Thomas B. Fordham Institute

The Education Gadfly Show

For more than 15 years, the Fordham Institute has been hosting a weekly podcast, The Education Gadfly Show. Each week, you’ll get lively, entertaining discussions of recent education news, usually featuring Fordham’s Mike Petrilli and David Griffith. Then the wise Amber Northern will recap a recent research study. For questions or comments on the podcast, contact its producer, Stephanie Distler, at sdistler@fordhaminstitute.org.

Author

Thomas B. Fordham Institute

Category

Education

Podcast website

fordhaminstitute.org

Latest episode

Jul 8, 2026

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Episodes

Gadfly Show 052318 23.05.2018
Halted Hoosiers - 05/16/18 16.05.2018

On this week’s podcast, Dale Chu, education consultant and Indiana’s former assistant superintendent for innovation and improvement, joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss what went wrong with Hoosier State school reform. On the Research Minute, David Griffith examines how school improvement grants in Ohio affected achievement and school administration.

Racial disparities in special education identification: The conventional wisdom is all wrong - 05/09/18 09.05.2018

On this week's podcast, Paul Morgan, Professor of Education and Demography at Penn State University, joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss the evidence on racial disparities in special education identification and services. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines the effect of online versus paper tests on student achievement.

Most parents still live in Lake Wobegon - 05/02/18 02.05.2018

On this week's podcast, Bibb Hubbard, founder and president of Learning Heroes, joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss better ways to communicate students’ academic progress (or lack thereof) to parents. On the Research Minute, David Griffith examines the recent AEI study that questioned the relationship between test scores and long-term outcomes.

O-H-I-No - 04/25/18 25.04.2018

On this week's podcast, Paolo DeMaria, Ohio's State Superintendent of Public Instruction, joins Mike Petrilli and Brandon Wright to discuss the state’s new strategic plan for education, which Fordham’s gadflies find disappointing. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines the access, perseverance, and outcomes of first-generation college students.

A better curriculum in the Bayou State - 04/18/18 18.04.2018

On this week’s podcast, Rebecca Kockler, Louisiana’s assistant superintendent of academic content, joins Mike Petrilli and Robert Pondiscio to discuss her state’s curriculum initiative. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines how career and technical education affects students’ noncognitive skills.

Is America still a nation at risk? - 04/11/18 11.04.2018

On this week's podcast, Bruno Manno, Senior Advisor to the Walton Family Foundation’s K–12 Education Reform Initiative and a Trustee Emeritus at Fordham, joins Mike Petrilli and Checker Finn to discuss this week’s NAEP results in the context of the thirty-fifth anniversary of A Nation at Risk. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines how accountability metrics related to student subgro...

America’s “lost decade” of academic achievement - 04/04/18 04.04.2018

On this week’s podcast, Hanna Skandera, former New Mexico education chief, joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss next week’s NAEP score release and why we’ve seen so little progress in recent years. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines how NCTQ’s ratings affect teacher education programs.

States lead on education - 03/28/18 28.03.2018

On this week's podcast, Carissa Moffat Miller, the new executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers, joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss CCSSO’s campaign to highlight innovative state education policies. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines the effects of the National Heritage Academies chain of for-profit charter schools.

A conversation with 2018’s Wisest Wonks - 03/21/18 20.03.2018

On this week’s podcast, Jessica Shopoff and Chase Eskelsen, employees of K12, Inc. and winners of Fordham’s 2018 Wonkathon, join Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss their ideas for reimagining American high school. On the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines race and gender biases in online higher education.

Ruminating on the Kerner Commission’s fiftieth anniversary - 03/14/18 14.03.2018

On this week's podcast, Roberto Rodríguez, president and CEO of Teach Plus, joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss race and poverty in education. During the Research Minute, David Griffith examines whether authorizers are making it harder for people of color to win charter contracts.

Ed reform's past, present, and future - 03/07/18 07.03.2018

On this week’s podcast, Aimee Rogstad Guidera, president and CEO of the Data Quality Campaign, joins Alyssa Schwenk and Brandon Wright to discuss what ed reform’s decades of progress portend for the future. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines career-tech’s effect on human capital accumulation.

Where is the next "education governor"? - 02/28/18 28.02.2018

On this week's podcast, Mike Petrilli, Chad Aldis, and Alyssa Schwenk discuss what it will take to get gubernatorial candidates to embrace ed reform. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines the cost effectiveness and return on investment of charter schools in eight American cities.

Howard Fuller on school segregation - 02/21/18 21.02.2018

On this week's podcast, Howard Fuller, renowned civil rights activist and education reformer, joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss school segregation. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines ways to help bachelor’s degrees better facilitate professional success.

The Olympian challenges facing America's high schools - 02/14/18 14.02.2018

On this week's podcast, Mike Petrilli, Alyssa Schwenk, and Brandon Wright discuss what the recent graduation rate scandals say about the state of the American high school. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines how parents rank public and private schools in New Orleans’s post-Katrina system of choice.

Gadfly Show 020718 07.02.2018
Gadfly Show 013118 31.01.2018
Special School Choice Week edition - 01/24/18 24.01.2018

On this week's podcast, Mike Magee, CEO of Chiefs for Change, and Nina Rees, CEO and president of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, join Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss where the choice movement stands on the occasion of National School Choice Week. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines a study on school discipline reform in Philadelphia, complete wit...

America does not need 3 million curricula - 01/17/18 17.01.2018

On this week's podcast, Margaret Horn, an executive at CenterPoint Education Solutions, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss how policymakers and philanthropists can help educators implement high standards. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines public preferences for universal and targeted preschool.

A master class in state policymaking - 01/10/18 10.01.2018

On this week’s podcast, Benjamin Boer, deputy director at Advance Illinois, joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss how a coalition of advocates succeeded in getting the Land of Lincoln to overhaul its inequitable school funding formula. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines the relationship between high school value added and students’ college success.

State policymaking in the ESSA era - 01/03/18 03.01.2018

On this week's podcast, special guest Chris Minnich, who is stepping down after five years at the helm of the Council of Chief State School Officers, joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss the future of state education policymaking in the ESSA era. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern highlights the best research studies of 2017.

Are states' ESSA plans naughty or nice? 20.12.2017
The politics of Teach For America 13.12.2017
Three cheers for charter leaders of color 05.12.2017
The charter schools popularity contest 29.11.2017

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