The Learning Curve

In this special episode of  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng  and  Charlie Chieppo  interview  New York Times  bestselling American sportswriter, biographer, and author  Jane Leavy .  Ms. Leavy offers a vivid exploration of Babe Ruth’s life and towering legacy. Leavy sheds new light on Ruth’s difficult Baltimore childhood, his formative years at St. Mary’s Industrial Sc...

In this episode of  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng  and  Ret. MN Justice Barry Anderson  speak with  Wilfrid Prest , Emeritus Professor and Visiting Research Fellow in History and Law at the University of Adelaide in Australia, and biographer of Sir William Blackstone, among the most influential figures in the history of English common law. Prof. Prest discusses Black...

In this episode of  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  Alisha Searcy  and  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng , speak with Michael Duffy , President of GO Tutor Corps, a nonprofit dedicated to closing achievement gaps through high-dosage tutoring in low-income communities. Mr. Duffy shares insights from his distinguished career in public service and education reform, beginning in Massachusetts state govern...

In this episode of  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  Alisha Searcy  and  Kelley Brown , a Massachusetts U.S. history and civics teacher, interview Pulitzer Prize-winning historian  Rick Atkinson , author of  The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777 . Mr. Atkinson explores the rise and fall of British imperial power in North America, the radical leadership of the...

In this episode of  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng  and  Pioneer's Mary Connaughton  interview  Ambassador Mary Ann Glendon , Harvard Law professor emerita and former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See. Ambassador Glendon reflects on her formative education, mentors, and how law and faith have shaped her worldview. She discusses her admiration for Western Civilization’s ...

In this episode of The Learning Curve , co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Alisha Searcy interview Steven Wilson , a senior fellow at Pioneer Institute and a leading voice in education reform. Mr. Wilson discusses his journey into K-12 education policy, reflecting on his early work with Gov. Bill Weld and the landmark 1993 Massachusetts Education Reform Act (MERA), which helped propel the...

In this episode of  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  Alisha Searcy  and  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng interview  Dr. Sheila Harrity , former Worcester Tech principal and nationally recognized vocational-technical education leader. Dr. Harrity shares insights from her distinguished career in voc-tech schooling. She discusses how Massachusetts voc-tech schools leveraged provisions of the 1993 Massach...

In this episode of  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  Alisha Searcy  and  Kelley Brown , a Massachusetts U.S. history and civics teacher, interview Pulitzer Prize-winning historian  Prof. Gordon Wood . Prof. Wood explores the pivotal events and ideas that sparked the American Revolution. He discusses the political tensions of 1775, King George III’s imperial policies, and the colonists’ transformatio...

In this episode of  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng  and  Dr. Helen Baxendale  interview noted literary biographer,  Dr. Jeffrey Meyers . Dr. Meyers discusses  The Great Gatsby  on its 100th anniversary. He explores F. Scott Fitzgerald’s tragic life, his marriage to Zelda, and how their tumultuous relationship shaped his iconic novel. Dr. Meyers delves into the timeles...

In this episode of The Learning Curve , co-hosts Alisha Searcy and U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng interview Dr. James Lynn Woodworth , research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and former commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Dr. Woodworth discusses the role of data in shaping K-12 education policy. He explores the impact of assessments like NAE...

In this episode of  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  Alisha Searcy  and  Helen Baxendale celebrate the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth with Dr. Paula Byrne , Lady Bate , a distinguished biographer and literary critic. Dr. Byrne explores the key influences that shaped Austen’s life, the major themes of her novels, and the enduring relevance of heroines like Elizabeth Bennet and Elinor Dashwo...

In this episode of  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and  Alisha Searcy  interview  Robert Enlow , president and CEO of EdChoice. Mr. Enlow discusses his decades of leadership in school choice advocacy, from his early work with the Milton and Rose Friedman Foundation to spearheading policy reforms nationwide. He examines the persistent stagnation in U.S. K-12 education...

In this episode of  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng  and  Alisha Searcy  interview  Trish Schreiber , senior fellow in education at the Frontier Institute in Montana. Schreiber shares her journey from Silicon Valley to Montana and her passion for expanding educational opportunities. She discusses the impact of the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Espinoza v. Mon...

