The Learning Curve

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...

This week on The Learning Curve , co-hosts Alisha Searcy of DFER and U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng interview Dan Hamlin , an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Oklahoma. Prof. Hamlin offers his insights on the state of K-12 education policy and reform. He shares how his academic experiences and research shaped his philosophy on e...

This week on The Learning Curve , co-hosts Alisha Searcy of DFER and U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng interview Dava Sobel , acclaimed author of The Elements of Marie Curie: How the Glow of Radium Lit a Path for Women in Science . Sobel delves into the life of Marie Curie, the “scientific Joan of Arc,” exploring her extraordinary journey from clandestine education in Tsarist-controlled Poland to beco...

This week on The Learning Curve , co-hosts Alisha Searcy of DFER and U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng interview Eric Rassbach , Vice President and Senior Counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. Mr. Rassbach discusses the Loffman v. California Department of Education case, where Becket successfully secured a unanimous Ninth Circuit decision ensuring equal access to special education funding...

This week on The Learning Curve , co-hosts Alisha Searcy of DFER and U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng interview Carl Rollyson , CUNY professor, and acclaimed biographer of William Faulkner. Prof. Rollyson offers an in-depth exploration of Faulkner’s life, work, and enduring legacy. He discusses Faulkner’s formative years in early 20th-century Mississippi a region still grappling with its post-Civil W...

This week on The Learning Curve, co-hosts Alisha Searcy of DFER and U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng interview New Hampshire Governor Christopher Sununu. Gov. Sununu discusses his upbringing in a well-known political family and how the influence of his father, a former governor and White House chief of staff, and his brother, a former U.S. senator, has shaped his public service. He reflects on attend...

This week on The Learning Curve, co-hosts Alisha Searcy of DFER and U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng interview Dr. Helen Baxendale , the chief of staff and vice president of strategy at Great Hearts Academies. Dr. Baxendale discusses how her global educational experiences inform her perspective on K-12 policy and Great Hearts’ mission to integrate the humanities, math, and science for intellectual an...

This week on The Learning Curve , co-hosts Alisha Searcy of DFER and Dr. Jocelyn Chadwick interview Jeffrey Meyers , acclaimed literary biographer, about his comprehensive exploration of Edgar Allan Poe’s life and work. Meyers delves into Poe’s troubled early years, his struggles with abandonment and poverty, and how these shaped his dark, Gothic style. The discussion covers the themes and influen...

This week on  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  Alisha Searcy of DFER  and  Dr. Jocelyn Chadwick  interview  Catherine Clinton , Denman Professor of American History at the University of Texas at San Antonio, and author of  Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom . Prof. Clinton discusses her definitive biography of Harriet Tubman, the renowned abolitionist and Underground Railroad conductor. She reflect...

This week on  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng  and  Andrea Silbert  interview Israeli historian, journalist, and author of  A State at Any Cost: The Life of David Ben-Gurion ,  Tom Segev . Dr. Segev delves into the life and legacy of David Ben-Gurion, Israel's founding father. He shares insights into Ben-Gurion’s early years in Poland, his involvement in Zionist politi...

This week on  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng  and  Mike Goldstein  interview  Katie Everett , the Executive Director of the Lynch Foundation. Ms. Everett shares her journey into K-12 education reform and discusses the influential vision of Carolyn and Peter Lynch, and their foundation's role in shaping education policy in Massachusetts and beyond. She highlights the L...

This week on The Learning Curve , co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Meredith Coolidge of DFER - MA interview James Conway, a World History and Psychology teacher at Revere High School, and Ela Gardiner, a freshman at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and Wellesley High School alumna . Conway discusses the 1993 Massachusetts Education Reform Act (MERA) and its role in establishing a progre...

This week on  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  Charlie Chieppo  and Ret. MN Justice Barry Anderson  interview  Edward Achorn , a noted writer, historian, and author of  Every Drop of Blood: The Momentous Second Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln  and  The Lincoln Miracle: Inside the Republican Convention That Changed History. Achorn shares insights into Lincoln's improbable political rise and the criti...

