FreshEd

Today we unpack the trend of micro-credentials in universities. My guest is Leesa Wheelahan who connects micro-credentials to the gig economy and discusses their implications for higher education credentials and qualifications. Leesa Wheelahan is professor emerita at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. She is also an honorary research fellow at the Departme...

Today we explore the financialization of early childhood education and what it means for the welfare state. My guest is Ben Spies-Butcher. Ben Spies Butcher is an Associate Professor in the School of Communication, Society and Culture at Macquarie University. His latest book Politics, Inequality and the Australian Welfare State after Liberalisation. freshedpodcast.com/spies-butcher -- Get in touch...

FreshEd is celebrating its 10th birthday on October 18 and you're invited! Sign up here: https://freshedpodcast.com/10years/ -- Today we explore scholarly podcasting: what it is and why it matters. With me is Ian M. Cook, who has recently published the book Scholarly Podcasting: Why, What, How? Ian M. Cook is Editor and Chief at Allegra Lab. He is an anthropologist whose work focus includes urban...

Today we explore tax cuts as a form of government expenditure and what that means for social inequality, politics, and government services. My guest is Melinda Cooper. Melinda Cooper is a professor in the School of Sociology in the Colelge of Arts & Social Sciences at the Australian National University. Her newest book is Counterrevolution: Extravagance and Austerity in Public Finance (Zone Books/...

Today we explore government taxes not as a technical, economic matter but rather as a political process that reflects social values. My guest is Elise Klein. Elise Klein is an associate professor of public policy at the Crawford School at the Australian National University and the co-director of the Australian Basic Income Lab. I spoke with Elise in front of a live audience at the Manning Clark Ho...

Today marks the 400th episode of FreshEd. That’s almost 10 years of work. It’s been an absolute privilege to make each episode. Sometimes I think I’m the luckiest person in academia because I get to talk about new ideas in education every week. Of course none of this would be possible without you, our listeners. So thanks for tuning in each week. To mark this occasion, I wanted to spend time with...

Thanks for listening to FreshEd. It’s rewarding to produce for the thousands of listeners around the world. But it takes a lot of work to make regular episodes. What sustains our effort are voluntary memberships from paying supporters. If you are enjoying FreshEd and would like to join our membership community, please sign up at www.freshedpodcast.com. You can also sign up to join our 10th anniver...

Today we dive into universities and their futures. For many people, universities are in crisis. Public funding has decreased. Mounting pressure to move online and offer complete flexibility to students. Job cuts. And whole courses and programs that are on the chopping block. My guest, Cris Shore, unpacks the state of universities and critically explores their futures. Cris Shore is emeritus profes...

FreshEd turns 10 in October! Join the celebration: www.freshedpodcast.com/10years -- Today is the last installment for this year in our mini-series called the FreshEd Questionnaire. I’ve been asking guests a set of standard questions after each interview. These questions focus on some of the hottest topics in education today. For today’s episode of the FreshEd Questionnaire we focus on future dire...

FreshEd turns 10 in October! Join the celebration: www.freshedpodcast.com/10years -- Today we continue our mini-series called the FreshEd Questionnaire. I’ve been asking guests a set of standard questions after each interview. These questions focus on some of the hottest topics in education today. For the next instalment of the FreshEd Questionnaire we focus on online learning. It seems since Covi...

Today we continue our mini-series called the FreshEd Questionnaire. I’ve been asking guests a set of standard questions after each interview. These questions focus on some of the hottest topics in education today. For the next instalment of the FreshEd Questionnaire we focus on the value of enrolling into a PhD program. Is investing years of your life to purse a PhD worth it? While many of our gue...

Today we continue our mini-series called the FreshEd Questionnaire. I’ve been asking guests a set of standard questions after each interview. These questions focus on some of the hottest topics in education in today. For the next few weeks, we’ll mash up the answers to each question and put them into single episodes. For today’s episode we focus on Artificial Intelligence. It seems every day I rea...

FreshEd will return with new episodes next week. Today's episode is a re-run from 2021. -- In 2021, UNESCO held a high-level segment of its Global Education Meeting aimed at galvanizing political commitment towards mobilizing additional investment in education. The goal was to encourage countries to develop strong domestic systems to fund education. My guest today is Borhene Chakroun, Director for...

FreshEd is away for a few weeks. -- Today I speak with Claire Maxwell about school internationalization. Together with Laura Engel and Miri Yemini, Claire has recently co-edited a new book entitled The Machinery of School Internationalisation in Action. Beyond the Established Boundaries. In our conversation, we discuss internationalization in terms of elite education, privatization, and racism. We...

FreshEd is away for a few weeks. -- Today we talk about collaboration, both its good and bad sides. My guest is Amy Shuffelton, a professor of philosophy at Loyola University Chicago. Amy Shuffelton’s new book is Collaboration: Philosophy of Education in Practice, which was published by Bloomsbury in February. freshedpodcast.com/shuffelton/ -- Get in touch! Twitter: @FreshEdpodcast Facebook: Fresh...

FreshEd is away for the next few weeks. -- Today we talk about what it would mean to queer higher education. My guests are Louise Morley and Daniel Leyton. In their new book, they disrupt some of the norms and common ways of thinking in higher education today. Louise Morley is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Sussex and Daniel Leyton is a Lecturer at the University of Exeter. Their new b...

If you’d like to join our growing membership community, please visit Freshedpodcast.com/support. Member starts for as little as $10/months. -- Today we take a deep dive into the different types of teachers’ work. My guest is Kathryn Anderson-Levitt, an anthropologist of education whose new book chapter reflects on her field work over 50 years across three countries. Kathryn Anderson-Levitt is Prof...

I wanted to welcome our newest FreshEd members, Joshua Heyes and Miguel Filipe Silva. Their support means we can continue to make FreshEd for the thousands of listeners around the world. If you’d like to join our growing membership community, please visit Freshedpodcast.com/support. Member starts for as little as $10/months. -- Today we look at immigration in the USA. It’s a hot topic, but there i...

FreshEd will return next week with new episodes! -- We are starting a FreshEd community and want you to join for as little as $10/month. If you want to join our growing community, please head over to FreshEdpodcast.com/support -- Today we try to reimagine education in emergencies. With me are Ritesh Shah and Francine Menashy. They have recently co-edited a special Forum for the journal Compare whi...

FreshEd will be back soon with new episodes. -- Today we talk about the history and recent rise of Islamophobia worldwide. My guest is Mariam Durrani, an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Hamilton College. In our conversation, we discusses both the state policy infrastructure enabling Islamophobia while also the everyday discourses and actions that normalize the Othering of a particular group...

FreshEd will be back soon with new episodes. -- Today we focus on a hugely important issue but one that is generally absent within the organizations and structures that make up the global education architecture. The issue is race. My guests today, Francine Menashy and Zeena Zakharia, have spent years speaking with staff members at various global education organizations – you know, places like UNES...

Today we explore the care economy. My guest is Tim Jackson who chronicles in his latest book his own journey of valuing health instead of wealth and care instead of growth. Tim Jackson is an emeritus professor at the University of Surrey and Director of the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity. His new book is The Care Economy (Polity 2025). https://freshedpodcast.com/jackson391/...

Today we look at how universities recruit international students and what that means for the internationalization of higher education. My guest is Stephanie Kim. Stephanie Kim is an Associate Professor of the Practice and Faculty Director of Higher Education Administration at Georgetown University. Her new book is Constructing Student Mobility: How Universities Recruit Students and Shape Pathways...

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 th...

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 prev...