The Old School

Your two lovable hosts have returned to talk about the state of Ohio and the two hosts' experiences with the state. Additionally, the hosts will get into the success and meaning behind Dr. Bourgeois' recent conference he attended and presented at in Geneva, Switzerland. There are also some allowances for Mr. Miller to go on a rant regarding a car commercial he found particularly infuriating. Both...

Your two wonderful hosts have returned to talk about memory - losing memory as well as preserving it. The hosts start with the worrisome idea of losing memory as two ageing but still charming and handsome individuals. But then, they segue into the notion of memory and forgetting for good reasons and outcomes as well as for bad. It is an interesting conversation that centers on something that most...

Yet another hiatus comes to an end, but this time the Old School re-emerges with the dynamic Dan Albaum. Mr. Albaum speaks on his new book,  The Giving Edge: Why Putting Others First Creates a Lasting Advantage in Leadership, Business, and Life . The marketing entrepreneur and fellow podcaster ( Market Impact Insights ) lays out the skills and traits that separate the best leaders with those who w...

Your two intrepid hosts explore Dr. Bourgeois' recent trip to the Big Apple - his very first trip there in his life. The hosts first tackle perceptions and Mr. Miller, of course, works in a little history to show how the city became what it is today. Then, Dr. Bourgeois explores the best, most exciting and most unexpected elements of the largest city in the United States. Towards the end, and beca...

Your two loveable hosts draw on a topic that is near and dear to their hearts - the wonderful culture of the Germans. Using an episode of the German language podcast Easy German as inspiration, the Old School look at a few characteristics and quirks of the German culture and see to what it extent it applies to them in particular and the American culture in general. And in many cases, given the lon...

Your two favorite podcasters tackle the deep and complicated issue of rootedness. The United States has one of the most dynamic social mobility of any other country in the world - a statistic that is often defined by how far one lives compared to the birthplace of their parents. Additionally, many social commentators often speak to a lack of community, which can be a by-product of how little socia...

Your two masters of the message (whatever message that may be) take a look at volcanoes, with a particular attention to the one whose last eruption will soon be observing its 46th anniversary - Mount St. Helens. Despite Dr. Bourgeois' assertion that he knew little about it despite living mere hours away, the two tackle the events that led to the explosion and the lives lost. In discussing the volc...

Your two jet-setting hosts take a deeper look at plane travel. Dr Bourgeois and Mr. Miller consider the pros and cons of traveling by plane. They recount our favorite and least favorite parts of the experience. For all of the technological wonders that planes represent, the hosts also detail their scariest experiences. This is all preceded by controversies surrounding Southwest Airlines, as the at...

In this episode, your two favorite intrepid podcast hosts tackle the spine-tingling topic of fear. As they attempt to define it, the two learned gentlemen speak first of phobias but then, tackle the messier notion of personal fears - things that cannot be defined by some Greek mish-mash word but rather speaks to an internal insecurity. The hosts finish by discussing how to tackle fear and whether...

Your two forward thinking, future loving hosts celebrate the podcast's 150th episode by looking at changes in language. Inspired by an episode of Words Unraveled with Rob Watts and Jess Zafarris (link below), the hosts take a look at changes in language and whether they are ultimately good, bad or just a part of the dynamic nature of language as seen in the centuries before. They will look at prof...

Your two favorite curmudgeons set their sights on doctors in particular and the health care system in general. While there is much to love and admire about our health system, there are idiosyncrasies that annoy the hosts - from quick primary doctor visits to the tone that some physicians have when speaking to us to a host of other little things that lead to one big episode. What are you biggest pe...

The Old School podcasters celebrate the Olympics as the final events conclude in Milan on 22 February. There is a great deal of talk on what makes it special, what makes it annoying and what the hosts would add or subtract to the list of events. Mr. Miller regales in his story of his visit to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver while Dr. Bourgeois dwells in the wonder of watching track and field...

