with Greg Jackson of Action J Productions about their new project focusing on how and why to have respectful conversations. (Graphic by Roy Chambers)

Shayfer James discusses his songwriting process. And, you know, lots of other things.

One hundred and eighty years ago, on 19 December 1843, the first edition of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol was published. To celebrate, I’m releasing a special version of the story produced in 2001 with William R. Mathews and The Westfield Chorale.

The heart of this special episode is the Back-to-School Address to Oakland, CA faculty and staff by Superintendent Dr. Marcus A. Foster, given in the fall of 1973. You will hear a singular voice in U.S. education urging teachers, administrators, and support staff to keep students at the center of their work—while also honoring the complexity of the challenge.

Capt. John Havlik knows a thing or two about stress. He retired in 2014 after more than 30 years of distinguished military service, nearly all of them as a Navy SEAL. He graduated from West Virginia University as the first swimmer in school history to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials. He served as tri-captain of the first undefeated men’s swim team in WVU history his senior year. Just this spring, he defended his doctoral dissertation at the University of Pennsylvania, a study comparing stress-management strategies of U.S. National Team swimmers and Navy SEALs. Today’s conversation focuses on four key commonalities: 1. Absolute trust in their training 2. Adherence to a strict routine 3. Focusing only on what they could control 4. Utilizing healthy and adaptive distractions

My remarks from the Winter Institute of the New York State Council of School Superintendents in March 2023.

Rinde Eckert is a celebrated writer, composer, librettist, musician, performer and director, but I'm not sure even this list of roles captures his extraordinary versatility. This episode focuses on his recent project of rebuilding his piano technique from the ground up.

For nearly 60 years Jonathan Kozol has been one of the most widely read and highly honored education writers in the nation. Ready for a sneak preview of his next book?

My dad’s last—and maybe best—sermon, preached the day he died, 25 years ago this week.

Created in 2020 as a benefit for the Graycliff Conservancy, this very condensed performance of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol was filmed in various locations on the spectacular Graycliff Estate designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

A departure from the usual Point of Learning format, this episode is basically the audio version of one segment from a new video series for high school English teachers that I’m putting together with Greg Jackson. Here’s 22 minutes about how to approach the college essay—for writers and their teachers.

As a playwright, Ellen McLaughlin has breathed new life into ancient Greek texts. Today we focus on her versions of classic plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, exploring the questions they once raised for ancient audiences, and still raise for contemporary audiences. For instance, the major tragedians were all war veterans, writing for audiences composed predominantly of war veterans, a dynamic that has not existed in Western theatre for 2500 years. What do ancient Greeks have to teach us about the costs of war, and what we owe to veterans?

In this classic episode (recorded 11 August 2020 and released 2 September 2020), I talk with Dr. Errick L. Greene, Superintendent of Jackson [MS] Public Schools about contending with a public health crisis, systemic racism, and effective organizational leadership: it’s really three episodes in one. Unfortunately, as you are no doubt aware from this week’s news, Jackson is facing a new public health crisis with its chronically unsafe water supply. Things are changing on a daily basis, but as of now it’s unclear when the city’s residents will be able to drink from their taps again.

Sophie Brickman focuses on the intersection of parenting and technology in her book Baby, Unplugged: One Mother’s Search for Balance, Reason, and Sanity in the Digital Age (HarperOne, 2021), which we’ll be discussing on this episode. Brickman is a writer, reporter and editor based in New York City. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Saveur, The San Francisco Chronicle, and the anthologies Best Food Writing and Best American Science Writing, among other places.