Disrupt Education Podcast

What are the 3 things you actually remember learning in school? Not the notes, not the tests, not the lectures. In this episode of the Disrupt Education Podcast, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl break down one of the most powerful takeaways from their conversation with Dr. Sandra Adams and turn it into a challenge every educator needs to hear. The truth is simple and uncomfortable: most of what we “...

What if the best learning in school is the part that never gets graded? In this episode of the Disrupt Education Podcast, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl sit down with Dr. Sandra Adams to unpack one of the biggest shifts happening in education right now: why curiosity, literacy, and student engagement matter more than compliance, lecture, and traditional grading. Dr. Adams shares the thinking behin...

What happens when College Board steps into CTE in a serious way? In this episode of the Disrupt Education Podcast, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl break down why College Board’s move with Teamship and Career Kickstart could become a major turning point in education. This conversation digs into the shift from traditional school metrics like GPA, AP scores, and test performance toward what really mat...

College Board is making a major move into career-connected learning, and most educators have no idea how big this could become. In this episode of Disrupt Education, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl sit down with Alyssa Chudnofsky of College Board and Dan Gonzalez of Teamship to unpack why the old divide between college prep, career prep, and high school learning is breaking down fast. They explore...

If your idea of “partnerships” is guest speakers and career fairs… you’re playing small. In this episode of the Disrupt Education Podcast, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl unpack the uncomfortable truth: partnerships don’t scale by hope — they scale by design. And if districts want real work-based learning, internships, and community-connected pathways, they can’t keep treating partnerships like a P...

What happens to a school system when boundary spanning doesn’t exist? In Part 2 of this Disrupt Education Podcast conversation, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl go deeper with Chris Brida (CTE Director, Portland Public Schools) to unpack what’s at risk when education stays siloed—by departments, by bell schedules, by “that’s not my lane.” Chris shares what his dissertation research is revealing abou...

Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl sit down with Chris Brida, CTE Director in Portland Public Schools, to unpack a concept most education leaders do the work of… but rarely have language for: boundary spanning. Chris breaks down how CTE leaders sit between K–12, higher ed, workforce, nonprofit, and government systems, and why “partnerships” can’t just be guest speakers and career fairs if we’re seriou...

What happens after you hit stop on a conversation that challenges everything you thought you knew about grades, college, and internships? In this recap episode of the Disrupt Education Podcast, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl unpack their recent conversation with Brandon Busteed and go even deeper into what it all means. Peter shares the full circle moment of first hearing Brandon speak a decade ag...

What if the “A” isn’t proof of learning anymore? In this episode of the Disrupt Education Podcast, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl sit down with Brandon Busteed to challenge one of education’s biggest sacred cows: grades. Brandon drops a stat that should stop every educator and parent in their tracks: 60% of grades at Harvard are A’s (up from about 25% two decades ago). So… what does an A even mean...

A spicy LinkedIn post about field trips lit up the internet—and this episode is the why behind the fire. Here is the post that started it all - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/peterhostrawser_disrupteducation-cte-careerreadiness-activity-7382071108952498176-O__x?utm_source=social_share_send&utm_medium=member_desktop_web&rcm=ACoAAAm03zEBGi3ZOO_BO8D4Sr3zhuz2I4cEmLI In this conversation, Peter...

What happens when you ask 500+ CTE leaders one simple question: “How are you disrupting education in 2026?” At ACTE CareerTech VISION in Nashville, Alli Dahl and Peter Hostrawser put that question on the screen, dropped a QR code, and let the field speak. This episode is the result — real responses from real leaders who are done with “CTE as a second choice” and ready to treat schools like talent...

Episode 4 is the pause-and-process moment after a truly disruptive series. Peter and Alli step back to unpack the emotional, mental, and professional reactions sparked by the pega6 conversation. This episode isn’t about selling a model — it’s about acknowledging the discomfort that comes when a system you trusted, went through, and maybe even thrived in… starts to crack. They explore why failure i...

In Episode 3, Peter and Alli stop talking about what’s broken and start building the alternative in real time — the pega6 model. Jeremy Smith takes everyone into the “why now” moment: he’s been sitting on this idea for 15 years, watching college get more expensive and less useful, until the market finally hit a tipping point. Parents, students, and employers aren’t just annoyed anymore… they’re do...

