The Learning Curve

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve , co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Center for Strong Public Schools’ Alisha Searcy speak with Sir Hew Strachan , Professor of International Relations at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, and recipient of the 2016 Pritzker Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing. Prof. Sir Hew, author of numerous award-winning books,...

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve , co-hosts Center for Strong Public Schools’ Alisha Searcy and American Federation for Children’s Walter Blanks interview Kelley Brown , an award-winning civics and government teacher at Easthampton High School and former Massachusetts Teacher of the Year. Ms. Brown discusses her background as an educator, her work with the “We the People": The Citizen...

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve , co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Great Hearts Academies’ Dr. Helen Baxendale interview Leo Damrosch , Ernest Bernbaum Professor of Literature Emeritus at Harvard University, and acclaimed biographer of some of the world's greatest literary figures. Prof. Damrosch discusses his newest book Storyteller: The Life of Robert Louis Stevenson . He...

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve , co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Center for Public Schools’ Alisha Searcy interview Dr. Anna Lembke, MD , professor of psychiatry at the Stanford University School of Medicine, chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic, and author of the NYT bestselling book, Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence . Dr...

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve , co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Center for Public Schools’ Alisha Searcy interview Jack Johnson Pannell , founder and head of Trinity Arch Preparatory School for Boys in Phoenix. Mr. Pannell discusses his career as an educational leader, including founding a nationally recognized charter school in Baltimore, and shares how his background in...

In this week’s episode of  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng  and  Walter Blanks of the American Federation for Children interview Prof. Robert Maranto and Sean Woytek co-authors of the Education Next piece, “ Why Academically Intensive Charter Schools Deserve Our Attention .” They explore how rigorous charter school networks like BASIS Ed have achieved exceptional outco...

In this week’s episode of  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng  and  Center for Public Schools’ Alisha Searcy  interview  Randall Woods , John A. Cooper Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Arkansas, and author of  John Quincy Adams: A Man for the Whole People . Prof. Woods shares the life and career of American statesman John Quincy Adams, the “first so...

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve , co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and the Center for Public Schools’ Alisha Searcy interview Kerry McDonald , Senior Education Fellow at the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), host of the LiberatED podcast, and author of Joyful Learning: How to Find Freedom, Happiness, and Success Beyond Conventional Schooling (2025 ) . As a leading advocat...

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve , co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Eos Foundation’s Andrea Silbert interview Dr. Gil Troy , senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute, Distinguished Scholar in North American History at McGill University, and editor of Theodor Herzl: The Collected Zionist Writings and Addresses of Israel's Founder . He offers an overview of Herzl’s u...

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve , co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Great Hearts Academies’ Dr. Helen Baxendale interview Dr. Kathryn Hughes , academic historian and award-winning author of George Eliot: The Last Victorian . Dr. Hughes discusses the significance of 19th-century novelist Mary Ann Evans, better known by her pen name George Eliot, in shaping British literature a...

In this week’s episode of  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng  and  American Federation for Children Senior Fellow Shaka Mitchell  interview John Kirtley , Managing Partner and co-founder of Keswick Partners, and founder and Chairman of Step Up For Students, a nonprofit that manages Florida’s state-funded K-12 scholarship programs serving over half a million students. Kir...

In this week’s episode of  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng  and  Pioneer Senior Fellow Charlie Chieppo  interview award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author  Jane Leavy . Ms. Leavy discusses her lifelong love of baseball, and her forthcoming book,  Make Me Commissioner: I Know What’s Wrong with Baseball and How to Fix It , which comes out in Septemb...

This week on  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng  and  Ret. MN Supreme Court Justice Barry Anderson  interview  Prof. Keith Hylton , William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor and Professor of Law at Boston University. Prof. Hylton shares insights from his academic career and the book   Laws of Creation: Property Rights in the World of Ideas , which he co-authored....