In this week’s episode of  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  Alisha Searcy  and Dr. Helen Baxendale interview Robin Lane Fox , distinguished classicist and Emeritus Fellow at Oxford. Prof. Lane Fox offers profound insights into Homer’s Iliad and its enduring significance. He explores the epic’s historical and literary context, from its roots in oral tradition to its lasting influence on Western cultu...

In this week’s episode of  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  Alisha Searcy  and  Walter Blanks  interview  Samuel Lee Fudge , the acclaimed actor, writer, and director behind  Mosiah , the first narrative film about Marcus Garvey. Fudge discusses his background, education, and creative journey in bringing Garvey’s legacy to the screen. He explores Garvey’s leadership, the Black Star Line, and his ide...

In this week’s episode of  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng  and  Alisha Searcy  interview Margaret Washington , the esteemed historian and author of Sojourner Truth’s America . Prof. Washington delves into Truth’s remarkable life, from her early years in slavery in New York to her transformation into a powerful abolitionist, women’s rights advocate, and religiously dri...

In this specia l St. Valentine's Day  episode of  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng  and  Alisha Searcy  interview renowned Shakespeare scholar  Professor Sir Jonathan Bate  to discuss the timeless tragedy,  Romeo and Juliet . Exploring its enduring greatness, Sir Jonathan delves into Shakespeare’s classical influences, particularly Ovid’s  Metamorphoses , and how Elizab...

In this episode of The Learning Curve , co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Alisha Searcy interview Steven Wilson , a senior fellow at Pioneer Institute and a leading voice in education reform. Mr. Wilson discusses his journey into K-12 education policy, reflecting on his early work with Gov. Bill Weld and the landmark 1993 Massachusetts Education Reform Act (MERA), which helped propel the...

In this episode of  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng  and  Alisha Searcy interview historian  Marcus Rediker , Distinguished Professor of Atlantic History at the University of Pittsburgh and author of  The Amistad Rebellion . Prof. Rediker explores the 1839 slave revolt aboard the schooner  La Amistad . He recounts the leadership of Sengbe Pieh (Joseph Cinqué) and the w...

In this episode of  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng  and  Alisha Searcy  interview  Nicole Stelle Garnett , Associate Dean and John P. Murphy Foundation Professor of Law at Notre Dame Law School, and a national expert in education law and school choice. Dean Garnett discusses the vital role Catholic education plays in fostering faith, community, and the pursuit of “the...

In this special  Holocaust Remembrance Day  episode of  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng  and the  Heritage Foundation's Jason Bedrick  interview  Alexandra Popoff , a former Moscow journalist and acclaimed biographer. Ms. Popoff delves into the life and legacy of Vasily Grossman, a 20th-century Jewish Soviet writer and journalist. She explores Grossman's transition fro...

In this special MLK Day episode of  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  Alisha Searcy  and  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng  interview  Prof. Lerone Martin , Martin Luther King, Jr. Centennial Professor at Stanford University and Director of the MLK Research and Education Institute. Dr. Martin offers deep insights into the life and legacy of Dr. King. He explores MLK’s role as a spiritual and political l...

This week on The Learning Curve , co-hosts Alisha Searcy and U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng interview Dr. Kymyona Burk , Senior Policy Fellow at ExcelinEd and former state literacy director for Mississippi. Dr. Burk shares insights from her remarkable career in K-12 education reform. She discusses her journey from classroom teacher to leading transformative literacy initiatives in Mississippi that...

This week on The Learning Curve , co-hosts Alisha Searcy of DFER and U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng interview Leo Damrosch , the Ernest Bernbaum Professor of Literature Emeritus at Harvard University and author of  Tocqueville’s Discovery of America . Prof. Damrosch delves into Alexis de Tocqueville’s historic nine-month journey through the United States in 1831–1832, which inspired his masterpiece...

This week on The Learning Curve , co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Dr. Jocelyn Chadwick interview distinguished British television journalist, author, and Classic FM presenter, John Suchet, OBE . Mr. Suchet explores the life and legacy of Pyotr Tchaikovsky, one of Russia's greatest composers. He shares insights into Tchaikovsky’s upbringing, his late start in composing, and the emotional...