After lighting up the college model in Episode 1, Peter and Alli come back with the real question: if higher ed is broken… what replaces it? Jeremy Smith (PEGA6 co-founder/CEO) answers with one phrase that frames the entire episode: workforce engineering. Jeremy argues that education shouldn’t be treated like a pipeline where students just get moved along. It should be treated like a supply chain...

Welcome to 2026 — and the Disrupt Education Podcast’s 10th year — with one word leading the charge: Bold. Peter and Alli kick off a brand-new 4-part series with Jeremy Smith, founder and CEO of PEGA6, and he doesn’t tiptoe into the conversation… he kicks the door in. Jeremy shares his path from investment banking and multiple startup exits to building what he calls a totally new kind of higher ed:...

What a year. 🎙 In this special New Year’s episode of the Disrupt Education Podcast, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl look back on 2025 – the year disrupting education stopped being “spicy” and started becoming the norm. They unpack: How the podcast crossed 400+ episodes and over half a million downloads, and why it still feels like a movement more than a show Why 2025 felt like education finally cat...

What if the real disruption in education isn’t a new program… but how we use time, teachers, and tech? In this Disrupt Education recap episode, Alli Dahl and Peter Hostrawser unpack the big ideas from their conversation with Kristy Volesky and Jeff Frost, authors of CTE Reimagined: The Blueprint for Education’s Future—and then push them even further. In this episode, Alli and Peter dive into: Why...

What if CTE stopped just filling jobs and started building future leaders and communities? In this episode of the Disrupt Education Podcast, hosts Alli Dahl and Peter Hostrawser sit down with Kristy Volesky and Jeff Frost to dig into their new book, CTE Reimagined: The Blueprint for Education’s Future. This isn’t another “how to run a program” manual—it’s a salty, honest challenge to the status qu...

This is it — the wrap-up to a series that’s genuinely changed how we think about readiness, purpose, and the future of learning. In this powerful finale, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl pull together everything uncovered across six episodes: the exposure gap, the purpose gap, the human connection behind career discovery, and how aptitudes—not guesswork—can reshape an entire education system. This e...

What happens when you see your future unfold — live, in real time? In this immersive episode of the Disrupt Education x YouScience series, hosts Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl pull back the curtain for the first-ever live aptitude and career discovery walkthrough with Jason Van Nus and returning guest Abby Caudill. Abby—whose first episode sparked this entire series—joins to explore her real YouSc...

Innovation in education doesn’t stop with a platform — it evolves through integration, purpose, and human connection. In this forward-looking episode of the Disrupt Education x YouScience series, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl sit down with Edson Barton, CEO and Founder of YouScience, to explore what’s next for education technology — from AI-driven career tools to human-centered workforce coaching...

In part three of our Disrupt Education x YouScience series, we move from “here’s the problem” and “here’s the system” to “here’s the proof.” Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl sit down with leaders using YouScience at scale — including voices from the Montgomery County ESC in Ohio — to show what happens when aptitude data actually gets used in classrooms, counseling offices, and community workforce pi...

Are we preparing students for life or just preparing them to pass? In this second episode of the Disrupt Education x YouScience series, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dah team up again with Talent Pipeline Specialist Jason Van Nus to uncover how schools and industry can finally work together to build purpose-driven education that actually leads somewhere. What’s Inside: - Why 77% of students say they w...

We tell students to “pick a path” — but what if they’ve never seen what’s possible? In this kickoff episode of the Disrupt Education x YouScience series, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl dive into the exposure gap — the growing disconnect between student potential and the opportunities they even know exist. Joined by Talent Pipeline Specialist Jason Van Nus, they unpack why awareness, not test score...

When the “honeymoon” ends and learning gets real, the old playbook crumbles. In this wrap-up of our Fall series, Peter Hostrawser and Alli Dahl break down what actually works—from state-level lab schools to district academy models, regional coaching, and community translators who turn contained learning into community vitality. We highlight:- Kristy Volesky (EduVitality): Make learning visible, lo...