This week on  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng  and  Ret. MN Supreme Court Justice Barry Anderson  interview Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and Pepperdine Law’s, Prof. Edward Larson . Prof. Larson marks the 100th anniversary of the Scopes “Monkey Trial,” a landmark case in America’s long-running debate over science, religion, and public education. Drawing on his accla...

This week on The Learning Curve , co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Dr. Helen Baxendale of Great Hearts Academies interview longtime public education champion and Learning Curve co-host Alisha Searcy . Alisha joins the show as a guest to share her story and insights into K-12 public education reform. Herself a product of public-school choice, she discusses how those early experiences shap...

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve , co-hosts Alisha Searcy and U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng interview University of Maryland Emeritus Professor of English Vincent Carretta . Prof. Carretta explores the extraordinary life and enduring legacy of the first African-American to publish a book of poetry in English, Phillis Wheatley Peters. He offers insight into Phillis’ early life in West A...

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve , co-hosts Alisha Searcy and Dr. Cara Candal of ExcelinEd interview former assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Education and co-founder of the Defense of Freedom Institute (DFI), Jim Blew . Mr. Blew reflects on his tenure in federal education leadership and his motivation for establishing DFI. He discusses the decades of rising federal K-12 sp...

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve , co-hosts Alisha Searcy and Helen Baxendale of Great Hearts Academies interview award-winning English historian and biographer,  Dr. Juliet Barker . She offers a rich portrait of the Brontë family, whose timeless contributions have widely impacted English literature and fiction writing. Dr. Barker explores the formative influences of their father, Patr...

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve , co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Walter Blanks interview Dr. Michael Fitzpatrick , who has served as superintendent-director of the Blackstone Valley Vocational Regional School District since 1994. A leader in vocational-technical education, Dr. Fitzpatrick reflects on his own educational journey and offers insights into leadership that puts...

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve , co-hosts Alisha Searcy and Massachusetts civics teacher Kelley Brown interview Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jack Rakove , Coe Professor Emeritus at Stanford University. Prof. Rakove explores the origins of the American Revolution and U.S. Constitution through the lives of the nation’s Founding Era figures. Reflecting on young John Adams’ vivid dep...

In this special episode of The Learning Curve , guest co-host  Ian Rowe  interviews  Steven Wilson , a senior fellow at Pioneer Institute and founder of the Ascend Charter Network. Their discussion centers on Wilson's new book,  The Lost Decade , which concerns education's shift away from liberal arts and toward social justice ideology and anti-intellectualism. They examine the impact of this shif...

In this week’s episode of  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  Alisha Searcy  and U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng interview  John Burt , the Paul Prosswimmer Professor of American Literature at Brandeis University. Prof. Burt offers rich insight into the life and work of one of the 20th century’s greatest American writers, Robert Penn Warren. Raised in rural southwestern Kentucky, Warren was deeply shape...

In this week’s episode of  The Learning Curve , co-host  Alisha Searcy  and guest co-host Walter Blanks interview  Shaka Mitchell , senior fellow at the American Federation for Children. Mr. Mitchell shares about his compelling personal and professional journey in education reform. Shaka discusses how his formative experiences shaped his passion for expanding charter public schools, school choice,...

In this week’s episode of  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng  and  Alisha Searcy  interview  Amanda McMullen , President & CEO of the New Bedford Whaling Museum (NBWM). Ms. McMullen explores NBWM’s remarkable mission, collections, and economic impact on the Southcoast of Massachusetts. She discusses NBWM’s historical roots in the 19th-century Yankee whaling industry...

In this week’s episode of The Learning Curve, co-hosts  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng  and  Alisha Searcy  interview  Benjamin Moynihan , Executive Director, and,  William Crombie , Director of Professional Development, for the  Algebra Project, Inc . Mr. Moynihan and Mr. Crombie reflect on the life and legacy of Civil Rights era icon, and math educator, Bob Moses. They trace Moses’s journey from...