FreshEd

FreshEd is on holidays. We'll be back in February. -- Today we explore aboriginal voices in education research in Australia. Australians will soon vote in a referendum about whether to change their Constitution to allow for the creation of an advisory body made up of First Nations peoples. This body would to provide advice to the Parliament and the government on matters that impact indigenous comm...

FreshEd is on holidays. We'll be back in February. -- Today Fazal Rizvi joins me to talk about his forthcoming book entitled Globalization and Educational Futures. Fazal revisits the rise of the popular discourses of globalization, examines many its discontents, and suggests nonetheless that it is too hasty to imagine its total demise. Fazal Rizvi is Emeritus Professor in Global Studies of Educati...

As we near the end of 2025, it’s time to take stock of the year. What were the big events this year and how might they impact the field of comparative education? What new ideas emerged? And where is our field headed in 2026? Continuing this FreshEd tradition, Susan Robertson and Mario Novelli join me for the last episode of the year. Mario Novelli is professor in the political economy of education...

Today we unpack the Chinese term minjian and conceptualize it for the field of comparative education. My guest is Baiwen Peng. Baiwen Peng is a doctoral student in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota. His new article is “Minjian: exploring education ‘among the people’ in China,” which was published in Comparative Education. freshedpodcast.com/peng/ -- Get...

Today we unpack the education experiences of students from the former Soviet Union who have migrated to Canada. My guests are Sarfaroz Niyozov, Stephen Bahry and Max Antony-Newman. For the past few years, they have been working on a research project that has explored the experiences of the high school children with post-Soviet backgrounds in the Greater Toronto Area. The research project strives t...

Before we start today’s show, I’d like to welcome our newest FreshEd Members, Amy Stambach and Tian Renxiang. Thank you for your support. If you think FreshEd is a valuable educational resource and want to join our growing community, sign up at FreshEdpodcast.com. -- Today we unpack education alternatives to reimagine education for just futures. My guests are Frank Adamson and Carol Anne Spreen. F...

Today we explore the production of global learning metrics inside the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. My guest is Clara Fontdevila, a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the School of Education at the University of Glasgow. Clara’s newest article is entitled “The politics of good enough data. Developments, dilemmas, and deadlocks in the production of global learning metrics,” which was publish...

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. -- Today we take stock of climate education,...

Today we explore foundational learning in low and middle income countries. My guest is Michelle Kaffenberger. Michelle Kaffenberger is the Director of evidence translation at the What Works Hub for Global Education the University of Oxford. I Spoke with her on the sidelines of the Development and Education Conference (DevEd) held in Melbourne, Australia last week. https://freshedpodcast.com/kaffen...

Today we dive into the field of education in emergencies, highlighting its entanglements with colonialism, empire, and racial capitalism. My guest is Jess Oddy. Jess Oddy is a researcher at the university of Bristol and has worked in various capacities in the field of education in emergencies. Her new article is “Retelling education in emergencies through the black radical tradition: on racial cap...

Ten years ago, on October 26, 2015, something special began in Japan. While working at the University of Tokyo, I launched the first episode of the FreshEd podcast, marking the start of what would become a cornerstone of conversations in comparative and international education. Over the past decade, FreshEd has grown into a global platform – far larger than I ever imaged -- connecting listeners in...

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...