This week on  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  Alisha Searcy of DFER  and  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng  interview  Lance Izumi, Koret Senior Fellow and Senior Director of Education Studies at the Pacific Research Institute . Mr. Izumi delves into his latest book, The Great Classroom Collapse: Teachers, Students, and Parents Expose the Collapse of Learning in America's Schools . He discusses why, d...

This week on  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  Alisha Searcy of DFER  and  AFC’s Walter Blanks  interview  Senior Fellow at the American Federation for Children and Founder of Black Minds Matter ,  Denisha Allen . Denisha shares her journey and the motivations behind founding Black Minds Matter, a national movement dedicated to celebrating Black excellence and promoting high-quality educational opti...

This week on  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng  and  Dr. Jocelyn Chadwick  interview  fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the British Academy , Prof. Richard Holmes . Prof. Holmes delves into the life and literary legacy of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, one of the most significant poets of the Romantic era. Holmes offers a comprehensive overview of Coleridge's earl...

This week on  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng  and  Alisha Searcy of DFER  interview the  NYT’s South Asia correspondent ,  Anupreeta Das . Ms. Das discusses how she became interested in writing her acclaimed biography,  Billionaire, Nerd, Savior, King: Bill Gates and His Quest to Shape Our World , emphasizing Gates’ corporate and philanthropic influence on our era. Sh...

This week on The Learning Curve , co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and Meredith Coolidge of DFER - MA interview President and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools , Starlee Coleman . Ms. Coleman discusses her role as CEO of the Texas Public Charter Schools Association, highlighting the growth of charter schools in Texas, as well as the broader efforts to expand school choi...

This week on  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  Charlie Chieppo  and  Meredith Coolidge of DFER-MA  interview  Houston Independent School District, Superintendent Mike Miles . Mr. Miles reflects on his lifelong dedication to public service, starting as a soldier, then a diplomat, and later as an educational leader. He shares insights into his family background and formative experiences that shaped hi...

This week on  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  Alisha Searcy  of DEFR and retired MN Justice Barry Anderson  interview  Dr. David Heidler . He discusses the transformative period of Jacksonian Democracy, from 1829 to 1837. Dr. Heidler explores the political changes, sectionalism, and reforms that characterized the era, alongside the controversial figure of Andrew Jackson, whose volatile nature and s...

This week on  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  Alisha Searcy of DEFR  and  Mike Goldstein  interview  Joshua Angrist , the Ford Professor of Economics at MIT. Prof Angrist shares his journey from growing up in Pittsburgh to becoming a Nobel Prize-winning economist. He reflects on his family, formative educational experiences, and his time as a paratrooper in the Israeli Defense Forces, where he glea...

This week on  The Learning Curve , co-hosts  DFER's Alisha Searcy  and  Mike Goldstein  interview Stanford University Prof. Arnold Rampersad , author of  Jackie Robinson: A Biography . He discusses the life and legacy of Robinson, the hall of fame baseball player and history-changing civil rights leader. Prof. Rampersad talks about Jackie Robinson's journey from rural Georgia, his athletic triumph...

This week on The Learning Curve , co-hosts U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng and DFER's Alisha Searcy interview Pulitzer Winner Kai Bird . Mr. Bird focuses on the life and legacy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, “father of the atomic bomb.” He discusses Oppenheimer's impact on history, his early life and education, and his academic achievements in quantum physics. Bird covers Oppenheimer's political views, r...

This week on  The Learning Curve  co-hosts  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng  and  DFER's Alisha Searcy  interview  Dr. Marguerite Roza from the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University. Dr. Roza explores the complexities of education finance and its impact on American K-12 education. She outlines the three phases of school funding over the past 40 years and their effect on equity and student achieveme...

This week on  The Learning Curve  co-hosts  U-Arkansas Prof. Albert Cheng  and  DFER's Alisha Searcy  interview  Harlow Giles Unger , author of  Lion of Liberty: Patrick Henry and the Call to a New Nation . Mr. Unger delves into the life of Patrick Henry as the country celebrates the Fourth of July. He explores Henry's early life, his rise as a lawyer and political figure, and his fiery opposition...