MICROCOLLEGE: The Thoreau College Podcast

Willie Jones joins the podcast for an earnest discussion on the importance of the classics in the theatre, in education, and in the pursuit of truth and knowledge. Willie E. Jones III is an actor, director, producer, and playwright who is the founding Actor/Manager of the Jones Classical Theater Company in Chicago, Illinois. He is the Artistic Director of the Juneteenth Theatre Justice Project, a...

Jacob speaks with Bridget O'Brien and Dr. Charlie Brennan of the Garden Juju Collective, as they take us on a foray into the world and practice of Permaculture: in agriculture, education, and life. Bridget O'Brien is the director of Resilient Spirals LLC and co-founder of the Garden Juju Collective. Bridget’s studies and work focuses on the design of personal well-being, community building, and la...

This week on Microcollege, David Orr pleads the importance of a higher education that keeps the Earth in mind. David W. Orr is the Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics Emeritus at Oberlin College, and presently Professor of Practice at Arizona State University. Orr is one of the original advocates of microcolleges whose work focuses on ecological literacy, susta...

Steve and Jacob strike a rich vein of conversation in the topic of service learning, from its origins to its applications in the world of higher education today. Steve Lawless has an M.A. in Education, and has taught in many settings including as a traditional writing and literature teacher on Native American reservations, farm schools, alternative middle and high schools and a Waldorf school. Fro...

Tune in this week for a discussion between Nathaniel Williams and Stefan Ambrose of the Free Columbia initiative in upstate New York as they describe the origins of the program and its pedagogy. Nathaniel Williams is the co-founder of Free Columbia with Laura Summer. He studied visual art and marionette theater in Basel, Switzerland, graduating with a certificate in visual art from the neueKUNSTsc...

The poet Austin Robert Smith joins Microcollege for an examination of the current state of higher education and the role of poetry in a liberal arts education and otherwise. Austin Smith is a poet and formerly a Jones Lecturer at Stanford University. He grew up on a family dairy farm in northwestern Illinois before receiving a BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an MA from the University...

Julie Tomaro and Nicholas WazeeGale are both instructors at the Driftless Folk School in rural southwestern Wisconsin. Their dialogue this week revolves around the Folk School tradition in America, some of their life experiences leading to their involvement in one, and the important role a Folk school can play in helping to build personal and cultural resilience. Julie Tomaro is the owner of Blue...

Ciarán Willis speaks about his experiences leading up to the foundation of A Place Beyond, a unique approach to the remote learning boom prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Ciarán is currently the operations director at Deep Springs College. Prior to founding A Place Beyond, he was born and raised in Portland, Oregon and studied English Literature at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He lect...

On this episode of Microcollege, guest Sue Darlington and Jacob discuss the story of Deep Springs College and its subtle but resounding societal impact during its 105-year existence. Sue Darlington is the current president of Deep Springs College, and former professor of Anthropology and Asian Studies at Hampshire College, where she taught for 30 years. Her research focuses on socially-engaged Bud...

Lucien joins Microcollege for a conversation about the intersections between art, spirituality, and education, as well as his artistic process and the divine wisdom with which his work is infused. Lucien Dante Lazar is a multi-disciplinary artist, musician, essayist, poet, social worker, philosopher, and anthroposophist from Evanston, IL. Find Lucien on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luciend...

Dr. Julie Shackelford discusses the origins of the Scandinavian Folk High School movement and its applications to a wide range of issues facing students and educators today. Dr. Julie Shackelford is an academic, writer, polyglot, anthropologist, Wisconsin native, and a teacher at the International People’s College in Elsinore, Denmark. International People's College: https://ipc.dk/ Folk Education...

Thoreau College alumni Liam McGilligan and Jacob Rowland outline their educational upbringing and reflect on their experiences at Thoreau College versus other more traditional institutions of higher education. Jacob Rowland is an alumnus of Thoreau College who is currently enrolled at Oberlin College, with interests in philosophy and literature. Liam McGilligan is an alumnus of the Guthrie Theater...

Podcast host Jacob Hundt provides an introduction to the concept of “microcolleges” as an alternative to traditional forms of higher education. Jacob Hundt is the Executive Director of Thoreau College in Viroqua, Wisconsin. Growing up on a dairy farm in the Driftless region of southwestern Wisconsin, and as a founding student at the Youth Initiative High School, Jacob gathered inspiration for tran...