Your two intrepid podcast hosts tackle the subject of mysteries and conspiracies. Theories are debated regarding John F. Kennedy, fake pigeons and dodgy mattress stores. There is also a look at mysteries such as the cases of Amelia Earhart, D.B. Cooper and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The two hosts also broach the subject of the psychology of believing in conspiracies and the lionization of...

Returning to the field of education, your two favorite podcasters delve into a subject that has been touched on before but never elaborated upon and that is the hiring of teachers. The Old School first addresses how teachers are trained and whether, despite historical precedence, a nationalized and uniformed certification process is favorable to the various, and at times questionable, local and st...

As snow and temperatures fall on North Texas and nearly the entire eastern half of the country, your two intrepid hosts battle the conditions within their warm, cozy offices to deliver an episode on winter. The hosts focus on such conditions as seasonal affected disorder on one end of the spectrum but also the fact that some of the coldest countries in the world are also at the top of the happines...

Your two favorite podcast hosts tackle one of the touchiest subject they've ever discussed - a midlife crisis. In the course of the discussion, there is a great deal of digging into the myths associated with these phases of life, the symptoms and the extent of this condition. Much of what people know is a distortion created by media but the psychological evidence paints a different picture and the...

The two loveable hosts welcome back the great Dr. Alex Fingers to discuss the idea of collecting things. From sports cards and comics as kids to music and more refined items as adults. Why do we collect things? How does it help us emotionally, socially and how does that help in other aspects of our lives? It is not just hoarding things - though it can certainly go in that direction. Rather, it is...

Your two loveable hosts, in the midst of bowl games and the soon-to-begin NFL playoffs, talk about being a sports fan. The two attempt to draw out its positives but also the increasing number (of late) of negatives. What is acceptable? What should not be acceptable? Are fans using their status as paying customers to forget about social norms and mores? The hosts, while going down a few rabbit hole...

The Old School Podcast welcomes Mr. Ferrell Yeokum to discuss classroom management and his new book, Mastering Classroom Discipline for New Teachers: A Practical Guide to Create an Orderly Classroom, Prevent Disruptions and Improve Student Performance . The three educators discuss the forces within the classroom, within the school and outside the school that can impact a well-run classroom and the...

This week on the podcast, Mr. Miller reports live from the most magical place on Earth — and no, he’s not entirely sure how he got there. Join us as we unpack his family’s whirlwind trip to Disney World, including stops at EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, and the infamous international pub crawl — all while trying to make sense of what Disney has become in the 21st century. Spoiler: this is not your grandda...

Your two favorite hosts are back as we discuss the nature of building and fixing things. With Mr. Miller's recent foyer into woodworking and carpentry, the two gentlemen discuss some of the ideas of famed woodworker Nick Offerman and expound upon that to touch on topics of self-efficacy, the happiness index and blue zones. The hosts expertly weave the seemingly disparate ideas while discussing the...

Your two favorite hosts are back to talk about the advantages of taking the hard road. What are the lessons, what is the value of not seeking the easier path but one filled with potholes and detours. Often, it is these things that define a person and their ability to endure. The Old School endeavors to tease out some of the lessons that can be learned and the dangers in seeking the easier path. Ad...

Your two loveable hosts go back to their bailiwick and speak to the dynamic Dr. Ericka Johnson who details her journey from teacher to education consultant and the traits needed to be a good leader. We cover the full scope of the education experience, as seen by Dr. Johnson throughout her career as an educator. It is an interesting and thoughtful conversation that you will enjoy. If you want to fi...

Building on the previous episode on dinner parties, Dr. Steven Bourgeois and Ross Miller tackle other bygone ideas, these stemming from the 1970s and whether we are better off without them or should we bring them back. There is a bit of reminiscing as the hosts think back to days gone by and share some laughs along the way.

Your two favorite podcasters tackle a dying art - the dinner party. The hosts discuss the qualities of a good dinner party, drawing on the experiences growing up in a socially active household as well as their own efforts. They then segue into dissecting what has happened to the art - what are the reasons they are not as prevalent as they used to be. Additionally, what has been lost with the lack...